As we step into the era of brands, Public Relations has become an integral part of the marketing strategy. Since the market is now flooded with brands, each serving a similar product to a similar target audience, your basic marketing strategy will become obsolete. This is where Public Relations comes in play – a subtle yet critical tool to build reputation and credibility and stand out from the crowd.

But when is the right time for startups to start their PR journey? This article aims to highlight some of the right events and milestones that can help accelerate the branding and marketing goals of a startup.

• Leveraging the trust of the investing community

Secured funding or planning to announce a funding round? Now is a great time to let people know that stakeholders are putting their trust in you and your organisation. The right startup PR strategy will include sharing this important news in an engaging and creative way with the relevant media. Not only will it help startups grab more eyeballs on their growth trajectory, but it will also help build and sustain excitement amongst the employees on the company’s future.

• Growth and Expansion

As the startup grows their business with inclusion of newer and/or updated products and services – it becomes critical to engage with PR. The communications strategy packaged with relevant growth numbers and details can drive a positive narrative that can be crucial for taking the startup to the next level. Moreover, when you’re growing into new markets or launching in different regions, a PR agency can help tailor your messaging and outreach strategy to suit the local audience and media landscape. This is great not only for external PR but also for internal PR. Employees are more likely to be proud of a growing organisation.

• Image overhaul  

PR is one tool that works best in reputation. With the right messaging and with the help of the right tools, one can create positive conversations to showcase expertise for not just their company but also for the industry. An excellent example here would be re-branding. If your company is at the cusp of creating a new identity or changing its identity engaging with the right communication agency would be a strategic advantage.

• Crisis Management

While not an ideal situation, if your startup faces a crisis or negative publicity, engaging a PR agency with experience in crisis management can be invaluable in mitigating damage and restoring your brand’s reputation. Crisis management through PR largely entails putting your views out instead of letting media publish one-sided stories, and creating a two-way dialogue that makes sure the trust of your target audience is intact.

Similarly, stakeholder crises and employee crises can hurt the reputation of your startup, becoming a big hurdle in unlocking the next stage of your business. You can mitigate any hiring or funding challenges by taking control of the story and highlighting the corrective steps you are taking.

Ultimately, one more question that comes to mind is whether you should hire a PR agency for your startup or build an in-house team. Hiring a PR agency is more efficient both in terms of work done and cost. An agency has limitless resources and a slew of battle-hardened veterans who are all experienced in managing brand. By choosing the agency way, you can make sure you get the expertise of multiple people at a cost-effective price.