PR is not just a fanciful abbreviation of a fashionable expression. This is something that all your efforts should be aimed at, if you want your business to prosper.
Whether you want it or not, business is constantly involved in public communications. You can approach the issue of PR with intelligence, studying what clients and investors think of you, or let things take their own course and watch your well-advertised competitors leave you behind. If your customers represent large companies, they should know that they can trust you. But how can they trust you if your company has been in the market for just several years?
In this case, profile articles in major media and the expert status of the head of the company can be helpful. Name recognition in the media is your weapon against competitors. Working with venture and business editions will let you grow in the eyes of investors.
Create an association
First, have a look at what and where has been written about your company. To fulfill this task, it is enough to monitor the search engines. Second, check your own name and the surname of the founder and see what the algorithm gives you. You have to be associated with what you are doing now, take a look at your photos in social networks or start new business profiles on LinkedIn or Facebook. Set a notification about your company and your competitors in the search engines – thus you will be aware of all the latest developments.
Write a press kit
Today, everyone knows about the elevator pitch, a short (3-5 minutes) speech about technology, the team and the offer to the investor. According to the same principle, you should give the most concise and clear description of your project.
In a single-page text, write what kind of a company you are, what kind of a mission you have and in what industry you work, what your innovation is and what potential market you may get. Add your data, contacts and competence. Write about what you understand and what you can comment on. For example, industrial robotics market or educational projects in certain countries. Test your abstracts on the loved ones or friends and get a dispassionate opinion from the people who are not too familiar with your company. A journalist, just like an investor, does not understand your technology with the probability of 99%, therefore you must be able to explain it even to a child.
Visualize
Of course, creating a prototype cannot always be available from the first step, but still one should strive to do this. Create a 3D-model or a beautiful sketch – this investment will pay off. You will agree that it is better to once bring the working robot rather than tell about it a hundred times.
Find your journalist – and hold on to him/her!
Previously, all PR managers worked according to the principle of “collecting a database of 1000 contacts and delivering press releases every week.” Now the situation has changed: if you’re not the president’s administration, your official releases are unlikely to be needed by someone.
See which publications you read and think what your clients and investors read. Look at these publications, find a few journalists whose articles deal with your field and write to them. Send prepared materials, images, technology, description, and do not hesitate to discuss the main points in a telephone conversation. Suggest writing about technology, but do not be discouraged if you are denied and if you see that the other person is not interested.
When you find the journalist who writes about your market segment or about the same companies, he/she can become a valuable source, offering advice and helping with promotion. Journalists can be found through social networks, and not just in the “Editors” category on the site. In social networks, you can better understand one’s professional interests, but do not forget about etiquette – one should rather use e-mail to write about work.
Get promoted with the partners’ help
Look for partners. If your business has something to do with larger and well-known players on the market, use it to your advantage. Get to know their press service or the marketing department and suggest writing a cooperation agreement together, or, if this is your client, discuss the contract. You offer innovations, and the big players must maintain the image of a dynamic company. You also need the best possible way to highlight the news of the deal or partnership with a major player.
