Blockchain
Yes, PR still matters in Blockchain, despite Balaji’s advice
For a startup founder working with a PR agency for the first time, the immediate impacts of a splashy campaign or sustained engagement may not seem clear. This seems especially true when prominent influencers and entrepreneurs like Balaji Srinivasan quite bluntly tell founders to “Hire creators, not public speakers”.
Motti Peer is president and co-CEO of ReBlonde, a Web3 marketing and PR firm. Note: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates.
Srinivasan’s logic here is based on Tesla’s strategy disbanding its PR department in 2020 – an unusual move the company has made recently I went back – further underlining the often unpredictable or erratic behavior of its CEO Elon Musk.
While it may make sense for business leaders to make their communications more direct, that doesn’t necessarily mean they should dismiss PR as an antiquated tool. As a public relations veteran with decades of experience helping companies overcome all kinds of successes and setbacks, I have witnessed how public relations expectations have changed dramatically over the years.
This is especially true in the blockchain arena, where leaders are still novices in the communications space and may end up unintentionally jeopardizing the future of their project by ignoring the virtues and value of a communications plan.
Srinivasan echoes many talking points that have been aimed at public relations as an industry for years: It’s a relic of the past, cedes too much narrative control to journalists, and doesn’t directly contribute to conversion the way direct marketing can. His proposed alternative is to take a business-aligned, content creator-centric approach that forgoes media – or implementing AI to do so – and recommends hiring only PR professionals who have changed the brand them into “creators” with a built-in audience.
Let’s be clear: PR and SEO or marketing are not the same thing. Although they fall under the broader umbrella of “communication,” it is wrong to assume that their strategies, KPIs or added value are interchangeable. It also completely misunderstands what public relations professionals do, attributing their only value to sending out press releases.
Yes, content is the king of any type of modern communication. But while PR professionals also function as content creators, not all content creators can enter the PR arena.
It is also true that while the media and individual reporters may be friendly, they are Not your friends nor part of a company’s marketing and social media team. A project trying to get consistent media coverage will never do so by posting TikToks or X threads.
PR works in earned media, leveraging corporate announcements, strong relationships with media and journalists, thought leadership and other content-focused strategies to get results without having to pay for it. The idea that PR professionals “give away valuable content for free” to journalists mischaracterizes the purpose of PR content.
There’s also a fine line between alerting the media to an exciting announcement or development and spamming the public with news that isn’t. Truly news. PR professionals can advise on what information to share and add value to an ad that rewards your efforts in coverage that truly resonates with audiences and key stakeholders.
Just because blockchain and cryptocurrencies are ingrained in internet culture and social media communication does not make traditional PR obsolete. It just requires a twist that only a team of experienced communications professionals can provide.
Pay-to-play placements or paid social content creation will never stack up or achieve the same results as earned media. And any agency, communications team or freelance publicist that claims it can be equated is misleading.
Simply put: users have an allergy to paid media. This is why most people install ad-blocking extensions on their web browsers or pay extra to stream ad-free on Spotify or Netflix. We live in a world bombarded with advertisements and sponsored content vying for clicks on social media and virtually every other platform. So unless an advertising or influencer campaign is particularly memorable, we naturally develop a blindness to it.
This translates very concretely into media consumption. You probably don’t remember the last ten advertisements or sponsored posts you saw on TikTok, but you remember an inspiring article about an interesting company or a podcast with a hard-hitting founder on your daily commute.
Social media is a fickle thing, and just because a creator or company leader might have an audience doesn’t necessarily mean your project will sustainably gain the same resonance.
Likewise, focusing solely on content creators to lead “public relations” efforts won’t help much in the event of a crisis or controversy, two things that blockchain companies and founders, unfortunately, they find themselves inclined to. No investor wants to hear about a disappointing quarter from an X post, and no employee wants to hear about impending layoffs from TikTok.
Sure, projects should have an SEO and marketing plan to increase conversion and lead generation, but this cannot replace hard earned PR work or minimize its results.
All of these fields present singular approaches with unique drawbacks, advantages, and expectations. There may be some overlap, but ultimately ROI in PR comes from creating and maintaining a timeless, respected brand, not clicks on affiliate links or sarcastic, ephemeral posts from creators.
Founders and leaders of startups pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in technology should be wary of these differences and any organization that claims to guarantee coverage or produce results that don’t reflect the reality of a company’s position.
Otherwise, flattening a communications strategy to focus solely on social media or quick and generally meaningless metrics risks upsetting the hard work and dedication of a team trying to make innovation a reality.