What dot.com 2.0 Startups Need to Know About Tech PR

Linkedin and Pandora “IPO” and win the share price daily double. Facebook waits in the wings. Chinese Web companies boast twice the number of subscribers as the U.S. has people. Bay Area startups are so prolific they’re lining up to interview PR agencies. Some fear this froth portends “dot.com 2.0″ and the next tech bubble. I say: So what if it does? — Bring it on!

People forget that for all its nonsense — massive cash “burn rates”; business toddlers as CEOs; angels funding any “.com” idea; megabuck Super Bowl ads by companies that soon vanished; and the worst merger in history (AOL/Time Warner) — the dot.com era gave us some of today’s most successful companies: Amazon, eBay, Google and Paypal, to name a few.

Who or what will be the next Amazon and Google? It’s anybody’s guess, but if you’re an exciting new venture the odds are that when you hear that question you pipe right up, “We will be!”

If you’re “the one” you will, like your predecessors, find that the greater part of your market power stems from PR and effective use of the media. For that you’ll need expert help from an agency that knows its business as well as you know yours. The trick is in picking the agency that’s right for you. Here are a few pointers:

• Lots of Fish in the Sea. Tech PR agencies themselves are more prolific than in the 90s, ergo you have more and better choices. Previously, startups often resorted to “Top 10″ agencies that were new to the field — amateurs, really, that treated technology as a sideshow to their mainstream business. Today startups have a much better selection, including smaller and mid-size agencies that may specialize in your niche. Take your time and run through all the checklist items below. Don’t let anyone pressure you or hurry your decision.
• Kindred Mentality. You wouldn’t marry your polar opposite, would you? So why hire it? It’s essential that your agency not only know your business and industry, but also think and act like you. For most startups, agencies with an entrepreneurial mindset make the best union. Wed a mismatch and you’ll waste valuable time divorcing them before you can start over, hopefully next time with your “true love” in PR.
• Journalistic Savvy. Good agencies always have someone on staff with a strong background in journalism. Why that matters: Marketing types are very creative but sometimes get carried away by their own ideas, while journalists have the focus (and, to be frank, the skepticism) to “cut to the chase” — defining and shaping your story based on the merits that will attract the interest of media and customers alike.
• Good Sales Skills. PR is not only about great ideas and winning stories, but also the knowledge of how to sell them and to whom. Like its sister discipline sales, PR requires in-depth knowledge of the customer, who for PR people is the journalist or social media “key influencer.”  Your account team must know the prospects most likely to take your story and run with it, and have strong relationships to make sure that the “sale is closed,” i.e., the coverage happens.
• The Ever-Evolving Realm of Media. The changes that have overtaken media are worth a dozen or more blogs, and can’t all be covered here today. Suffice it to say that media is a different world from 10, 5 or even 2 years ago. In some ways it’s smaller — traditional media have contracted and those that survive have done so primarily by going digital. In other ways media is a much bigger universe thanks to the explosion of social media venues. Your agency needs to be adept in both the traditional and new media realms. Don’t make the mistake of thinking one type of media rules over another. They’re all important, each in its own way.
• You’re the Media, Too. Increasingly, journalists, bloggers and other news hounds and feature scribblers rely on social media for story ideas. Often they take their lead directly from companies’ social media programs, and expect those firms to both follow and interact with them. How do you ensure your startup is “linked in” with media in a meaningful way? Pick an agency that is: (1) well-versed in web design to ensure your site is worth visiting; (2) knowledgeable in search engine optimization to attract the right targeted audiences; and (3) skilled in building robust social media programs. They should also be on top of services like HARO (“Help a Reporter Out”) that post story opportunities in tech and other sectors throughout the day.
• Experience Matters. Exciting new markets attract opportunists and scam artists of all types looking to make a buck, and PR is no exception. Sometimes the “come on” is a big name in your own niche, or in a hot field like social media, or even from the media itself. All that glitz is irrelevant compared to one overriding concern: the agency’s track record. Check out the agency’s PR bona fides by reviewing case studies and talking to client references.
• Turnover Rate. Getting fired by a client is part of any business and no sin in itself, but if it happens a lot that can be a sign of trouble. Maybe the agency is better at winning new business than at serving and keeping it. Maybe they view clients as projects and front-load their billing with the expectation that they’ll get the boot in a year and then — yikes! — move on to work for your competitor. Ask about the average tenure of client relationships, with examples.
• Set Concrete Objectives. PR agencies do one thing well: build awareness and mind share. That market recognition, in turn, should have a cascading set of benefits that serve your business mission. So. . .what is your mission? — gaining a toehold in selected markets, driving sales, winning a policy fight that opens new markets, or attracting a nice fat buyout after X number of years? Be specific and completely candid with your agency about your goals — and demand that they specific on how they can help.
• Regularly Measure Results Against Objectives. You’ve hired an agency. Now what? From the beginning, set quarterly reviews to measure progress and adjust PR programs as needed, or if you question the results, to provide the data needed to determine whether it’s time for a different agency.
• Results Not Excuses. Can you see a difference in your public profile in the first 90 days?  Does it continue to grow? Most importantly, is PR doing what you expected it would do? You want to be able to say to yourself, “Thanks to the agency, we are building recognition that drives sales” or “The agency made all the difference in winning a policy battle critical to our business” or “Our healthy acquisition price is a credit to our PR.” What you don’t want: week-after-week of seeing this phrase on reports — “Agency following up,” often abbreviated to “Agency f/u.” That pretty much says it all. It’s an excuse, not a result.

If you’re a startup looking for an agency, the above points should help get you started. If you have questions, give us or any tech PR agency a call. The best ones love to talk to people with exciting ideas.

Now, you Googles and eBays of the future — go break a leg!