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ABOVE THE CODE™
Herzliya, Israel July 1, 2012
Hacking Your Startup’s PR and Communications Initiatives
To Get You Above The Code™
OUR STARTUP IS NOT READY FOR THIS...
•What is a PR person doing in the room?
•We gotta focus on getting to - and through Demo Day on date
• I work a lot and want to have a life
• I don’t have time for this... thinking about PR could wind up being a distraction
ABOUT
•30 years - yup, I am an old school PR guy :) -
•San Antonio & Tel Aviv
•Works with Jeff Pulver on State of NOW -#140Conf
• Involved with Israel’s traditional tech sector for the last 18 years
Life in three labs....
Tel Aviv
San Antonio
NYC / London / Tel Aviv, etc.
GETTING LUCKY...
•Belief set about getting lucky with....
•PR
•Social
•Content
ALIGNING BUSINESS GOALS WITH COMMUNICATIONS
•can be applied as an element of your R&D and development strategies
•help you accelerate the potential for success
•prepare your company for gaining coverage before, during and after Demo Day in September
•prepare your company for being discovered
•be ready when you are found by the media
2 PARTS TO PRESENTATION
•Principles and belief sets for the long run
•Practical and actionable steps to help you be ready for DEMO Day in September and beyond...
THE MEDIA IS YOUR FIRST
MARKETto share and tell your story
you
bloggers
analysts
media
the consumer
The Media is Your Customer....
theenterprise
&
GOOD NEWS :)
•Very low cost / no cost to create a start-up
•Big Idea
•Core team
•Strong will
•Servers / hosting
•Coding
BAD NEWS :(
•Someone in New York, Austin, Chicago, SFO, Singapore, Haifa, Mumbai is thinking the same thing as you are :(
• Hard to have a defensible position
•Hard to protect your IP
QUALITIES THEN...
•Strong Intellectual Property
•Defensible technology
•Strategic investors like Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, Motorola
•VC funded
QUALITIES NOW
•No Intellectual property
•Nothing really defensible
•Strategic investors & partners - Friends, Family, Angels, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, AT&T, etc.
•Up until recently....No funding, or angel, micro, friends & family funding
•Easy to run a virtual company... no real address, presence from a co-working space and an IP phone number
THE WORLD AS WE KNEW IT
•Hardware
•Software
•Telecom
•Security
•Bio Sciences
•Medical Devices
Go to SchoolArmy Service
Year Off for TravelGo to College / University
Summer JobGo to Work
THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
•Hardware
•Software
•Telecom
•Security
•Bio Sciences
•Medical Devices
High SchoolStart-Up
ArmyStart-Up
College / UniversityStart-Up
Travel YearWork
StartupQuit Day Job
Startup
Outbound / Inbound Strategy
Outreach to media
Being found by the media
pick me
find me
PR in the past.....
company agency
media
analysts
company
bloggers
The more that software eats the world, the role of story telling
and connecting the dots for your global customer / partner base becomes increasingly important
WHAT I BELIEVE
•12 Fundamental Belief Sets
•Not everything I do always works
• I do this for me... I do this for clients.
•There’s always exceptions to the rules
•Discussion is based on a combination of experience and principles
From >
Code
To > Above The
Code
Alan’s 12 Fundamental Belief Sets
#1 - STOP PITCHING
•Start story telling
•Your pitch helps clarify / define what you do, but really sucks as a way to get coverage
#2 - YOU’RE REALLY A MEDIA COMPANY THAT....
•Creates and makes media so you’ll be discovered, found and shared
•YouTube
•Blog
•Cinchcast
•SoundCloud
•Google Plus
#3 UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BEING...
•Discovered - random
•Found - search
being discovered and being found increases your chances
of sharing
#4 IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU
•How do you help others do something in a compelling way you could not do before
#5 BE HUMAN
•Get off your perch and write like you would speak
•Converse with your potential market wherever they are
#6 LIKE MINDED PEOPLE TEND TO FIND EACH OTHER
•Give them a place to connect and share their story
•Consider aligning with other startups like yours to create a multinational startup
#7 HAVE A MISSION
•We’re out to make __________ better
•We want to help _____ do _______
•We want to help others the opportunity to ________
•We’re connecting _______ with ______ so they can ________
•We make it easier to ____________
•Have your voice be heard about _________
#8 THINK LIKE A SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHER
•The potential to collect “Big Data” means you have something of incredible value to a potential partner, investor, or brand
•Gives you a better chance of a lift when an exit may present itself
•Big data lends itself to infographics, which contributes to your thought leadership and a great way to get media coverage
technology platform
spark - what if?
story...
BIG DATA
real valuenarrative to engagement
Lift towards an exit...(c) Alan Weinkrantz
“some funding.”..
#9 PUT IT OUT THERE
•You never know who is going to find your content and engage
• You don’t have to have high quality production values to do this
• Hardware is cheap. Tools are free. Tons of creatives to help you
#10 DRAW, PAINT, PHOTOGRAPH, ROCK OUT
•Do something or learn to do something creative other than working on your startup
• It will re-wire your brain in an unexpected way
my drums circa 1968
#11 IT’S NOT ALWAYS REPLICABLE
• Just because one strategy or tactic worked for one company does not mean it will work for another
#12 GET LUCKY
•Go wide
•Get lucky
•Run with it when you strike a chord
THE MIND OF A DEVELOPER
•Focus on...
• functionality
•application
•utilitarian value
HACK YOUR OWN PR!
•You have to “know” the journalist
•Much of this you can do yourself
• “Paper trails” on the Internet exist if you search correctly
PLAN....
•Post and write relevant content so you can be a source to media on your field of expertise
•Develop & publish infographics you can share
•Follow a wish list of 20 journalists you think should cover you
•Read and comment on relevant articles without being self promotional.
•Ask end user / beta customers if you can refer to them to media
•Follow editorial calendars
NOW....
•Make a wish list of where you belong
•business / tech / bloggers who are your fans back home
•media appropriate to your space
•analysts appropriate to your space
• track competitors or companies in your periphery on news.google.com to see who covers and writes about them
PLAN FOR PR
• If you follow some of these basic principles, you’ll be further ahead.
•This process takes at least six months to one year to really get on a journalist’s radar and be sticky - sometimes you can get lucky
•Get everyone on your team to make this part of their regimen as it will make them aware of the opportunities that await you when you are ready.
•Bring up PR in your team meetings in a “what if...” scenario.
Be Ready For PR So You Can Succeed
HELP!
•My door is “open” via email and Skype
•Happy to spend one hour with each company after July 15 to help you think this through.
•Email me your wish list of media
http://gigaom.com/2012/03/03/how-startups-can-hack-the-pr-machine/
Read. Re-Read.
http://appsmarketing.mobi/app-marketing-sxsw-2012/
http://tech.li/2012/03/integrating-pr-into-your-product/
read again...:)
Free tools to get you into the groove....
http://www.alanweinkrantz.com/startup-pr-strategies-who-did-i-pitch-todayWho did I pitch today?
http://www.gartner.com/technology/about/vendor_briefings.jspGartner Briefings request form
Editorial calendars http://www.alanweinkrantz.com/technology-public-relations-2011-
editorial-ca
Methodically.Reach.Out.
http://www.alanweinkrantz.com/startup-pr-strategies-who-did-i-pitch-today
please share:)
ABOVE THE CODE™
thank you
www.alanweinkrantz.com
Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn. Instagram. all photos by me
© Alan Weinkrantz And Company 2012 Above The Code ™
