In 2000, I was lucky to get a break in PR at one of the leading firms of the time. Over two decades, I’ve had an opportunity to work with some of the best B2B tech and telecom companies. Plenty of my colleagues over the years have maintained a perception that tech, especially B2B, is dry and stagnant. But tech, of any kind really, has always fascinated me. Especially in terms of how tech created by humans can help humans!
We work in one of the fastest growing and captivating industries, servicing clients who innovate across genres — consumer electronics, security, data analytics, e-commerce, smartphones, IoT, fintech, AI/ML, the list goes on. Behind each and every company — whether a tech giant or disruptive start up — there’s a story to create and tell.
Technology touches every single aspect of our lives. Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and now Tesla may dominate the tech agenda but smaller, lesser known companies are the ones making a real difference. From 3D printing rockets and launching social networks to reducing food waste and developing nanotechnology to clean up pollution, there is a lot going on in this space — sometimes to a mindboggling extent.
This is where I believe we come in!
An effective communications strategy plays a huge role in bringing tech to the forefront. A good PR campaign can give life to a company by humanising its story and putting the company’s message out there to be heard by people who matter.
But… technology evolves. How do we keep up with it?
A decade ago, there were no smartphones to call an Uber or find just the right restaurant on Google Maps. In fact, 4G wasn’t available on all smartphones until recently. We have seen incredible innovation in technology and, with the arrival of AI, VR and AR, it’s likely that we’ll see dramatic advances in the next decade.
Keep it simple
With the environment changing every day, it is important to keep your tech PR messaging simple. Using complicated, highly technical language or jargon will alienate the journalists covering your industry. As tech PR professionals you must keep the messaging focused on consumer benefits and find a human element.
A common mistake some communicators in tech companies make is that their PR focuses too much on highlighting technical details about why their product or service is better than the competition’s. What the campaign should rather focus on is the unpretentious, but meaningful benefits being offered by the brand to its target audience.
What’s the social impact?
The stories most likely to cut through the clutter today are those with social impact. The narratives gaining maximum traction are those focused on what a product or solution enables at a much broader level beyond the product itself.
Despite the whirlpool of mainstream news and policy updates, there IS room for ordinary business-to-business technology coverage. This includes product announcements that can’t be tied to COVID-19 (in the current scenario), the issues big tech companies are facing and the ongoing debates on the economy or elections.
B2B communicators who are thinking about reaching new audiences in new ways are the ones making the real difference. As communicators we need to re-focus organisations towards an outside-in view rather than an inside-out view.
Don’t shy away from policy discussions
Critically, tech PR and start-up PR is not just about communications, it’s also about public policy. At a time when tech companies increasingly attract scrutiny and high-stakes challenges to their businesses from competitors and central and state governments, PR professionals in the tech space can help companies face those threats and emerge to benefit from it.
At the same time, start-ups and high-growth companies, especially ones that operate in highly regulated industries, have unprecedented opportunities to position themselves favourably with lawmakers and regulators.