"Startups and SMEs: How to Rock your PR", Felicia Moursalien - aCommerce - Bangkok Entrepreneurs - August 2015

HOW TO ROCK STARTUP PRFelicia Moursalien

Twitter: @LilFel, @acommerceASIA

Have feedback? Tweet us! @acommerceASIA

Singapore | Thailand | Indonesia | Philippines

Part I: Case Study & Why PR Matters

Part II: The Art of Good Content

Part III: The Art of Press Distribution


Director of Communications, aCommerce PR, @LilFel

My goal today:

To show up the skirt of aCommerce PR strategies to startups or B2B companies may leverage learnings.


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Startups we Work WithVCs, B2B, Ecommerce, Mobile Apps


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aCommerce Growth of Mentions in Google Nov 2013 (The work of 1 marcommsperson!)


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aCommerce beats giants like Singpost and even Alibaba in Google!

Search: e-commerce in Thailand, e-commerce in Southeast Asia

5 of 10 front page hits are about aCommerce Thailand

5 of 10 “e-commerce Southeast Asia” are about aCommerce

2 of 10 “ecommerce Asia” hits include aCommerce (wow!), above alibaba even


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Startup CEOs interviewed on NBC News


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And Huffington Post


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aCommerce thought leadership in Tech Crunch, Tech in Asia & othersBy taking complex ideas that drive strategy and making more digestible for media in guest posts


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Our insights picked up in Wall Street JournalAnd many blogs around the internet


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Front Page Business News in IndonesiaJakarta Globe


“How much do you pay press for all your

coverage?”- Obnoxious COO of fashion startup


Excuseme?


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2 Huge Problems

1. Strategy Startups don’t care. Prioritize resources on other marketing

2. ExecutionThey care but are using outdated or terrible methods to get media coverage


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THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENSStraight from Tech Crunch writer


VISION: TO ENABLE THE VOICE OF STARTUPS IN ASIA


...BY KICKING TRADITIONAL PR OUT THE WINDOW



WHY WE NEED CORPORATE PR

3 Objectives


“If I had only $1 left, I

would spend it on PR”

Bill Gates


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I. Increase

valuation

II. Acquire &

retain talent

III. Generate

demand

The bigger the brand, the lower employee & client acquisition costs.

More Visibility = More

Money. WHY?


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I. Increase valuation: aCommerce received one of the largest

Series A in Southeast Asia thanks in part to

media ubiquity

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Good publicity gives legitimacy in recruiting the best

II. Acquire & retain talent


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III. Generate demandThis interview on aCommerce site led to..

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1. SEO

2. Demand Generation

3. Sales Pitch

Source: http://www.similarweb.com/website/acommerce.asia

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Which led to…


Part II: The Art of Good Content


#1 Change the way you think about publicity

Stop thinking about yourself and your product but create content that ADDS VALUE to the audience you are

after.


Think of the people!


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Our brand of PR is not about hard selling


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Subtlety is sexy



#2 Change the way you hire for your PR

It’s no longer about having a vapid but charming socialite

who knows how to tweet


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New Age of PR

”It requires you to not just be able to hold a conversation about your client, it requires you to also be able to read a lot, understand a lot and communicate in a way that is not inherently poisonous.

This is not an easy thing to do. It is not rocket science, but many people are simply unable to speak without sounding like some sort of saccharine pod-person, writing giant emails that hit all the ‘talking points’ set up with the client.”


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Writer who rejected J-SchoolEditor-in-Chief of school newspaper, The Varsity (Canada’s largest campus publication), The Paris and Toronto Globalist (international affairs writer), Trend Hunter Magazine (60m monthly pageviews)

Research & AnalysisCanadian Government

IOM in Bangkok

United Nations in Jakarta

Model UN – Harvard, MGIMO, Ottawa

Entrepreneur & Startup CommsFounder of Indonesian startup, +sixtwo

Launched content division at Zalora

Built aCommerce Commz from ground 0

Our team: No PR Background


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Understand media! 7 Types of News, Adam Gross

1. Controversy

2. Acquisition/Expansion

3. Financial/Funding (IPO, quarterly results)

4. Partnerships

5. Product Launch

6. Hiring

7. Metrics – Should not be last. The CORE OF OUR STRATEGY


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1. Controversy: Works for some for a while


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2. Expansion NewsJakarta Globe Front Page


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7. Metrics: Use data to drive contentEffective for Business or Consumer


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LINE Case study received the second highest amount of

link backs of all press releases. Articles in Sweden, France,

China all reference aCommerce in its early days.

7. Metrics: Use data to drive content


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No data? Use your executive level brains for Thought Leadership pieces that educate marketBy taking complex ideas that drive strategy and making more digestible for media in guest posts


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6 Important things you should always do

1. When you don’t have news, provide insights

2. Work should be data driven

3. Use human language in press releases

4. Answer ‘WHY’ not only ‘WHAT’

5. The press release should almost be its own article

6. Make the journalists jobs easier by sourcing relevant reports, providing opposing viewpoints


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Art of the Press Release: Treat it as an investor pitchThe same way you need to convince people to give you money or approve your concepts, the same pitch you have to appeal to the media and public


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4 Things NOT to do when writing content

1. No sale pitches in your content

2. Understand the integrity of journalist

3. Kill the corporate fluff. If it doesn’t add value to educate then leave it out

4. DO NOT LIE. Keep your numbers out or ambiguous rather lie. The press will find out.


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Don’t speak alien! Why no alien?Use everyday spoken language for quotes, otherwise it’s just a waste of space

“The success of Porsche is primarily dependent on the satisfaction of our customers,” said Matthias Muller, Chairman of the Executive Board of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG. “We see these awards as confirmation of our strategy for high quality standards in design, development and production and in continuously offering Porsche customers a unique purchase and ownership experience.”


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aCommerce CEO helps drive the real talkDon’t be afraid to talk about challenges you are facing..as long as you share earnestly how your business is trying to solve them


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This strategy leads to being asked to speak at industry conferences around AsiaFor free


Part II: The Art of Press Distribution

6 Easy Steps


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What do 50 Shades of Grey & media distribution have in common?


FlirtBuild a relationship

ForeplayInsertionCuddle

Repeat. Forever.


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Flirt: Build your press database with relevant journalists. When you find them, tweet and say hello.


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Don’t send ANY CONTENT out in a vacuum!BCC and generic emails are your enemies


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Build a relationship: Importance of human connection


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Insertion Techniques: Press Release Pitches

• Personalize your emails with writer’s name, not just

mail merge. It’s obvious if it’s generic.

• Tailor your pitch.Include their name + intro as to why the story may be interesting to them and their publication specifically. Ex. If you are writing to a marketing publication talk about how the marketing aspects of your press release are interesting. If it is tech, focus on the tech angle.

• Keep emails short, use bullet points.

• Add embargo dates!! Gives writers (that you have a relationship) a chance to create quality content and not rush to publish sub standard for the sake of being “first”. Include date and time AND TIME ZONE.

• Brief for top 5-10 core media, not all.


KEY TAKE AWAYS:

Always add value to target audience.

Be human.

THANK YOUTo find out more about how to work with us for PR email me: [email protected]

Follow on twitter: @LilFel

mailto:[email protected]