By Mike Harris
Uproar PR
Today, payments-focused fintechs number more than 5,000 globally and account for about $100 billion of total industry revenues, according to Boston Consulting Group (see www.prsa.org/about/all-about-pr). The number of startups in this space will continue to grow as new companies leverage emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain to offer innovative payment solutions. As the payments market becomes increasingly competitive, payment startups will need to develop effective strategies that help them stand out from the crowd. Public relations is essential to creating differentiation, communicating business value and driving success.
The Public Relations Society of America defines PR as "a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics." This communication discipline works across a variety of platforms, focusing on delivering the right messaging and information to the right people at the right time. PR can achieve this in a variety of ways to help drive organic growth, attract investors, and take payment startups to the next level. Some key strategies follow in this article.
Today's payment startups need to gain exposure for their brand. Building brand awareness starts by developing messaging that gets to the core of the company’s business value. To get this message out to a wider audience and increase brand reach and visibility, PR pros develop impactful campaigns tailored to secure media coverage in relevant publications and platforms. Successful campaigns craft compelling narratives around a company’s mission, values and solutions that generate positive visibility, cutting through the noise to help a payment startup stand out from the competition. Building brand awareness and visibility that establishes a strong market presence delivers ROI in the form of attracting interest from potential investors, partners and customers.
For payment startups, credibility and trust are vital to long-term viability. PR can help them enhance credibility and trust among target audiences through earned media coverage. This coverage provides the third-party validation essential to establishing them as a trustworthy, reputable company and authority in the industry. Other PR tactics designed to elevate customer trust and confidence include thought leadership articles bylined by key spokespeople, a consistent cadence of engaging with target audiences on social media channels, and industry recognitions. Well-executed PR campaigns can establish the legitimacy startups need to become a brand category leader that key stakeholders trust.
In today’s digital-first environment, payment startups must engage with target audiences on social media channels. PR specialists with social media expertise can craft social media amplification campaigns that get their messages out to audiences at scale and build their following. PR pros can also help payment startups create engaging content that resonates with their target audience, leads to greater social media engagement and drives brand awareness. With PR support, payment startups can more successfully navigate influencer collaborations, content partnerships, reputation monitoring and community management.
Creating quality content can strengthen a payment startup’s brand, generating conversations with stakeholders that build strong connections. Payment startups can lean into PR support to create interesting, informative and engaging content. From thought leadership articles to blog posts to white papers to webinars to videos, PR specialists can help startups generate content that positions them as experts in the industry and elevates them above the noise.
After building awareness and establishing credibility and trust, the work of PR is not finished. Successful PR campaigns are designed to keep companies omnipresent with target audiences. These campaigns build on the pillars of awareness, trust and engagement to continue to show a payment startup’s value. Campaigns that include media relations, social media and content marketing are most effective at ensuring a startup remains relevant and top of mind among key audiences.
All of the PR strategies outlined above work in concert to build strong customer relationships that can generate leads and increase sales. They help customers and investors find a company, form an opinion, gain trust and want to engage with that company. The result: new business opportunities and more conversions. Payment startups that want to stand out from the crowd, enhance credibility, broaden their audience reach, boost lead generation and conversions need the power of PR. A well-planned and executed PR campaign can tell their story and showcase their value proposition in a compelling way to help drive growth and success. 
Co-founding Uproar PR in 2011, Mike Harris serves as the chief marketing officer. He works with teams to come up with campaign ideas that will really move the needle and focuses on helping clients tell their brand stories through an integrated PR campaign centered around company goals. Previously, Mike was vice president for a San Francisco-based tech PR agency and spent 10 years in local and network television. He has produced full-length broadcasts for CBS, ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network. The Orlando Business Journal named Mike one of the Forty under 40 in 2010 and under his direction, the agency has won multiple awards including Corporate Culture of the Year from Entrepreneur magazine. Contact him at www.linkedin.com/in/mike-harris-a828931.
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