Whether you are an early or late-stage startup, the moments of securing additional funding are monumental. According to recent data from Crunchbase, global venture capital funding in the first half of 2021 saw more than $288 billion invested worldwide. Crunchbase also claims, “global venture funding in the first half of 2021 surged 61 percent compared to the prior peak of $179 billion in the second half of 2020. That’s up 95 percent compared with the first half of 2020, when venture investors deployed $148 billion globally.”
As emerging technology progresses, funding rounds will continue to surge. Additional capital raised can serve multiple purposes depending on your positioning and upcoming goals, and it is important you properly message the importance of the funding for the formal announcement.
Let’s take a look at some important tips you can keep in mind so you can maximize the benefit of your future funding announcements.
Integrated Launch
If you are about to announce an important round of funding for your company, you may want to consider having all assets, brand channels, and messages refined and ready to launch once your announcement goes live. From having your social channels share consistent messages to your website showcasing the special landing pages and visuals, it is important to make the big splash across all of your marketing channels.
In public relations, timing plays a big role in the execution of a campaign. The same can be said about your new announcement. Without the added push from other parts of the company, the announcement may not be as impactful.
Identifying the Appropriate Audience
As a company, you identify your core audiences that help shape your mission, values, products, or services. With this specific type of announcement, you should ensure that the appropriate audiences are realized as the crowd interested in the funding announcement may be different than those usually keen on typical product and service type information.
Establishing the Messaging
Properly executing a funding announcement takes much more than simply stating your company has “raised $10 million in Series B funding.” The dollar amount of the investment is certainly an important fact, but what is even more important is knowing what that money will be used for to help your company take the next step.
Stripe, a fintech company that builds economic infrastructures for businesses so they can accept and manage payments online is a perfect example of detailing company plans for the new capital. The company recently announced a major funding of $600 million and detailed the brand’s focus on investing in European operations to support the surging demand, and to grow its Global Payments and Treasury Network.
Stripe provides information that is also pertinent to future investors who are interested in potentially being involved in future seeding rounds. By going into more detail with your messaging in the announcement, you will resonate with both your customers and investors on how the investment will benefit everyone involved.
Singing the Same Song
With funding announcements, and really all announcements, it is vital to ensure that all associates of your company are sharing the same message. Whether it is coordinating internal communications strategies for sharing news on social channels, fielding interview requests, or having board members and investors understand the protocol if asked questions by the public, having the same message across the board goes a long way to preserving your company’s brand.
Developing and sharing messaging documents, hosting media training sessions for those expected to be on the spokesperson bench for press interviews and having a simple “Dos and Donts” document can be helpful for everyone in your company when promoting the announcement.
Avoiding mixed messages and false statements are highly important when it comes to big company news. Make sure the entire team is on board with the proposed talking points and you should clearly see the power of everyone relaying the same message.
Create and Leverage Press Relationships
In public relations, having strong relationships with reporters goes a long way. You want reporters to keep your company top of mind when they cover your industry. You want the press to regularly include you in coverage opportunities and promote your market leadership.
When making your funding announcement, it may be a good tactic to hold briefings before your announcement with a select group of reporters, so they see the trajectory of the company and have more time discussing important topics with key executives. By sharing approved messages and announcements under embargo, you provide the reporter added insight and time for them to work and file their story. This tactic also enables the journalist to potentially schedule their coverage for when the announcement goes live, further amplifying the company news to wider audiences in a timelier fashion.
What Did We Learn?
Understanding your audience, identifying the key messages, detailing how the money will be used, and properly leveraging the press are just a few ways you can help execute funding announcements. No matter the amount of the investment, company growth is always a storyline that should be strategically planned for.