In the past we have provided some PR tips for those first-time entrepreneurs who have just launched their start up. On that post we discussed the importance of making sure that your branding, public relations and marketing efforts are coordinated and get off with a great start. While we have already covered the PR section, here are some tips that can help you build a strong brand for your start up:
1) HAVE A CLEAR IDEA OF WHAT BRANDING IS AND WHAT IT DOES
When it comes to creating a brand, you are defining the identity of your start up both for yourself and those you work with and an external audience composed by potential collaborators, clients, providers and competitors. This goes beyond picking up colors and coming up with a nice logo. It requires you and your team reach an agreement on what is the core of your business and which values represent it. This will work as a stepping stone for your business strategies, marketing and PR.
2) COME UP WITH A (DISTINCTIVE) VOICE
There may be many entrepreneurs launching their business as you are. You might be targeting the same market and even offering the same services. What makes yours different? Having already defined a strong identity, it should be easier to come up with a way to present your business in a distinctive way. Ideally, this will imply that your business has a unique way to do things, but it can also have other aesthetic traits, such as using a particular font type or addressing your audience in a certain way.
3) DON’T BE A COPYCAT
Many startups try to adjust their branding practices from those used by larger corporations. Not only might this bring you legal issues, but it really does not work. A new business is trying to break the ice and needs to be established as having that something different that makes it stand out. What’s unique about your coffee shop in a city filled with them? Make it known! Coming up with a strategy of your own might mean a lot of work and long hours, but the results will be true to your business and your goal.
4) HIRE AN EXPERT
Being an entrepreneur usually means you handle a great deal of tasks by yourself. You are building a creation from scratch, a business nothing but with your own ideas, goals and values. And while having that much responsibility can be thrilling, there are things you might not know how to do properly, especially if they have no relation to your field of expertise. If possible, getting an expert or a firm to manage branding, marketing and PR for your business is a clever choice, even more so when you do it at the early stages of your start-up so they can help establish your business identity in a successful way.
