Capstream x pr for startups
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The document discusses public relations (PR) strategies for startups, emphasizing the need for a well-developed PR plan tied to business goals and execution timelines. It highlights the role of storytelling in engaging audiences, building momentum, and enhancing enterprise value, alongside practical advice for pitching to journalists. Effective PR is portrayed as a critical component for startups to differentiate themselves in a crowded market and support ongoing business development.
Capstream x pr for startups
- 1. PR for Startups GRANT DRAPER MANAGING DIRECTOR CAPSTREAMX.COM Start-Up, noun. (Silicon Valley) an untested hypothesis in need of customer proof points. PR for Startups
- 2. PROBLEM/OPPORTUNITY • Competitors are everywhere • More noise and clutter than ever before – # of marketing messages per day has risen from a few hundred in the 1970s to between three to five thousand today – Database tracking >10,000 working media in the energy, agriculture, food, water and technology sectors • In 2011, 2.2 billion people had access to the Internet PR for Startups
- 3. PLAN • Develop your PR plan when you set your business goals and not after a failed sales effort • Make sure it includes strategy, tactics, scalability and a timeline of items for execution • Great PR won’t fix crappy products but it will help good ones PR for Startups
- 4. AUDIENCE • PR is social conversation • People value and expect social context • Expectation is to consume native content • PR can play a valuable role at each stage of your customer funnel/hierarchy – Awareness, interest, consideration, purchase and all the way through to ongoing relationship building when you ask customers to amplify your story PR for Startups
- 5. VALUE • Effective PR builds business momentum by supporting opportunistic business development, awareness building, etc. • Research has demonstrated executives equipped with PR expertise can increase their company’s enterprise value by up to 40% PR for Startups
- 6. TELLING YOUR STORY • Ask yourself why would a journalist be interested in hearing from you • Journalists are in the business of producing newsworthy content so ask yourself how can you help them • Research shows stories with amusing, arousing or anger inducing themes more likely to be shared while inspiring and emotion evoking stories are more likely to be consumed PR for Startups
- 7. DEVELOPING YOUR STORY • What are your most interesting products, customers, clients, etc. • Which audience(s) would find your story valuable to know • Startup story archetype ~ hero’s journey – What quest were you called on – What huge challenges have you overcome on your unclear path forward – How have demonstrated your courage, agility, stamina, ingenuity, resourcefulness, etc. PR for Startups
- 8. MECHANICS • Developing your positioning, messaging and content delivery tools – Positioning statement (what does your company stand for from a customer POV) – Messaging (does your USP explain why you’re worth buying versus your competitors) – Media training (preparing talking points for messaging specific to each story and content native to each platform) – Dissemination (news releases, wire services, Google News, #s trending on twitter, etc.) PR for Startups
- 9. PITCHING • Start with the story and determine newsworthiness • Depth is more important than breadth – Relationships matter – contact the reporters you know and you read/view, etc. – Read their latest tweets, re-tweets and stories – Email a succinct (3-4 sentence) pitch that provides what your story offers their audience – Better to use hyperlinks than attachments – Best days are Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday – Follow-up with a call and if no response send a second email with additional info that will interest their audience PR for Startups
- 10. ROI • What should you pay • Should you go external or internal • What are your requirements – 24/7 market coverage or support for an upcoming sales campaign • PR produces the greatest ROI when its being effectively used to support focused and opportunistic business development activities and awareness building PR for Startups