4 Must Follow Tips to Generate Press Coverage in your Tech Startup

Press and media coverage can be a valuable and time-efficient way to get your startup’s message delivered to a wide audience, helping to promote your business as credible and its activities as noteworthy.

For a tech startup to be covered by a respected media channel, not only does it expose you to potential new customers, but there is a positive impact on company reputation and credibility too. The credibility being granted by the story comes from an independent and trusted third party.

PR for startups – tips

Generating PR for startups can be tricky and it’s not always easy to get right. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of tips below.

Tip 1: distribute your news

Your story is important. The high risk and dynamic journey of founders and early-stage startups are interesting and can generate media attention. But that doesn’t mean it will. By being proactive and letting media outlets know who you are and where you’re going, you’re more likely to generate press coverage.

This process can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Following a simple strategy can help focus your resources and increase your chances of success. We recommend:

Targeting the right media outlets
Which channels and brands do you want to be covered by? What audience are they talking to? Will your startup be best represented by CNN or BBC Newsround?

Making a list of networks and journalists to target
Prioritise these in terms of relevance and reach. For example, the Financial Times holds more credibility than a regional radio station.

Start contacting people
Start with media outlets that are more likely to offer coverage and work up. It’s easier to get traction with top tier outlets if you can provide examples of other media having already covered you. Remember to contact outlets across different media, email, phone, Twitter etc.

Tip 2: connect with (and always respond to) journalists

Even if you don’t consider your tech startup to not be newsworthy (although it almost certainly is!) it is a valuable commodity to have existing relationships with journalists for when you do have a message to send.

Making these relationships can be difficult, but a good place to start is by identifying key individuals in your area of expertise. Begin on social media, follow them and interact with their content. Comment on articles or subscribe to their blogs. Let them know who you are and what you’re doing so that you can have direct access to journalists when the time is right for you.

If journalists ever reach out to you, always respond. Otherwise, you’re potentially leaving an invaluable resource languishing in your inbox. PR coverage for your tech startup builds trust and credibility, positions you or your startup as an authority ad grows your target market. For free! Don’t pass up an opportunity to spread your message and build brand recognition.

Tip 3: prepare press releases

A press release has many benefits for your tech startup. By creating and distributing a press release you:

• Remain in control of the narrative.
• Proactively manage your reputation.
• Display your expertise and authority.
• Boost your search engine optimisation and social media reach.

Press releases allow you to present your news to a targeted audience. For example, you might provide one for a publication or website that is a niche to your industry or you might write something for local businesses or a website (depending on the nature of your startup). This level of control allows you to restrict the information you provide and allows you to choose the tone and language best suited to meeting the needs of your tech startup.

Tip 4: maximise the media coverage you get

A great way to level up your startup PR press coverage is to make the most of it when the time comes. Try to avoid the cycle of being a “big deal” for five minutes and then allowing the glory to tail off back to nothing. Press coverage is a prime opportunity to amplify your message and spread your story far and wide.

You can extend the life of the story by ensuring you share it on your own social media channels. Include links to the story on your website and send it to clients and potential customers. You can even send it to other news organisations and prompt them to pick up the story as well.

From your media attention, you want to ensure you’re creating as much coverage, raising as much awareness and influencing as many people as it’s possible to do. Remember, this is essentially free third party validation of your startup journey so far, so make sure you maximise it when it comes.

Hi, we’re Accountancy Cloud, and we’re here to help

For any tech startup, it’s important to make the right decisions and get the right support. Here at Accountancy Cloud, we support fast-growing technology companies with both finance and accounting solutions. We help entrepreneurs and founders achieve their growth targets and support them from the early stages, through the growth cycle, and up to achieving a successful exit.

Our experienced and dedicated finance professionals assist growing technology businesses and help provide the information that CEOs and founders need, so they can understand the challenges ahead and make timely strategic decisions in the best interests of the business.