According to research conducted by LinkedIn and Professor John Dawes of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, only 5% of B2B buyers are in the market to buy right now. Therefore, the majority of prospective customers – a huge 95% – aren’t actively looking for solutions, but may be in the future. For B2B tech companies looking to grow their business, understanding this landscape is critical.
As the research outlines, as people largely use their memories when buying, it is critical to build brand awareness so that when someone is looking to buy, they’re familiar with your company. Brand visibility PR should, therefore, be conducted on an ongoing basis, enabling you to create a steady drumbeat of positive media coverage, and communicate your key messages to market.
But where do you start if you’re new to brand visibility PR? And how can tech companies build brand awareness?
The Basics of B2B Brand Awareness PR – Who, What, and Why
Before starting a brand visibility PR campaign first establish who you want your brand to be visible to. For example, are you looking to reach specific personas within particular verticals? Do you want to target the channel? Or are you looking to target prospective investors? Knowing who you’re speaking to is critical to ensure that your campaign, and your content, are designed to engage this audience. This focus will also help you (or your PR agency) decide which journalists to target.
Most publications will offer details on the size of their readership, and the professions of the people who read them. While the level of detail varies hugely – some publications will offer a percentage breakdown of each vertical and seniority, while others will be more general – this information should be used to inform any media engagement. That way, you can ensure the titles you’re appearing in are ones your target personas will likely read.
Secondly, think about what you want to communicate. What are your USPs over your competitors? What key messages do you want to promote? What do you want to be known for? Journalists won’t be interested in content that’s overly promotional and riddled with ‘marketing speak’, but are receptive to compelling thought leadership, strong news, or interesting data hooks. Research on a topical issue that shows why people need your solutions, or punchy commentary on the news agenda, can be a great way to engage journalists and drive media coverage. As your media coverage builds, so too will your brand awareness, and prospective buyers will know more about who you are and what you specialise in.
Next comes the ‘why.’ People don’t buy products, they buy solutions to a need, so when developing content to engage your prospects, make sure you clearly articulate the benefits they bring and the challenges they solve. This is particularly true when it comes to media engagement. Finding a way to show how your company is overcoming a major issue, or bringing to life the end user benefits, stands a far greater stance of engaging both press and prospects than a straight-up sales pitch.
Brand PR for Tech Companies
Now we’ve covered the basics of brand visibility PR, let’s dive into guidance for tech companies specifically, and how tech companies can build brand awareness. While editorial teams are undoubtedly shrinking, and a tough market has forced several titles out of business, the UK and the US are home to a host of tech-focused publications that are continually on the lookout for great stories. Eskenzi recently surveyed some of the leading cybersecurity journalists to understand what they’re most interested in hearing about from companies, and the results were really interesting.
Rapid response commentary on breaking news resonates hugely with UK media, for example, with 83% of respondents to our recent survey saying it’s something they look for. According to our findings, the top five ways to get coverage in UK trade publications are through:
- Research on trends and analysis – for example, third-party research or anonymised data insights that uncover a trend or reveal attitudes to an issue.
- C-level interviews. Executive interviews can be a great way to build your brand and communicate your position on key issues. However, interview opportunities are highly competitive, so the ‘what’ and ‘why’ outlined above must come through in your pitch. If your interview pitch is self-serving and overly promotional, a journalist won’t bite.
- Threat research. Cybersecurity companies often have access to a wealth of threat research and intelligence that can be harnessed for PR. Insight on new types of attack, threat actor behaviour or different attack vectors can all fair well with press – particularly if they align with another topical issue (for example, security threats around a major sporting event, Chat-GPT hacks, or phishing scams leveraging singers or politicians).
- News commentary. Informed (and non-promotional) commentary in response to breaking news is a great way to get coverage for your brand while showcasing your expertise.
- Vulnerability disclosures. New threats that your team has discovered can also appeal to journalists – particularly if there’s a large-scale risk. However, if a threat is uncovered, it is usually best to communicate with any impacted companies first to provide them with the opportunity to fix the issue before notifying others. More information on the process for vulnerability disclosures can be found in guidance from OWASP.
Conversely, journalists revealed that funding rounds were of the least interest, while they were divided on wanting to hear about product news and case studies. When looking to launch a brand awareness PR campaign as a tech company, it’s therefore important to not only think about the messages you want to convey but also about the people you want to target. You also need to think about how and what you decide to communicate.
For example, a niche product upgrade is unlikely to appeal to trade journalists, but research or commentary that speaks to why people need a solution like yours without referencing it explicitly stands a far greater chance of pickup. The end result will still be aligning your company with topics you want to be known for, helping to build brand awareness and support your sales pipeline.
How a Tech PR Agency Can Build Your Brand Awareness
If you want to increase brand visibility, it’s a good idea to work with a tech PR agency that will be able to guide you on the angles, messages, and content that will resonate with influential media. Even in the absence of hard news or customer stories, a good tech PR agency will be able to create interesting thought leadership positions that align with the news agenda and will appeal to journalists, helping to ensure you receive a steady stream of positive media coverage to increase your brand awareness. As your brand visibility builds, you’ll start to be front of mind for prospects when they do look to buy, enabling you to successfully navigate the challenge of the 95:5 rule.
For more information on how to get the most out of working with a tech PR agency, please check out our blog, otherwise please get in touch to discuss how Eskenzi can help build your brand awareness.
