Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in Ireland

Damien Mulley is going to be running a PR course for technology startups this week. John Collins, technology correspondent from the Irish Times, is scheduled to talk to the participants for an hour as part of the course. Here’s some tips I thought might be of use for tech SMEs:

Take A Deep Breath - All organisations tend to be obsessed with getting into the papers. Some companies get coverage on a regular basis because they engage in newsworthy activity. Unfortunately most SMEs are never going to be in the papers everyday. So take a deep breath, accept that you are not the centre of the universe and try to devise a tactical communications campaign that compliments your business plan.

Your Communications Campaign Is Only As Good As Your Business Plan - If you don’t have your business plan written down on paper then expect your communications plan to be haphazard at best. As a PR consultant there are a limited number of initiatives I can advise you to pursue without having a sense of what milestones you expect your business to achieve over the following 12 - 18 months. I can tell you that we might target a media meeting with a journalist or a company profile in a publication in any given month, but unless you tell me information like how many of your products you expect to sell this year then I can hardly pull together a comprehensive PR plan when you are unable to tell me how you expect your company to perform over the coming year.

Read The Papers - As obvious as this sounds, read the papers. If you want to appear in the technology section of one of Ireland’s national newspapers then read that section. By becoming familiar with the different outlets, you will be able to get a sense of what interests particular journalists and whether your company is even relevant to that publication.

Talk In Numbers - The simplest way to get into a publication is to talk in numbers. I see countless companies talk in technobabble. Journalists want to know things like what was the value of the deal your company just signed, how many customers you have or how profitable your organisation is. Illustrating demand for your products and/or services is a surefire way for the media to take note of you.

Secure Company Profile Opportunities - Most papers have company profile opportunities. For example, Business & Finance has the Ones to Watch section which profiles companies under two years old. Simply buy a copy of Business & Finance, look at the information they typically include about a company and put yourself forward.

Invest In Photography - The first thing that most technology journalists will complain about is the unusable photos they receive on a regular basis. It is not acceptable to take photos of yourself with a compact digital camera and think your organisation is going to look professional. Hire a good photographer and get a variety of shots, publications like the Sunday Business Post don’t want head and shoulder images so get some lifestyle shots instead.

Editorial calendars - Most technology trade publications have trade calendars. On any given month I can tell you whether they are planning to write about laptops, web design or security. Obviously if there is a feature relevant to your company, put yourself forward that month. Make sure to be aware of the deadlines as there is often quite a quick turnaround time involved.