By Ryan Gerding
One of the first tools startups use to drive awareness in the marketplace is digital marketing. Creating an online presence that is easy to find and easy to share is critical in today’s online world. There are a ton of great companies out there that do an amazing job at this. But today I want to caution you about something you may hear from those great companies that should give you pause: “We also do PR”.
Smart startups recognize that an effective digital marketing campaign is made even better by a solid, strategic earned media public relations campaign as well. The credible content that comes from trusted sources writing about you is gold that can be merchandised on digital channels.
But when digital marketing firms say, “We also do PR,” that usually means:
- Public relations is an afterthought: something thrown in to keep your attention (and your budget) with them.
- At best you’ll get junior-level people putting out a couple press releases for you and spamming them to a large list of media contacts, many of whom are in no way appropriate for your particular story.
The best way to get maximum earned media exposure is to use senior-level PR experts whose sole focus is getting publicity: crafting custom-tailored pitches to individual reporters, editors, and producers.
Think about it: if you went to a dermatologist and they said to you, “by the way, we also do cardiology,” you’d probably head straight for the door. You want cardiology work done? See a cardiologist. You want public relations work done? See a PR specialist.
Here’s a look at some of the great coverage our specialists have earned for our clients.
