Summer means vacation time for many.  Warmer weather, outdoor fun and a slower lifestyle as people enjoy and relax.  In PR, it can also mean slower time to get results, as media take time for vacations too.

Building in extra time for your PR planning and deliverables is important during the summer months.  Is there a key media outlet you want to reach under embargo for your latest announcement?  Be sure to allocate extra time, to accommodate travel and vacation schedules.

On the other hand, summer can be a great time to do things like developing plans for fall PR and drafting story proposals for contributed articles.  Contributed articles aren’t as time sensitive as a product launch, for example, and getting them into the queue for editorial consideration during the summer can set you up for potentially seeing published articles in the fall and winter.   

Like everything else, PR has cycles too and summer is no exception.  Timing your PR outreach to take advantage of those cycles can help maximize your results.

Whether you’re a publicly or privately held company, large business or a startup, using a fee-based wire service can greatly enhance your public relations outreach.  However, not all wire services are the same and choosing the right one is more than just a question of price - it is choosing one that best meets your goals and objectives.   

Originally started as a means for publicly-held companies to comply with SEC requirements for public disclosure, fee-based wire services are a great way for companies of all sizes to amplify their outreach when issuing a press release.  When combined with email distribution to target media (and often analysts too) and one-on-one outreach to media, it can be a combination where results are greater than the sum of the whole.  

One of the reasons we like using wire services for startups in particular is that it is a great way to get the news up on the Internet, including news sections of search engines such as Yahoo and Google.  

Wire services typically charge based on geographic circuit selected, with complimentary “trade” media included.  While the term “trade” media may sound a bit limiting, it can mean anything from technology to lifestyle - basically almost anything.  And this is another big part of the value of wire services - getting the news out both directly as well as on news feeds to your appropriate trade media.  

When looking at a wire service for your company, here are some things to ask:

• Names of media outlets on the circuits.  While wire services may say they have the same circuits, the media on circuits can vary greatly between wire services.  Ask to see the media lists.
  
• Number of complimentary trade media included.  While some offer unlimited complimentary trade circuits, many wire services - especially the cheaper ones - limit this to five.  This can greatly impact your results.   For example, we have a client where we use 42 complimentary trade circuits.  And every single one of them is important to the client’s outreach and results.
  
• Availability of account executives and editorial staff.  Being able to talk with editorial staff at a wire service is important, particularly if you are a younger company and new to the process of PR.  Is the wire service staffed 24/7?  Availability of staff for any last minute changes or questions - which happens more frequently than one might think especially with startups - is important.  
  
• Scheduling.  Can you talk to someone live about scheduling, or is there a deadline for submitting a press release to the wire service for distribution the next day?
  

So when selecting a wire service for your press releases, look at more than just the price - look at the value it provides you in meeting your goals and objectives.  Cheaper isn’t always better.

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​With the proliferation of AI, there has also been an increase in the number of AI-generated tools for PR.  Tools that offer to replace the need for marketing and/or PR personnel.

While we are a big proponent of tools that can streamline PR and marketing, you should consider very carefully if you are thinking about using them instead of professional counsel.  Tools can streamline the process, but without someone with the expertise about what works (as well as what doesn’t) your PR efforts can fall flat.  In fact, be counterproductive.  

The nose for news is what makes news reporters stand out.  It is the same for PR.  Just because an automated tool can write the words doesn’t mean they are the right ones.  Or just because a wire service says they can do it cheaper doesn’t mean they get your news out the same way that the legacy services can.  It is all about value added, not who can supposedly get it done in a fast, cheap way.  

After all, isn’t the purpose to get you news coverage that shapes your image?  Not to churn out releases or media pitches that no one cares about, but at a cheaper price.

​So, you are a startup.  You have your business plan in place, have some funding (with more in the pipeline), are actively building company infrastructure and developing your product.  But – you’re not ready to announce your product yet.  Can PR help you at this junction?

The answer is a resounding “Yes!”  PR can help get your company on the radar and lay the groundwork for your product announcement as well as with both potential customers and investors.

For example, if you have funding in place, you can announce this even before you are ready to announce your product.  A funding announcement can also let you lay the groundwork for your announcement when you are ready.  

Don’t have funding yet?  There are a whole slew of things you can do through PR to help create visibility, and to help create traction among potential investors and customers.  These include press releases on your company formation, personnel announcements on strategic hires from senior executives to board of advisors, contributed articles and more.  All of these can help create awareness and media buzz, even before your product is ready to be announced.  Already announced your product?  Add in things like press releases on customer contracts and partnerships, PR at tradeshows/conferences, speaking engagements, editorial calendar opportunities program and company-hosted webinars.

The important thing about PR for startups is a regular program of media outreach.  Don’t do just one press release, then nothing for six months (or longer).  The PR process builds over time, and both the media and investors can have a short memory given the volume of news coming out.  

PR can be beneficial for startups no matter what stage.  Incorporating PR into your business plan even at this early junction can go a long way to helping you achieve your goals and objectives, especially with investors and potential customers.

​As automated PR tools proliferate, there can be an inclination by businesses (particularly smaller startups and emerging companies) to assign PR to an administrative role.  After all, with tools that can automate media list development, distribute press releases and even create press releases for you, do you really need to spend the money on professional counsel?

The answer, of course, is yes you do.  Using the various automated PR tools on the market today without professional counsel, whether internal or external, is a bit like do-it-yourself legal contracts.  While they sometimes can work, do you really want to rely on that process to develop business contracts, protect your intellectual properties, file patents or trademarks without input from professional counsel?  The same is true with PR. 

Professional PR counsel can help guide you through the process of a product launch, staging an event, issuing a funding announcement, writing contributed articles and more.  For example, as we’ve mentioned in previous blogs, press releases and articles that are AI-generated; i.e., where the articles and press releases are generated by AI, are not copyrightable in the US, while those that are AI-assisted where AI provides research but the final articles and press release are written by a human are.  So if you use AI to write your press release or article (versus AI-assisted which allows for input from AI but where the actual writing is done by a human), your press release or article is not copyrightable in the US and anyone can copy it and use it for themselves.  And many media frown upon, if not reject AI-generated articles.

Automation including AI can bring many benefits to PR.  But don’t short-change yourself and your business by skipping professional PR counsel.

If you have a new business or startup and are thinking about utilizing public relations, one of the first steps is developing a PR plan for your company with top objectives such as, target audiences, deliverables and messaging.  A next step would be to craft a creative brief with your PR messaging for each project.  A creative brief typically includes a project summary, background, a main message and supporting messages.

What is the story you want to tell?  Your business plan is a good starting point.  Here are some questions you or your PR counsel should ask:

- What is important to you about PR?
- Who are your target audiences?
- What do you want to accomplish with PR?
- What makes you different from your competition?
- Why should the media be interested in you?
- Who do you have on staff that can be leveraged as an expert spokesperson with the media?

Good PR counsel can help you and your business succeed, especially when just starting out.  You may not necessarily need someone on staff or retainer at first, but you can use one of the many PR consultants and no retainer experts such as BYPR, to help guide you along the way.

2023 has been a remarkable year for business, with the rise in AI-based technologies, and PR is no exception.  Artificial intelligence and automated PR tools are giving more businesses and individuals the ability to generate press releases and reach out to the media, often without using the expertise of communications professionals.

While these tools can put the power of PR in the hands of non-professionals, there is an inherent potential problem with this.  Generating news-worthy stories (and press releases) is more than just an administrative task.  It takes the ability to know a good news story, and to pitch that to the media.  After all, wouldn’t the news industry simply use AI for writing and reporting, if it is such an effective tool?

Compounding this is the fact that most likely the number of press releases sent to the media will increase exponentially because of AI.  At best, AI-generated writing is average (and often worse).  The increase in the number of press releases, many of them mediocre, will further add to the deluge journalists have to deal with daily, most likely making it even more difficult to get the attention of the media.

One of the biggest and most effective trends we see to successful PR in 2024 is quite simply this:  the human touch.

What we mean by the human touch is the nose for news.  The ability to identify and develop stories, and to tailor them individually to the appropriate media.  And just like not all journalists are the same, not all PR professionals are the same.  You want the ones with the nose for news.  Who know what stands out with the media, and what doesn’t.  Not someone who views PR as simply an administrative task. 

​The fall and winter holiday season is upon us.  Along with Trick or Treaters, Thanksgiving feasts, Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa, the season offers additional opportunities for PR.

Whether your company serves the business to business or consumer markets, there are many ways to leverage holidays and special events/observances for PR.  

Some things to think about:

- Do your products or services relate to holiday buying?  If so, there are many holiday gift buying guides and articles still underway, from Black Friday buying to last minute holiday gifts.
- Does your announcement tie in or is relevant to upcoming holidays or special observances?  Timing your announcement around one of these (and referencing it in your press release or media outreach) can expand your PR outreach.
- What other ways can your upcoming news, products or services tie in with upcoming holidays or special observances?  

Regardless of whether you are offering products or services for the consumer or business markets, using holidays and special observances are yet another way to make your PR stand out from the competition!