What Is One Tip For Getting Press For A Startup?
To help you get press for your startup, we asked startup founders and PR leaders this question for their best strategies. From voicing your opinions to journalists to commenting on industry news via podcasts, there are several tips to help you gain media coverage and attract business to your startup.
Here Are 10 Tips To Get Press For Your Startup:
- Voice Your Opinion to Journalists
- Give Back to the Local Community
- Personalize Your Pitches
- Show that You’re a Credible Source of Information
- Organize An Event
- Use Terkel
- Write Informative Web Content
- Use Social Media Stories to Release Press Statements
- Find Your Truth and Tell Your Story
- Comment on Industry News
Voice Your Opinion to Journalists
One great way to acquire press as a startup is to voice your ideas wherever you can. Journalists constantly search for experts in different fields that can give opinions on the latest trends, innovations, and changes. If you’re voicing your opinion and presenting knowledgeable ideas that change the way people think and open up discussions, you will without a doubt get publicity, and sometimes for free.
So make sure you find people who ask questions, and answer those questions.
Using platforms that bring journalists together is useful. For example, Help a Reporter Out (HARO) or Terkel are both great platforms for journalists that ask questions in different industries. Find the industry that you specialize in, and give your thoughts and opinions. It’s free and easy, which is especially important for a startup to be able to take off.
Marco Genaro Palma, PRLab
Give Back to the Local Community
Engage the local community. Create buzz and newsworthy moments with trash clean-ups, food drives, and other charitable or philanthropic events. Supporting and improving the local population and environment are wonderful opportunities to generate nonpartisan civic engagement and bring the community together. Communities love companies that set roots into the local scene, and a local press story could become a global viral sensation.
New Melchizedec S, Expertrec
Personalize Your Pitches
Personalize your pitches. Learn a bit about the journalists to whom you reach out. Without sounding like a stalker, perhaps mention a hobby or passion you share. Remember that journalists are human beings and reading one robotic email after another can be tedious. Pitches that add personal touches will stand out and lead to free press for your business, or at the very least brighten a reporter’s day!
Erin Banta, Pepper
Show that You’re a Credible Source of Information
Fostering relationships with journalists can help advance your PR efforts. Begin the dialogue by sending the writer an email to compliment them on a recently published article. Relate how their story made you feel after reading it to show your genuine interest in their work.
And then share and praise the article on your LinkedIn feed. Journalists are always looking to make new contacts. Promoting their latest features will not only grow their audience but also help them make new connections.Spend a good amount of time familiarizing yourself with the topics they specialize in. Gaining insights into the topics they write about will help you determine how to align your knowledge and expertise with the subject matter so as to offer additional value and meaning to future stories. Fostering media relations takes time.
And by demonstrating that you’re a credible source— and that you’re not just after free publicity—reporters will look to you whenever they need a reliable quote.
Maria Shriver, MOSH
Organize An Event
From my point of view, reporters will take notice if you take the time to host an event without making it all about your company. Thought leadership takes time to develop, and you cannot be a self-promoter.
I believe that organizing industry events and allowing other companies (including competitors) to explain their achievements and failures would result in long-term rewards in terms of press and other earned media.
Max Whiteside, Breaking Muscle
Use Terkel
Terkel has been a great way for our team to get some additional press and exposure.
As a marketing leader, it is a simple way for me to share thought leadership content that benefits our organization as we’re growing. It’s affordable and simple, and I can answer press requests in between meetings. Terkel has been great for our press efforts at Motivosity!
Logan Mallory, Motivosity
Write Informative Web Content
A method for acquiring press that has always worked for me is starting by writing high-quality, informative content on the startup’s website. Once you have a record of doing this, reach out to the media and pitch ideas for articles. They get great content, and your company gets press. Its a win/win.
If you are looking to get coverage faster, writing a press release, and pitching smaller sites is another proven method for getting press early on. Local websites are particularly useful for this.
Entrepreneurship is written about every day. With some effort, your startup can be part of that content.
Robert Burns, Nuleev
Use Social Media Stories to Release Press Statements
For most startups, getting a mention in the top media houses is their top priority as they set out to implement their PR strategy. However, a different approach through leveraging social media gives a better ROI.
Each startup with a social media account has direct access to an audience of hundreds of millions or depending on the platform. Going live on your social media stories when making press statements effectively create press for your startup.
GISERA MATANDA, WeLoans
Find Your Truth and Tell Your Story
Before you write up a press release, you need to know who you truly are and what makes your business unique.Generally speaking, a standard business launch story is pretty unremarkable. But what if you have something remarkable that sets your business out among the crowd?For example, you’ve just opened a dog grooming business, great, but not especially newsworthy. However, if you’ve just opened a dog grooming business with an agreement to exclusively use products from a well-known dog fur care brand, then this is exactly the kind of thing that sets your stall out. Of course, you may not have a partnership to talk about, but there is always one thing that is unique to your business: you.Think back on the events that led you to founding your startup; catalysts for wanting change; times of adversity; the moment when you took the plunge. Even the seemingly insignificant moments that changed your path can open doors that resonate with your audience.
Dale Bonsor, Quibble
Comment on Industry News via Podcasts
For any new company just getting started with press coverage, it’s best to start small. Don’t get me wrong – as a marketer I’d love to say every brand needs to invest heavily in PR to get the best results; however, many times that investment won’t really pay off until the brand has already been established and gained credibility within its own industry first.
Start earning credibility within your industry first by commenting on industry news, looking for podcasts to pitch to, contributing to conversations online and being generally available to network within your industry. Tell those you meet that you are looking for interviews and other press opportunities on specific topics and to keep you in mind if they spot anything.
Start with what you’re truly an expert at, and after you get some experience and credibility there, you’ll be in a better position to start considering some bigger moves in PR.
Amie Sparrow, Enough Digital Ltd.
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