PR is a powerful tool for building awareness, attracting investors, and telling your story as a startup. But in your early days when there is already a lot to handle, determining when to introduce PR into the mix can be tricky.
While it’s never too early to start thinking about how to use PR to build your brand, when it comes to investing money there are a few things to consider. You don’t want to invest in PR prematurely before you have a story to tell. On the other hand, you want to begin early enough to start shaping your reputation and building brand recognition.
So how early is too early to invest in PR for your startup? Here are our top tips.
What is PR and how can it help your company?
PR (or public relations) is about managing how others see and feel about your brand. Startup PR is unique in that you’re building your reputation from the ground up, rather than working with existing perceptions or legacy. A clean slate is exciting and presents lots of opportunities; but it also comes with its challenges.
It can be difficult for startups to forge a space in their new market, particularly if it’s already crowded with competitors. PR can help you communicate your unique voice and build an awareness of your value proposition.
PR can also help translate complex products or services into stories that customers, partners and investors can relate to. The right media coverage can help you connect with your key audiences and present your key messages in an engaging way. It can also raise the profile of your founders and key company spokespeople, which your startup can trade off to build brand, reputation and leads.
Finally, PR is amazing at building trust. Often, the first thing people will do when they hear about your company is Google you. So consistent media coverage in respected publications can do wonders for your credibility. It creates third party validation and multiple touch points through which people might discover you, which marketing yourselves through your own channels simply can’t replicate. Not to mention the massive SEO boost you will notice when you appear regularly in media articles with high-value back links.
How do you know your startup is ready for PR?
Before you engage a PR agency, you need to have a product or service to talk about. Ideally, your product will already be live; or you’ll have a launch date in the diary, with announcements lined up. Having your product and team in a strong position will help ensure you’re ready to capture and convert all of the interest that PR drums up. Having a strong pipeline of news to follow your “media launch” will also help fuel your press strategy and enable you to sustain media momentum over a long period of time.
You should also consider budgets. PR costs money and requires long-term investment in order to succeed. You shouldn’t expect to see results immediately. At Crest, we tend to work with companies from pre-seed and beyond, which means they will have taken some external investment to fuel their PR goals. If you don’t have the financial runway to invest in PR over the long term, you’re probably not ready yet.
Finally, you should have a clear idea of what you want to achieve through PR. Who is your target market and what do you want to say to them? Are you trying to capture the attention of investors? Do you want to drive sales? Or do you want to build brand awareness among target audiences? Figure out who you want to target with what messages and what you’re hoping to achieve. You can then work out whether PR is the right channel to help you get there; and whether now is the right time.
How do I find a PR agency?
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to finding the right PR partner for your startup. But here’s where to start.
- Ask your network for recommendations
Do you have any startup friends or colleagues who’ve had successes with a particular PR agency before? Is there an agency your investors tend to recommend to their portfolio? A recommendation is a great way to find a PR partner you can trust.
- Find companies with great media coverage – and ask them about their provider
Is there a company who you’re constantly reading about in publications you want to be in? Find out who handles their PR and arrange a chat.
- Look for agencies that specialise in your sector
Different PR agencies and freelancers specialise in different things. Some agencies, like Crest, specialise in startups and scaleups (although we’re not sector specific). Others specialise in property, financial PR, FMCG or hospitality brands. Do some research and shortlist the agencies that feel like the best fit for you. Arrange some chemistry chats to see who you gel with – and take it from there.
- Look for honesty; don’t be fooled by fluff
Watch out for PR agencies that promise you the world. PR agencies can never guarantee coverage: the number of pieces we’re able to land in a given month will depend on a number of factors, including what you’ve got to announce, the availability of your spokespeople and case studies, and what’s happening in the news cycle. Some months you’ll get more coverage than others and we can’t control every outcome. Look for a partner that is ambitious yet realistic about what they can achieve, honest about the process, and not afraid to tell you if now is not the right time to invest in PR.
Ultimately, your PR agency should feel like an extension of your team. They should be a trusted partner that ‘gets’ you and your startup. Do your due diligence, but remember to trust your gut and choose the partner that feels like a great fit for both your team and your budget.
By Ruby Topzand, Senior Account Manager at Crest