How To Approach PR as a Startup in 2023

Starting a business isn’t easy. Founders face many daily challenges, including financing their company, building the right team, gaining clients and customers, and getting the brand name out there. While public relations (PR) is a good investment for businesses of any size, startups benefit greatly from this type of work.

Why Startups Need PR in 2023

Any company entering a saturated market will have trouble capturing market share. It is highly recommended that you focus on developing public relations from the start because PR helps to create brand awareness and enhance the brand image. It makes it easy for you to connect with your target audiences and stakeholders, including the media and investors. While your competitors will have an established reputation and media connections, you’ll need to work extra hard to achieve the same levels of publicity and recognition, and a strong PR strategy can help. You’ll also build customer trust and loyalty in the process, which can help with the longevity of your brand.

Another reason that startups should choose PR in 2023 is the cost. Advertising and marketing initiatives can cost a pretty penny, but earned media coverage from public relations is free! Earned media placements and partnerships can work wonders for your business without costing a dime, whereas billboards and TV commercials can be tens of thousands of dollars. Social media is also a free PR tool that can help build your brand and following.

How to Manage PR When You are a Startup Founder

There are multiple ways to approach PR, especially when you’re new to business. Before jumping into a strategy that doesn’t yield results, new business owners and startup founders should consider the following carefully. We recommend adopting an experimental mindset and tracking data so you can learn from your successes and mistakes. Following are some additional suggestions for PR in 2023:

1. Hire an Agency Rather Than an In-House Team

It is a misconception that, as a startup, you should keep your PR to yourself or keep it in-house. You should hire an agency for a couple of reasons. 

First, hiring an agency will typically cost less than hiring an in-house PR team. This will allow you to save money on PR until you have a better sense of what works for your business and what does not. 

Second, hiring a PR agency will free you and your team up to tackle more pressing issues, like customer service and supply chain problems. You can rest easy knowing that you have an outside agency backing you and keeping the ball moving when you’re swamped.

Finally, with PR agencies, you don’t have to spend years cultivating relationships with local government agencies, non-profits, and journalists. PR agencies bring their networks to the table and work to connect you with the best partners and individuals to help your brand grow. You can leverage these connections and begin to build your own relationships with the support of your agency.

2. Cultivate Relationships with the Media and Journalists

We cannot deny the media’s role, responsibilities, and significance influencing society. Major daily newspapers, magazines, and TV shows have excellent reach and can make or break a new business. A company with good public relations can control the narrative surrounding its products and services in the media, but this often stems from the strength of its relationships with the people writing the stories and producing the shows.

Just like any other relationship, media relations requires some give and take. As a business owner, you can offer journalists exclusive scoops on news about your business, personnel changes, and important giving initiatives. In return, journalists might cover your stories and put a positive spin on them. This all hinges on trust and honesty, though; if you offer an exclusive to a publication, you cannot offer the same story to another publication or you’ll ruin your relationship with both. Think of your media relationships as symbiotic, and you’ll reap the benefits of great PR.

3. A Blend of Different Channels Works Best

Not all of your target audience members will consume news on the same platforms. Some will prefer social media, some will read papers and magazines, and still others will rely on broadcast television to stay up-to-date. These are only a few examples of the places your audience might get their information. So, how are you supposed to keep all stakeholders in the loop?

A robust PR strategy spanning multiple channels—especially when you’re just starting out in business—is ideal. It allows you to reach the maximal amount of people and learn valuable data about which channels perform best for your business. In the future, you can use this information to target specific audience segments for various launches and further personalize the information you’re disseminating. If you launch your PR initiatives on only one or two channels, you won’t have this type of data to consult in the future.

4. Tell Your Authentic Story

A PR agency can help you not only tell your business’s story but can also make it feel authentic to you and your team. Everything from brand colors to website language and tone should reflect your story. This will require you and your leadership team to be active participants in PR, whether it’s writing op-eds on topics you’re passionate about or making yourself available for interviews. The more you and your team commit to your PR strategy, the better results you’ll see. It will help your customers—and your internal team—develop a stronger emotional bond with the brand.

Getting Started with PR in 2023

PR in 2023 will not be a piece of cake! Increased competition and unstable financial markets can contribute to difficult times for startups and small businesses. But investing your time and efforts into a killer PR strategy will help you succeed.