• Matter’s Open Door: Startup Edition

    Matter’s Open Door: Startup Edition

    In June, Matter’s Open Door program conducted one of its free classes on PR, media relations and social media for startups. Below are some of the session’s best takeaways.

    I’m the only one on my team that has time to work with media. How should I approach it?

    It’s important to have a consistent contact person reaching out to the media in order to build a solid rapport over time, so try to build a couple hours each week into your schedule for devoted media relations work. While it is not expected (or recommended) that you constantly send reporters new pitches, you do need to find creative ways to consistently reach out with story angles that will benefit your brand and their readers. Really think about the kind of information they want to provide, and be realistic about how you fit in.

    Tip: Read a couple articles each week from your target publications or journalists so you can get familiar with what they like to cover.

    If you’re working with a small team or handling pitching by yourself, focus on the journalists that are most actively covering your market first. You can expand your efforts once you become comfortable with the process.

    –Sage Morander, Account Executive


    How can I create compelling social media channels if my customers are businesses, not consumers?

    B2B companies can still be creative, both in the copy of social posts and in visuals. Use images, graphics, videos, GIFs and more to showcase your company’s personality across your platforms. Don’t be afraid to have a little fun! But be conscientious about the trends you choose to adopt – don’t try too hard to be “with it”.

    When you’re posting promotional content, make sure you’re including “lifestyle” (or “workstyle”) visuals that put your products or services in the context of your customers’ daily lives. This creates a human connection with your brand while bringing more life to the work that you do. Similarly, make sure you capture images at events, conferences and internal happenings that include people. Leverage these people-laden images on social to display your culture and corporate values.

    Tip: Continuously build a content library that you can pull from for posts throughout the year.

    -Julianna Sheridan, Senior Account Executive


    I’m already up to my ears in prototypes, presentations and meetings. Is PR really that important to what I’m doing right now?

    Yes! But not necessarily how you think. It takes time to get ready for a dedicated PR effort, and more time still to execute that effort so it brings you the type of positive coverage that will enhance your marketing, sales, social and recruiting efforts. Indeed – it’s time you might not currently have.

    But, what you should make time for is thinking through a PR strategy that will aid you in the future – especially if you’re courting new stakeholders. They’re interested in investing in ideas that have staying power. It’s your job to show them that you know what needs to be done at each stage of growth to ensure your company succeeds.

    Growing companies need meaningful exposure. They need differentiated messages. They need trained spokespeople. They need thought leadership. Outlining your approach for these elements now could just be the thing that convinces a stakeholder to come on board.

    -Vanessa Boynton, Account Director



    Curious about Matter’s Open Door? Send us an email!

    Matter

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  • Matter Takes on NewCo Boston

    Matter Takes on NewCo Boston

    Another year, another great NewCo.

    Matter joined a tribe of talented, tech-hungry people last week for the 3rd annual NewCo Boston Festival, hosted by the Mass Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC). During the two-day event, attendees step out of their day-to-day and into the offices of over 70 participating companies to network and learn about the local innovation scene.

    One idea struck our team. Nearly every session focused, accidentally or purposefully, on company culture and how it spurs innovation. Companies today are differentiating on culture. The holy grail is defining and managing a differentiated culture at every stage of growth, from coworking spaces and startups, to established players and PR firms.

    … or brand elevation agencies. See what I did there?

    It’s a tall order. Many entrepreneurs we spoke with insisted they were different in the same words as everyone else. There was plenty of Kool-Aid, but also plenty of passion for business, branding and Boston as an innovation hub.

    If you’re an emerging company, and you want to differentiate, test your story. Boston is the number one startup scene in the country for two-years running, and our ecosystem affords unlimited access to people who can help validate your brand. Reach out. Connect with fellow innovators, and if you’re feeling major NewCo FOMO, we hope to see you next year!

    Check out some of the sessions Matterites attended below, and get in touch with us for a one-on-one about how different your message really is. We have the privilege of working with some of the smartest, scrappiest entrepreneurs in Boston, and we can help you find your place in this bustling, burgeoning scene.

    • Alley Cambridge is a coworking community powered by Verizon. Alley Cambridge Events and Programming Manager Kirby Chin and Verizon Sr. Consultant Michael Sullivan spoke about 5G networks, installing a 5G small cell in the space and collaborating with local startups to develop use cases.
    • Buildium offers a property management solution for real estate professionals. Buildium VP of Product Piyum Samaraweera spoke about the shift toward a renter-centric real estate market, and crowdsourced ideas for a renter-friendly mobile app.
    • Carbonite is a leader in data protection, and one of Boston’s homegrown public companies (NASDAQ:CARB). Carbonite CEO Mohamad Ali discussed the company’s dramatic evolution from a B2C to B2B brand, and learnings over the last five years.
    • Cengage is the education and technology company built for learners. Cengage’s leadership team hosted a panel about their culture and how it has inspired innovation and evolution within the organization.
    • CIC Cambridge offers coworking and office space for innovators. The event featured a roundtable where attendees could learn about CIC events, and Senior Relationship Manager Meredith McSorley gave a tour of their flagship location.
    • Essential Design is a leading innovation strategy and product design consultancy. Founding Partner Scott Stropkay and Principal Engineer Kurt Maw gave a tour of their downtown space and discussed commercializing new ideas and products for success.
    • Oxfam America is a Boston-based global nonprofit working to end poverty. Oxfam President & CEO Abby Maxman and Sr. Manager, ICT4D Neal McCarthy discussed how they incorporate technology and incubator-like approaches into their operation.
    • SmartBear delivers software quality tools for teams. Headquartered in Assembly Row, the team led a discussion around the API economy and developing an API strategy.
    • Wellist is a provider of patient experience solutions for healthcare. Wellist VP of Client Delivery Kelly Hall and Senior Manager of Analytics Nikki Vance hosted a session on using data and compassion to understand patient needs and promote well-being.
    • Workbar offers top-notch coworking spaces throughout the Greater Boston area. Workbar’s Head of Community Devin Cole led a presentation about their model, their members and their growth.

    Matter

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  • Startup Guide: How to Crush Your First Media Interview

    Startup Guide: How to Crush Your First Media Interview

    As a startup founder, you’ve poured blood, sweat, tears and capital into your company. You’ve invested in the right talent, built a differentiated product or service, acquired customers and maybe raised some funding, and it’s time to launch your startup into the public eye.

    Media coverage is one of the most cost-effective ways to generate brand awareness for your startup at launch. The right journalists can help validate your idea, build authority for you and your company, and attract the attention of new customers and investors.

    But getting visibility for your work isn’t easy. The number of U.S. startups has grown for the third year in a row, with 310 out of every 100,000 adults becoming new entrepreneurs in a given month, according to the 2017 Kauffman Index of Startup Activity.

    It’s a crowded market. So, when you do land a coveted media interview, you want to crush it.

    How should you prepare? What questions should you anticipate, and how do you maintain the relationship? Here’s your crash course.

    How Should You Prepare?

    When preparing for a media interview, always start with your messaging. Know your mission and vision statements, and be able to articulate what you do in brief, plain language.

    Working with the media for a living, we can’t emphasize enough how important it is to avoid jargon (see our “Startup Guide: How to Talk About Your Tech”). And if you can’t explain what you do in 10 to 30 seconds, go back to the press when you can.

    Once you have your elevator pitch down, turn to key messages. Every media interview is a chance to drive core messaging about your company, industry and view for the future. Identify two or three key points, and relevant stories to support them.

    Remember, plan a media interview. Never wing it.

    There are other simple dos and don’ts to be aware of before meeting with a journalist. The right PR firm can advise you of any reporter-specific prep, but generally:

    Dos

    • Turn off your cell phone or email
    • Speak slowly and clearly
    • Be concise and repeat key messages
    • Encourage a two-way conversation

    Don’ts

    • Don’t be late (five minutes early is best)
    • Don’t say “no comment” or go “off the record”
    • Don’t lie or mislead
    • Don’t talk negatively about competitors

    As a final step, create an internal FAQ to prepare for questions a journalist may ask. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

     

    What Questions Should You Anticipate?

    With both journalists and investors in our network, we see striking similarities between pitch decks and what startups present to the media. Media want to know about the problem you solve, your company and team, the market, and evidence of your traction:

    • What does your company do? (did we mention brief, plain language?)
    • Who are your competitors, and how are you different?
    • When was the company founded?
    • Where is your office(s), and how many employees do you have?
    • Can you name specific customers or partners?
    • How do you price your product or service?
    • Have you raised any funding, and can you disclose the amount or investors?
    • What are next steps for your company?

    Inherent in all of of this are statistics. The more numbers you can reveal, the better, including total revenue or revenue growth, funding, headcount, number of customers, etc.

    Add to the list tough questions about your brand. Are you in an exceptionally crowded space where a journalist will question your differentiation? Are there security and privacy issues surrounding your product or service? Anticipate and address these questions head on, and you’ll fare well with media.

     

    How Do You Maintain the Relationship?

    When all goes well, your first media interview is only the beginning. Send the journalist a thank you with links to relevant resources, and keep him or her apprised of future news.

    Of course, not everything is news. For more on that, check out, “What Really Counts As News” from Matter account manager and fellow startup advocate, Vanessa Boynton.

    When it comes to PR, the most important relationships you can develop are with media contacts. Think about them with just as much care as you would your customers.

    Need a PR firm that lives and breathes media relations? Give us a call.

    McKenzie Mayer’s ‘Startup Guide’ is an ongoing series on the Matter blog. Designed for those building a business or just building their brand, each post is a crash course in startup communications. Ready to get started?

    Matter

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  • Startup Guide: How to Talk About Your Tech

    Startup Guide: How to Talk About Your Tech

    After months of iteration, you’ve built a new technology. Your voice assistant reads today’s headlines. Or your deep learning platform returns new techniques for disease management from thousands of medical journals. Or your disk storage hardware archives directly to Amazon’s public cloud.

    Now, how do you talk about it?

    Describing the mission and vision of a product or service is a challenge for all companies. But the task is particularly tall in the tech industry, where complex systems and specialized language make “About Us” pages look like collections of ones and zeros.

    Who is your audience? How do you translate your tech and present it in an impactful, relatable way? Here’s your crash course:

    Who is Your Audience?

    If I were writing for an audience in Berlin, würde Ich diesen Blog auf Deutsch schreiben (I would write this blog in German).

    The same goes for tech: define your audience, then translate your tech accordingly.

    Industry analysts report on specific vertical markets. Identify the right analyst for you and review their policy for confidential information, often a written or verbal Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Then, focus on the technical details of your product or service and how it compares to competitors. Examples: Gartner, Forrester, International Data Corporation (IDC).

    Industry trade press cover specific vertical markets with an emphasis on case studies. Identify the right trade editor for you and review their editorial guidelines, often posted on the website. Then, focus on the applications of your product or service, and how partners and customers use it in the real world. Examples: Adweek, IndustryWeek, Nation’s Restaurant News.

    National press cover the intersection of business, technology and society. Identify the right writer for you and review their column carefully. Then, focus on how your product or service speaks to a larger trend, and use data to show political, economic or socio-cultural impact. Examples: Business Insider, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal.

    No matter the audience, ditch the jargon. When in doubt, send the copy to someone outside your industry. We sell platform-agnostic retail CRM software is not as clear as you think.

    Also, if you haven’t discovered the Sideways Dictionary from Google’s Jigsaw incubator and the Washington Post, check it out. The site uses analogies and metaphors to decrypt tech terms.

    How Do You Present Your Tech?

    “Show, don’t tell” is the mark of expert storyteller and the secret sauce for talking deep tech. While many entrepreneurs immediately think, “slide deck,” there are several other formats to consider.

    • Case Study. Often the best people to talk about your tech are the ones who use it. Enlist a customer or partner for a testimonial or media interview to describe their pain and present your solution.
    • Survey or Report. Matter Account Manager Vanessa Boynton recently shared on LinkedIn: “Your ideas, predictions and aspirations mean nothing without real experiences, facts and figures backing them up.” Original research is a powerful way to show, not tell, the need for your technology in the market.
    • Infographic. You’ve heard a picture is worth a thousand words, and it’s true for complex tech. Use an infographic to show the inner workings of your artificial intelligence engine. Then, consider turning it into a fully animated video, social media images and other shareable, visual content.
    • Video. Would you rather read about a technology or watch a video? Research by Cisco and others says the latter. Miles Bergstrom, Matter video production coordinator, has your crash course on creating a killer branded video.

     

    Ready to talk tech? Let’s nerd out.

    Matter

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  • Exploring the Portland Startup Scene at NewTech PDX

    Exploring the Portland Startup Scene at NewTech PDX

    As a Massachusetts native, I’ve encountered my fair share of smart, scrappy founders working to turn their ideas into reality in a competitive ecosystem. As a transplant to the west coast and working in Matter’s Portland office, it’s easy to see there’s something different in the air here, and startups love it. To date, I haven’t been more reminded of that than I was at a recent NewTech PDX gathering. A monthly networking event, it brings together individuals from across Portland’s diverse business community to make new connections and support the professionals that power this budding startup mecca. This month’s event, hosted at New Relic, was themed after a subject near and dear to Portland’s heart: Food.

    Before you start salivating, check out the video we created below that takes a closer look at the individuals and organizations that make up NewTech PDX.

    Companies like Intel and Nike give Portland a reputation for top notch tech and consumer goods, but there’s no discussing the best things in Portland without mentioning its culinary culture. It’s also perhaps one of the best ways to understand what drives this city’s robust startup community. Food and drink is everywhere in Portland, from high end steakhouses to Froot Loop donuts; from molecular mixology to gourmet grilled cheese food carts. It’s a boon for diners, but even moreso for entrepreneurs looking to make a splash in food.

    During this month’s NewTech PDX event, I had the chance to sample some unbelievable cuisine and to hear from a handful of companies leading the charge in foodtech. As I listened to founders passionately describing their projects, there were some standout takeaways that illustrate why Portland is such a great place for startups, delicious and otherwise.

    1. This is a haven of sustainable and intentional living. It might be the overwhelming beauty of our natural landscapes, or Oregon’s strong farming and craft culture, but the demand for transparency and responsibility in food production is pervasive. Leveraging a regional predilection for farm-to-table with tech-driven convenience, MilkRun has found a willing test audience in Portland to take their fresh, farmer-friendly take on food delivery to a national stage.
    2. Portland’s people and infrastructure are evidence of a community ready to let technology reshape daily life. From bikeshare kiosks to digitized streetcar tickets to iPad cash registers, a night (or day) on the town is unavoidably digital. YouAte, a free food journaling app available for iOS, is finding new ways for technology to help us make healthier choices and enjoy all the great food this city has to offer in a more mindful way.
    3. Portland loves a food fad, but from food carts to underground gastropubs, the people here also know that great dining experiences often come in unexpected packages. Feastly, a company that connects chefs with venues for pop-up restaurants and experimental culinary events, is providing a new platform to make this happen. It’s great for chefs looking for adventurous eaters, and vice versa. I’ve personally got my eye on Food of Guam next month, but there’s plenty of great meals to go around, regardless of your preferred tastes.
    4. I’ve been here for a year, and about half of the people I meet at a given event have been here for less time. The fact is that talented young professionals are flocking to Stumptown in droves, and they need jobs. Poached, another NewTech presenter, is changing the way restaurants hire, providing a platform that opens up a world of new opportunities for those working in the foodservice industry. With new restaurants popping up every day and torrent of professional transplants, business is booming.

    While Portland’s startup culture has exploded in recent years, the city has a well established and long standing reputation as a haven for entrepreneurs. Most of us have heard, at least a dozen or so times, the story of Portland’s original deal maker, Henry Pittock, who showed up penniless in 1853 on the banks of the Willamette before becoming a self-made millionaire. In 2017, his sprawling family mansion is still a Portland landmark, and a testament to the fact that if you’ve got a crazy idea and a willingness to work hard for it, this is a great place to be. If only he’d also predicted Portland’s inexplicable obsession with donuts, his house might have been even bigger…

     

    Matter

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  • Everybody Grab Your Brand Buddy

    If any one word could lay claim to the zeitgeist of the last decade, it’s “community”. Obviously “community” has been a core driver of human behavior for millennia, but the past ten years have championed the term as the essence of not only how we market ourselves, but how we operate our businesses. As of a few years ago, it stopped being enough to have a good product; you also had demonstrate how your product, or your profits, benefited the community at large.

    This can be an overwhelming idea to startups or brands in crisis, who often suffer from a lack of exposure (or worse yet, an abundance of negative opinions). How are they supposed to break through the gut-wrenching, face-melting din of modern media and transform into an instinctual, essential part of customers’ daily lives?

    I’ll tell you what: you’ll get there a lot faster if you stop thinking about “community” and start thinking about “collaboration”. Having a good product and community benefit at heart isn’t the secret anymore; you have to demonstrate how your brand fits alongside the brands that have already established themselves with your audience and can draw a clear line between the product they offer and the betterment of mankind. So how do you find them?

    1. Build a customer profile. Build several, for that matter. Marketing, advertising and PR agencies have been doing this for decades, and there’s a damn good reason for it. Building a profile for your ideal customer allows you to envision the nuances of their daily lives, including the types of brands that are so essential they’ve basically become thoughtless reflexes. Your goal is to be so well-known that no one thinks about you at all.
    2. Figure out why their chosen brands are essential. For many of them, the reasons may be far from practical. Dive deep into your lizard brain and analyze how the brands in your daily life deliver comfort and validation. Understanding your customers’ emotional needs will make it easier to see how your product, service or idea can double-down on the real, intangible benefits those other brands deliver.
    3. Realize that it’s 2016 and brands = media. That means thinking like a journalist. Brands used to live entirely at the mercy of the media and what it chose to expose, but now the relationship is different. Brands’ best shot for long-term exposure is collaboration with media to produce meaningful content, hence the meteoric rise of guest columns, sponsored posts, brand journalism and content marketing. While you’re thinking about the brands your customers consider essential to daily life, explore which media they consider essential too. Consider that media relationships are the brand relationships you covet, and thus, the onus is on you to create the informed, unbiased, interactive content – with input from independent influencers – that media will want to provide to readers.
    4. Read their quarterly and annual reports. I don’t care how you feel about 30 pages of pie charts and long-winded mission statements. These reports not only deliver much of the transparency that millennials and entrepreneurs crave, they give you an immediate idea about where the brand is expected to go, and how it plans to fit in customers’ ecosystems, now and in the future. You’re not looking for a firework. You’re looking for a satellite.

    Successful brand partnerships are now a critical part of strategic exposure and long-term business growth. They don’t just burgeon one-off ideas – they establish positive associations, pool resources and allow brands to continuously learn from each other. If you’re looking to get your business off the ground, make sure at least one member of your team is dedicated to exploring partnerships, not just investors, with great potential. Too short on time? Here’s a partnership to kick things off.

    Vanessa Boynton

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