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Startupcamp on rules for a successful media launch

By Brij ⋅ May 4, 2008 ⋅

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Since cloning is still not possible, I can't have me in more than one place. I had to skip StartupCamp (like many other events I have been missing lately - MakerFaire being other one). Are we having too many interesting events or what? I am a big fan of unconference format.

I have been following StartupCamp activities on Summize (beginning to like its clean interface and conversation tracking features). So far audience is not getting their due and few tweets were outrightly critical of the event.

Session which is getting more Twitter mention is Mission Control: Rules For A Successful Media Launch. I am not surprised that enterpreneur-heavy audience is taking more interest in this. In current climate, after venture capital, getting market attention is the hardest part. It is not easy to get proper coverage, and battle is not with blog networks. In most cases they do an outstanding job.

Real battle is in displacing the story which is either too hot (Microsoft/Yahoo) or making your story relevant in the new whats-next equation dominated by Facebook, Twitter and FriendFeed.

Kristen Nicole is doing great job covering this session on Mashable. Main points if you are thinking on how to get your press outreach in top gear -

~ have a good personality that becomes central to the brand (Steve Jobs, Richard Branson)
~ have transparency with different audiences: press, users, consumers, partners, etc.
~ current trends. how can you use them to tell your story?
~ strategy behind press and marketing
~ first impressions are key. you have 5 seconds or less to convey how your different, & institute personality
~ create new tactics. if you don’t fit into an existing category, create one.
~ make a conversation centralizer, whether it be an aggregator on your RSS, or a network on Ning where others can engage in the discussions
~ jaiku example: get people to rely on your platform for their own success, because they’ll do marketing for you.

I strongly believe in making a convincing case of new category. Chances are nobody will take your startup seriously for championing new category, but go ahead and try to establish one anyway. Establishing strong intellectual foundation for your new venture is a credible defense in the long run.

One advice for people looking for press engagement. Effectively address whats-so-unique-about-you question. This will atleast get you on pro-bloggers radar. Establishing good credibility is a good start.

[Photo credit Flickr/Earthhour]

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