Startup PR Mistakes To Avoid In 2016

January is a time for New Year’s resolutions and so drawing on my experiences of a year spent networking, hearing pitches at events like the HoxTech Angels, Hipster Hackers & Hustlers speed-pitching (everyone should try this event!) and many others, as well as helping companies spread their gospel, I want to air my feelings about what startup companies doing PR for the first time should urgently try to avoid doing. Plus a few things I believe they should be doing.

London’s tech scene is booming with nearly $10 billion of venture capital investment being pumped into the city since 2010, and it’s all thanks to the efforts of entrepreneurs, who make the startup scene so special. So stay bold, make time, keep strong, and read on.

Make sure to get your timings right!

Every new business should have a clear set of internal milestones; and a clear idea of when they will be achieved. First 1,000 users, first paying customer, date of app release, first hire. But because they are internal, these timelines are not set in stone – it may take more or less time than you envisaged, and that is ok – no harm done.

Any timelines that a business communicates externally however – to investors or customers for example – must be achieved before or on deadline. Imagine the brouhaha if Tim Cook announced the launch date of a new iPhone – and then subsequently announced he was moving the date back one month. Questions would be asked, speculation would be rife – what are they playing at – stock value would plunge, and competitors would jump at the opportunity to stick the knife in.

The same goes for a startup launching a new app or product – in fact failure to stick to a public deadline will be received even worse because a startup doesn’t have a track record of success to fall back on. It’s absolutely crucial that your first interaction with the outside world goes smoothly. The world is waiting to see if you as a business can do what you say you will do – trapped in your own world scrapping with a back end teething problem you may not notice the attention you are getting– you may not feel the growing anticipation. It might be clear to you the reasons why you need to delay – so you can release a better, less buggy version of your product – but your audience will not see it like that.

And there’s really no excuses – after all you get to set the deadline – so make it achievable, factor in delays, talk to as many of your staff as you can. Give yourself the leeway you need. You set the expectations – so make them realistic.

Disclaimer :- Following article come from Forbes