Tag Archive for: cleantech PR

Do Clean Energy Companies Need PR?

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Does your clean energy innovation need to ‘get ‘more press? Do you need help as a clean energy solutions provider regarding PR? Having a well-thought-out and executed green energy public relations strategy is critical to any emerging industry, but particularly those whose stakeholders include consumers, regulators, and governments.

It is no secret that the energy service company’s (ESCO) popularity in the private sector now has restrictions due to a highly fragmented and uncertain marketplace. Their customers often need to be more willing and unknowledgeable to try new energy-efficient products. These challenges underline the need for clean energy companies to embrace communication-enabling and relationship-building green energy public relations.

The Rise of the ESCOs

Over the past few years, increased interest has been in providing clean energy services to meet eco-friendly goals. Many new energy service companies (ESCOs) provide clean energy solutions to the end user and install and supply energy-efficient products.

What separates ESCO from traditional companies and equipment suppliers is that the services and energy solutions offered by energy service companies are directly tied to energy savings. In short, an ESCO is a company that provides clean energy innovation and energy solutions at a lower cost. Energy service companies agree to a contract with energy users in both the public and private sectors to offer cost-effective, energy-efficient solutions that include retrofits and a broad spectrum of innovative clean energy products.

Energy-as-a-service (EaaS) is another business model that offers similar energy solutions but for a recurring subscription fee instead of a traditional upfront investment. A service provider assumes responsibility for the entire scope of the services, including; the installation, operation, and maintenance, and the end user has to pay for the energy service through a subscription. Services can also include a budget-friendly, pay-per-use model.

Energy-as-a-service (EaaS) can take several shapes. For example, a commercial building may hire an Energy-as-a-service (EaaS) provider to construct and maintain a rooftop solar system that creates electricity for the building while also feeding excess power into the grid. The solar panels would be financed, installed, and maintained by the Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) provider, while the building owner would pay a fee for the energy supplied by the system.

Whether it’s an established ESCO or an early-stage green-energy start-up, conveying their “big vision” to an increasingly distracted (and reluctant) audience can be challenging. Enter the energy PR agency.

Challenges in Enterprise Tech PR

Consumers and investors tend to have a voracious appetite for all things tech. However, most of the enterprise tech PR you’ll notice online has little to do with the actual technology and more with the industry’s business side.

It may include which tech businesses have acquired other smaller companies, which start-ups have managed to lock down financial rounds, and what those finances are earmarked to accomplish in the coming months or years. While having that sort of information is good to know, the end customer is more interested in the technology, the tone of the press release, and the message it conveys.

It’s hardly unexpected that the discipline of technology public relations has developed alongside technology’s evolution and integration into our lives. Because technology businesses are continuously launching new goods, knowing how to communicate about these items is crucial for success.

Technology public relations (PR) professionals work to spread the word about new technologies, whether new developments from established firms or creative ideas from start-ups. Technology public relations use the media and other audiences to increase brand reputation and awareness.

Collaborating with reporters specializing in some technical regions, green energy public relations firms, and experts may assist in disseminating information clearly and intelligibly. Technological advancements have always been at the center of media attention; the first printing press was seen as a “modern miracle” by many.

Today’s communications are more complicated, yet the enthusiasm accompanying the announcement of a new idea remains. A technology public relations professional aims to channel this excitement into favorable coverage of their client’s invention across as many media outlets as possible. While some PR practitioners may specialize in one component of communications, such as crafting media messaging or dealing with clients, enterprise tech PR often necessitates a more thorough grasp of all aspects of communication.

Benefits of Hiring an Energy PR Agency

The benefits of hiring enterprise tech PR to handle green energy public relations are a no-brainer, which is why many forward-thinking companies offering clean energy innovation have already begun reaping the rewards of a tech PR agency. If you are a tech start-up or tech-based SME still on the fence about using a tech PR agency, here are some reasons why jumping on the technology PR bandwagon makes sense.

Helps Save Time

Time is money in a client-driven business. Since recruitment marketers are extremely busy individuals in a time-sensitive, competitive environment, it is critical to respond swiftly and seize opportunities as they occur. A tech PR agency can develop excellent material faster since they are professionals in the recruiting sector.

Combining this with established media contacts will make you see results faster, whether you seek brand recognition through media coverage or direct leads from increased website traffic. You will also have ample time for other parts of your recruiting marketing and company growth strategy.

Tech-Specific Knowledge

One of the primary reasons for engaging an energy PR agency is their knowledge. They have good contacts with the recruiting press and employment writers in general, national, regional, and sector-specific print and online media. The energy PR agency will leverage its knowledge to assist consultancies in engaging successfully and compellingly with their target audiences across the full spectrum of traditional, social, and new media.

The energy PR agency will have considerable expertise working with customers on their marketing communications strategy, ranging from staffing firms to suppliers to the recruitment business. They have extensive expertise in developing sector-specific thought leadership material appealing to target audiences. Furthermore, their understanding of search engine algorithms guarantees that the material they create is SEO optimized and will rank high, which enables your tech PR efforts to reach a wider audience.

Return-on-Investment (ROI)

Tracking is crucial in public relations; the energy PR agency will work with a technology solutions provider to track new business activity and trace it back to their efforts. In this way, the energy PR agency can immediately correlate coverage to new business; for example, by acquiring 30 pieces of coverage for a customer and incorporating this into business development efforts, they can see that it creates warm leads and the number of new contracts gained.

When it comes to social media platforms, an energy PR agency ensures that the interaction is relevant so that the correct material is uploaded at the right times and viewed by the right people. They employ social media analytics to demonstrate a clear correlation of business successes from their social media efforts.

Communication

An energy PR agency is most effective when they collaborate with their clients. To attain the best outcomes, the energy PR agency must completely grasp your company and its goals. Building a relationship is essential for laying the groundwork for a partnership.

A dedicated tech PR team will consider what content and initiatives are currently in place and how they may add value to them. An energy PR agency works as an extension of a tech company’s recruiting department, sharing skills and knowledge to deliver excellent media relations and marketing assistance. The efforts of an energy PR agency can generate effective client and agency partnerships.

Generating Buzz

The most important purpose of public relations is to establish trust and credibility for the company, which traditional marketing and advertising often fail to do. A reputable brand image is the foundation of a successful and long-term business.

Effective tech PR helps to generate the right amount of buzz surrounding your tech or energy-efficient product, establishing your brand name as an authority in the industry and a trustworthy resource for reliable information.

Effective PR is only made possible by employing the right professionals for technology PR to align the tech firm’s vision and values with your customer’s pain points. Additionally, PR generates positive dialogues about your brand and connects it with the values necessary to your target audience, developing trust, credibility, and loyalty.

What to Look for in a Tech PR Agency?

Tech PR firm needs to establish and maintain long-term rapport with highly regarded journalists in the tech niche. Suppose you want to proactively manage your brand’s reputation rather than leaving it to chance. In that case, you should hire a specialized tech PR agency to do all the heavy lifting to build your reputation in the tech or clean energy niche.

Technology-focused public relations firms will have a genuine love for one of the world’s most discussed issues. Technology influences every element of our life. If you want to engage the investing community, you will employ a PR agency specializing in finance; similarly, if you’re going to engage individuals interested in technology, you should hire an enterprise tech PR agency.

Tech companies can assess the energy PR agency about the campaign objectives. Depending on the nature of the campaign, they include performance measures against your significant rivals, such as the volume of clippings, the share of voice, site traffic, or a movement that can focus on creating links and leads. The vital key is to ensure that the objectives are reasonable, agreed upon, and set at the outset of the activity.

A balanced role of the client and agency is a must. It is without a doubt that great business relationships are what lead to positive brand-audience engagement. It is mainly because the clean energy PR agency is passionate about your work and the solutions you provide. But, more importantly, they believe that the energy innovation you’re offering will positively change the consumers’ lives.

Nonetheless, as is the case with any relationship, there are times when both parties may disagree. Still, working together during those hard times is crucial to develop something positive and strengthening the client-energy PR agency relationship.

Keeping that in mind, before hiring an energy PR agency, look at their existing clients and how long that PR agency has been working with them. An energy PR agency with a client list of at most a few months or a year is the first red flag a tech start-up or business can look for when hiring enterprise tech PR services.

Ending Note

The energy service company (ESCO) working at the front lines of clean energy innovation is often considered challenging with time constraints that keep them from developing an effective PR strategy.

Enterprise tech PR, such as that provided by Sapience Communications, is a specialized niche that offers a support system for companies at the forefront of energy solutions. It makes it easier for tech innovators to share their knowledge with a broader audience.

Sapience has international reach, working with the best-in-class partners in the most important markets. Learn more about what the energy PR agency Sapience Communications can do for your green energy public relations.

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5 CleanTech PR Strategies for Right Now

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Cleantech startup PR is a crucial aspect of creating, organizing, and measuring the effectiveness of a PR strategy. Cleantech PR may cover a single goal or a year-long campaign. A cleantech PR firm ensures the drive is creative while illustrating how the brand adds value to the customer. If you are still on the fence about using a cleantech PR agency, you are at the right place. Here are 5 cleantech PR strategies every tech-based emerging industry company needs for success.

1. The Rise of Cleantech and AI

It goes without saying that as public relations and AI evolves, it will also affect cleantech PR. The great news is that there is no need for tech-based companies or startups to fear because, in the future, AI and cleantech PR will go hand-in-hand, with the former helping with all the heavy liftings when it comes to creating relevant content and SEO-optimized social media posts that are going to completely automate the process of maintaining public relations.

Many forward-thinking PR professionals are already utilizing AI-powered tools for monitoring and analyzing all social media mentions and online conservations to identify patterns of negative or positive sentiments.

When averting the negative impact of a crisis, AI-powered tools can help cleantech PR teams monitor, evaluate and identify possible emerging issues or existing negative sentiments that threaten to put a cleantech startup in a tailspin.

AI-driven technology will, without a doubt, completely revolutionize how cleantech PR firms can respond to concerns. The team can help mitigate possible damage detrimental to a cleantech-based brand.

Many examples show how forward-thinking tech-based businesses and cleantech PR firms harness AI’s power to track online media, analyze impressions, and correlate sales results to planned media coverage. Using AI’s latest tools, such as natural language generation, sentiment, and predictive analysis, cleantech startup PR firms can help emerging businesses and the top renewable energy experts in the cleantech space.

2. Media Outreach

One cleantech PR approach is media outreach, which is reaching out to various media sources and journalists to promote the cleantech company’s message and what their target audience may anticipate. This strategy is crucial since it saves tech-based companies both time and resources in the future when pitching their ideas to journalists for publishing.

Cleantech companies must carefully filter out the ones unrelated to their sector or business and focus on the channels relevant to their brand and expertise. It boosts the chances of publication and will give the cleantech company an idea of how to organize their material in a way that those specific sources consider worthy of publication. Social media is generally the go-to platform for cleantech PR firms looking to promote brands making waves in the clean technology space.

Social media is an excellent resource for media outreach mainly because it provides a casual platform for communicating with tech journalists, channels, and other resources naturally and acceptably.

With this in mind, while social media is considered a casual platform where cleantech PR agencies and journalists can connect, it is crucial for you as a company or PR agency not to be too simple and carefree when reaching out or communicating with journalists and other related channels mainly because you risk saying something inappropriate or something that may offend the particular journalist or media channel that you are reaching out to.

To ensure you leave an excellent first impression, studying the journalist or media outlet and how they interact with others on social media platforms is essential. You can then emulate the style they use in their communications to come across as someone they want to communicate with.

Unlike other PR agencies, cleantech PR professionals are consistently in the know when it comes to the journalists and media outlets that matter and know exactly how to extend their reach in a not considered inappropriate way.

3. Backlinking

Backlinking is one of the most cost-effective ways to disseminate cleantech PR strategies.  Backlinking is contacting journalists, bloggers, and other media sources, offering articles on themes in which your brand shines, and obtaining a reference to your website and business.

The mutual advantage comes from journalists receiving content for the industry in which they are interested from an expert. At the same time, the cleantech company gains much-needed exposure and brand awareness. While connecting with tech journalists, bloggers, and social media influencers is no longer shrouded in secrecy, a dedicated cleantech startup PR firm can communicate with the relevant journalists, bloggers, and social media influencers who will be interested in your service or product.

Only an experienced cleantech PR firm knows the importance of keeping tech journalists engaged even when you have nothing to pitch, mainly because if a cleantech PR agency only reaches out to a tech journalist whenever they have a new tech product or service to sell, then that’s going to be a clear giveaway that neither the cleantech PR agency nor the tech-based company is genuinely interested in establishing a long-term working relationship with them.

It will negatively impact the overall relationship between the journalist and the cleantech PR agency. It can also be disadvantageous as the journalist will be less passionate about what your brand offers and why a cleantech startup or business must hire cleantech PR agencies always who know the importance of keeping journalists and others in the industry engaged, despite of whether or not there’s a new product or service on offer.

For a cleantech PR firm, keeping in touch with the relevant journalists and social media influencers could be as simple as sending out regular ICYMI “in case you missed it” emails, sharing relevant stories or news articles, and leaving comments on their websites or blogs. Keeping in touch is a fantastic way to ensure the journalist knows you are genuinely interested in their work.

These thoughtful and organic interactions between cleantech PR professionals and journalists ensure a high trust they can build over time. It also makes a clean tech-based company position its brand name as an authority in a particular niche and not just some fly-by-night company.

For new companies ready to enter the cleantech space, it is crucial to realize that PR is now one-sided, as the cleantech PR agency is one of many doing all the work. There is a need for collaborations between the cleantech PR firm and the drivers of your cleantech message, such as journalists, media outlets, and influencers, now more than ever. It is why cleantech PR firms must understand the brand/client perceptions and work on a PR strategy accordingly.

4. Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility is another crucial part of the PR world, especially for cleantech companies always looking to find a way to spread the word about their new and fantastic product to a broader audience. When it comes to conveying a tech-based company’s message regarding corporate social responsibility, it’s all about creating a soft image of the company. It may involve sharing information on how the tech-based company seeks to reduce customers’ carbon footprint with their new products or that the firm is paying their staff more than the minimum wage.

It is not unheard of for tech-based companies to show their support for non-government organizations and charities, message their audience about what they care about, or even set up their own charity or social welfare program that benefits the local community. Hiring an experienced cleantech PR firm means that technology-based brands can come across as caring for the planet and the people.

It is optional to be a non-profit to show corporate social responsibility. In short, tech-based companies that follow the CSR model focus on the company’s bottom line, profit, and two other Ps: people and the planet.

Besides, you would want the cleantech PR agency you hire to convey your CSR vision to your clients, mainly because all CSR-based companies are Certified B Corporations, which means the organization meets very high standards regarding positive social and environmental impact. But, the truth is that a tech-based startup or business can practice and convey its CSR message whether they are certified or not.

One of the best examples of CSR done correctly is Dawn liquid dishwashing soap. During the 70s, research found that the brand was highly effective at cleaning bird victims of oil spills. Ultimately, P&G, the product’s parent company, donated crates of Dawn dishwashing liquid to Exxon Valdez. It became a media fixture in the cleaning-up process during the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Sure, when it comes to cause-related marketing, it’s usually the company that selects the non-profit, but in this respect, it is the other way around. But, smart brand positioning gained something positive (for Dawn) from a sticky situation. So, what does this tell us? Regarding cause-related PR, tech-based companies must pick a cause strategically tied to the brand’s positioning.

5. Crisis Management as a CleanTech PR Strategy

Preventing a crisis is most important, but containing the PR impact is critical when you have one – especially for high-trust businesses like energy startups. Crisis management is an area of PR that you must recognize, mainly if your company operates in the tech space where software and product malfunctions are part of the package. A crisis management strategy is crucial, especially when an injury or a negative social media campaign is involved.

Hiring the expertise of a cleantech PR agency means you have professionals who will not only develop a plan but also coordinate resources toward dealing with the issue in a mutually beneficial manner. The team will find a  way that helps repair the reputation of the brand and addresses the needs of the affected party.

In short, hiring the expertise of a cleantech PR firm for crisis management is analogous to extinguishing a fire. It is only possible to employ a cleantech startup PR firm that always has a crisis management plan mapped up, documented, and communicated.

While we most certainly would like to think that we can “rise to the occasion” under pressure and handle any stressful situation like the professionals we are, that’s seldom the case. Keeping that sad but actual fact in mind, it pays to invest in a cleantech PR agency to handle the situation when …hits the fan.

Ending Note

In the end, cleantech PR is a dynamic industry constantly evolving to keep up with the advancements in new “clean” technologies and the challenges that arise. However, tech-based businesses and startups that need to realize the importance of consulting a cleantech PR firm are bound to be vulnerable. They might not just face the negative press but also need to catch up on the note-worthy shifts constantly occurring in the tech niche.

Hiring a reputable cleantech PR firm’s expertise will also help identify new business opportunities in the clean tech sector, allowing startups in the cleantech space to scale up their business and reach greater market visibility.

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