The last twenty years have been an exciting time in tech PR, as the rate of innovation out of Silicon Valley and around the globe has accelerated to the point where new innovations in AI are being announced seemingly every day.
That velocity in turn created a whole swath of new media outlets exclusively focused on emerging technology, as well as the founders and investors who bring those new solutions to market. In the early days of this tech revolution, getting reporters excited about covering the latest social network or ad tech platform was pretty straightforward. But because there is such a vast quantity of “stuff” to cover today, the days of “easy” earned media coverage are long gone.
Earned media coverage is still incredibly valuable, especially to emerging tech startups that need brand exposure. Media relations has always been at the center of most PR programs, and it’s still the number one request of us from cleantech, healthtech, and other B2B tech companies. CMOs and PR leaders remain under pressure to deliver the goods.
So what’s a tech startup to do? Here’s how to attack media relations in this new environment.
Relationship status? It’s complicated…
“Who are some of your reporter friendlies?” “Do you have close relationships with reporters in my industry?”
We hear some form of those questions in just about every new business meeting. Our clients want media coverage … well, everywhere. And that’s a big reason they’re knocking on our door.
However, there are three undeniable truths about today’s media landscape:
- There’s always a new thing. The newscycle is shorter and more frenetic than ever, and your best prospects have attention spans aboutthisshort.
- The media business is brutal. Newsrooms, or the number of staff at each publication, are shrinking as ad dollars take a nosedive.
- Reporters are burnt out. Editors need journalists to cover multiple beats and generate multiple stories each day.
These new realities mean the once symbiotic relationship between reporters and PR pros is now much more of a one way street. PR agencies are all chasing the same reporters, and “knowing” the right reporter for a story is just table stakes.
Allison Carter, editorial director at PRDaily and Ragan Communications, captured this shift perfectly: “A relationship with a journalist gets you a reply, not a story.”
As earned media evolves, so does PR
Gone are the days when your tech PR agency could just reach out to a “friendly” to get a B+ story covered. Reporters aren’t doing favors anymore. There’s simply no time.
What used to qualify for a feature in Fast Company barely warrants a paragraph in a newsletter now. The elements of a story matter more than ever. But this shift actually lets PR teams lean into our superpowers — we have (and get!) to flex our creative storytelling muscles.
Spray and pray pitching with a journalist is a quick way to lose trust. Instead, we have to counsel clients that it’s critical to craft the best story possible and identify the most relevant targets before even thinking about pitching.
Patience and precision are key.
Relevance is everything
Helping clients understand the new realities of earned media is now one of the most important facets of our role as strategic communicators. A feature on TechCrunch is always great. It can raise the profile of a startup among investors and potential new hires, but will it reach the right decision makers and drive revenue for the client? If your only goal is to get big, splashy media hits, what’s the opportunity cost of all that time and energy spent crafting the perfect story to get a top-tier outlet’s attention?
Home runs are obviously great. But singles and doubles keep the line moving.
On the earned media side, vertical press that speaks directly to highly relevant audiences needs to play a larger role in your media plans. What may have been a mere box to check — “Of course we’ll pitch the trades, but we are really focused on The Wall Street Journal” — now adds significantly more value to your pipeline and ultimately your bottom line.
Trade publications punch well above their weight in tech industries serving healthcare, energy, and cloud computing — just to name three.
What’s this all mean to you?
Just like the Rolodex, the ol’ list of reporter friendlies is now a thing of the past. If your tech company needs real ROI from media relations, your tech PR agency needs to be planning on more than a handful of business pubs. You need compelling stories that speak to the most relevant audiences in the right places at the right time.
If that sounds like where you’re headed, we’re right there with you.