With 2020 well underway, we here at JMG PR have been in full swing - focusing on our clients and working closely with a variety of innovators who are creating companies aimed at changing the world through their start-up companies.

Because we truly enjoy working with these change-makers, we want to ensure they’re laying down the foundation for their business and doing the prep work necessary for national media exposure.

Today’s business environment is competitive and starting a new company can be difficult. It’s been estimated that there are 100 million startups opening up each year and 472 million entrepreneurs worldwide, making the competition extremely ruthless.

So what does this mean for startups? Truth is, the beginning stages can be tough, so it’s important to stay focused and cut through the competitive noise to establish yourself and your brand as an expert in your chosen niche. Building a positive reputation and gaining exposure in the media will help attract investors, bring in funding, and gain new customers.

Once a start-up company has solidified who they are, and are ready to take things to the next level, it’s time to bring on a PR team to help generate further awareness and establish the company as a household name.

While we all want to hit the ground running, it’s important to be strategic in your planning and 100 percent ready; anything less than that and you will wind up with mixed messaging in the media.

Unfortunately there is no specific time-table to follow when it comes to enlisting a PR team. Rather, it all depends on the company themselves, some are ready sooner than others, and that’s okay. The most important point to remember is your company must be the best version of itself, otherwise any PR strategies put into place will work against you, not for you.

Working closely with startup companies is a large part of what we do here and in order to get you to the next level, we’ve gathered some of the top PR tips to help you gain an edge over the competition.

•    Establish your identity - It’s important to have a clear direction of who you are, the message you want to convey, and the goals of your business. Questions to ask yourself should include, “What are our company’s values” and “What sets us apart from our competitors?” Defining these early on is important when it comes to telling your story.

•    Be specific with your niche - Once you’ve established who you are, begin targeting specific media. For example, if you’re in the tech space, focus on building relationships with journalists who cover the field and with the media outlets that publish tech related news and information.

•    Get your house in order - Before approaching a PR company to help take your start-up to the next level, you must be ready to the show the best version of yourself.  Things such as your website, social media platforms, must all be on point and professional in appearance.

•    Share your story - In sharing your story, you’re inviting the audience to learn more about “you,” not just your product. What makes you and your journey to starting this business unique? You want them to see who you are as well as how you got started. Once you’ve established your identity, it’s time to work on creating your narrative. In doing so you’ll not only connect with your audience, you’ll make it difficult for them to forget you.

•    Create content - It’s important to create content that you can share on your channels (website, blog, YouTube, social media) as well as other media outlets and blogs where your customers and potential investors frequent. Be their go-to source for information by generating awareness through the written word. By positioning yourself as a thought leader, you now become the authority on topics relevant to your niche, and providing answers to some of the biggest questions on the minds of your audience. The content should contain carefully constructed research on the subject at hand, as opposed to talking about your company’s product and why it’s better than the competition. As soon as you start self-promoting, your audience will begin to tune out and you’ll lose the trust you worked so hard to build.

•    Networking - In today’s business climate there are countless start-up and meet-up events that you can attend on any given night of the week. Make it a priority to attend these events and begin networking within your community. Through these types of social gatherings, you’ll have the opportunity to share your story and position yourself as an expert. By meeting new people and widening your audience you’ll be introducing your start-up to a completely new set of people who might not have otherwise known who you are.

•    Highlight Your CEO - The CEO / founder plays an instrumental role in shaping the company’s image and brand, therefore it is important they are visible to the public. The best ways to make any CEO accessible is through interviews and a strong and consistent presence on social media. Connecting with others will help to create credibility and leadership in the industry as well as put you in front of the right people who can help expand the business. But, before any CEO goes in front of the media it’s important they have some training, or at least feel comfortable enough in this space, especially if they’ve never done an interview before. Contrary to popular belief there is such a thing as bad press.

•    Utilize social media - Social media is everything these days and a necessary component in establishing your brand. Right from the start create a social media strategy that helps to establish identity and credibility in your particular field.  Engage with your followers, share information, answer questions, and include your followers in the conversations.

These tips and suggestions will help to create a footprint of your business, thus allowing PR professionals, like myself and the team here at JMG PR, to elevate your company to the next level.

At this point it becomes our job to strategically position both the business and CEO within the media, increase visibility, and effectively communicate with the right people, the decision makers, who will ultimately aide in the growth of your company.

- Jenna