Tag: B2B technology

Why Tech Is Important To PR

Posted on by Anna Julow Roolf

As a PR agency that works with high-growth companies, including many technology brands, we talk a lot about why public relations is important for the tech industry. With complex subjects to distill and technical and product-based pitfalls to address, disruptive technology needs PR. 

But it’s just as important to ask why technology is important to the PR industry. In other words, does PR actually need disruptive technology to succeed?

It’s time for PR to harness disruptive technology

In my experience, PR is notoriously slow to adopt new technology, shunning advancements that could improve the quality, efficiency, or reach of our work until general adoption is well underway. I saw this firsthand at my last agency, where the early adoption of marketing technology for PR helped our team differentiate and win business, as well as during my time at Propel PRM, a SaaS solution that provides a CRM for public relations. 

For the most part, the PR industry’s slow approach to technology adoption has worked fairly well. PR firms have withstood the rise of many possible “PR killers” including email marketing, digital advertising, and social media, often integrating or using those disciplines to grow their business or even make earned media more effective. However, as the pace of technology quickens, PR teams can’t be so cavalier about technology adoption. The industry needs disruptive technology to make it more effective, efficient, and indispensable. 

Today, marketing and communications teams are being asked — over and over again — to do more with less. Faced with budget cuts, PR is a line item that is repeatedly scrutinized, and in-house PR professionals are not immune. 

Amid budget cuts, tools like generative AI are ushering in a new era of creativity. Like it or not, applied AI, virtual twins, distributed infrastructure, and other industry-changing technology trends aren’t going away. As PR professionals, we can either embrace disruptive technology and learn to harness it, or wait, with fingers crossed, to see what (and whom) it makes obsolete. 

Three ways technology benefits PR

It may sound like doom and gloom, but technology isn’t just important to PR as a means of preserving our jobs.  It can also make our work better and time spent more efficient. Just consider the ways technology has already benefited PR.

Reach a Wider Audience

In the past, PR was largely limited to traditional media outlets such as newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. However, with the rise of the internet and social media, PR professionals can now reach a global audience with their messages. Digital-first publications, online video, podcasts, and even company blogs provide additional avenues for brands to connect with niche audiences.

Track Campaign Effectiveness

In the past, it was difficult to measure the impact of a PR campaign. However, with analytics tools, PR teams can now more easily estimate how many people are seeing their messages, how often they are shared, and how they are perceived.

Collaborate More Easily
In the past, PR teams often worked in isolation. However, with collaboration tools, PR people can now work with colleagues and teams in marketing, sales, and product development, to create more effective PR campaigns.

The chatbot in the room

It’s hard to have a discussion about disruptive technology in 2023 without touching on generative AI tools like ChatGPT. 

Many have written about the promise and perils of ChatGPT for PR — including PRSA (“The Promise and Perils of ChatGPT”), Newsweek (“How ChatGPT Is Transforming the PR Game”), and even our team (“What Chat GPT Brings to Public Relations”). Much of the fear and speculation around generative AI and the PR industry reminds me of conversations we had a decade-plus ago about social media and PR. 

Consider this quote from The New York Times: “Gone are the days when snaring attention for start-ups in the Valley meant mentions in print and on television, or even spotlights on technology Web sites and blogs. Now P.R. gurus court influential voices on the social Web to endorse new companies, Web sites or gadgets a transformation that analysts and practitioners say is likely to permanently change the role of P.R. in the business world, and particularly in Silicon Valley.”

Reading that in 2009 — when it was published — might have led you to believe that media relations was no more. You might have thought PR professionals would be obsolete or would spend their days catering to mommy bloggers and YouTube unboxers (the TikTok stars of their time), and that no one would want media coverage ever again. That’s simply not the case.

Yes, social media changed PR. It demanded the addition of new strategies, new skills, new considerations, and even new job titles. But social media didn’t make PR obsolete, and neither will generative AI. 

 

In summary, yes, PR needs disruptive technology. Technology is important to PR because it allows us to do our work more efficiently and effectively. Though PR professionals have been able to shy away from new and emerging technologies in the past, as the speed of technology quickens, PR teams should look to embrace and harness this disruptive technology to improve their work and to advance the evolution of the profession.

10 Tech Buzzwords PR Folk Should Avoid In 2021

Posted on by Erica Schain

Unique, disruptive, innovative. From Silicon Valley to New York’s own “Silicon Alley,” PR people tend to use these tech buzzwords in press releases and marketing materials. They wind up in pitch decks, tech journalists’ inboxes, and in business meetings. We’ve all used them at one point or another — but shame on us. 

Tech culture is well-known for its overuse of buzzwords. And, although buzzwords can serve as convenient shorthand for complex thoughts, it’s not long before these terms become tired and worn out. They can even become obnoxious. 

Here are 10 of the most eye roll- inducing tech buzzwords and marketing speak that PR folk should try to avoid in 2021.

Disruptive – In a technology PR context, disruption is not only overused, but misused. The problem? Few of these technologies or products are actually disruptive. And, the truth is, a company can be extremely successful without being disruptive. The word is used to imply success, but that implication is often incorrect.

Big Data –  Big Data is overused because it’s so often used to describe any kind of data. Technically it refers to a set of data so large that traditional technology is unable to analyze it. Data about shoppers’ click actions on a large retailer’s website (think Amazon or Alibaba) would be a good example. The abuse of this term in business meetings, pitches, and press releases has turned it into nothing more than a cliche. As the words are coming out of one’s mouth, the receiver has already begun to daydream that they’re somewhere more interesting. 

Artificial Intelligence – The term Artificial Intelligence (AI) is thrown around quite a bit. It’s important to note that AI is a broad term that refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. The word may also apply to any machine that exhibits traits associated with a human mind such as learning and problem-solving. With that said, however, AI has suffered from being overextended and overmarketed. It should be used only when AI is truly a key feature of a product or service, not to refer to a little automation. 

Groundbreaking – Much like “disruptive,” the word is tired and often inaccurate. Very few products or technologies are truly groundbreaking. And, that’s because not many actually create a new market where none existed. Some of the technologies that have earned the right to be considered groundbreaking include the telephone, personal computers, electric cars, and… you get the picture. 

World’s leading – Straight up hogwash. This is a buzz phrase that tries to imply something but actually says nothing. It’s as puffy a term as one can get.

Innovative – Innovative is one of the most overused terms in PR, marketing and business. Its overexposure has probably caught more attention than actual innovative technologies themselves. Plus, as a negative result of our overuse of the term, there’s been a loss of understanding when we say that more innovation is needed in a particular field or industry. Actions have consequences, people. 

Ecosystem – The word “ecosystem” actually has a pretty rich meaning. It is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are linked through nutrient cycles and energy flows. However, thanks to its constant use as a buzzword in tech marketing, PR and business, it has lost all meaning. 

Next-generation – This phrase is used to describe a product that has been developed using the latest technology and will probably replace an existing product due to its technological leap forward. Yet, again, overuse has made it confusing. Most of us are now unsure when something is actually next-generation, or if it’s just the current generation trying to be cool. 

Actionable Insights – This is often thrown out in discussions about Big Data, but it doesn’t add much clarity. It refers to data that a company can then use to take concrete action, usually to identify causes of problems and their solutions. Yet there must be a better way to communicate what a company is doing with data and analytics. These words imply that lots of data is useless, and considering that businesses pour millions of dollars into data collection and analysis, it seems a poor choice of words at the very least. 

Leverage – Did you know that the term leverage actually has technical definitions in science as well as finance? You can use it in everyday speech and people will understand that you’re not actually referring to mechanical advantage, of course. But, the word is now becoming so common as a synonym for “use” that it has lost its true meaning. Let’s breathe life back into the word before we totally kill it off with our overuse and misuse. It can be your good deed for 2021. Instead, opt for a simpler word or phrase, like “use,” “learn from,” or “take advantage of.” 

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Buzzwords appear in all work sectors, but there’s something about tech PR and marketing that seems to make them more common. Let’s work together to come up with fresher, more powerful and more precise language that will actually be more meaningful when communicating about our clients.

8 Tips For Pitching B2B Tech Stories

Posted on by Ron Stein

For top B2B PR firms, approaching reporters and tech influencers carries a great deal of responsibility. You want to make sure you’re representing both your agency and your client well, and a top-notch pitch is the best way to do it. There are some small measures that can maximize efforts to B2B technology media. Here are eight tips and tricks to form positive relationships with top B2B tech reporters and influencers to get a story.

Make it short. Then make it shorter. 

When pitching top tech reporters, like most media, it’s best to be short and sweet. This starts with subject lines, which should be quick and punchy. The pitches should ideally be under 100 words and to the point. It’s also helpful to avoid marketing jargon. If a reporter opens your email and sees a lot of text, they may not even read it. They get hundreds of email pitches each day and are under no obligation to look at yours. So before creating a pitch, understand exactly what the news is and how you want to package it to catch their immediate attention.

Pitch the right people 

Pitching the right media gives you credibility and ensures you aren’t wasting the client’s time. For instance, you wouldn’t pitch an ad tech reporter a story about cybersecurity. They’re two completely different verticals, and pitching the wrong beat shows that you didn’t do your research. As a result, they will likely pass on your client, and also ignore other pitches from you in the future, even if they’re actually relevant.

Sell your client deftly

While the topic you’re engaging on is the meat of a pitch (and what’s likely to get a journalist interested), it’s important to invoke your client in a way that feels organic to the offer. So the best pitches will both be an interesting topic worth covering, as well as offering a credible spokesperson to speak to that topic. It’s this balance that will put you across the finish line. A simple offer to have coffee with the founder of a hot new technology company just isn’t enough.

Know the outlet’s audience

Obviously you want to know about the reporter you’re pitching. But understanding the outlet’s audience will assure you’re sharing something of interest to their readers. For example, you know that TechCrunch often covers general B2B tech, so it’s unlikely that their readers would care about a new gaming technology on the horizon. Take the time to read various writers (on top of who you’re pitching) at a given publication. This will give you insight into the types of people who are likely to read the story that you’re pitching.

Follow-up — but don’t nag

There’s a chance a reporter will miss your email entirely, so it’s important to follow up with them. It’s also not uncommon to get a response on the second try. After the third try, however, it’s best to move on to other targets, as they’re likely not interested. When following up, note that there’s a difference between a friendly reminder and being overly aggressive. So choose your words and tone wisely, and keep in mind that any sort of aggression could turn off the reporter.

Always have a call-to-action

At the end of your pitch, there should always be a call to action that the reporters can respond to — whether it’s “see below for the full release” or “let me know if you’d like me to put you in touch for an interview”. Prompting the reporter to take some kind of action puts the “next steps” in their head and makes the whole thing worth it. If a CTA is missing from a pitch, you’re not giving the recipient any reason to respond.

Pay attention to details 

Little details can make or break a pitch. Since reporters and editors often have a keen eye, something as minor as a spelling or grammatical error (or something as big as getting a date/time/fact wrong) could turn them off entirely. I like to send a quick note of thanks after a story is published. It’s a small gesture that goes a long way in building a relationship.

Be flexible 

Everyone has busy schedules. Many top B2B tech reporters interview multiple people each day for a wide range of stories. If you pitch a specific angle, but then the reporter comes back and says they’re working on a story about a different topic, it’s up to you to determine if there’s a way to make it relevant to your client. Pitches are basically a way in the door. If the reporter has other ideas for a story angle, be open-minded. There’s often a way to turn it into a win for your client.