A lot of entrepreneurs do not know that they can leverage a feature in the media for their own benefit. Most entrepreneurs shy away from doing an interview or even talking about what they are doing because they believe that their business is not ready yet or not there yet but in business there is never the right time to get you or your company featured, as media attention only brings nothing but more opportunities your way. African entrepreneurs need to start learning to put their start-ups out there to attract more opportunities.
As a start-up, the biggest obstacle you are going to face is building an initial reputation, with zero customers, zero brand recognition and little capital you could use to build your image. You do however need early traction and one of the best ways to do this is by getting your start-up featured in the media or at least mentioned, in high-profile news articles or other publications, this can be a massive benefit for your brand.
You can have the best product in the world, but if you don’t have a way to tell people about it, you won’t be able to sell it. Brand awareness and recognition are key to gaining loyal customers and converting sales but knowing how to build that awareness is another story.
Social media is great as it reaches targeted customers and social media influence can help boost sales especially if you manage to build a massive following, and some billion dollar brands have been built on social media, however they have all needed mainstream media to give them the kind of reputation they need to scale. Here are a few tips to help you get your brand featured on mainstream media platforms:
1. Write a press release based on a newsworthy event for your start-up. If you’re literally starting up, you could do a piece about your launch; otherwise, you could write about a recent funding round, a major milestone or a big event coming up for your company.
2. Find a TV show that aligns with your business or message. Your subject line is key! Keep it short and compelling. Make sure you’re pitching an angle that is actually newsworthy. Use your pitch to explain how your business is impacting people. Make sure you explain how the public can get involved or interact with your business.
3. Identify and work with individual journalists to get your start-up featured in a story. If you’re looking for a more in-depth piece, like an interview or a company profile, you can build a long-lasting relationship with a journalist for future features. Most established companies usually leave this to their PR but as a start-up you will need to put in the work go out there meet journalist, do some networking, invite them for coffee and pitch your story, remember journalists are always on the lookout for newsworthy articles.
4. Look out for events that are sure to attract media attention, and deliberately get your start-up involved. Sign up as a speaker for an industry event or convention, sponsor gifts for goody bags, sponsor drinks or volunteer your staff for a charity event. Do something that will make your company get noticed.
5. With the decline of mainstream media due to social media, most media companies are now charging people to be featured in their magazine or for a tv interview. Approach a media company and find out what their requirements are. Talk about your budget and your needs ensure that you will get a good package. However, building a relationship with a journalist is more cost effective than paying for a feature.
Here is how a feature helps your startup:
1. Customer acquisition: The mere mention of your brand name can lead more people to your website and social media accounts, leading to customer acquisition.
2. Investor and partner interest: In your early stages, you may also attract partners, vendors and investors to your start-up — without having to hunt them down yourself.
3. Reputation: ‘Reputation is the new currency” – First and foremost, by getting your start-up featured in the media, you’ll get your brand recognized by a wider range of people, and you’ll start getting noticed as more of a major player or thought leader, especially if you’re covered consistently over time. You earn respect- and this has a big influence on your returns!
4. Talent and recruitment: Successful start-ups depend on successful teams, and your media exposure may help you naturally attract more talent to your business. Usually, people that pay attention are people that are interested, qualified and highly skilled.
5. Business will stand out: Your competitors are probably not in the media this will give your start-up a leg-up. Customers will come to you because their trusted media platforms have endorsed you and they will trust your offering.
6. SEO: Sometimes a feature can have very little visible impact, but they can have a positive impact on your branded search results, helping with online reputation management. I personally google new people before I meet them, I don’t even waste my time looking them up on socials because we write what we want to project on there, however googling a company or a person gives you the most authentic results. A feature will stay online forever giving positive results on your search engine after your 24hrs of fame are over.
When you’ve been featured in the media for what your company does, naturally there will be people who want to become part of it. You can horn in on these new faces and pick the ones who give your company the best opportunity for growth! An article in any publication is a great advertisement of who you are as a business and the success you’ve endured. But usually, these articles are only in one issue of a newspaper or magazine and then thrown away and forgotten within a month, display the article or share link for further advertisement on your website and socials.
To conclude, good media coverage is a form of reinforcement that tells you what you have been doing is working, you are being noticed. Stay on course. Keep doing what got you here. Enjoy this wave of success and ride it to its peak. This is the right time to begin presenting survey’s and studying the responses of your customers to see if there is anything they would like to see rearranged, added or deleted. Ensure you will have the knowledge needed to stay ahead of the curve when times are changing.