With this world moving at what seems to be a million miles an hour, and seems even faster in the business and tech, sometimes it can be hard to keep up. It can be hard to scroll through your Twitter feed and not know what things may mean because they change from day to day. Over the last few years Public Relations and journalism have been evolving and continue to evolve. The description of what a journalist did was very defined before all of our new technology. In this piece we will walk you through some key PR terms that will help you and your business engage your audience and be able to benefit your customers.
Tech PR: Public Relations has a track record of building brands, influencing markets and allowing brands to showcase value in the press, on the back of significant budgets. With the increasing influence of technology on business and consumers, Tech PR has gained significant traction over the last ten years, opening journalistic opportunities to startups and thought leaders in a variety of industries, at a fraction of the cost. Journalists, investors and consumers both value and are influenced across global industries.
Proactive outreach: When it comes to engaging your audience you should be proactively promoting brand initiatives across reputable business and technology publications, broadcast outlets, podcasts, social media and showcasing brand Thought Leaders.
A Thought Leader is someone viewed as a credible industry expert, one who cuts through the “noise” and offers something worth listening to. It is someone who through their experience and knowledge of a field becomes entrusted by their audience and their audience looks to them for advice and to learn from them and then subsequently, buy what they are buying and do what they are doing.
So why is Thought Leader such a buzzword right now? With social media anyone can be an influencer and anyone can get there word out there, but a Thought Leader has been proven to be trustworthy. If you are interested in this you can check out our other blog post here. Because when your brand embraces becoming a thought leader, participating with media conversations and speaking to multiple markets and audiences will influence interest from a variety of consumer groups.
Responsive outreach: What’s going on in your neighborhood or community that you have an opinion on? Or even in the broader sphere of the world you work in? You must be responsive to the current events, especially in your industry news. By engaging with your audience in a way that your competitors can’t, when positioned to speak to the media, the brand gains validation. Customers expecting brand leaders to take a position on best practice, in order to earn their business and loyalty. Millennials and centennials, especially, show a preference for brands that stand for something. A whopping 61 percent, according to research by Kantar Consulting in Inc. Magazine. When brands are at the forefront of innovation, industry shifts and customer service, consumers are more inclined to purchase from you, over someone else.
Fund Raising: Now that you are picking up the lingo and the wheels are turning in your head, the next steps you take in planning around press coverage, the more return you will see. Fund Raising is particlulary influenced by media campaigns. When a brand is referenced in a variety of top titles recognised across industries, investors take notice. You have to have an amazing product, but if no one knows about your brand, it’s less likely the consumer audience with arrive.
By becoming a thought leader and responding proactively you are gaining the attention, building trust, and trust is the cornerstone of anyone investing in your company. If investors are starting to see your presence in the local business journal, in the news they are reading then dots will start connecting in their mind. They are seeing that you are trustworthy and you are creating buzz with your ideas, your products and keeping the attention of your audience.
Brand Validation: In this digital age, content lives forever. You can keep press alive for days, months and really any timeline you want to. It is important to use the press that you do have to your advantage and that will lead to your brand validation. The more you are telling people the more transparent you are being with them, they will begin to follow along. People are interested in people and stories, not just products. Just follow the statistics. According to a survey eight out of ten (79%) of adults want brands to tell stories as part of their marketing. What story do you and your company have to tell that would lead to your brand validation to your audience? Have you been telling that story or do you know how to?
Social Media Strategy: Simply put this is what your organization decides they are going to communicate for a period of time on their social media platforms. This is where content marketing becomes your best friend because the content you want to get out needs to be communicated through your social media platforms and in a planned out way.
SEO/UX: We focus on organic Search Engine Optimisation or not paid for methods, to rank websites at the top of search engines, like Google. Hand in hand with UX (user experience) and high ranked DA (domain authority) press coverage, the sky is the limit for driving traffic back to your product site.