In today’s competitive global environment it is critical for brands from all sectors, whether its e-commerce, apparel, or beauty, to share a deeper dialogue and personal narrative with consumers in order to find success. This will work to create an emotional connection with consumers, increase brand awareness, establish credibility, and increase market share- particularly during the embryonic stages of a start-up launch. Communications and full-service public relations agencies are here to help new emerging businesses to start off on the right foot with competitive strategies. Here are a few examples of what to expect when investing in PR for your startup and how it can help your business.
- Build connections in the early stage – Networking and establishing relationships with journalists is critical. As a new and up-and-coming brand, you need to identify your target publications, reach out, and nurture your contacts. As with any relationship- don’t force it, these will take time, trust, and commitment to establish. Many established PR agencies focus on specific sectors and will also have developed relations with publications that relate to your area of business. A lifestyle PR agency in Melbourne, for example, can have connections to local Australian publications as well as online outlets to help secure a feature right out the gate.
- Plan and market your content effectively – These days, people are glued to their smartphones. Up to 93% of people who own a smartphone use it to connect to social networks including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube. It’s important that your business has a presence on social media and a finely crafted digital and social media strategy that demonstrates to your community that you want to connect and that you are responsive to customers.
- Focus on the ‘story’ of the start-up – It’s important to deep dive into your brand to find your narrative in order to establish a deeper dialogue about your history and how you came to be. The opportunity exists for you to strengthen authenticity and create an emotional connection with your audience, whether you are looking to paint your business as more down to earth and approachable, or connect with like-minded individuals.
- Instagram is not negotiable – Influencer marketing continues to be the most effective growth strategies for small businesses. Instagram has a user base of 1 billion, which is made up of mostly millennials (24-39.) As more people are on their phones, it’s easy to take advantage and shape your strategy to include partnerships and other forms of outreach on the platform.
- Influencer Outreach – When an influencer outreach list is gathered, keep in mind that micro-influencers have 7x the engagement per follower than larger influencers. Unlike macro-influencers and celebrities who demand high sponsorship fees, smaller – medium-sized influencer focuses on higher engagement to create user-generated content that is more relatable and create a snowball effect of interest in your products or services.
- Facebook – Over 2.2 billion people use Facebook, making it the perfect platform to build, advertise, and grow a community around your start-up. Its audience comprises of gen-x (40-55) and millennials (24-39.) This platform is strong for businesses to build brand awareness and best suited for B2C businesses advertising its products/services. Depending on your key audience, working together with a PR agency to create a focused digital communications strategy around Facebook can be incredibly helpful.
- Be consistent – To launch a brand that is credible and authentic, one must be consistent with your PR outreach and create content that is engaging, thought-provoking, and brings a sense of loyalty, trust, and community to your business.
PR isn’t just something you have to do on your own. Look into full-service or digital communications focused PR agencies in your area to find one that fits best for the needs of your start-up.
