I’ve been seeing
a growing number of articles
questioning whether companies, particularly startups, should be saving money by
acting as their own PR firms. It’s interesting to note, too, that many of these
articles have been written by PR consultants and small-business
coaches-cum-authors. Just saying…
Dallas Mavericks owner, investment tycoon and Shark Tank star Mark Cuban got a rise
out of the public relations industry in early 2012 when he was quoted
as saying that startups shouldn’t hire PR firms to manage their messaging. And
there is some logic behind that.
After all, the arguments against a startup or small
company hiring a PR firm come down to the expense of a retainer fee and
possible extra billings. With limited funds and irregular cash flow, this view
is understandable. There’s also the nagging question of whether the communication
services provided correlate into direct ROI.
Naturally, I don’t subscribe to this view. Of course, not
every company needs PR assistance.
But in an increasingly crowded startup and small business space – employing
nearly half of the US private sector and responsible for 60% of all new jobs in
the last two decades – getting noticed is a matter of corporate life and death.
Sometimes professionals are what are needed to get the
job done. Actually, it’s a lot like plumbing. Fixing a toilet with duct tape
and paper clips will only get you so far. And press releases –central to what
our industry produces – are liable to end up in the loo if they’re poorly
written.
But love them or hate them, the press release, which
appropriately starts with the same letters of our profession, is our calling
card. And sadly, I’ve read thousands of press releases that fail to inspire. In
fact, we have two former reporters on staff at ThinkInk who have attested to
the daily barrage of bad press releases they were subjected to during their
journalistic careers. One (who shall remain nameless) even admitted to turning
them into paper airplanes and flying them around the newsroom.
Underscoring the point: about a week ago I received a
press release – from a man I’ve never heard of at a company I’ve never heard of
– announcing that his company won an award which I’ve also never heard of. Just
out of PR curiosity, I checked the name of the company president, who is quoted
in the release, against the name of the company’s media contact. It turns out
it’s the same guy.
To be fair, it’s likely that the company president is so
busy actually running the company to
put much thought into how he’s telling its story. And that’s exactly the point.
This is a communications job for communications professionals. Leave it to us.
After all, there is such a thing as a professional press
release. And it starts with an effective headline and email subject line. Both
should rely on the tenets of solid journalism: concise noun-verb sentences
attracting eyeballs. The body of the release must be story driven; something
that evokes a human emotional response. It doesn’t have to be profound. But
something like a humdrum building expansion and lease renewal all of a sudden
gains added relevance when that client-serving news is anchored to, say, an
entire urban core’s renaissance. Placed in that context, a press release
transforms from self-servicing copy into another form of narrative writing.
Can a small business hire a team to write these releases
in-house?
Yes.
But writing an effective press release is only part of
the story. Knowing who to pitch it to makes all the difference. There’s also
channel relevance to consider and social media. This mix of writing skills,
tech-savvy know-how and networking acumen is critical to what we do, and
frankly, why we get paid.
It’s true; public relations services can be costly. And
there is often a slow ramp-up period for the selected agency to learn the
client’s voice. Unlike newly repaired toilets, ROI benefits aren’t always
immediate. But history is filled with examples of PR campaigns that helped turn
obscure companies into household names or conversely, re-brand fallen stars.
PR isn’t an instant gratification business. But it is
professional in how it operates. To the naysayers who counsel DIY small
business and startup PR, I’d urge reconsideration. Your brand only gets one
chance to make a first impression. And in the mobile and digital age sometimes
your fate is sealed even before that
public unveiling.
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