Approaching PR From The Right Perspective

So many times, when a company is just starting out, there is a checklist of assumed tasks the company's founders want to accomplish quickly:

• Choose a name - Check!
• Set up the proper business entity and tax structure - Check!
• Hire awesome employees - Check!
• Start building a killer product or service - Check!
• Get PR... hold on a minute.

While PR can be critical to the launch of a company or product, the company leadership needs to come from the right perspective for it to be successful. They need to ask themselves: What are we trying to accomplish as a business? Who are we trying to get in front of with our message? What are the appropriate avenues to reach those audiences? Is PR the right answer for our current situation? Are we just trying to get press coverage for the sake of getting press coverage?

These are tough and sometimes humbling questions to ask as a company is forging ahead on the disruptive entrepreneurial road. But it is important to ask them before spending a lot of time, money and, ultimately, frustration if things don't work out the way they were originally envisioned.

When deciding to move forward with a PR program, determine if this is a short-term launch project or if there is enough news and activity to warrant an ongoing program. Agree to metrics in advance so everyone is on the same page. And most importantly, be patient. Ongoing, worthwhile press coverage doesn't appear overnight and won't be sustainable without the support and participation of the company's leadership.