Public relations or PR is a familiar part of blockchain marketing strategy, even if it has evolved alongside the increased focus on social media and data-driven storytelling as part of the always-on news cycle that blockchain projects have gotten used to.
However, while it is fairly simple to do, not many companies are able to maximize the potential of good crypto PR, and continue to spend significant sums of their marketing budget putting out activities that don’t bring effective and relevant results. Especially because the crypto audience is still so small relative to the number of projects in the space, the majority of PR efforts tend to get swallowed up by the noise - either ignored among the multitude of competing PRs or simply not getting seen by the right audience.
One of the most common mistakes crypto projects make when it comes to PR is that they focus the content on themselves and what they think is important rather than what their audience will find important. Very often, good PR actually has very little to do with yourself, and much more to do with the people you want to consume your efforts!
We believe that there is a science to producing and distributing good crypto PR. It doesn’t have to be complicated either, just a little more sophisticated. Here are some things you should pay attention to when pushing out your next press release.
Know the audience
You have to be as precise as possible in terms of who you want to target. If you’re thinking that your target audience is “everyone”, then you’ve strayed away from the purpose of the PR as part of your marketing strategy. Remember, the end goal is to sell your product or service, or to convert audiences into users and followers and fans.
So you’ve got to understand who it is that would be most attracted to your commercial proposition. You ought to have done this by identifying your brand’s user persona already, which tells you what your audience is looking for and what kinds of services and products they would like to use for their needs.
You shouldn’t be talking about your latest cartoon NFTs to institutional investors who’re looking for ways to diversify their regulated investments, for example. Nor would a huge partnership announcement with a bank be of any interest to an audience who want complete anonymity and privacy.
Your PR content should be tailored to attract your audience. Speak to what they want, and what they believe in, and you’ll have a higher chance of getting your PR read, heard and actioned on.
Clarify what you want to say to your audience
A great deal of PR out there tends to be all about the brand’s updates and happenings - which is fine if it’s a really important milestone achievement that you’d like to share with your audience, or if it’s a significant event that would boost your brand’s credibility and reputation. But your efforts still have to convey important messages that are aligned to your marketing strategy in terms of the messaging and positioning that you know will help you achieve your long term objectives.
For example, partnership announcements aren’t necessarily a big deal for most readers or listeners, even if they’re from your target audience. Who really cares if you’ve brought on new advisors or new companies into your business circle? Unless the partnership is a really big deal, an industry first or involves another big name that would boost your credibility, it’s probably best to leave such announcements to social media or your newsletter.
What’s an example of a “big deal”? If you’re in the gaming industry, winning a top award by a recognized gaming body perhaps. If you’re in the media sector, an exclusive partnership with a well-known publisher might be important. If you’re in the entertainment business, nothing less than a feature endorsement from a global megastar would deserve its own announcement or press release.
PR should really be used to bring attention to significant efforts you’ve done to grow and develop your business, to remind your audience what you’re about, and to demonstrate that you’ve done tangible things for the business.
Also important, remember that PR is not about making you feel good about yourself - it’s really not so you can show off that you’ve been published in 20 different news sites or played by 50 radio stations (your audience knows you’ve paid for those slots, by the way). It’s about making your audience feel good about being associated with your company. Reading a press release or hearing a panel session from you should make them feel proud to support you, it should reinforce their buying beliefs, it should give them reassurance that you’re on the right track, and it should convince new audiences that they’re missing out if they’re not buying your product or service!
Identify where you want your PR so it’s consumed by the people you want
One more important aspect to consider with PR is the publications and media you select to run them. It matters little if your interview is well designed or if your article has the most attractive title and content… if you’re placing it where it won’t be seen or heard.
We touched on why identifying your audience matters but equally important is knowing where your audience resides. You can of course try to blast your content out to as many outlets and media publications as possible, but you’ll be spending a lot of money to do so, with most of it falling on deaf ears.
Instead, maximize the efficiency of your PR budget by choosing platforms and publications that you know your audience lives on. Are you talking to crypto newcomers? Then you wouldn’t be publishing on a platform for advanced crypto users. Is your service tailored to institutional investors who drink their morning coffee while reading the Financial Times? Then your PR would be wasted if it’s published on a bounty listing website.
What’s worse, publishing an article or doing an interview on the wrong platform might even harm your reputation and credibility with your audience. Imagine if your audience happens to see that your blog post is promoted by sites known to also promote scams and HYIPs? You wouldn’t have done anything wrong directly, but you risk being seen as guilty by association.
To summarize, PR is simple to do but not as simple to get right. If you want good PR, know your audience, know what you want to say, and know where your audience lives.