7 ms·

What Every Start-up Should Know about PR

67 points by acav 15y ago

massarog 15y ago
My advice - do your own PR for as long as you can, don't hire a PR firm. I fell prey to the persuasive tactics of one firm, which over charged, over promised, and delivered nothing.
- staunch 15y ago
  Somebody said it best: Only hire a PR firm when you're dealing with too much inbound press attention.
  - mbenjaminsmith 15y ago
    Former owner of PR agency here: absolutely correct.
- adammichaelc 15y ago
  I think this only proves that you didn't hire a good firm. Great PR firms can actually do incredible things, but the tricky part is knowing which firms are great.
  - corin_ 15y ago
    Completely agree - I've never had need to hire a PR firm, but having worked along side them quite a bit, there are some who can seemingly move mountains, while others clearly thought PR is about emailing journalists saying "this might interest you", without building relationships, and for all they try they won't get anywhere. Of course there's also the third type, people who don't care and see PR as an easy ride.
techwraith 15y ago
PR can be summed up in four words: Don't be a dick.
- Reversed 15y ago
  No, in PR perception is reality. If the audience doesn't see you as being a dick you can get away with it.
jordhy 15y ago
I guess the PR scenario has become more complex with the popularization of social channels, social intent and social influence tools. Also, the fragmentation of communications means the PR manager needs to keep track of more campaigns, people. Indeed, not easy to do if you want to do it well. Just think about the recent PR scandals: AirBnB, the Path contacts-gate, etc. It's very easy to deal with promotion (proactive PR) but very hard to deal with mishaps (reactive measures).
ispivey 15y ago
A good PR firm is an enormous help. Having a practiced, impartial judge to help craft your message is valuable. So is someone who already has relationships with folks in the press -- it's the same principle as approaching VCs via entrepreneurs they already know. It's not for everyone, but if spending $10k on building your brand and attracting new users doesn't sound crazy, a good PR firm is a decent place to spend it.
Reversed 15y ago
I took a PR course in undergrad school and I'm still glad all these years later that I did. It also helps that I've been on the internet since the beginning in the early nineties, so that has helped my understanding of self-promotion as well. I agree with the sentiment of doing your own PR as a startup. But not everyone has the skill set or desire to do this, so I agree that a good PR firm could be beneficial. This might also be the case for a startup that has grown into a full blown company and the owner no longer has the time to do PR.

67 points by acav 15y ago

My advice - do your own PR for as long as you can, don't hire a PR firm. I fell prey to the persuasive tactics of one firm, which over charged, over promised, and delivered nothing.

staunch 15y ago
Somebody said it best: Only hire a PR firm when you're dealing with too much inbound press attention.
- mbenjaminsmith 15y ago
  Former owner of PR agency here: absolutely correct.
adammichaelc 15y ago
I think this only proves that you didn't hire a good firm. Great PR firms can actually do incredible things, but the tricky part is knowing which firms are great.
- corin_ 15y ago
  Completely agree - I've never had need to hire a PR firm, but having worked along side them quite a bit, there are some who can seemingly move mountains, while others clearly thought PR is about emailing journalists saying "this might interest you", without building relationships, and for all they try they won't get anywhere. Of course there's also the third type, people who don't care and see PR as an easy ride.

techwraith 15y ago

PR can be summed up in four words: Don't be a dick.

Reversed 15y ago
No, in PR perception is reality. If the audience doesn't see you as being a dick you can get away with it.

jordhy 15y ago

I guess the PR scenario has become more complex with the popularization of social channels, social intent and social influence tools. Also, the fragmentation of communications means the PR manager needs to keep track of more campaigns, people. Indeed, not easy to do if you want to do it well. Just think about the recent PR scandals: AirBnB, the Path contacts-gate, etc. It's very easy to deal with promotion (proactive PR) but very hard to deal with mishaps (reactive measures).

ispivey 15y ago

A good PR firm is an enormous help. Having a practiced, impartial judge to help craft your message is valuable. So is someone who already has relationships with folks in the press -- it's the same principle as approaching VCs via entrepreneurs they already know. It's not for everyone, but if spending $10k on building your brand and attracting new users doesn't sound crazy, a good PR firm is a decent place to spend it.

Reversed 15y ago

I took a PR course in undergrad school and I'm still glad all these years later that I did. It also helps that I've been on the internet since the beginning in the early nineties, so that has helped my understanding of self-promotion as well. I agree with the sentiment of doing your own PR as a startup. But not everyone has the skill set or desire to do this, so I agree that a good PR firm could be beneficial. This might also be the case for a startup that has grown into a full blown company and the owner no longer has the time to do PR.