Our favorite dance, our secret language, our top club, and more revelations from tech pr insiders
[tweet_dis]So a marketer, psychologist, reporter, and artist walk into a bar [/tweet_dis]– stop me if you’ve heard this one before. They all gathered together to perfectly shape a client story and tell it to the world.Wait, maybe it wasn’t a bar, but an office.
Actually, it could have been either one.
That’s public relations, and doing it right requires a multidisciplinary group of professionals hailing from a variety of backgrounds with unique perspectives and sensibilities. The stories that emerge from this bubbling stew are strong, compelling, and maybe even offbeat — anything that helps cut through the noise and get noticed is an asset.
And when you throw tech PR into the mix, things get even weirder.
[tweet_box]6 surprising things about tech PR[/tweet_box]
You never thought PR practitioners were normals, did you? Here are a few things about tech PR folks that might surprise you.
1. Our favorite dance: the TAM/SAM slam
We’re not the bad guys. [tweet_dis]Liars, charlatans, spin doctors. You name it, we’ve been called worse.[/tweet_dis] But those name callers are dead wrong. We value the truth, and the truth is that we work hard to find the best true stories about our clients and their products, and then develop the most effective angles to tell those stories in high value media. From TAM (Total Addressable Market) stories to SAM (Segmentable Addressable Market) stories, we know to create stories that say SOMthing (Share of Market).
2. [tweet_dis]Our dirty little secret: inner S/M artists?[/tweet_dis]
We get excited when you say “no.” Okay, nobody actually likes to hear no, but we hate 50 Shades of Grey much more. Will this journalist ever cover our client? Will that product launch in March? For every unanswered question, we’ve got ten people hammering us for closure and 100 new, real opportunities to tee up. Of course, we always want to hear “YES!,” but at least “no” let’s us move the heck on. Nothing is worse than an open opportunity floating around in the ether and constantly being asked, “what’s up w’ dat?”
3. Our club: [tweet_dis]Tech PR is a global groupie situation[/tweet_dis]
Whether there are 4 people in an agency or 400, we talk to each other about how to achieve goals. [tweet_dis]No matter what we need to do, someone we know has done it before[/tweet_dis], and we’re quick to seek advice on how to accomplish it from the freelancers, news producers we just did an all nighter with, photographers on assignment in Pakistan, etc.. Most clients never get to see just how large their “unofficial” PR teams are, but [tweet_dis]when you engage a tech PR firm, you’re tapping into a global story collective.[/tweet_dis]
4. Our age: [tweet_dis]Like fine wine, tech PR ages well.[/tweet_dis]
It’s not uncommon for our companies to field substantial leads driven to them from an article that published last year, or an executive who enjoyed their session at a conference back in 2013. We like to measure results as much as the next guy, but the fact is that PR — both good and bad — has a long shelf life and it’s a slow burn. PR is a great investment for companies looking for real value, but frustrating for those looking for quicky-fixie.
5. Our language: [tweet_dis]Tech PR peeps speak Empreshin[/tweet_dis]
Good tech PR people are trilingual. Many companies are used to talking in industry, or even company-specific jargon. Journalists lose interest the second they don’t understand what a word means or think someone is giving them a shovel full. Go ahead and speak to us in your language; we’ll translate and pitch your story to tech PR folks in their native tongue, “Empreshin” . . .
6. Our modus operandi: Lovin’ the love
We are matchmakers, always making connections. [tweet_dis]Publicists are busy bodies and we know lots of people[/tweet_dis]. We live to broker relationships of all kinds. There’s no such thing as too much information with us. Share your quirks, your insecurities, and all of your obnoxious snarkiness. We’ll use all those details about your personality and company to match you with others who will love your for, well, being you. Others like angel investors, VCs, private equity firms–and international news producers.
Find your tech PR north star
You know your technology is ready to change the world. You know your team rocks the house. You know you’re the coolest kids on the block. Does everybody else know it? If not, think about talking to a tech PR firm –we’d love to help you share your story.