When does PR become important for a startup? How should PR firms be engaged? How is social media changing the way a startup pitches its story? How does PR differ for B2C and B2B sector startups?
A range of industry experts offered their insights on the connections between startups and public relations (PR) at a panel discussion organised by PRune and hosted at Axilor Transit in Bengaluru. See also the related articles: Riding Change, When do startups really need PR agencies, and On-boarding PR.
Here are my top 20 takeaways from the discussion, which featured K.Vaitheeswaran, e-commerce pioneer; Melissa Arulappan, Senior Director, QuintilesIMS; Brian Carvalho, Head of PR, Portea; Kunal Kishore, Founder Director, Value360; Jyotsna Pattabiraman, Founder, Grow Fit; Sumit Chakraberty, Contributing Editor, TechInAsia; and Payal Banerjee, Head of Communications, Sequoia Capital.
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Build a solid business model
Many startups tend to be skewed towards an investor-centric growth-focused story – without adequate focus on unit economics and path to profitability. Sooner or later, weaknesses in this model will be exposed by the media and analysts. Be honest and ethical in your financial dealings also; no amount of PR spin will correct fatal flaws or blunders.
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Pick the right context for your story
For startups with new business models or creating new categories, the entrepreneur story has to be couched within broader or emerging trends to connect with media and audiences, otherwise the story will not be picked up or understood. Choose key context points and data hooks, and weave your story around it; eg. how e-commerce sites can offer value even during times of economic downturn.
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Is the startup story right for you?
In some traditional B2B sectors such as logistics, startups may be seen as largely for the consumer sector, or having a ‘sexy’ or ‘cool’ image, or (even worse) as small companies that are here today and gone tomorrow. This may not be the perception that founders want to cultivate, and hence some logistics startups have even asked their PR agencies not to spin their stories as ‘startups.’
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Pay attention to ‘vendor capital’ and not just venture capital
Getting venture capital funding makes for good media attention, but make sure you also pay attention to ‘vendor capital’ and ensure that your vendors get remunerated properly. Stories of vendors not getting paid can also make for bad business and negative press coverage. Unfortunately, the reality of business in India seems to be that payments are not always made on time, but startups have a chance to reset such images and create a more wholesome professional image.
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Balance ‘PR 2.0’ with ‘PR 1.0’
Good PR blends social media (‘PR 2.0’) with traditional media (‘PR 1.0’), but make sure that the communication is consistent across the board. Don’t shoot off a blog post or Medium/LinkedIn article on your own and then expect the PR agency to correct any inaccuracies or wrong perceptions created by your social media post. Omni-channel PR is the way to go.
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Think beyond the press release
Press releases do have an important function, but you can also announce developments about your company through other channels, such as blogs on your own website. Sometimes these blogposts can get covered by the media even better than a press release.
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Think of PR beyond media
PR is…