Jeff Bradford, a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) in Nashville, is the founder of the Bradford Group and President of the Bradford Dalton Group, a full-service public relations and advertising agency with offices in Atlanta, Jacksonville and Nashville. We asked Jeff how tech companies can improve public relations and raise awareness. He announced the following:
Too often, tech executives misunderstand the importance of PR when it comes to building brand awareness for their new product or service. While they have created a product or service that makes a positive difference to the way people work and live, they overlook one simple fact: Most consumers struggle with understanding how technology works.
For example, a survey by market research firm GlobalWebIndex found that 24 percent of consumers in 2019 said they didn’t know how computers and new technologies work. That is a significant plus of 15 percent in 2013.
In the 20 years that I’ve worked in PR since my agency was founded, I’ve worked closely with a variety of company founders and CEOs on their technical PR and marketing campaigns.
Here are six tips for effective technical PR to help your business generate coverage:
1. Get the latest, trending news
With each passing year, the technology is more and more embedded in everyday life. For most of us, not a day goes by that we haven’t looked into technology in some way – and the business and mainstream media are there to cover the latest and greatest app or gadget.
PR professionals should harness the interest of the media to cover technology trends to their advantage and hire reporters and editors with story ideas related to your company’s product or service. It’s called newsjacking – and journalists are more open to story ideas that align with the current headlines. They are also looking for ideas that expand the scope of an earlier story and examine broader trends.
2. Keep your technical PR messages simple
Public relations practitioners need to remember that consumers are looking for simple answers to questions they may have about your product or service. This is true of reporters too – and they want to add value to their stories by providing their audience with information that will help them make the best decisions.
Reporters are busy looking for high-level information. Using complicated, highly technical language or jargon alienates the journalists reporting on your industry. When pitching the media, stick to the 5 Ws and 1H of basic journalism: Who? What? Where? When? Why? and how?
3. Focus on the benefits to the consumer
Keeping it simple is important for effective messaging. Yes, this is PR 101, but it’s something that is often lost in the shuffle because far too many marketers want to highlight technical details about why their product or service is better than the competition. They don’t focus on the simple but meaningful benefits offered to the target audience.
Consumers look for solutions when they are ready to buy a new product or service. Your PR reach – in intervals, follow-up emails, and phone calls – needs to focus on consumer vulnerabilities and how your product or service will improve consumer lives.
4. Find the human element
Behind every new purchase there is a person – and every person has a story. Even the most complex technology will have a human element.
As you write your pitch, show how your company’s product or service will help the customer. Reporters know that their readers or viewers are referring to stories that have a human touch.
5. Secure your media gap with data
No story of a technical product or service is complete without data to confirm market interest. Tens of thousands of new products are introduced to the market every year – and the companies behind these products are demanding the attention of reporters and editors.
The best way to differentiate your company’s product or service is to provide journalists with customers to interview (if your company policies allow), or data to show that consumer demand is there.
6. Know your (media) audience
A major sin in PR is blindly sending pitches to reporters who don’t cover your industry. You’d be surprised how many tech PR folks don’t do the homework to research the media they offer.
The more niches your product or service has, the narrower the circle of media and industry publications that write about your company. The best PR managers know reporters who cover their industry. They research the stories that these journalists have published or broadcast. Building and maintaining these relationships over time will pay off.
In an increasingly crowded and fragmented marketplace, effectively communicating the benefits of technology-driven products and services can be challenging. However, if you focus on the basics – simple messages, the human element, and knowledge of the media you are posting – you will generate the coverage you need to increase your company’s brand awareness.
The opinions expressed by Inc.com columnists here are their own, not those of Inc.com.
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