Public relations can provide substantial benefits to startups, even early-stage startups. PR does more than support product launches. PR can help attract venture capital and other investor support, introduce products and services, and entice top-notch talent. Even before product launches, PR can achieve media coverage on the company’s research, patents, new board members, new hires, new funding, and other start-up activities.
With their limited resources, start-ups may need to rely on PR even more than established businesses. However, many start-ups struggle to devise a successful PR strategy.
These are some of the biggest – yet easily avoidable — PR mistakes.
Automated pitching tactics. When introducing products to journalists, it’s crucial for PR to compose pitches that are succinct, personalized and attention grabbing. Journalists have wised up to email automation. The probabilities of such strategies succeeding are remote. “The story must be new, unexpected, and/or resonate with the journalist’s readership. Jumping straight into product features and benefits all but guarantees failure,” says Max Marine, director of business development at Venture1st.
Extravagant launch parties. If launch parties are excessively lavish, attendees will likely wonder how much seed money remains. They may begin talking about competitors and questioning your product. “And while liquid nitrogen-infused drinks and aerialists are certainly fun things to have at your event, you want people to walk away with the product itself on top of mind—not the fire-breathing stilt-walker,” writes entrepreneur Seth Porges for Forbes.
Too many follow-ups. Nothing irritates a journalist more than too many follow-ups. Multiple follow-ups crowd inboxes and can damage your chances for current as well as future pitches. PR’s job is to plant a seed for a story idea in the writer’s head, then step back and wait for the planting to grow to fruition. Send a reminder email several days after the pitch, and if there’s still no response, let it be. If a writer doesn’t respond to a story idea, it means it’s not yet the right time for that particular publication.
Not understanding lead times. It’s essential to understand deadlines and lead times of publications. Monthly magazine writers must prepare stories months in advance and don’t want to cover a product that will be old news when their issue hits the stands. Providing advance scoops to writers with long lead times, even under an embargo, can greatly improve chances for coverage, Porges advises.
Poorly timed launch dates. Launch dates that coincide with important other events obtain little coverage. No sensible startup would strive for media attention when an announcement from Google or Apple is expected. Examining how your news fared in past years during major holidays, events and seasons can help predict if news during those periods will overshadow product announcements.
Forgetting to measure PR results. Because number-orientated technology experts at startups appreciate standardization and predictability, they may be uncomfortable with PR, which can be challenging to standardize and quantify. Fortunately, experienced PR pros understand how to apply PR measurement and link PR investment to measurable business objectives.
“Startups should approach marketing and PR with a focus on quantifiable analytics, and they should look for those PR agencies and in-house hires who think likewise,” Joanna Jana Laznicka, publisher of VC-List.com, told Entrepreneur.
Bottom Line: Given the limited resources of most start-ups, PR is likely to be the go-to communications strategy to create positive brand awareness and buzz. However, emerging businesses can easily stumble when first introducing their products and meeting the media. Avoiding these frequent mistakes will help their PR plans succeed.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
