You’ve built an innovative new fintech product. It could be a mobile payments app, robo-advisor, or lending platform. Whatever it is, it can potentially disrupt the industry. Now, you need to get the word out and generate buzz.
But breaking through all the competition and actually reaching your audience is easier said than done in the crowded fintech space. But the good news is that effective PR strategies tailored for tech can get your story heard.
In this article, we will share some insider tips and provide strategic PR advice so you can bring more eyeballs to your project. We’ve covered you, from learning how to write a dedicated finance press release to timing major announcements to drive maximum exposure.
Clarify Your Value Proposition
Before contacting the media, you must clearly define your value proposition and message. Ask yourself:
- What core customer problem does your product solve?
- Why should you care about existing solutions?
- How specifically does your technology work? What is its “secret sauce”?
- What key user benefits does it provide (convenience, cost savings, etc.)?
- Who stands to gain the most value from using it?
Boil down answers to these questions to a simple, compelling one or two-sentence pitch. Avoid overly hyped language. Be specific about functionality and concrete about benefits. This value proposition will form the backbone of all your communications.
Identify Your Target Media
Not all media outlets and journalists are created equal. You want to identify and prioritize fintech-focused publications and writers that reach key audiences that are aligned with your goals.
Google News and a handful of other online tools can be useful for identifying top authors covering topics relevant to you. Pay attention to national tech sites, industry trade publications read by potential partners, local tech blogs in your headquarters city, and vertical publications focused on finances and investing. The goal is to make a targeted wish list spanning tech, business, and finance.
When researching writers, look beyond just headline article counts. Check what beats they cover regularly. Do they specialize in specific fintech niches? Have they covered competitors? Do they focus on big-picture analysis or breaking news? Are they open to startups pitching stories? Aligning your story with an author’s unique needs and interests will give you a huge leg up.
Craft Persuasive Pitches
After identifying target publications and journalists, it’s time to start pitching. But avoid sending mass emails lacking personal details if you want writers to consider featuring your company seriously. Customize and tailor each pitch.
Your subject line is the first impression, so make it compelling without overselling. Referencing the publication directly will instantly make you stand out. Give just enough information on what you do to spark intrigue without revealing everything upfront.
Next, contextualize the pitch by acknowledging other relevant articles or current events as a news hook, showing why your story matters now. Offer exclusive details or data the publication won’t find elsewhere. Discuss why readers should care and how your insight or offering impacts their daily lives or finances. Extend unique offers like letting journalists demo your platform or interview key executives.
However, doing all of this manually—researching journalists, crafting personalized pitches, and managing outreach—can be incredibly time-consuming, especially for startups with limited resources. Fintech PR distribution can automate many of these processes, streamlining your outreach and freeing you from building every relationship and managing every pitch entirely on your own.
Make Your Story Visual
If you post a financial press release that is highly text-heavy, you run the risk of losing journalists and your audience. Innovative fintech products demand visuals and demos that bring functionality to life.
Create product explainers and tutorial videos showing how your technology works for digital or app-based services. Screenshots spotlighting key features are also helpful. If regulations allow, journalists should be given trial access to test it firsthand. For something like robo-advisors, share sample interactive dashboards illustrating customized investment recommendations.
Physical fintech devices likewise benefit from high-quality photography and rendering visuals. Produce glossy, professionally shot images showing industrial designers and engineers assembling sleek hardware products packed with advanced AI and blockchain tech. Capture groups brainstorming around whiteboards filled with algorithms, showcasing the human expertise behind innovations.
This visual content plays perfectly for social media shares driving web traffic, and it makes writers feel invested, having seen your product close up, not just pitching promises.
Time Major Announcements Strategically
Knowing when NOT to reach out is as important as consistently maintaining media relationships through ongoing story pitches. You’ll gain much more traction by dropping big news during critical windows when the press is manageable and covering breaking developments across industries.
For example, announcing a Series A funding round or product launch right as the biggest tech show of the year, like CES dominates headlines means you’ll likely be overlooked. Similarly, major quarterly earnings reports from fintech giants like Paypal, Revolut, or Stripe can drown you out.
Check industry calendars and pace your news cycle rather than frantically reacting to competitors. Look for feature gaps in upcoming issues or months when publications shift to editorial themes aligning with your vertical – for instance, fintech innovations corresponding to tax season. Slow summer months, holiday downtime, or back-to-school season are all opportunities to stand out with fewer competing announcements.
Track Performance Closely
Once you start securing coverage, it’s easy to bask in glory and move on. However, savvy PR requires a measurement-guiding strategy. First, you must set well-defined KPIs based on core goals – do you prioritize brand awareness, recruiting talent, attracting investors, driving revenue through conversions, or something else?
Tag and thoroughly track each media mention across channels like news articles, broadcasts, podcasts, and blog posts. Transcribe key pulls, audience demographics reached, unique visitors are driven to your site, and social engagement. A quality fintech press release platform should provide this data and analytics.
Look closely at vanity metrics like impressions and real business impact converting opportunities influenced by press, such as customers acquired, hire candidates sourced, funding secured, and revenue that can be directly attributed back to specific coverage.
This performance data will prove invaluable in continually refining messaging, prioritizing high-value media relationships and segments, and confirming the concrete ROI of PR spend compared to other initiatives.
Final Word
Ultimately, fintech PR requires work, but when done right, it builds meaningful relationships and invaluable exposure. Rather than a one-and-done tactic, view media outreach as an ongoing conversation that, with nurturing, can amplify your message to key audiences and drive tangible business growth.
To read more content like this, explore The Brand Hopper
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