Dmitri Vietze, rock paper scissors

 

It was great seeing you all at the NY MusicTech Meetup! Congrats to the demo companies and thanks for making it out. I wanted to share some info with you that will hopefully propel your PR thinking, so here's a short  primer...

 

The first step in getting press coverage for your music tech company is coming up with an angle that will be of interest to your target outlet. We specialize in teasing out the specific and engaging story that each company has to tell. It is vital to find that unique hook that will draw people in. Finding the story that goes beyond the dry numbers/event/percentages is critical in gathering journalists’ attention. Having said that, there are some basic jumping off points where you can begin. Start here and craft your story around these eight types of pitches we use to hook journalists and bloggers:

 

1. Launches. This can be a company launch or a product launch (or even a new feature). To make your launch pitch engaging, make sure you get to the heart of The Why with things such as:

 

• Your value proposition

• The missing need (or demand) in the market

• Beta success stories (or at least marquee users)

• Past successes of founders

• Investors or leaders of note

• Something quirky or unique or a mind-blowing innovation

 

2. Benchmarks. If you are gaining traction, use numbers and accomplishments to make your case. If you don’t have significant numbers yet, this will not be useful for you. Benchmarks can include:

 

• Number of users/downloads

• Number of paying customers

• Number of visits, emails sent, purchases made, transactions

• Percentage of the market

• Growth (month over month, year or over year)

• Employee growth

• Number of licenses

• Numbers on both sides of a marketplace platform

• Largest [blank] in the world

• Fastest growing [blank] in the world

 

3. Success Stories. If you can show how a user received great benefit because of your company, it provides a concrete and engaging story. This applies more to the B2B side, but if your company blurs the lines between B2B and B2C, it's still very relevant. Chance meetings between consumers -- like people who met and  fell in love, or changed their career because of your app, are great public interest angles!

 

4. Partnerships / Client Announcements. Though you can't expect big press hits from partnership announcements unless you have an exclusive partnership with a company like Google, Facebook, or Apple, announcing partnerships and new clients is a great way to keep your company top of mind with the media. Trade outlets will report these partnerships as well.

 

5. Content. If you create infographics, ebooks, webinars, or blog posts that are helpful to your potential targets users/customers, there is the possibility of getting a media outlet to help you announce or publish the content.

 

6. New Hires. Unless your new hire is very notable within your field, you may not generate full length feature articles. However, trade press frequently have columns for covering staff updates. And even for press that are not covering your hiring news, it lets them track your growth for future coverage or increases the chance of them meeting someone from your team at a conference or festival.

 

7. Events. If you hold a meetup, panel, showcase, or similar event, it's a great opportunity to have media outlets to announce them or attend and  connect with you in person. Obviously, Rolling Stone is not going to cover your local bar meetup, but an industry blog might! You might even consider making them a media sponsor.

​

8. Acquisitions / Investment Activities. Buying or getting bought is always news to certain tech and VC blogs. When significant dollar amounts are disclosed or major players are doing the acquisition, you might be able to cross this over into major media coverage.

 

There's a lot more to be said about each of these pitch types, but hopefully some of this will help you springboard your thinking about how to approach pitch development for your company.

 

If you are considering doing a PR campaign and would like to talk it through, let's schedule a call. Shoot me an email at dmitri@rockpaperscissors.biz

 

You can also connect with us at our Music Tech Meetup at SXSW March 14 and at CD Baby's DIY Musician Conference August 25-27 in Nashville. If you are trying to reach artists for your startup, an exhibitor table or branded workshop may be the perfect opportunity for you.