Amid product development, customer acquisition, and the varied aspects of internal operations, PR is usually the last item on a tech startup’s list. This is because there is a common misunderstanding of what PR really is or an underestimation of the value it can bring startups early on. And investing in it too late can result in missed opportunities for growth.
However, when applied correctly and at the beginning stages, PR can make a huge difference to both the immediate and long-term fortunes of a startup.
To give you an idea of just how beneficial a PR initiative can be for an early-stage startup, here are a few reasons why it’s worth investing in.
Setting Your Startup Apart from Competitors
When choosing companies to highlight or mention, journalists validate ideas and endorse brands indirectly. If your competitors are in the news, but you are not, then they are the ones that are gaining market traction. With the amount of reach that media organizations have, landing coverage means having the opportunity to get your startup in front of a broader audience that consists of potential customers and investors.
However, getting the media interested in covering your startup isn’t easy and requires a strategic approach. A good communications strategy is essential, and working with the right PR partner can help you achieve success with the media.
Boosting Your SEO
For startups, SEO is one of the best ways to build market recognition. To be effective, either it needs an ongoing services from agency like Noviia or it needs to be worked on as part of a wider marketing initiative with other channels impacting the success you have in search. They might be email marketing, PPC, social media, or offline promotion. But did you know that good PR can actually have a much more significant impact on SEO performance than all of these channels combined?
In an effort to ensure that highly valuable information is prioritized, search engines are getting increasingly better at detecting unnatural link building and evaluating the authority of a linking site. As a result, the bar for the quality of the content and links that you need to rank goes up all the time. And a great way to obtain quality links is through placement opportunities on reputable news sites that tend to rank very highly on search engines.
For instance, when searching for the term “IoT” on Google, some of the links you’ll find are from Wired, ZDNet, TechTarget, and Forbes. This shows just how powerful news links are and how gaining coverage on them can elevate your SEO performance.
Shaping Your Story for Mass Appeal
Many tech startups attempt to recycle content from their website and investor pitches in other marketing assets. But this type of speech doesn’t translate well when it comes to communicating with the public.
PR experts can help startups shape their messaging to play to a wider audience. Additionally, when good PR leads to media coverage, these pieces can help sharpen your company’s messaging even more. For startups in complex industries, like IoT and High Tech this can be particularly invaluable. Taglines and descriptors used in media coverage pieces can help offer guidance on how to effectively describe your product or service with clarity and for mass appeal.
A strong story combined with a good PR strategy is the key to standing out in a competitive marketplace.
Attracting Investors and Acquirers
Media placements can be used to attract the attention of VCs and other investors. With the right messaging and targeting strategy, PR can increase your credibility as a potentially lucrative investment. PR can also help your startup gain recognition by analysts, who investors tend to look to for recommendations when seeking stand-out players in the market.
If your goal is to be acquired, good PR is an absolute must. Visibility in the media and among the public at large is often a major prerequisite for companies seeking to make acquisitions.
Setting you apart from competitors, dramatically boosting your SEO, shaping your story for public interest, and offering the opportunity to attract potential investors and acquirers are just some of the many benefits that PR offers. Putting a good PR strategy in place early on can help tech startups achieve growth in the near-term and sustainable success in the long-term.
Whether you’re preparing to launch out of stealth mode or are at a point where you’re ready for an acquisition, IoT Marketing has the PR expertise to help tech startups at any stage gain the visibility needed to achieve success. To learn more about how we can help grow your startup, contact us to schedule a consultation.