This is a guest post from Wendy Dulaney, co-founder of Easy.PR. Wendy has been doing some interesting work for start-ups, targeting small audiences to achieve specific goals during critical stages of their growth. I asked her to share some examples and tips here. – Adam
How many great ideas and concepts from early startups are out there just waiting to be heard? Ironically, more than you may realize.
It turns out that even the most brilliant visionaries, startup founders – dreamers of the next big thing – struggle to communicate that vision to investors, client prospects or suppliers.
I know this first hand. A close friend of mine came up with a concept with a mobile tie-in that would be unique, fun and game-changing but after the initial development he became frozen over what to do next. With a strong fear of cold calling and attending networking events, he wasn’t getting his complete concept heard and he wasn’t going anywhere fast.
This triggered me to change my strategy around traditional PR work and focus on ‘micro-PR’ campaigns.
The practice of spending time and money on online, print or broadcast campaigns with big commitments and investments needs to change. Social media, mobile marketing and such are great additions to a large PR campaign, but a startup company with limited resources or sales experience becomes overwhelmed with what to take on. As a result they may do too little or too much, risking momentum and their reputation right out of the gate.
A micro-PR campaign allows a specific audience to be targeted, say 10-15 investors for a founder looking for capital, or a handful of talented engineers for a startup that is looking to recruit key talent.
The point being, founders in early stage startups struggle to successfully recognize that early micro public relations campaigns are needed to tip momentum in their favor during critical stages of their growth.
The true advantage of a micro-PR campaign is that startup founders can mimic the results from larger campaigns while maintaining the flexibility to turn on a dime and react to market changes. This type of mini-campaign allows a more fluid level of resource commitment than a larger, more traditional PR campaign may require.
Everyone in theory faces the same demands when it comes to starting a company, gaining investors and growing their customer base. The key is taking what’s been done before and repeating it with changes tailored to your business and overall goals.
Why spend valuable time coming up a full-blown marketing campaign to promote your idea when you can do one or a few micro-PR campaigns much more easily? Take the best of what’s already been done, tweak it and determine the best course of action for you. Factor in not only what your competitors are doing, but what they have already done.
My friend has since taken this advice and his company now has inbound sales and a growing positive reputation that has given him further confidence to start another company. There’s an entrepreneur in all of us; sometimes the best way to gain traction is to mimic rather than innovate.
With over 15 years of sales, marketing and public speaking experience in the CPG and Tech industries, Wendy Dulaney is the co-founder of Easy.PR, a boutique public relations company specializing in communication on behalf of startups and entrepreneurs to create exposure and generate momentum. Easy.PR works for you to become the promoter of your ideas. Let us be your voice in commanding the attention of your audience. www.easy.pr | wendy@easy.pr
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