A Guest Post for Startup over Coffee from First PR Alliance:

As the new year begins, your tech startup is ready to make a splash in the media world – this time in Europe. With any luck by now you’ve chosen the right PR firm to help elevate your brand and drive demand in the European markets of interest. But now it’s time to focus on making this partnership as effective as possible.

To ensure that your collaboration with the B2B tech PR firm yields the best results—like increased brand visibility, improved search engine rankings, and more website traffic and leads—it’s crucial to set up an effective onboarding process. This will set the stage for a successful and productive relationship.

Clarify Your PR Objectives, Budget, and Strategy

Start by reviewing and specifying your PR goals for the European market. Whether you want to increase your presence in specific markets, drive more traffic to your site, or position your startup as an industry leader, make sure these objectives are clear and definable. Discuss your budget and any extra costs, such as for media tools or distribution services. Develop a PR strategy that aligns with your business goals and objectives, including both immediate and long-term plans, product updates, campaign details, and event schedules. Ensure that both your team and the account manager for the B2B tech PR firm understand and agree on the strategy and next steps.

Establish Clear Communication

Determine who will be responsible for what tasks and how often you will communicate. Because your European tech PR agency is 5-9 hours ahead of your startup team’s local time, decide on the best communication methods, whether through regular meetings, phone calls, or emails. Some firms might use a dedicated Slack channel for quick updates and real-time discussions.

Define How to Measure Success

Agree on how you will measure the success of your PR campaigns. Understand the PR firm’s methods for tracking results and share any internal metrics you use. This will help both parties get a complete picture of campaign performance.

Evaluate and Refine

After the first campaign, review the results with your B2B tech PR firm. Discuss what worked well, what could be improved, and how to streamline the process for future campaigns.

By following these steps, you’ll set up a strong foundation for a successful and effective partnership with your tech PR firm.

About Sarah Gagliardi: Sarah is a Content Writer for Swyft, a member of First PR Alliance; Swyft is a tech PR agency in Austin and a top digital marketing and PR agency in Denver since its founding in 2011. Swyft offers tech PR in San Francisco though its satellite office in Santa Rosa. Swyft was also listed as one of the top tech PR agencies in Texas by the B2B services review site, Clutch.co.