Nibletz Staff
Paul Andren speaking at EE Tennessee about founder-driven PR
When driving visibility for your venture, whether you’re still a startup or a profit-generating company, having a strong PR campaign is crucial.
But, as Joel Andren (founder and CEO of Press Friendly) spoke about today at EE Tennessee, hiring a PR agency isn’t actually your best bet. Driving your own campaign is the best way to create authentic, consistent visibility for your business.
Reporters, those people who are going to give you press, want to talk to the founders, the people who live and breathe the business. Not some PR rep who will only push out rote message or forward on boring press release copy.
Managing your own campaign gives you control over the message and image the press gets of your business.
Branding methods, and PR campaigns, are changing. Consumers now are looking for a story behind their business. They want someone relatable, trustworthy, and genuine to connect with. Consumers don’t want a faceless business that touts a customer focus… yet isn’t focused on the customer.
Andren talked about how working with multiple PR agencies, trying to find “the right agency” who will “get” your business, can create an inconsistent view of your business: each agency will tell you that they have the answer to your campaign, meaning that your message and image changes each time you change PR agencies.
Constant change doesn’t exactly instill confidence in the consumer.
Owning and driving your own campaign creates the direct connection with your customers because reporters are now speaking with the founder of the company, the face of the business who was there from the very beginning of the story.
Your business isn’t a sound bite or a press release. It’s a business. You have something to offer, be it a product or a service, and you know your business better than any PR agency ever will, no matter how many meetings you have.
Laura Whitener is the Managing Editor for Firmology.com, a technology news and resource site for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Follow them on Twitter.
