VARs and MSPs should start “walking in like Liam Gallagher at an Oasis concert”, a PR expert has asserted.
Despite holding the “keys to the castle” when it comes to serving end customers, channel partners are often wary of using PR agencies, Gina Hough claimed.
Hough has worked in tech PR since 1983, specialising in the channel since 1988.
“It’s a part of the industry that I love – and always have. There are so many personalities that bring energy – it’s great to be a part of.”
And she says that’s why she is advocating for more vendors and distributors to make PR affordable for them by adding ‘PR-as-a-Service’ (PRaaS) to their partner offering.
“Partners sometimes underestimate their own power,” Hough told IT Channel Oxygen.
“They’re the ones who have the relationship with the customers and therefore hold the keys to the castle.
“They need to walk in a bit more like Laim Gallagher at an Oasis concert. As a PR person, I’m saying that to them: ‘say what you think, and get out there – and you’ll earn respect’.”
Don’t PRaaS me by
The challenge is that resellers and MSPs have often had their fingers burned by expensive agencies who over-promise and under-deliver, Hough claimed.
But PR doesn’t have to cost a fortune, particularly if the service is being offered on an ad-hoc basis via vendors or distributors, she added.
“It would be good to see more vendors and distributors providing PRaaS to their partners as part of what they offer,” Hough said.
Hough often does just one day a month for her clients.
“If they want to make an announcement, but don’t quite know how to go about it, we’ll have a chat to see what message they want to get out. I then come up with the press announcement or comment I can place for them in the channel press. I hold their hand and talk them through it.
“They then can see the value in it, and appreciate they’re not going to get mugged.”
Hough inadvertently moved into IT channel PR in 1988 when her client, networking distributor Skytech, started using her to provide PR to its vendor partners.
“They were bringing in vendors no one had heard of the time like Novell and Cisco – that’s how old I am – and were saying to them, ‘if you come with us, our PR person will help you with your PR for free’,” she recalled.
“It was great for me, as it meant I got exposure to all these companies on the channel side of things.
“I liked the people I was dealing with, and the fact they said it how it is.
“It would be nice to go back to that, and have a company like that offering PR for their partners. There’s only one distie I know who is actually offering PRaaS and it works very well.”
“AI can’t find angles”
Despite the advent of AI-generated copy, there are few shortcuts when it comes to generating press interest, Hough counselled.
“AI can’t, in my opinion, find the angles you really need in order to get in front of an editor. So I might have to change your chatbot copy,” she said.
“And AI cannot replace human relationships.
“It cannot replace me knowing the channel press for as long as I have, and the fact they trust me not to come to them with nonsense.”
Resellers’ and MSPs’ PR endeavours have often failed because they are using generic tech PR agencies that don’t understand the channel, Hough claimed.
“The reality is that you have to understand it, because it’s nothing like tech PR,” she said.
“Not all PR people in the channel are going to charge you a fortune and make impossible claims and then not deliver on them.
“I’ve had great success placing comment for partners where they need it to be. They’ve had respect from it, and their vendors and distributors have seen it.
“It just builds up a bit of respect for the partners and enables them to have a voice.”
Gina Hough is the founder of MCC Int Ltd. You can find out more about her channel experience, read her recommendations and see her contacts here.
This article was commercially backed and is classified as partner content. What is partner content? See more here.
