I'm Sarah, Founder and CEO of Sevans PR. AMA! 🔥

@aaronoleary Hi Aaron and PH community. Quick note, that this REALLY is me, but had to use a different account due to an issue with Twitter two-factor auth sign in. Apologies. First of all, thank you so much for having me this week. I am ready to get started. The biggest mistake that startups use for “PR strategy,” is probably a longer response than you wanted, but here it goes: The strategy really isn’t a strategy at all — simply because founders aren’t public relations, or more importantly, strategic communications, experts. Public relations often sits “on top of” or “above” the marketing funnel, making it more nuanced. It’s not just media relations or getting a mention in TechCrunch, it’s a long-term investment. Our core methodologies at Sevans PR focus on all things that will contribute towards “brand considerations.” Think: earned and owned activities, like proactive and reactive media, thought leadership, awards, speaking, etc… These things start the foundational (and essential) steps for a brand to build: TRUST, AWARENESS, CREDIBILITY and AUTHORITY. To simplify it as much as possible — what keeps people coming back. This is what startups need to think about. Once we get people to our site/product/app/tool, etc… why will they keep coming back, how do we retain them as customers. We have a great “Strategic Communications Model” image I’m happy to share with anyone interested. Just email me at sarah@sevanspr.com to see it.

@hayerhans Talking tools and resources is literally one of my fave professional hobbies. ;) Here’s the current tech stack we use at Sevans PR 💬 @SlackHQ 🔊 @otter_ai ☑️ @todoist 🗓 @Calendly 📧 @PropelPRM 📓 @NotabilityApp 📝 @signnow 📁 @googledrive 📰 @muckrack

@hayerhans @slackhq @otter_ai @todoist @calendly @propelprm @notabilityapp @signnow @googledrive @muckrack @sarah_evans1 👍👍

@fail_men Here’s a fun fact…both my mother and MIL are retired librarians — so reading books has always been a passion. While I highly endorse reading, I also like to challenge people to move to the “doing” stage. There’s no better way to learn! The practice of public relations is much like any “practice-based” occupation and requires a large time investment dedicated to knowledge. All that to say, here are a few books I recommend: Public Relations “Bonus” the AP Stylebook “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” by David Meerman Scott “Known” by Mark Schaefer “Everybody Writes” by Ann Handley Marketing “Permission Marketing” by Seth Godwin “The Zen of Social Media Marketing” by Shama Hyder

@josh_edmond Hi Josh. Thanks so much for asking this great question. I run a strategic communications agency, with a focus in public relations. We intentionally deal in the space of earned and organic and not paid. That said, talking to my peers on the marketing side, there have been major ups and downs the last few years. For example, when COVID first shut everything down in the U.S., our business development inbounds and new clients increased 10X (meaning companies were moving marketing budgets over to PR). In the past few months, we’ve seen many companies start to bring back their marketing budgets and adjust PR budgets accordingly. Now, to your specific question, the current environment is forcing marketing teams to be very conscientious on their marketing mix spends and stay on top of what is actually resulting in conversions. There was a good article in TechCrunch last week, “SaaS startups that ignored VC advice to cut sales and marketing were better off this year,” (link: https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/1...). Is there anything you’re seeing?

@sarah_evans1 First, sorry for my delay. I wasn't able to escape the flu smh. Secondly, I think the most successful companies will continue to be found where their customers are, and I think in the near future those places will change. Specific to display, my company expects technology to shift towards niche platforms and marketplaces. That's why we built www.matchsp.com for Software and Managed Services companies. It never ceases to amaze me how some of the most widely recognized companies still spend 7 figures per month on keywords. I'm more interested now in learning how PR can compliment platforms like MatchSP to create a better customer experience.

@worldvishawn1 I could write a book about this question and so appreciate you asking it. While there are many challenges to owning and operating a PR agency, I’ll lead with a positive — I absolutely love this work and am extremely lucky that I get to do this everyday with a team I intensely admire and respect. My top 4 list of challenges, curated just for you: 1) Managing client expectations and deliverables to keep everyone happy 99% of the time 2) Business development and closing contracts (I think every founder can related to this) 3) Delivering consistent results across every account, every month and maintaining relationships with: team, customers and stakeholders 2) Being a servant-based leader (this is the way I choose to lead, and it becomes a challenge, when I’m focused on the other challenges)

@wesley83 Hi my friend!!! So great to see your question pop up. YES — I will be there and we absolutely must meet up. Can’t wait!!!

@ushercakes Hi Michael. I run a strategic communications agency with a focus in PR, so it’s not typically “me” launching products, but our clients. We’ve learned LOTS over the years and like with any platform, PH changes and evolves. When you’re new to any network, a PR pro will likely always recommend to leverage someone with an existing audience. It’s always easier to start with an established audience or community that trying to build it from scratch — especially during a “moment-based marketing” experience. If you have time to build community prior to a launch, by all means, invest in doing this. Otherwise, find someone who connects with the exact customer you’d like to reach and set aside time and budget to engage with them.

@minimalistphone Hi Martin. I’ll share what I posted to a similar question above, “The best social media platform is where your potential customers or stakeholders are already. When we are thinking about building a strategic communications plan at Sevans PR, that’s what we start with. Many of our clients are trying to reach a combination of: investors, customers (current and new) and media. Each requires not only a different social media mix, but different messaging. I encourage you to identify: 1) WHO are you trying to reach; 2) WHAT social networks they spend time on; 3) HOW you need to message them; and 4) WHICH call-to-actions matter to them.”

@sarah_evans1 Wow, thank you, Sarah, I will try to incorporate these aforementioned tips into our marketing strategy. Thank you once again! :-)

@leojbarnett Without having more context, here are my responses in a few scenarios: 1) If it’s a new app with zero users, invest in a PH launch 2) If it’s already launched, talk to a paid ad expert for the most effective mix (I run a PR agency, so we only deal with earned, owned and a bit of shared) 3) This budget means the app isn’t yet ready for PR as it’s a long-term commitment that requires a monthly budget

@stefaniya_sparysheva LOVE this question. Email me for a copy of our “Strategic Communications Model” image to help visualize. I recommend the following: 1) Key Messaging Guide — think of this as your brand’s “source of truth” document that is used for ALL things (ensures consistent messaging and starts to bring everything together) 2) Monthly Storylines Activity — by vertical —> by audience —— identify 2-3 ideas that could resonate with media at least one-month prior (minus mainstream TV, which book out months in advance), and then work backwards to isolate which reporters might be likely to cover and begin conducting outreach. DO NOT spray and pray these messages to a large list, but take time to highly target and curate (this is where have a professional in the mix makes a huge difference)

@sonalidoval Hi Sonali. At Sevans PR we work with several SaaS clients (most are Series B or C stage) and it’s truly something our team loves working on. Launching a SaaS product is an entirely different strategy than the community-building stage (although building community is always important). While this is hyper-simplified, a strong launch strategy means: 1) Identifying audiences and verticals (audience e.g.: CMOs, buyers, etc…; verticals: think media beats) 2) Build out your marketing funnel (including PR / strategic comms) 3) What about this SaaS product resonates with each audience (for customers - what problem does it solve; for media - what is newsworthy, etc…) 4) Have a launch plan and that you or your team knows what is happening and when — this is everything Community-building should be omnichannel and I’m highly recommending that startups look at event-led growth to connect their community (and not become reliant only on social networks that are experiencing a transitional time).

@sarah_evans1 Thank you for your response Sarah. I really liked that you pointed out event-led growth, I believe that will create a lot of difference in community building.

@technufllc If I’ve learned anything over these past 12 years of owning my own business, it’s that passively waiting does ZERO. You have to constantly be in a place to build relationships. Closing a deal, also means some behind-the-scenes practicing of “knowing the numbers” and other being prepared to answer difficult questions. Once the first deal closes the second becomes easier and so on. You’ll make mistakes in the first few, but be assured that these mistakes will help make the future better.

@brian_ficho We spend a lot of time consulting executives on this very thing. You’re not alone — many executives don’t have time or don’t love being so “public.” It’s important to take time to think about what can be dubbed your “personal brand,” and how you want to share a part of yourself with others. What WILL you talk about? What WON’T you talk about? (This is as important) Where do you want to share? How do you want to share? (Written, audio, video) Start with these four and some sort of cadence you can commit to — daily, weekly or monthly.

@sarah_evans1 great feedback. I wonder if there’s an opportunity for sort of light PR product that helps founders/execs built out a strategy that they can then execute

@product_at_producthunt Hi Michael. This is something I actually no longer use, but when I first started my company in the “early days” of social media it was essentially what I called myself before “influencer” was a thing. Our team created social content for brands at major events — which isn’t even something we offer any longer. You could say that now this has evolved into being advocates and champions for our Sevans PR clients.

@ross_christifulli1 Hi Ross. My apologies for missing this question. I’d like to think my team and I have reached an “expertise” level of helping people launch great products here on Product Hunt. After years of engaging (this isn’t my key account), building and, more importantly, launching, we’ve learned a ton about what to do (and have great methodologies developed to support).

@rodrigo_irarrazaval Product Hunt — join, participate and launch. If you’re talking about media relations specifically, this isn’t a hack as it takes time, but spend a significant amount of time looking for a journalist who would TRULY be interested in what you’re building or launching and reach out to build a relationship before every pitching them a story.

@parker_revers Your instinct is RIGHT on — there may be other opportunities to connect with people on subreddits, too. Start with a smaller group to get OpenMat in a strong place before moving to larger audiences.

@hanna_z Hi Hannah. While we work with several e-commerce companies, I can tell you specifically what works for them. This is from an earned and organic perspective as I run a PR agency (versus traditional marketing). The brands we work with tend to utilize: Instagram and Linked for B2B and are really focusing on event-led growth to build out their funnels (that typically results in the highest retention).