Effectively promoting and managing the reputation of your tech company in today’s fast-moving and competitive landscape is no easy task. With new innovations, developments and trends emerging all the time, staying on top of changes and what they mean for your PR and communications strategy can feel impossible – especially alongside the management and delivery of the day-to-day. While the ingredients of a successful approach will vary from organisation to organisation, the following five tips are essential foundations for tech PR success.
1. An in-depth understanding of your audience – Building up a real, accurate picture of your customers is vital to ensure your efforts are being directed in the right place. Naturally, a tech decision maker within an SME is going to have very different interests and requirements to a CIO of a large global corporation. Go beyond job titles and the sector and size of company to build out broader personas for the individuals you’re aiming to target. Consider their challenges, likes, dislikes, what makes them tick, and the spaces you need to occupy to be seen and trusted by them. Use this to build out a tailored messaging framework to form the basis of your communications moving forwards.
2. Make the most of the people behind the business – Key spokespeople within the business often have more to offer to the media than valuable insights or in-depth knowledge on particular trends and technologies. Many also have interesting backstories or anecdotes they can share about the business, their career and journey to where they are today, that can form interesting and insightful content for press. Have they taken a very different or unique path to get where they are today? Did they set up the company out of a desire to address a very specific gap in the market? Usually, the more unusual and intriguing, the better!
3. Don’t underestimate the power of the case study – Customer case studies are a great way to truly communicate the benefits of your service or product by demonstrating the real impact it can bring to customers, or show how it’s solving a specific challenge. These are more powerful and more likely to be of interest to journalists if they contain some impressive statistics to help quantify the success. Has the implementation of a new accountancy software saved the finance department days of time by streamlining processes, for example, or can you put a number on the amount of money retrieved by its automated debt collection function? These stats will help communicate the tangible benefits to businesses and add credibility. If your customer is willing to take more of a press-facing role, many journalists value the opportunity to explore the story from their perspective to create a more in-depth piece.
4. Take an integrated approach – Align your approach across all your different marketing channels to maximise your results. Not only does this allow you more opportunity to connect with your audiences across multiple stages of the funnel, but it also boosts the impact from the content you’ve worked so hard to create and deliver, making your efforts go further and drive more ROI. In fact, according to AdRoll, integrated campaigns across more than four channels can outperform single or dual channel campaigns by 300%. Consider the different options at the outset of each new piece of content or campaign, and don’t be afraid to get creative. For example, a written case study could be repurposed for multiple formats, from video and short soundbites, to social media posts and visual assets or even as the basis for a speaker slot at a key industry event.
5. Make the most of a busy industry events calendar – The thriving tech sector boasts a busy social calendar all year round, with plenty of awards, events, and networking groups across many different specialities and subsectors to take advantage of. London Tech Week and Computing’s various awards are big ones, but there’s many different regional events and specific niches worth considering too. Not only are these perfect chances to immerse yourself in the latest industry developments, trends and talking points, but they also provide great opportunities to network, broaden connections and share knowledge. Plus, the benefits that come with winning prestigious industry accolades or even having your brand associated with an event can be incredibly valuable in positioning your organisation as a trusted and respected authority in the space.
Alongside these must-haves for tech PR success, working with a dedicated team that understands the fast-evolving tech landscape, and the challenges and opportunities that come with it for your brand, can be invaluable. Learn more about the varied technology PR projects we’ve worked with clients on here, or for more information, get in touch.