Starting and building a new company involves way more than creating a product or service and a smart, competent team. It also includes shaping and creating a new brand image and reputation and driving attention in the marketplace. Public relations can directly impact a new company’s success and help it to gain staying power through media coverage and meaningful, third party validation.
For many new businesses, the thought of grabbing media attention is low on the “to do” list, but it shouldn’t be. In fact, PR can put a new company or brand on the map, by placing it in front of key targets in a highly credible way that can directly impact the bottom line and set the stage for the future.
Following are takeaways from our experience about how PR can ignite business growth:
1. Humanize Your Brand
Having the best talent on board is a direct feeder to longer term success if you leverage it properly. Promoting your executives in the media outlets that matter most through announcements, expert commentary and contributed content, positions your company positively and also builds recognition for your business while creating buzz. It puts your enterprise on the radar and also influences potential personnel to apply for open positions. That’s a good thing to foster over time.
2. People Buy What They Know
I don’t know about you, but I naturally gravitate to brands I have seen in the media, both in traditional print and online, especially on Instagram. I get immersed in the imagery and demo videos which quickly communicate what makes that brand different. There’s a memorable, sticky quality to such visibility and inevitably, it’s those company names which become embedded in my subconscious. When I’m ready to buy, those are the brands that are top of mind. This is because PR can play up a fundamental truth about sales: People buy what they know. The explosion of review sites and Amazon underscores the fact that people want to hear about others’ experiences before they act. Third-party validation matters more than ever. Brands that are little known can seem like too big a risk, and most people will avoid them.
PR outreach can change the playing field in which you operate. A media kit provides journalists and influencers with traditional information they need to write about your product or service, but that’s not enough. Audiences want to know more these days – about the executive team and brand values as well as features and benefits. Every kind of company today must continually broadcast what makes it different, otherwise it will quickly get lost in the media clutter. Highlighting your company’s founding story, customer goals, and even idiosyncrasies will humanize it.
3. Media Coverage Will Impress Investors and Others
Although your company may not be looking for investors at the onset, you never know about the future and what kind of external resources and support will be needed. That said, if you approach marketing and PR like an investor when it comes to promoting your brand, that will pay off in the long run. Investors will look at the visibility and credibility of your product or service, as well as how much public exposure you have received. If your company is consistently featured in reputable media outlets, it elevates the organization’s reputation. Investors make investment decisions on companies and brands that will make them look good, strengthen and add value to their portfolio. When multiple media outlets feature your company and what you’re building it’s hard for investors and others to ignore the momentum you have created.
