10 Common PR Mistakes Startups Make (And How PRISM Can Help You Avoid Them)

For startups, PR is often the secret sauce that builds brand awareness, drives growth, and establishes credibility. However, in the race to gain traction, many startups make critical mistakes that can reduce their PR efforts or harm their brand. Understanding these pitfalls—and knowing how to avoid them—can make a significant difference in how effectively a startup tells its story.

PRISM, Marquet Media's proprietary PR framework, is designed to guide businesses through the complexities of public relations with a structured, actionable approach. Here's a closer look at startups' ten common PR mistakes and how the PRISM methodology can help avoid them.

1. Neglecting to Define Clear Objectives

The Mistake: Many startups start PR campaigns without a clear purpose, treating it as a catch-all for "getting noticed" rather than a targeted approach. PR campaigns often need more direction and clear objectives, leading to scattered results that align with business goals.

How PRISM Helps: The PRISM framework begins with "Purpose," emphasizing the importance of defining precise goals. Are you looking to drive brand awareness, position yourself as an industry thought leader, or attract potential investors? By clarifying these goals early on, PRISM ensures your PR efforts are purposeful and aligned with your startup's broader mission.

2. Failing to Understand Your Target Audience

The Mistake: Startups frequently approach PR with a "one-size-fits-all" mentality, assuming that their message will resonate with everyone. But this can lead to generic messaging that fails to connect.

How PRISM Helps: The "Research" phase in PRISM emphasizes identifying and understanding your target audience. Through thorough research, PRISM helps startups pinpoint who they're talking to, what matters most to this audience, and where they spend their time. This insight allows for messaging that resonates deeply and reaches the right people.

3. Inconsistent Messaging Across Channels

The Mistake: Startups often need more fragmented messaging across social media, press releases, and customer interactions, which can create confusion around their brand identity.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM emphasizes consistency in the "Identity" phase, focusing on crafting a cohesive brand voice and messaging that aligns across all channels. This consistency strengthens brand recognition and trust, ensuring that each piece of communication supports a unified image.

4. Overlooking Media Relationships

The Mistake: Some startups see PR as a purely transactional process—send out a press release and get published. This short-sighted approach overlooks the importance of building relationships with journalists and media outlets.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM's "Media" phase is dedicated to relationship-building, encouraging startups to view PR as a long-term strategy rather than a quick fix. By focusing on authentic engagement with media contacts and offering valuable insights, PRISM helps startups establish credibility and foster lasting connections.

5. Focusing Solely on Product Launches

The Mistake: Many startups only engage in PR around product launches, missing out on opportunities to keep their brand in the spotlight year-round. This sporadic approach can limit visibility and create gaps in brand awareness.

How PRISM Helps: The PRISM framework encourages startups to maintain an ongoing PR presence rather than limiting it to launch events. By continuously generating news, sharing insights, and promoting thought leadership, startups can keep their brand relevant and top-of-mind for customers and investors alike.

6. Using Jargon and Buzzwords

The Mistake: Startups sometimes assume that industry jargon and buzzwords make them sound more credible. However, this language often confuses readers or comes across as insincere.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM's "Identity" phase emphasizes clear, authentic communication. By focusing on approachable language that conveys value without unnecessary complexity, startups can build a more trustworthy and relatable brand image. PRISM encourages simplicity and clarity in messaging to make a genuine impact.

7. Neglecting Crisis Management Preparation

The Mistake: Startups rarely anticipate the need for crisis management. However, in today's fast-paced media environment, issues can escalate quickly, and a lack of preparedness can turn small problems into PR disasters.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM includes crisis management strategies that help startups prepare for potential issues. By proactively planning responses to common crisis scenarios, startups can mitigate damage and handle crises in a way that reinforces their credibility. PRISM equips startups with tools to respond confidently and transparently, minimizing reputational harm.

8. Ignoring the Importance of Social Proof

The Mistake: Startups often need to remember the power of testimonials, case studies, reviews, and customer success stories in PR. Without social proof, potential customers may view the startup as unproven or unreliable.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM's focus on building credibility extends to encouraging startups to gather and share social proof actively. By incorporating customer stories and testimonials into PR efforts, startups can create a compelling narrative highlighting real-world impact, making it easier to gain trust and traction.

9. Failing to Track and Measure Results

The Mistake: Many startups need to measure the outcomes of their PR efforts, making it difficult to understand what's working and what isn't. With data, strategies can be refined and better results achieved.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM's "Metrics" phase prioritizes tracking and evaluation, helping startups implement systems to measure the impact of their PR initiatives. By analyzing metrics such as media coverage, social engagement, and website traffic, PRISM provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of campaigns, allowing startups to make data-driven adjustments.

10. Setting Unrealistic Expectations

The Mistake: Startups sometimes expect immediate results from PR, viewing it as a shortcut to success rather than a long-term investment. This mindset can lead to disappointment.

How PRISM Helps: PRISM sets realistic expectations from the outset, emphasizing that PR is a marathon, not a sprint. The framework encourages startups to adopt a steady, consistent approach that builds credibility and visibility over time. By setting achievable goals and focusing on sustainable growth, PRISM helps startups maintain motivation and see the value of PR as an ongoing strategy.

Navigating the PR world can be challenging for startups, but understanding these common pitfalls is the first step in developing and implementing a successful PR strategy. The PRISM framework provides a roadmap to avoid these mistakes and maximize PR impact. By focusing on purpose, research, identity, media, and metrics, startups can build a strong PR foundation that supports growth and longevity.

PR isn't just about getting attention—it's about building a brand that resonates, endures, and leads. With the guidance of PRISM, startups can achieve their PR goals and create meaningful, lasting connections with their audience and industry influencers.