Tag: best affordable pr firms

What AI founders frequently get wrong about PR

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

I work with many AI companies and founders, and I’ve noticed an interesting contradiction. Founders who understand artificial intelligence the best frequently take the same approach with PR. They assume PR operates in a similar fashion. PR doesn’t operate with the same speed and predictability as the technology they’re building. AI and public relations also solve fundamentally different kinds of problems.

AI is extremely effective when the task is clearly defined and the output is evaluated against reasonably clear criteria. PR operates in a world where the correct answer frequently changes depending on the company, reporter, media outlet, market, timing and news cycle. PR is more nuanced – and that alters how you approach it, and what you get in return.

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How to Follow Up With Reporters Without Hurting Your PR Strategy

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

When I was an Executive Producer with NBC in New York, I was the boss. I helped determine which stories we pursued, but that didn’t mean I walked around the newsroom telling experienced journalists exactly how to report their stories. That would have been a fast way to damage the creative process—and probably my relationship with the people producing the journalism.

Good journalists are independent thinkers. They want to investigate, ask their own questions and reach their own conclusions. You can give them direction. You can point out what they’re missing, and sometimes challenge them to look deeper. But there’s a difference between guiding a journalist and telling a journalist what to do.

That distinction is just as important in public relations, especially if you’re a CEO who typically tells others what to do. Persistence is necessary in PR. Aggression is different. And when you’re dealing with journalists, your approach can be just as important as your strategy.

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Client Case Study – Medicare and Medicaid Services

Posted on by Mark Macias


Case Study: Elevating a Health Care Startup’s Brand Through Strategic Media Relations

A health care services consulting firm approached MACIAS PR a few months after launching their startup. The founder— an experienced healthcare professional but new to media relations—wanted to introduce her services to social workers and prospective clients.

Challenges

  • Medicaid Advisory Group was only 3-Months Old when we launched their branding campaign.
  • The CEO and founder had no previous media experience.
  • The small leadership team was deeply focused on operations, leaving limited bandwidth for branding or PR.
  • Medicare and Medicaid as news topics are frequently ignored and overlooked.
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10 Things I Learned Approving Stories at NBC and CBS

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

Before I launched MACIAS PR in 2009, I spent years approving stories as an Executive Producer with NBC and CBS in New York. Every day I reviewed dozens of story ideas from reporters, producers and publicists. Most never made it on the air.

What surprised me most wasn’t that publicists lacked media contacts. It was that many never understood how journalists actually decide what becomes news. The technology has changed since my newsroom days.

AI, social media and digital publishing have transformed journalism. But the fundamentals of what makes a story worthy of coverage haven’t changed. Here are the ten biggest lessons I learned from sitting on the other side of the pitch.

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Should I Hire an In-House PR Person or a PR Agency?

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

One of the biggest decisions growing companies face is whether to hire an in-house public relations professional or work with a PR agency. The answer isn’t always obvious.

At first glance, bringing PR in-house may seem like the logical choice. An employee understands the business, sits in meetings and becomes immersed in the company’s culture. An agency, on the other hand, works from the outside.

That comparison overlooks one important reality. The most valuable part of public relations isn’t writing a press release. It’s everything that happens before and after the press release.

Having spent years as an Executive Producer with NBC and CBS in New York – before founding MACIAS PR – I’ve learned that successful media campaigns depend on strategy, timing, persistence and execution. Those responsibilities require far more time than most executives realize.

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How Do Startups Get on CNBC?

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

For many startup founders, appearing on CNBC represents more than media exposure.

A CNBC interview can introduce a company to investors, customers, strategic partners and prospective employees in a single day. The network reaches millions of business decision-makers, making it one of the most influential business news organizations in the world.

That visibility explains why founders often ask the same question: How can I get my business on CNBC?

As a former Executive Producer with NBC and contributor with CNBC, I can tell you the bar is much higher for CNBC. The potential stakes for every interview are heavy based on the potential to move the markets. This is why subjective angles aren’t even looked at while objective stories have to be substantiated across several levels.

Those editorial decisions continually shape how our agency develops media campaigns for startups today. Click here to see our case studies. CNBC producers think like journalists, not marketers, and understanding that difference dramatically improves a company’s chances of earning coverage.

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Why Nobody Covered Your Latest Funding Round

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

Raising capital is one of the biggest milestones in a startup’s journey, which is why it can be so frustrating when your funding round is ignored by the media. Why doesn’t the media cover your capital raise?

Funding alone is not news.

As a former Executive Producer with NBC and CBS and founder of MACIAS PR, I’ve worked with startups across healthcare, technology, artificial intelligence and finance. One lesson has remained remarkably consistent throughout my career: journalists do not cover events simply because they are important to a company. They cover stories that are important to their audience.

Understanding that difference is often the key to successful fundraising publicity.

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How Do Startups Get Featured in Forbes?

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

Few media placements carry as much weight with startup founders as Forbes.

Forbes has become a destination for entrepreneurs, investors, executives and business leaders looking for insights on innovation, leadership, technology and emerging companies. As a result, one question consistently surfaces among startup founders:

How do startups get featured in Forbes?

Many assume the answer involves a large marketing budget, personal connections or a public relations stunt. Reality looks very different inside the newsroom. Forbes reporters and contributors are constantly searching for compelling stories, but they are not searching for companies that simply want publicity.

Coverage is earned when a company has something genuinely interesting to say.

Having spent years as an Executive Producer with NBC News and later becoming a contributor for Forbes, I’ve seen how journalists evaluate stories from both sides of the media landscape. That experience provides a unique perspective into what attracts attention and what immediately gets ignored.

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Why Great Products Don’t Get Media Coverage

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

Founders often believe a great product should naturally attract media attention, and the logic seems reasonable. If a company has built an innovative, useful and disruptive product – journalists should want to write about it. Yet every year, thousands of startups receive little to no media coverage for their launch.

The problem is not the product. More often than not, the issue is the story.

Having spent years as an Executive Producer with NBC and CBS in New York – and later building this public relations agency – I’ve seen this mistake repeatedly. Entrepreneurs assume reporters are looking for products. In reality, journalists are looking for stories. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a startup, healthcare or tech company.

Understanding that distinction can dramatically improve your chances of securing media coverage.

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How can PR Help Startups Raise Capital?

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

Can PR Help Startups Raise Capital? Absolutely. Unfortunately, many founders overlook a powerful tool that can influence how investors perceive their company, assuming they can’t afford it.

The question often comes up during conversations with startup founders and CEOs. Can PR help startups raise capital?

The short answer is yes. Public relations alone will not secure funding for a company with a weak business model or limited market opportunity. Strategic PR, however, can help create the visibility, credibility and momentum that investors often look for when evaluating potential investments.

As a former Executive Producer with NBC News and founder of MACIAS PR, I’ve worked with startups across healthcare, technology, artificial intelligence, finance and consumer products. One pattern consistently emerges among companies that successfully raise capital: investors are attracted to momentum.

A recent example involved the bootstrapped dating app, Weepo. The client didn’t have any funding but after their brand started getting exposure with local TV, Time Out New York, New York Post and Business Insider, they ended up raising several million dollars with investors. You can read that client case study here.

Media coverage can help create that momentum.

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