Using PR to Launch your Company or Idea
A product or company launch is a one-and-done thing. If you do it well, your company or idea has a chance of success, if it all goes wrong, you don’t get a do-over, at least not easily. Since you probably already know the difference between media relations and public relations, you have an idea on things you should do pre-launch. So, what can you do to make it successful? Here are some ideas to incorporate PR to ensure you have a successful launch of your startup idea or company:
Research
What similar products are available and what is different about yours that people will want. Who is your target audience and what is the best way to reach them? The more of this you know and have at your fingertips, the better prepared you will be to either do the PR work yourself or hire a firm. And with that information, it will also help you know the best fit when it comes to hiring outside help.
Marketing Plan
Even while you are working on developing, testing, and getting feedback on your product, start thinking of how your launch will be marketed and what a successful launch looks like to you. A launch for a new corner bistro differs on almost every level from a launch for a new iPhone app. However in each case, you want to test and survey responses of people to the product, discovering what more should be considered, how to tweak it for the best reception, and more
Product Reviews
Part of the testing phase includes reviews from those surveyed. For your benefit, you want to see all of the comments, not just positive reviews. Make sure you include people who will honestly share their thoughts and ideas. But by the time you are approaching your launch, you should be looking for those reviews talking about the benefits and help your product or company offers. Positive recommendations can be used on websites, social media, and in press releases to journalists and influencers in your industry.
Build a buzz.
Apple is amazing at this step. Richard Branson also manages to figure out uncommon approaches that catch attention. If you could snap your fingers and have people interested in your company, would you? That’s what building a buzz accomplishes.
NOW – public relations – how does that play into your grand scheme? PR is about “earned” media. Everything mentioned above is about getting you placed to earn media – rather than paying for it with advertising. Earned media, stories, articles, reviews are all more likely to be reviewed and studied than an advertisement people see and scroll past in less than a heartbeat. The more buzz, shares, reviews, and recommendations you generate, the more success you’ll have with your product launch.
So, decide your approach for your launch, set a beginning date, and get ready to storm the defenses of the media and your target audience. Setup measurement protocols … and go!
