Publicity is one of the most crucial elements to any startup’s success, but it’s usually seen as a ‘luxury’ service that gets shelved until the business is generating enough profit to properly budget for it. It’s the old chicken-before-the-egg quandary where financers want to see press coverage before they invest, and startups can’t afford PR until they secure funding.
If hiring a top PR firm is out of the question in the early stages, here are a few do-it-yourself PR techniques that any small business can begin implementing with limited resources.
1. Do your homework
You can’t achieve results until you clearly define what you want. Before starting any PR activity, it’s crucial to identify your publicity goals. First, ask yourself whom you want to be targeting through press coverage. Is it potential investors or customers? Perhaps, it’s a combination of the two.
Next, establish where your desired audience spends their time. For example, which blogs or media outlets are they reading? Finally, what medium is going to be most effective for you and your brand (i.e. magazines, newspapers, blogs, radio or TV)? This will help you make a properly curated media wish list. Be optimistic and set your sights high, but also make sure the outlets you’re targeting are relevant and attainable.
2. Use social media to your advantage
With your wish list in place, you should begin to follow these press outlets on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Ideally, you should zero in on specific writers, editors, bloggers, journalists or reporters who are most relevant to you. It takes time to build a social media relationship, but by providing valuable interaction with your targets, they will start to notice you. This means re-tweeting or sharing their content, answering their questions, or sharing helpful information. It’s not all about you, so make sure your interaction is not self-serving.
When the right time comes, ask if you can email over some info about your brand or product. Feel free to refer to specific columns you’d like to be considered for. (If they write a monthly column on the ‘Top 5 Startups to Watch,’ be sure to reference the column word for word and be clear on your call to action.) Journalists are much more receptive to pitches when the pitcher is familiar with their content.
3. If you see something, share something!
Keep an eye on what’s going on in the news, or what’s trending on Twitter, and look for a way to incorporate your brand into that story. For example, if the Olympics are the hot topic of the week and you run a restaurant, maybe you should name a sandwich after an Olympian and offer it to your customers until the Olympics wrap up. Somewhere, there is a food writer talking about restaurants with Olympic-specific offerings, and you could insert yourself accordingly.
The goal is to always be thinking with an editorial mind, so whenever you’re launching something new (a new website, new product, or new service), be sure to use the news as a PR opportunity. Make it relevant and share it via social media, e-newsletter, your website, or press release.
4. Use a newswire service
You don’t need a PR agency to put something out on the newswire. Whether you have a publicist or not, it’s always a good idea to write and issue press releases whenever you have anything newsworthy to share. You can use free press release engines such as 24-7pressrelease.com, PR.com or NewswireToday.com.
Truth be told, simply blasting out a press release will never lead to a flurry of organic editorial coverage. To boost your legitimacy, post your press release copy to numerous credible news outlets which you could share on the press section of your website, and provide great SEO juice that will drive more traffic back to you.
5. Become a talking head
Nobody knows your business better than you do. Turn your passion into your credentials and become an “expert” in your field. Find industry trade publications or blogs that cover your turf, and reach out to them about contributing educational guest articles, or perhaps doing an interview Q&A about your experience. This is a great way to build up your expert profile, while also linking back to your company’s website and potentially, putting yourself in front of a valuable customer or contact.
Aside from writing, you can also look into local events and offer yourself up to speak on relevant panels or host a networking cocktail hour. There are free services like HARO (Help A Reporter Out), that send out emails three times a day with a roundup of reporters who are looking for sources for various articles. Very often, there is a reporter seeking out “Small Business Owners.” All you have to do is reply back to pitch yourself and your company. These are all ways to start putting yourself out there and becoming the go-to authority in your area of expertise.