One of the biggest struggles start-ups have is raising awareness of their product or service with target customers. No matter how innovative or forward-thinking a product or service is, if no one knows about it or how it will affect their business, it will be difficult to be profitable.
That’s where PR can be highly effective. PR can help start-ups raise awareness of an innovative product/service, even if the company has a small or non-existent marketing budget.
Over time, PR can create significant awareness of your product or service and its key differentiators with your target audience. It also enables you to teach your target audiences about solving a specific operational problem that your product or service may solve or share best practices related to that subject. For example, if you offer an all-in-one RMS and channel manager that helps hotels to improve their pricing across all online channels and updates rates automatically, you can use PR to educate hotels about the benefits of real-time pricing updates and eliminating manual updates. For hotels, PR offers the opportunity to teach potential guests about your destination, which will make them more likely to stay with your property when they do decide to come visit your destination.
Not only is PR less expensive than advertising, it is also more credible with potential customers. Media coverage is an endorsement of your product or service, as it comes from a trusted third-party, such as a journalist, rather than from the company itself.
Even with all of these benefits, PR is often a low priority for start-ups simply because most business owners do not think they have the time or money to develop and execute an effective PR strategy, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Effective PR can be undertaken on a small or, even non-existent marketing budget, if you are willing to do the work yourself.Ê
There are several PR strategies and tactics that are both inexpensive and simple to implement. These tools will help your company create greater brand awareness and, more importantly, shorten your sales cycle. For a start-up, these three PR tactics will be useful for accomplishing these two very important goals, without breaking the bank.
Embrace editorial calendars
Most print trade publications create an annual editorial calendar Ð a schedule of the main topics covered in each upcoming issue of the publication throughout a calendar year; i.e. revenue management, technology andÊmarketing, etc.). Editorial calendars are typically posted online in a publication’s media kit or advertising kit and are issued in theÊthird orÊfourth quarter, for the year following.
To take advantage of these media opportunities, proactively examine as many editorial calendars as possible. Keep an ongoing list of upcoming opportunities that are suitable for your company and always ensure that you submit your pitch as early as possible before the journalist’s deadline, which are also outlined in the editorial calendar. In general, submit your pitch at least two weeks prior to the deadline to have a higher chance of being included in the article.
Out-of-the-box media outreach
If there are no editorial calendar opportunities that match your company’s story and/or product/service, look at other angles for securing media coverage. The more stories that you can tell about your company to media, the more placements that you will secure and the more visible your brand will be.
Consider pitching your company’s CEO and his/her expert opinion on a timely industry topic related to your company’s offering to media.
Create a list of important upcoming dates or holidays that could be a fit for your company. For example, hotels can create a list of the most popular travel dates or most popular events for their destination and prior to those dates, reach out to media to inform them about special packages or promotions being offered.
If you are a company that offers a technology solution to hotels, consider creating a case study of a current client’s results using your solution and pitching that to trade media, so that they can draft an article about the importance of your type of technology, and the significant impact that it can have on a hotel’s revenue or operations.
Speaking opportunities: keynotes, panels and presentations
Securing speaking engagements at industry events and conferences will significantly increase your company’s visibility during the event and are valuable in establishing your credibility in your area of expertise within the industry. To secure a keynote or panel speaking opportunity at an upcoming event, you should:
- Make a list of all conferences locally, nationally and internationally that are related to your industry. Ensure that the people who attend the event are your ideal customers to ensure the highest ROI from your attendance.
- Find out the deadlines for submission of keynote speech applications and what the application process will consist of. Often, you will be required to write up a specific pitch, which highlights the speech topic that you are proposing and outlines your speaker’s expertise related to the topic.
- Of course, make sure that you submit the applications as early as possible before the application deadline. If you want, you may follow up with the event organizers to find out the status of your keynote speech application, but only after the deadline passes.
Even if you haven’t secured a speaking opportunity for an event, there are still significant benefits to attending industry events. Trade journalists often cover these events and some larger events have entire issues dedicated to covering the event and its attendees, so you should reach out to the event organizers a month or two prior to event, and request a list of media that are registered to attend. Once you have the list, email the media and suggest a face-to-face interview and demo of your product, which could yield an opportunity to be included in an upcoming story. Remember to focus on what makes your company, product or service of interest to the industry and/or what is innovative or different about your offering in your pitch.
Effective PR should be accessible to every business no matter its size, budget or goals. Your company doesn’t have to miss out on the marketing benefits of PR because you have a small marketing budget. The time is now to begin executing an effective PR strategy at the right price for you.
So, what are you waiting for? Start your own PR campaign today!
For more tips on how to do your own PR, download JLNPR’s free guide: ÒHow to Use PR to Boost Sales Ð Without Blowing Your Budget.Ó
By Jennifer Nagy, President of JLNPR Inc.
About JLNPR Inc.
JLNPR Inc. is a full-service public relations and marketing agency that lives and breathes all facets of the travel technology industry. From online travel agencies to revenue management systems, tablet-based aviation automation solutions to IFE technology, hotels to airlines and everything in between, JLNPR uses our knowledge and experience to get your B2B travel technology company noticed by media, influencers and potential customers Ð and whenever possible, without the overused, often abused press release. In addition to traditional media relations outreach, we also ghost-write exciting, informational copy that will be published (in our client’s name) by top hotel industry media outlets Ð in order to increase your company’s visibility with potential customers, boost brand awareness and increase sales. To learn how to do your own PR for your company, download JLNPR’s free guide: How to Use Public Relations to Boost Your Sales – Without Blowing Your Budget. To find out more about JLNPR (including our services and out-of-the-box philosophy on press releases), please visit www.jlnpr.com.
