The digital age has changed so much about our lives, from the way we communicate, work, and socialize. It has even changed how we learn. While it’s easy to look at the overnight success of projects made possible by the digital age, (eg The Constitution Dao, the 12 year old who created Weird Whales, and the success of the meme coin Dogecoin, which pumped after attention from billionaire Elon Musk) and feel that technology has changed the fundamental rules of business, it’s important to realize that it hasn’t changed the fundamental rules of PR and marketing.
In a world of shortcuts, many believe that it’s possible to simply throw money at a project and guarantee its success. With all of the different digital marketing options, it’s easy to see how that mindset came about. If you buy enough ads, surely people will remember your project?
Fortunately, it doesn’t work that way. You still cannot buy success. You can buy all the placement out there, but without a good story and good fundamentals, your story will end up lost in the digital sea of noise. With ads bombarding us every moment of the day in every form imaginable, you have to have a good story to not only stand out, but keep momentum. Not just a good story, but a strong project behind the story. Especially in the crypto/NFT industry, where fraud and scams run rampant. Having strong fundamentals not only gives your PR firm a good story to take to the media, but instills trust when the story does catch on and potential investors start investigating.
What are the fundamentals? Before you start a marketing campaign, it’s important to answer these questions:
- Who are you? Easily the most important question to answer, yet so many companies couldn’t tell you when asked. Before engaging a PR firm, make sure everyone in your company knows the bullet points and can fire them off at will.
- What is your core messaging? Everyone should be on the same page about messaging. If you don’t have your company’s core messaging down, you need an advisor, not a PR firm. The role of PR is to bring your company’s messaging to light, not define it.
- Who are your target audiences? Another important question to answer that is often missed. You need to know who you’re targeting with a PR campaign. Target audience shapes messaging, campaigns, and PR efforts, so nailing this down is extremely important.
- What is your roadmap? Your PR firm can’t successfully navigate without a map. It’s important to have goals and milestones to communicate to your firm, so KPIs and metrics can be established.
The most important thing to remember: you have to have a good story. Your PR firm can help you craft that story, but you have to give them something to work with. It’s true you can buy placement (better known as advertising), but without a good story, you won’t stand out.
The digital age has brought on many changes, including some differences as to how we approach marketing, but to have staying power, you have to earn it.
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