Most tech founders feel that marketing is the same as PR. But as you’ll see, it’s pretty different and requires special attention than it gets. If you’re a tech founder or going to start a technology company, you need to have effective PR plans in place. They will help you both in the short and long term.
Moreover, the benefit goes beyond acquiring the eyeballs (which is the major objective of marketing). In this article, learn how a PR firm can help your technology startup benefit from effective PR.
Starting with the fundamentals, you should know what PR means. PR or Public Relations is a form of communication that utilizes publicity to inform potential buyers and other readers about your products, services, and the company itself.
The way it differs from general marketing is while PR is more professional, straightforward, and unpaid, marketing is more candid and is paid.
PR marketing helps establish a brand image within your consumer’s minds, so they look at your business in a certain way.
If you’re wondering why you should bother investing in effective PR campaigns, then know that it can generate 10 to 50 times more leads, sales, and conversion when compared to advertising.
But besides that, there are significant advantages that technology startups simply cannot ignore. In the subsequent sections, learn about the benefits of effective PR.
The one problem almost all startups struggle with is establishing trust. Very few people know that you exist and have products on offer. But to build a sustainable business, you need to reach far more customers over the long run.
While marketing and advertising can help establish trust, they aren’t as helpful as PR in doing that.
PR campaigns rely on recommendations and mentions. You pitch to journalists and industry experts with your brand message. If they find it valuable enough, they’ll publish articles covering your products and what value you can bring to the people.
Since people hear about your brand from industry experts and media houses, they find it more trustworthy.
Moreover, these PR stories are not pushy, unlike ads. It helps your message resonate better with customers.
A PR firm can help you with SEO. For the uninitiated, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization to bring your website to the top of the search engine results page (SERP).
When journalists cover your story, bloggers follow. If they find your services beneficial to their readers, they will write about you and link to your website wherever necessary.
These links are essential for higher rankings. Once you get a higher ranking for the right keywords, your startup can generate free traffic and leads.
Not only on the web, but you will realize the benefits of PR on social media too. As more people become aware of your products and services, they will start posting and sharing them on their respective accounts.
If it’s a consumer tech company meant for the people, it should get even more reach.
Social sharing becomes even more important when you’re running a crowdfunding campaign. It is an excellent way to raise money for growth and to validate the market.
So if you’re planning on a crowdfunding campaign anytime soon, an effective PR campaign can provide the necessary thrust.
The effects of a PR campaign can be felt inside your company too. When the employees see their company getting a positive response from the general public, they’re more inclined to contribute and make the product even better.
PR campaigns don’t only help with creating a positive brand image. It can help fix a negative image too.
In the 1980s, Johnson & Johnson faced criticism when its Tylenol products were laced with cyanide, thus killing seven people.
After running a PR campaign to fix the reputation, the company saw Tylenol sales rise within six weeks of that incident.
The positivity was felt inside the company as well, which helped it to motivate the employees.
Another reason technology startups should embrace PR is because it’s cost-effective. It may seem expensive at first. But when considered its effects over the long run, the investment seems worth it.
As opposed to traditional PR, digital PR campaigns are measurable and attributable. So you’d have better clarity on how well your PR efforts were.
When working with a PR firm, you should be clear with the objectives and goals. That’s where all the projects start with. Depending on your objectives, the campaign might run from anywhere between a week to a year. But if implemented correctly, PR can help your startup get to the next level.
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