Executing a powerful digital PR strategy tells your new firm’s story, and gets you noticed. 

By William Furney, PR & content strategist, Reachology

Launching a new business and getting it off the ground is a mighty task. It’s one that the owners of nearly 1 million enterprises started in the UK each year have to grapple with as they enter a crowded marketplace where everyone is vying for business. 

It’s a daunting, uphill battle, and one made all the more arduous by the figures: around 20% of new companies won’t make it past their first year; close to half will fold in the first five years of trading; and the majority — 65% — will go bust within a decade. You’d wonder why anyone would bother at all, but bother they certainly do, because if you get the idea, and marketing, right, you could be onto a winner. 

Firms fail for all sorts of reasons, but primarily it’s down to cash — a lack of it, as sales dry up, or don’t come in at all, or expenses soar, leaving little in the bank. The fundamental idea of the products or services may not be all that solid after all — they are not filling a need in the market — there might not have been enough financing to properly get the business off the ground or it could be that the company is rudderless, due to the lack of an effective business plan. 

But what if all that is right and you still can’t get any traction? Time to make yourself heard, above the cacophony of the economy, and call in a killer digital PR service. 

Start-ups and getting yourself noticed

Just because your fledgling enterprise is based on an amazing idea, and does indeed solve a problem, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to work and take off. The business world is littered with the carcasses of millions of great new start-ups that quickly crashed and burned — because no one heard about them and their incredible solutions and offerings. Most small businesses can’t afford multimillion-pound marketing budgets, for TV spots and outdoor and other advertising, so they can grow their brand awareness, but luckily these days, marketing channels have shifted and you can easily get your company noticed in the market. 

That change is happening online, and for public relations, it means more companies than ever are ditching traditional PR and opting for the digital version instead, because it’s where audiences have moved to. Now, with an effective digital PR strategy devised by an agency, your brands stand to get the kind of exposure you could only have dreamed of before – and for far less financial outlay too. 

At the most basic, a digital PR agency in the UK, or anywhere else for that matter, will work to ensure your new firm’s website gets noticed by Google, and therefore appears higher in search results, and traffic comes flowing in. A digital PR service does this by creating compelling stories around your firm and its brands and pitches them to top-tier and other media, such as industry and niche publications.

This results in brand mentions and links back to your site that are Google gold — organic links from authoritative sites that are part of what we call earned link-building – we have to earn, not buy, them. Over the course of several months of this kind of activity, you’ll see your website become vastly more visible online, as you get a big search engine optimisation (SEO) boost from credible media outlets. 

Digital PR service: telling your brand story 

Almost all new companies have a great initial story to tell — how, and why, they came into being, and it’s vital you get it out there at the beginning, so people can start to learn about you and possibly become customers. The journey begins with forging relationships with journalists — the right kind, who cover your industry — and it’s a complex and oftentimes difficult endeavour. Staff at a digital PR agency typically include former and even current journalists, people who know the media and how it works. They’re able to effectively pitch your tale to the writers and editors that matter, and get you great coverage

And along the way, the SEO benefit of all those published stories, with their links, is an added bonus and one you just don’t get with traditional PR. As your digital PR campaigns mature and your company grows, you can position your business as an authority in its field, by having your digital PR agency leverage data, including internal figures and statistics, and external consumer/audience surveys, to create compelling stories and news hooks. This allows you to bolster your story by hosting strong data or a creative on your site, and earn the best coverage and links back to your website, because there’s a purpose to do so. 

Social media is also part of the digital PR mix, and you can leverage all the various channels to your business’ advantage, leading to more interactions with people and expanding the conversation about you and your brands. Thought-leadership articles, interviews and other valuable content, such as videos and infographics, are additional digital PR areas to explore. 

What start-up can afford to go without all that?

If you’ve launched a new company and are wondering how to quickly grow, talk to the digital PR experts at Reachology and find out how you could really take off. Book a free initial consultation now.