subject: High Tech Pr: Putting Your Town On The Map [print this page] Philadelphia is noted for cheese steaks New York features the worlds finest cheesecake San Francisco has its sour dough bread Of course, Silicon Valley is noted for technology Ever wonder why? It is due in large part to high tech PR that Silicon Valley emerged as the global capital for the high tech industry. Of course, other destinations have emerged Silicon Alley and Silicon Prairie; however, these pale by comparison.
Who knows- A collection of high tech PR campaigns might actually give rise to a new Silicon Valley. By imitating what Silicon Valley does well and working to develop products that are superior, even startups with the smallest beginnings have a shot at emerging as high tech industry leaders. Of course, giving rise to other hot spots for technological invention is good for our nation through the creation of new jobs and investment.
Silicon Valley is home to Apple, Facebook and Google, among other technological giants, and benefits greatly from the talent and ideas from Stanford University. Companies based in the area also receive about $1 out of every $3 invested by venture capitalists.
How can any region ever hope to compete with this behemoth of brilliant minds, tenacious drive, and constant innovation? It definitely wont be easy and Im not sure whether it will even be possible. But high tech PR must certainly play a central role in any effort to rival Silicon Valleys ownership of the high technology sector. High Tech PR services delivered to individual startups in any region provide an opportunity for that market to distinguish itself as a high technology hub, attracting other startups (and investment) while creating jobs.
In a situation like this, a high tech PR campaign would likely start with branding. Silicon Valleys dominion within the high tech world is reinforced by the collective image of its startups. Silicon Valley startups are full of young, quirky, easy-going nerds (think Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and his infamous hoodie). Coolness flows from techies to their products in a way that consumers really notice. A startups high tech PR campaign must cultivate this kind of image, for youth and trendiness are inseparable from high tech success.
High tech PR professionals must analyze a startups potential audiences and figure out how to reach them. In most cases, this audience is predominantly made up of young people. Thus, a great way to promote a new high tech product is executing phased launches at universities. High tech PR professionals can figure out which schools to target and develop messages that will best reach the student body. Members of that student body can be used as spokespeople to continue promoting the product at their university and even extend to outside markets.
Social media is an obvious component to a high tech PR campaign. Any new technology product must be extremely visible on social media channels and high tech PR professionals can work to develop dynamic communities around those platforms. Promotion on Facebook or Twitter can help build a new products reputation and cause information to spread like wildfire. A social media presence also encourages feedback from target audiences, which can be very useful to high tech PR specialists.
