20 recommendations from PR specialists for promoting a startup

Recently, a live stream with PR experts from Kazakhstan took place in the Telegram channel The Tech. They not only provided a professional assessment of the projects but also shared valuable feedback that will help founders improve their ideas. We are sharing the information in text format.

Aidana Toktarkyzy, PR Specialist, Instagram

About Me

I am a PR specialist with experience in journalism. I started my career as a journalist, then worked as an editor before moving into the PR field. I have worked in the banking sector, large corporations, and IT companies, and later focused on my own PR consulting. For the past four years, I have been working at MOST, where I began my activities during the organization's formative stage, when the venture fund and hub were just being established. During this time, the startup ecosystem in the country gained momentum, and it was then that I focused on Tech PR.  

Recommendations

1. Leverage the power of communities. Do not limit yourself to B2B communication with employers; engage employees so they promote your service themselves. Opening a Telegram chat will help create a loyal community where users can share experiences and attract new clients.  

2. Create a landing page. Even if your product operates through Telegram, you need a platform with key information. This will increase user trust and make it easier to understand the service's benefits.  

3. Attract users through content. Engage micro-influencers and marketers who can clearly demonstrate how the service works. Reviews, screenshots, and videos will help interest the audience and drive organic growth.  

4. Build relationships with journalists and adapt news hooks. Media outlets prefer clear and significant events. Craft press releases to align with the interests of publications, and offer speakers for interviews and articles.  

5. Use case studies. Demonstrate examples of successful service implementation, such as how a specific company reduced costs and increased efficiency. This will help strengthen trust in the product and attract new partners.  

6. Strengthen your position in the industry. Your product should be perceived as a standard tool in its niche. To achieve this, it is important to gain visibility through key players, leveraging investors and well-known brands.  

7. Optimize press release distribution. Sending materials to media outlets does not always result in publication. Increase your chances through a personalized approach, long-term relationships, and adapting content to the editorial specifics.  

8. Collaborate with educational projects. Instead of competing with SMM specialists, show how your service helps them speed up their work. Joint projects with marketing training centers will help build loyalty among future professionals.  

9. Work on the brand mission. Define the company's core values and adhere to them in all communications. A unified strategy will help create a recognizable brand and strengthen audience trust. 

10. Develop the brand's tone of voice. Use clear language and storytelling to make communication accessible and appealing to the audience.

Anuarbek Zhalel, Tech PR Expert, Instagram

About Me

I am a Tech PR expert who started my career in 2013. My first steps in the profession were at "Channel 31" as a PR manager. From 2015, I actively worked in television, handling news programs, production, and event organization. In 2021, I became interested in the IT industry and began helping startups with their promotion, which eventually led to the creation of my own Tech PR agency.  

Today, the agency's clients include notable companies in the IT industry, such as Cerebra AI, Codiplay, Med365, EasyTap, CheckDoc, and others. My professional field covers media relations and PR strategies for technology projects.

Recommendations

1. Expand your presence in the information space. Regularly share successes, participate in international competitions and industry events to increase project visibility.  

2. Build personal connections with journalists and editors. Media support plays a key role in promotion, so it is important to personally meet representatives of leading publications in Central Asia, such as The Tech and WE project.  

3. Optimize media relations. Offer exclusive publications, adapt press releases to editorial standards, and consider language adaptation by publishing materials in Russian, Kazakh, and English.  

4. Participate in significant industry events. Use major events, such as Digital Bridge and the Central Eurasian Venture Forum, to announce key news and strengthen market positions.  

5. Interact with info-business and opinion leaders. Find experts who can recommend your product to the target audience.  

6. Build a professional community. Organize meetings and events for HR specialists to train them on working with the product and turn them into brand advocates.  

7. Use Telegram to attract an audience. Find specialists in setting up sales funnels and launch a channel with useful content to enhance customer engagement.  

8. Develop a Government Relations strategy. Interact with government structures and business, demonstrating the value of your product for solving current market challenges.  

9. Apply strategies of successful Kazakhstani brands. Create an image of a strong, trustworthy project, similar to how Gennady Golovkin and Dimash Kudaibergen do in their respective fields.  

10. Work on strong positioning. Unify PR activities into a single strategy, integrating participation in competitions, media relations, professional communities, and government initiatives.