PR for your startup during an economic downturn

This article was contributed to TechCabal by Claudine Moore, an award-winning international PR chief specializing in Africa-focused PR and communications throughout a number of sectors together with tech. She is the Managing Partner, Africa Allison+Partners and founder and former CEO of C. Moore Media International Public Relations. She additionally based The Future is Female Mentorship Program, the primary and solely PR and communications initiative devoted to African feminine tech founders. You can comply with Claudine on Twitter @ClaudineMoore. 

For most of 2022, African tech appeared to buck the worldwide decline in enterprise funding, to the purpose that prime tier international enterprise media displayed headlines in Q3 boldly declaring that Africa was defying the worldwide development with funding surging. Now, 2022 has come to an finish and 2023 begins, and we’re seeing proof of the sluggish financial system affecting African startups with the announcement of layoffs, a slowdown in enterprise and product growth exercise, and fewer bulletins of huge funding rounds. The prediction is buyers will proceed to undertake a conservative and cautious method, making it tougher to boost capital. 

PR and communications are sometimes seen as a much less vital enterprise features and are often topic to drastic cuts in each devoted time and assets, particularly with the present economic slowdown inevitably resulting in cost-cutting selections. However, listed below are 4 the explanation why African startups shouldn’t in the reduction of on their PR however as an alternative turn out to be smarter, extra strategic and intentional about utilizing PR as a instrument. 

This is especially vital for startups which have already invested in PR and communications, and need to keep model recognition within the trade in addition to the relationships nurtured and constructed with the press, clients and stakeholders.

1. Media Coverage – Bigger is Not Always Better

The tempo of your media outreach might have modified, or your startup might have much less optimistic information and/or needs to be extra inventive and clear in sharing tales contemplating the enterprise and economic backdrop. 

This is the right time to thoughtfully take into account the media to work with. Publications which might be central to your sector, market or stakeholders needs to be prioritized, regardless of having a smaller and extra area of interest attain than a few of the greater media platforms. A narrative in a distinct segment publication can probably create extra engagement and drive extra gross sales or enterprise leads into your pipeline versus a number of tales in additional generic enterprise press. 

2. Stay Consistent and Visible – Silence is Loud

Stakeholders, together with your buyers, are nonetheless concerned with information, tales and normal details about your startup. In occasions like this, it’s prudent to face out from your rivals and friends, a lot of whom will go quiet, and make sure you persistently keep a optimistic public narrative. The greatest method to do that is by persistently amplifying and  partaking genuine and inventive content material about your model. 

Being clear about your challenges and the way you propose to navigate them will not be solely an fascinating story however  additionally an alternative to exhibit stable management, and the resilience, creativity and adaptability in your method to enterprise. This will result in a continued optimistic model popularity which is what your stakeholders and buyers need to see. 

3. Continue to Showcase Your Leadership and Team

Layoffs are an inevitable fallout of the present economic downturn, however they can be an alternative to take care of morale and showcase the collective abilities of your remaining crew. After layoffs, it’s a nice time to launch an invigorated thought management and model ambassador marketing campaign that includes a cross part of the crew, from C-Suite executives to gifted upcoming junior crew members. By showcasing the crew in quite a lot of methods, you’ll produce constant, fascinating, and diverse content material immediately from your startup, basically creating your personal information cycle impartial of the ebb and movement of the trade. 

Thought management campaigns personalize your startup and might produce a wealthy portfolio of content material starting from movies, to weblog posts, op-ed items, podcasts, and interviews, all working in the direction of positioning the crew as trusted consultants main their sector in creativity and innovation even during a sluggish financial system.  

4. Crisis Communications

I wrote about Crisis Communications in my very first article for this recurring PR column, and the emphasis and suggestions stay the identical: put together your disaster communications technique and execution properly forward of a disaster. The last item any startup needs to navigate is a reputational disaster in the midst of a recession. 

As outlined within the Crisis Communications article, even essentially the most fundamental disaster communications plan ought to embody a disaster administration crew, a vulnerability evaluation, draft statements to stakeholders, media monitoring, and an actionable social media plan.

A PR technique during what seems like a fairly ugly recession will let audiences know you’re surviving and in some circumstances, evolving, and your startup will be capable to preserve their viewers engaged, quite than trying to re-engage audiences with quick recollections and can doubtless have moved on when that is throughout.

Claudine Moore is an award-winning international PR chief specializing in Africa-focused PR and communications throughout a number of sectors together with tech. She is the Managing Partner, Africa Allison+Partners and founder and former CEO of C. Moore Media International Public Relations. She additionally based The Future is Female Mentorship Program, the primary and solely PR and communications initiative devoted to African feminine tech founders.