Founders, We Need to Talk.
Hillel Fuld
Global Speaker, Tech Columnist, and Startup Marketing Advisor | Transforming Startups into Businesses
I think it’s time to clear a few things up.?
I find that often times, CEOs/founders/entrepreneurs confuse different terms pertaining to marketing.?
Content
Well, this is a general term and it can mean a lot of things, but in the marketing world, it refers to a company’s own content. This is the stuff that is hosted on the company blog/vlog/podcast.?
This should not be confused with PR or social media content. This type of content is owned by the company and is usually hosted within the site so it has the company branding. If done right, the goal here is to establish the company as an authority
PR
This is when someone else, namely a journalist writes about you. This typically happens when you (the company) have news such as funding, a big partnership, an acquisition, etc.?
This should not be confused with a thought leadership piece, which I’ll explain below. It is also not the same as content or social media. This is someone else writing about you, not you writing about your industry.?
Blog
This one drives me a bit nuts even though it shouldn’t. When people say to me “I saw on your blog” when what they really mean is that they saw it on my FB or Twitter.?
A blog is a destination site, usually a subdomain of the main site. So if your company’s website is xyz dot com, then your blog might be something like xyz dot com / blog. A blog is not a social platform. It is not an article someone writes about you. A blog is a blog.?
Social Media
You know what it means but often, people I speak to confuse the content you share on social with the content you write on your blog. Social media content might be a quote or a meme or a GIF but the content on your blog is usually long form.?
Categorize your social media posts
Thought leadership
This can mean a lot of things but it’s often used in the context of the CEO or another exec writing their thoughts on the industry and publishing it as a contributor on a large publication.?
This should not be confused with your native content (on your blog), PR, or your social media content. This should also not be confused with something that’ll drive immediate results. This is not an ad. The goal of this type of article is to raise brand awareness
Contributor
This refers to a situation in which a person writes content for a big site, but doesn’t have the freedom to write whatever they want. This also means that generally speaking, the person doesn’t cover news, so no need to pitch them.?
领英推荐
On my LinkedIn, you can see that I write for many publications. But that is not my job and I have to submit every article to an editor. And I never cover news. If only you knew how many pitches I get about news stories. All the person had to do was look at articles I’ve written on that site and they’d see that I don’t do news.?
Business Development
This should not be confused with sales or with marketing. Business development is about relationships. It’s about long term results. It’s about wining and dining a potential partner to establish trust and a long term relationship
I find that many startups don’t have such a role. The larger companies do. The public companies do. The startups don’t, primarily because often times, founders think they can do biz themselves because how hard can it be? Big mistake.?
Branding
This is the narrative of the company. This includes the story, the positioning, the visual assets (logo, design, etc.), and the tone of the company.?
This is not the same as marketing and it is a crucial part of the development of any company.?
Go-to-market strategy
This is the vehicle by which you will bring your product to the hands of your target audience. PR is not a GTM strategy. Neither is social media. These are both components of a GTM along with many others including paid user acquisition.?
Buzz/Hype
Don’t say it. Like ever. When I hear an entrepreneur say “I want to get some buzz or build some hype”, I wish them luck.?
Going viral
Anyone who says they can make you go viral should be fired. No such person.?
SEO
This is the method by which sites rank on Google. Meaning if you do SEO well, the goal is for people to find you on search when they search for a keyword that you optimized for.?
The holy grail is to find the balance between a term that is not overly competitive so you’re not competing with the whole world and a term that has enough search volume
ASO
App Store optimization
This is a secret weapon and anyone who masters this can get millions of downloads with close to no money spent. The catch? It ain’t easy and it changes all the time.?
Ok, I’ll stop here. Did I miss anything important?
Owner of advertising, marketing, and PR agency “Friedman PR”
3 年Hillel, thanks for sharing!
Startup Marketing & Brand Strategy
3 年Excellent summary - enough detail to differentiate without becoming too burdensome to refer back to easily. Thanks for the perfect framework to use when discussing content needs ??
?? Empowering Rural Communities | ?? Founder & CEO, Biofeed & Dream Valley | ?? Pioneer in Poverty Alleviation Through Agro-Business Innovation | ?? Thought Leader | Author | Mentor | Visionary | Scholar
3 年Hillel Thanks for putting some order in this mess ??
Innovation Marketing
3 年Great primer. I find many founders think PR = press release, as opposed to public relations, so I always walk through all that is involved in gaining and maintaining a media presence.?
Sales and BizDev professional in multiple verticals
3 年Great piece. Well worth the read...and re-read