5 Rules for an Effective Startup Promotion Strategy

With around 100 million new projects emerging annually, promoting your own and attracting media attention is no easy task. Especially since, at the initial stage, most startups don't have the resources to partner with reputable marketers or PR agencies.

But attracting audience attention is a necessity, so new business owners need to look for opportunities to build relationships with the media, master channels for reaching their target audience, and experiment with different communication tactics.

Let's look at several basic ways to promote a startup, regardless of its budget, geolocation, and the presence of a full-time PR manager.

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1. Preparing the “packaging”

The first thing that catches the eye of potential clients, editors, business partners is social networks andwebsitecompanies. This means they should look presentable. Particular attention should be paid to the content—informative, understandable, and well-written.

The "packaging" must be attractive. To achieve this, your website and business accounts need to be filled with something unique and interesting. Original content will allow interested parties to appreciate the style of your media materials and texts and explore the startup's ideology.

In other words, you should have a highly “packaged” media package that can be demonstrated to potential partners, clients, or sent to journalists if necessary.

2. Live stories instead of sales posts

Identify a pool of topics that you, as a budding entrepreneur—the face of your company—can cover. Don't be dry and formulaic, but rather passionate and enjoyable. Start, for example, with an interview about starting a business. Introduce your potential audience to your vision of the startup's mission and your approach to work. If you know a journalist or PR specialist who's willing to help, great. If not, then try to tackle the task yourself: interview yourself.

It's actually quite simple: focus and write a short piece (600-700 words) to capture the key moments in the birth of your startup. Keep your thoughts simple and clear. Also, try to show the human side of your business. During the impromptu interview, note the moments in the narrative when you feel like a fish in water.

For example, answer a few basic questions about starting a business in detail:

• How important is the human factor when starting your own business?
• Why did you decide to enter this niche and what problems does your business need to solve?
• How does your approach to business differ from others?
• Why does the market need the products or services you offer?
• How do you see the impact of your business on the industry as a whole or on a specific area?
• What are the prospects for your company, and how do you plan to develop it?

The answers to these questions are part of your business story. This "live" information will help you introduce your audience to your ideas. Post it on your social media, blog, send it to the media, present it at relevant conferences, etc.

3. Data collection

Informative and concrete (numbers, indicators, graphs, and other structured data) are the best content you can offer to internet users and the media. Investment metrics, business growth, and its impact on consumers are the information that will demonstrate to stakeholders that you're here to stay and are a force to be reckoned with.

Play the role of an expert: your audience may be interested in your observations on changing market conditions. For example, analyze consumer behavior that reflects a certain trend.

Research insider information about the industry you intend to enter, strive to cover exclusive topics, and use compelling arguments. When making public statements on important or pressing issues, be sure to express your opinion: a neutral stance is unattractive—remember that. This approach doesn't directly promote your business, but it does increase interest and, consequently, website traffic.

4. “Brand Advocates”

Another important tip for business promotion is having someone else talk about you. This always has a positive impact on a newcomer's image. You need to build a group of potential "brand advocates." These could be customers, employees, investors, or partners. You can share their impressions and reviews with the media and, of course, broadcast them on your channels: social media, blog, website, and YouTube.

After all, what do most potential partners/investors/clients—that is, people interested in collaboration—do? As mentioned earlier, they visit your online platforms. And if there's live feedback from people whose lives your company's activities have changed for the better, it inspires more trust. A clear example of such feedback: publishing customer reviews of products/services on Instagram Stories.

5. Building relationships with the media 

You need to actively seek out those who cover your topic: bloggers, communities, specialized Telegram channels, etc. Building relationships with the media should be systematic, but without losing touch with reality. Don't get your hopes up: journalists receive hundreds of advertising inquiries every day. Therefore, if you want to get a response, carefully prepare your materials and offer exclusive content. Make sure it's in a convenient format (for example, infographics). By offering valuable information, you demonstrate your knowledge of industry trends, which should have a long-term impact. But don't demand too much at the beginning: placing a link to your resource is already a major victory.

Experience shows that startups have a better chance of building their target audience through niche publications. Essentially, at the initial stage, you need to focus all your efforts on building a base to gain visibility in major media outlets. Therefore, first and foremost, try to establish relationships with regional industry media, bloggers, and podcasters.

Don't miss any opportunity for collaboration and professional networking. After all, it's possible that the blogger you entrust to cover your startup launch will soon become an editor at a major PR agency or consulting firm, and by then your business will have reached a new stage of development. And talking about your mutual interest at that point is unnecessary.

Finally, one more important point. Effective PR always relies on aspects of social responsibility and engagement in solving pressing societal problems. Come up with an inspiring mission for your startup that you can communicate convincingly. This will work in your favor: information about your business will spread more widely and generate a positive audience reaction.