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Communications priorities for your startup client
DAN PECCHIA
In Re: Public Relations
Published: October 6, 2015
The short-sighted view for lawyers helping a new business or nonprofit get off the ground is that money is tight, so anything with a substantial cost should wait.
In the arena of public relations and marketing, many costly activities can indeed wait. But a wholesale deferral of PR activity can rob your client of revenue opportunities.
Here are five communications priorities your startup client should keep in mind.
1. Establish a brand
Some ill-advised startups build logos that “look cool,” but the best ones are derived from positioning statements that declare what the company does and how it’s different from competitors.
That statement is the foundation for the brand and drives not only the logo, but other communications and, ideally, all decisions related to communications and beyond.
Since any startup’s budget for communications will be small, use consistent messages and a common look to maximize impact. Otherwise, the messages wind up competing.
2. Target low-hanging fruit first
The best prospects and prospect categories to approach first are those that will be easiest and least costly to convert. Long-term goals are great, but happy customers in the short term can provide good case studies and quick revenue.
The target range can be enlarged when there’s more revenue to spend and a better track record to share.
3. Establish a flow of content
Good stories build brands. Without incurring high costs for advertising, a startup can begin telling stories around the issues its products and service address, the way its customers and others benefit, the viewpoints of the founders and much more.
These can reside on a simple website, but they create more impact if they’re shared (see next step).
4. Identify low-cost distribution channels
Carefully worded page titles, descriptions, keywords and text can help a website distribute its content to those searching for it. Beyond that, social networks and email offer low-cost channels for promoting such content.
The downside of those vehicles is that messages conveyed over them last a lot longer than fleeting radio or TV commercials. So they need to be crafted right and deployed with a strategy.
5. Develop a communications plan
This is the most important step. A plan can take many forms and be based on research ranging from the obvious to detailed surveys (if they’re feasible and practical).
The primary value of the plan is to identify all of the audiences that need to be motivated, the best ways to reach them and the specifics for carrying out those communications, preferably with timetables and budgets.
The exercise of planning will help dictate which communications should take place and which ones should wait.
Deferring or investing based on a strategy is better than doing so without one.
Dan Pecchia, president of Pecchia Communications, writes the monthly “In Re: Public Relations” column. Read more at www.inrepublicrelations.com.