What PR Pros Can Learn From Successful Organic Growth

Great PR can make or break a company’s chances of securing investors, communicating the right message and gaining visibility online and off.

But every now and then, a company comes along that defies this convention and achieves the seemingly impossible: 100 percent organic growth without external investment or a whisper of PR.

Gadget Flow is one such company. Let’s see what lessons we can extract from the epic unaided rise of this online product review site.

Make it short, sweet and targeted

As you know, PR is about getting seen by the right people—being covered in the publications your clients’ audiences read, sponsoring events your clients’ targets attend and following causes they feel an affinity with.

Millennials are particularly tricky in this regard. For this demographic, print magazines and newspapers are totally out, and there’s a good chance they won’t even read your article online—55 percent of people spend less than 15 seconds on the pages they click.

So how did Gadget Flow tackle this problem? By focusing on speed and relevancy of results.

For one thing, Gadget Flow targets their audiences exceptionally well (by reviewing the kinds of products they’re interested in). But they also speak to their audiences with trustworthy, impartial advice that is, above all else, catered to the modern attention span.

So how does this translate into a takeaway for you and your clients? Identify your target and then focus on communicating the right message—as succinctly as possible.

Nailing creativity in social media

A strong social media presence is critical—especially for businesses targeting Millennials. But with millions of company pages out there, how do you get your voice heard across social platforms?

By saying what your customers want to hear, of course.

Gadget Flow reached 22 million views a month by getting as creative as possible across social channels. Recognizing the power of giveaways and contests for their target market, they partnered with key companies whose products they reviewed.

Staying true to their mission, the reviews were not doctored in any way or influenced by the companies taking part. Through successful contests on social channels, Gadget Flow encouraged more honest comments and reviews, sign-ups and engagement.

Becoming the voice of a generation

Gadget Flow may have figured out how to draw new visitors to their site, but how did they get them to stay there?

Getting back to focusing on a particular demographic, Gadget Flow knows that its bread and butter is Millennials. Gadget Flow also knows that Millennials prioritize social responsibility. Millennials want to be on top of the latest and greatest trends, yes, but they also want to buy products that have a positive impact on the world.

So Gadget Flow makes this their priority, too.

So far, the company has featured over 4,000 crowdfunded campaigns of products that support causes or provide the latest innovations. CEO Evan Varsamis’ main focus is on providing value to his audience while creating a launching pad for emerging tech projects. Gadget Flow hopes to create a kind of “incubator” environment for all things tech—especially IoT technology—to help new companies get a foothold in the market and unite them with their ideal customers.

So, what are the main takeaways for us from Gadget Flow’s success? Know your demographic. Align your value proposition and your company culture with that of your target demographic. Keep your messaging short and sweet.

Keeping these tactics in mind will significantly lighten the load of any PR “heavy lifting”—a benefit to everyone involved.

This article first appeared in Adweek.