The startup scene in Nairobi has seen massive growth with numerous applications being developed. But the question has been, why don’t they get good coverage as businesses and enterprises?
Media practitioners at a recent entrepreneurial meet up exposed some of the mistakes startups make when they are looking for publicity.
“Some of the techies put themselves as their stories as opposed to bring out what solutions or problems they are solving,” Bonney Tunya, Business Anchor at Kenya Television Network told the crowd gathered at GrowthHub.
Terry Anne Chebet who also anchors business news on K24 news channel, said that the startups should use the power of social media and websites to bring out what they are doing and how their solutions are changing the space they are in.
“You will get most journalists on social media,” she said. “You have to get out and be visible.”
One of the panelist, Henry Githaiga, Business journalist at Citizen TV told the entrepreneurs not only to spread the message of their startup but also become a sector expert.
Rather than rant about how your startup is great, which ends up being advertisement, which journalists shun, become an expert in your field, Gathaiga advised.
The journalists were also challenged to go out and look for these interesting start up stories rather than recycle ‘past glories’ that have saturated the media.
The journalists also said that they don’t just want to cover a ‘good’ start up. They want something extraordinary. And through social media, start ups can shout about what they do. If it is interesting, journalists will pick up on it.