Marketing Insights
"Implement now, figure out how to measure later, as long as we agree PR is a magic bullet, right?"
Does this sound familiar? A young B2B SaaS startup finally has some traction, maybe even a bit of funding, and the founders can’t stop talking about “getting into PR.” The allure is irresistible: your company’s name in lights, in ink, on the lips of all the people who matter. PR is a big deal in B2B marketing; just look at how companies like Basecamp, Zapier, and even Apple and Tesla (the ones famous for supposedly not spending on marketing) use PR to their advantage.
So what’s the appeal? PR is a channel with reach, credibility, and the power to make a small company look like an empire. However. For all its potential, PR is also a classic founder pitfall, often promising the world and delivering a mess. Let’s explore why founders get hooked on PR, what it’s really good for, and when you’re just wasting your cash.
It’s simple. In the crowded B2B world, getting attention and credibility from the right audiences can be transformative. A feature in a major outlet? That’s attention gold. Your story on a platform your target customers trust? Now you’re “big.” And because PR operates through both mass and targeted media, it offers a kind of reach other channels have trouble matching.
But here’s something more simple: most of these young B2B SaaS companies are quite boring. Your niche case study touting a 23% productivity boost or a 14% increase in efficiency? No one really cares deeply about that, not even your clients. You’ve got to move up the benefit ladder—craft stories around universal pain points, insights that make people lean in, a narrative with a pulse.
If PR agencies are the revolving door of B2B marketing, it’s usually due to two reasons: internal managing capacity and agencies poorly managing resources or expectations. Here’s how it typically plays out.
Your PR agency’s biggest asset? The relationships they have with journalists who might actually care about your story. PR agents have built relationships, done favors, and put in the work to have their emails read and their calls returned. A good PR agent can slip your name in front of the right person in ways that a cold LinkedIn message or an unsolicited email simply cannot.
Anecdote Time: Years ago, when I was a journalist, I got an (extremely) early-morning text from a PR contact telling me Steve Jobs had just passed away. It wasn’t her job to do that (she was working for a hardware distributor), but she was looking out for me. I moved quickly to get the story online, and every time she reached out afterward, I remembered that morning. That early text made her invaluable. That’s the kind of “in” you’re hoping for with PR.
Knowing your market or product is one thing, but understanding how to make your story resonate? That’s a different beast. Skilled PR agents know how to spin boring realities into interesting stories. They’ve got the instincts for angles that journalists find irresistible, for stories that hit the mark without overreaching. This knowledge doesn’t come from a crash course; it’s honed over time. So when you bring in a PR agency, vet them thoroughly. Make sure you’re paying for experience, not just access.
Maintaining relationships, pitching stories, writing compelling angles, managing crises—PR is a full-time job. Add in media training for your executives and briefings for every interview, and you’re looking at a lot of moving parts. If you’re running lean, consider whether you can truly handle this in-house without sacrificing other channels. Can your marketing team balance the demands of PR with LinkedIn ads and organizing events? Because if they can’t, scalability issues aren’t far behind.
Yes, you can go without a PR agency, if you have the access, knowledge, and time. Years ago, I worked with a tech company sitting on a goldmine of job market data from across Europe and North America. With that data, we generated quarterly reports on sector trends, salary insights, and hiring patterns that were irresistible to journalists. Why? Because it told a compelling story about something most people care about—employment.
With a bit of internal training and a solid methodology, we churned out reports that landed us 15–20 press clippings per market every quarter. For four years, our name was out there, building credibility without an external agency. And this didn’t cost us a cent beyond our team’s time.
The takeaway: if you have unique, compelling data or insights, and you’re willing to invest the time, DIY PR can be incredibly effective.
The eternal question: should you put that $10,000 a month into PR, content production, or paid ads? PR is hard to quantify over the short term, and its ROI can feel slippery—especially when you’re trying to scale fast. Short-term ROI for PR is almost impossible to measure; most of the value builds over months, even years.
But if you’re expecting quick wins, PR probably isn’t your answer. If you’re questioning whether a PR spend will beat an investment in content marketing, for instance, ask yourself: do I want visibility or conversions? Content marketing is better for driving leads and nurturing them. PR, on the other hand, builds credibility and makes you “known.”
If you’ve got the resources, here’s the checklist that should guide your decision.
If you can check all these boxes and you’re ready for an initial six-to-twelve-month commitment, then go ahead—make PR part of your strategy. Just don’t expect the world on a shoestring budget, and for the love of good strategy, make sure your story is worth telling.
When used wisely, PR can be transformative for a young B2B company. But approach it with eyes open, armed with the right resources, and clear expectations. Otherwise, you might find yourself on the wrong side of the PR revolving door—spinning, spending, and ultimately, regretting.
