Why it is important to invest in PR as a start-up

As a growing company, we understand the many different tasks that come with being a scaling start-up and that many fall outside the realm of the product or service that sparked your business idea. During this stage, founders can often overlook PR, or don’t see it as a necessity until they have grown but this couldn’t be further from the truth. If one of the most successful businessmen in the world, Bill Gates, said “If I was down to my last dollar, I'd spend it on public relations” why should we not spend some of our first dollars on PR?

Crafting brand image

Branding chosen. Mission statement chosen. But how do you project your brand to reach your target audience? When you've invested in a branding agency, you need to ensure its being seen by the right people. Using storytelling and PR, brand image can be crafted to do just this. By choosing story angles relevant to a startup's targets, PR professionals create a narrative of the brand in line with their goals and by doing this in the early stages, brands can avoid preconceived ideas of their business. Curating an image for a brand not only revolves around the content published in the media but where this is being published. PR builds a brand image by featuring in relevant publications to their target audience.

There’s no point in having a great website if no one will see it

A great website is rightly so considered a priority for a company. However, if no one sees it then what’s the point? Without efficient search engine optimisation (SEO), then your website will be far down on search results, meaning clients searching for your service or product never find it. Incorporating backlinks and increasing natural website traffic has been a proven success for improved SEO, and hence sky-rocketing sales. After working with our client TII Brands for less than a year, a 565% increase in followed external links and its domain authority doubled leading to a profound, positive impact on their sales, something that would not have been achieved without a helping hand from PR.

A helping pair of hands in the form of a team of marketing specialists

As with many things, consistency is key in PR but we understand that as a busy founder wearing many different hats it is not always easy to focus on this. Having an ‘always on’ press team to assist growth takes away the pressures of tight journalist deadlines and building familiarity with publications. Acting as an extension of your team, an external PR agency consistently shares insights and company updates with the media, as well as being reactive when opportunities arise. Building this valuable relationship with journalists opens many doors as your brand voice continues to echo throughout the media, framing your startup as a reputable industry leader. Plus, for the same price as one junior employee, you secure a team of specialists.

PR = more sales, sign-ups and website traffic

As 93% of consumers are swayed by what others say, PR sparks something in consumers that advertising simply cannot do. Review and round-up features are trusted and valued by consumers, making them a great way to build strong brand-consumer relationships. Regular, effective PR leads to natural inclusion in this type of coverage. For example, one of our clients recently featured as part of a round-up feature for a national title generating 368 sales and £6,657 in revenue in the first month alone, a number that will continue to grow as more shoppers search for these specific recommendations.