Three Things Founders Should Know About Public Relations

What is Public Relations?

PR is described in a few different ways and can vary from industry to industry, what can be found across them all is the art of persuasion and storytelling. It's about convincing an audience, whether to support your ideas, purchase your services/products, or recognize your achievements. Unlike advertising (which is paid media), PR focuses on earned media— which is more about gaining positive coverage through credible third-party sources like journalists, bloggers, and influencers.

The key distinction between paid media and earned media is trust. Advertising is often seen as less credible than the authentic stories that are published in news outlets. Personal branding is about the perception an audience has of an individual if they naturally resonate with your values (earned media) rather than seeing you as desperate and untrustworthy (paid media), you will build a long-lasting brand.

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The Importance of PR for Founders

For founders, understanding PR is crucial for a few reasons. First is your reputation, it’s one of your most valuable assets. PR helps you manage and enhance your public image through stories, case studies, achievements, and positive impact.

Secondly, establishing trust with stakeholders. Trust is essential for building strong relationships with customers, investors, and partners. If those who invest in you and your company can see that the general public appreciates you and aligns with your mission, they’re much more likely to want to see your company grow.

And finally, the obvious, it’s just great for brand visibility and awareness. With an effective strategy and well-measured KPIs, you can significantly improve your brand visibility and reach thousands of new people every single day.

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1. Establishing Thought Leadership

As a founder and/or CEO, being recognized as a thought leader enhances your credibility. If we look at Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX. He was able to establish himself as a thought leader in technology and space exploration because of his innovative ideas and active engagement on social media. The perception that the public has of Musk is divided but the strength that his loyal followers bring is almost unmatched by any other tech founder.

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Now that we see why it is important, let’s get into how you position yourself as a thought leader.

The first step in gaining credibility is showing that you master what you do. Sharing your expertise in the form of articles, content, podcasts, and other publications across mainstream media is not only how you gain exposure but also how your audience can validate what you say. Let’s say you’re a dietician and you go on a podcast where you talk about the benefits of a certain diet and the listeners try what you suggested and see results, you will slowly be seen as a leader in your industry.

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Actionable insights and storytelling are the best forms of communication.

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2. Building Strong Media Relationships

With the millions of views that short-form content can generate on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube - there is no doubt that social media is a strong tool to establish your presence. However, this does not mean that more traditional media must be avoided, on the contrary, it must be leveraged.

To have a good relationship with the media, you must understand the moving parts behind news outlets and magazines. In a typical outlet, there are editors, writers, social media managers, and journalists (amongst many other positions), those are the key players in how your story gets told and perceived.

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• Identifying relevant media contacts: Research and list journalists and editors who cover your industry.
• Regularly engaging with journalists and editors: Keep in touch with media contacts through updates, press releases, and casual check-ins.
• Providing valuable and timely information: Always offer newsworthy and relevant information to help journalists do their jobs effectively.

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3. Measuring PR Success

Measuring the success of your PR efforts is crucial to understanding their impact and making the necessary adjustments. While measuring this can be challenging, there are several tools and metrics you can use.

Start by tracking the number of interactions you get every week in your own social media content as well as other media mentions, this includes likes, shares, follows/subscriptions, and comments.

Moving onto the web side of things, you want to analyze the incoming traffic. What kind of leads are being generated? Where are they coming from? How are they engaging with you and your business?

With those questions answered and the KPIs tracked, you’ll be able to make well-educated decisions on where to focus your efforts and invest the budget you have.

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Remember, PR is not just about managing how the world sees you, it's about telling your story in the most compelling way possible. Establishing thought leadership, building strong media relationships, and measuring what you do is what will lead to growth.

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