The PR Maven Podcast

There are many ways to grow your professional network, but in my experience, LinkedIn is by far one of the easiest paths to take. More than 830 million people use LinkedIn, and they flock from over 200 countries and territories. This isn’t rocket science.

But LinkedIn also has a lot of untapped potential. Social media platforms like Facebook lay claim to billions of users, meaning that LinkedIn can still expand its user base and current offerings. In addition, there are many LinkedIn users who don’t access the platform on a daily basis, as they would with Twitter or TikTok. In many cases, LinkedIn pages go unchanged for months or even years. Some even lack headshots, which is a personal pet peeve.

I only bring up LinkedIn’s potential because I believe it will play a more and more pivotal role in the world of work. In my PR business, I see the power of LinkedIn on a daily basis. I’ve come across new prospects and paying clients on the platform. It is a place to not only grow your network with new connections and followers, but also differentiate yourself from everyone else who does what you do — or close to what you do. For thought leaders who are experts on a particular topic, LinkedIn is an opportunity to tout that expertise. It is a one-stop-shop for thought leadership, PR, business development, branding, advertising and personal connecting.

Continue reading here.

The article read in this episode originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice™ in June 2022.

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In the professional world, it is impossible to succeed without networking. Remember that old adage: “It’s not what you know. It’s who you know.” Well, it’s true. Now, this isn’t to say that competence doesn’t matter. It still does! As Dr. Fredric Neuman puts it in a Psychology Today article, “I like to think that competence is the most important determinant of professional success; but if it is, it is only over the long run.” In the short run, we cannot underestimate the importance of meeting people, cultivating those relationships and leveraging them when the time is right. Being well-known or having a lot of contacts can help you in all sorts of ways:

• Landing a job
• Securing a promotion
• Finding a new client
• Raising money
• Swaying public opinion

Remember that former coworker you took time to befriend last year? He may have a job for you now, or know someone who does. Remember that business owner you met over drinks a month ago? She may be your next client, and your friendly conversation may have made her comfortable with the idea of Attaining your services.

Expanding and maintaining a wide circle of influence brings intended and unintended benefits. Sometimes you can envision a social relationship paying dividends in the future. But other times those dividends can seemingly come out of the blue, leaving you grateful that you made the effort in the first place. You never know where simply making an effort may lead you.

So how do you expand and maintain that circle of influence?

Continue reading here.

The article read in this episode originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice™ in July 2019.

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Your company’s social media presence can be used in all sorts of ways — from announcing job postings, to sharing employee testimonials and product launches. But it can also be leveraged to attract attention from the mainstream media and generate positive publicity.

If you regularly post newsworthy items on your social media platforms, then reporters, editors and other journalists will be more likely to think of your company as a go-to source for story ideas. In today’s world, social media is arguably the most cost-effective way to garner favorable news coverage.

Here are the eight ways to get media coverage using social media:

Continue reading here.

The article read in this episode originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice™ in August 2019.

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To become successful in business, you have to think beyond hiring employees or hitting sales numbers. You have to build a brand — both in person and online.

As Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos puts it, “a brand for a company is like a reputation for a person.” In other words, it means everything. It goes beyond a logo, a tagline or even a name. It’s how people think and feel about you or your organization.

Strengthening your personal brand also enhances your company’s brand. When you think of a company, you often think about the people leading it — the human stories that make the company what it is. Consider Apple: What would it be without the story of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak’s world-changing work in a California garage? I believe that much of the Apple brand today has to do with the mystique of their creativity in that garage so many years ago.

So how do you build your brand like Jobs and Wozniak did?

Continue reading here.

The article read in this episode originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice™ in September 2019.

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How does teamwork and word of mouth jumpstart a company? Find out in this episode as the team from The Devil’s Half Acre Distillery share their brand’s story, and how they have jumpstarted their company. The team explains how their product has spread through word of mouth and old school PR and marketing. In addition, learn about the teamwork and the Bangor history behind creating their Jigger and Jones gin.

3:00 – Matt shares his idea to open the distillery that stemmed from his family history.

4:16 – Larry explains the origin story of their brand name, and the Bangor history behind it.

8:43 – James talks about his background as a chemical engineer and how he created the Jigger and Jones gin.

12:47 – Nancy asks all three about their positions in the business, and whether they are all veterans.

14:07 – They talk about how their product has grown through teamwork and word of mouth.

21:52 - Larry talks about the current sales of The Devil’s Half Acre, and their plans to expand.

22:41 – Larry and Matt talk about how old school PR and marketing have helped their business.

27:40 – How the pandemic impacted The Devil’s Half Acre.

28:38 – How the military has prepared Larry and Matt for running The Devil’s Half Acre.

29:40 – Matt talks about the current economic conditions and how that has impacted their business.

30:47 –Matt talks about the future of The Devil’s Half Acre.

33:17 – Larry shares the national and international demand they have received, and how they won metals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the Bartenders Spirits Awards Competition.

36:04 – James shares how to make their Boarding Pass cocktail to rediscover gin.

Quote

“What we learned about our brand story that we put together with the product, is that we had met a need that consumers were missing. People weren’t aware that they could like gin. People weren’t aware that there was a history that could define what’s in the glass in front of them. By meshing those two together, the awareness drove itself and it has allowed people to talk about the product saying, ‘I don’t like gin, but I like this Jigger and Jones stuff.’” – Matthew Murphy, President, Director of Operations and Co-founder of The Devil’s Half Acre Distillery.

Links:

Fan Jones and her Sky Blue House of Pleasure - Meander Maine

San Francisco World Spirits Competition

Bartender Spirits Awards competition

The Boarding Pass Cocktail

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About the guest:    

The Devil’s Half Acre Distillery was established in 2016 and is the only military veteran owned and operated distillery in the State of Maine. Their spirits have local character, are artisanal, and expertly handcrafted with a focus on product quality and customer service. Devil’s Half Acre relies entirely on the collaboration and contributions of more than any one person. Their success thus far is the result of founders, family and friends who have put their time, money and/or sweat into this project and it could not have been done without them.

Looking to connect:          

Email: [email protected] Website: www.jiggerandjones.com

In the world of public relations, salespeople are a dime a dozen. You don’t need to look far to find PR “experts” selling you on news coverage or new Google SEO results. Some are truly experts while others are just looking for a quick buck.

As such, it can be difficult for the true experts to stand out. Potential clients and customers are inundated with sales pitches, so they become desensitized over time. It’s natural: Being sold gets old. When cold emails are literally everywhere, they tend to seem fishy and annoying. It becomes easier and easier to hit “delete” or report them as spam - even when they’re not.

But the best PR people shouldn’t complain. Business is never easy - there are always obstacles, including all of the other fish in the sea. Don’t be a minnow by adding little to no value. Don’t be a commodity. Separate yourself from the pack by adding real, measurable value for your clients and customers so they’re actually satisfied. You need to become more valuable than your competitors could ever dream of being. Get results.

Think of the difference between getting a cup of coffee at your corner gas station and the latest Starbucks dark roast. You may pay three times more at Starbucks, but that’s because Starbucks provides you with a unique experience. They give you more customizable choices, and their products just plain taste better.

Continue reading here to learn how to separate yourself from other PR “experts.”

The article read in this episode originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice™ in May 2022.

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One key component of any marketing program is determining a target audience. That is, once you’ve developed a message, who do you want consuming it?

Ask yourself: Who should care? And who will care? How am I going to create compelling content that attracts the people my business can best serve?

If you’re representing a tech startup in Silicon Valley, perhaps your target audience is recent Stanford graduates looking for a job. If you’re promoting a skiing and snowboarding conference in Boston, then your target audience is most likely the avid skiers and snowboarders in the New England area. For sporting goods companies in New England, you want to be reaching athletes in the region but also their family and friends — those who could make purchases on their behalf.

It may seem like common sense, but your target audience is just as important as the message itself, and the channels by which you’re communicating it. Picking the right audience can turn an otherwise average PR campaign into a resounding success. Choosing the wrong audience, however, can derail even the best-laid talking points. Targeting the right demographic can be invaluable.

Continue reading here to remember that you are not your target audience.

The article read in this episode originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice™ in October 2019.

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For decades, the public relations industry relied on the media to publish clients’ stories and help them raise visibility to achieve results. An agency would pitch a news outlet on a potential story, and that news outlet would either run the story or not.

In the current digital age, people are seeking information about a variety of topics, but are trying desperately to avoid advertising and other forms of overt marketing. After all, barely one-third of global consumers claim to trust “most of the brands they buy and use,” according to research by Edelman. And 56% report that they’re able to spot “trustwashing,” a term used to describe when “brands use societal issues as a marketing ploy to sell more of their product.”

This breakdown in trust leads to skepticism of self-promotion — brands telling you how wonderful they are. And it leads people to consume content differently. Think of websites like BuzzFeed, which has attracted a loyal following by, in their words, “creat[ing] authentic audience engagement that fosters real-world impact.” BuzzFeed reaches hundreds of millions of people worldwide, but they don’t do it by flooding readers’ newsfeeds with sponsored content. They do it by rewarding their readers with content they’re actually looking for. In other words, they attract and retain their audience by building the right kind of audience first — an audience that knows, likes and trusts the brand. POPSUGAR is another example of a news outlet that has built the right audience — millennial women — for itself. Or what about Tasty, which serves up videos of food, cooking and kitchen fun?

Continue reading here to learn how content marketing is the new PR.

The article read in this episode originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice™ in November 2019.

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For example, NFL quarterback Tom Brady, who recently announced his return to professional football, brands himself as a ruthless competitor, but also a loving teammate who cares about team camaraderie. His teammates say the same. 

Branding is how you make people feel. The same goes for business. Your brand will attract the people who feel good about doing business with you or align themselves with your brand. By the same token, your brand will repel those who don’t feel good about you and refuse to embrace your brand values. 

Continue reading here to learn how to improve how people feel about your brand. 

The article read in this episode originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice™ in April 2022. 

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According to one report, more than 20 million Americans participated in downhill skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling during the 2015-2016 winter season. These winter sports enthusiasts will contribute an estimated $20 billion to the U.S. economy, “through consumer spending at ski resorts, hotels, restaurants, bars, grocery stores and gas stations.” Winter sports are big business — and growing by the year. 

Ski resorts find themselves at the intersection of personalized service and technological development, positioning themselves to be high-tech and high-touch to compete successfully. This means leveraging the latest technologies, but also maintaining that personal touch to leave people satisfied with their experience — and willing to come back. 

All brands can learn from this practice. How can you serve your audience by providing ongoing online updates on your social media platforms of choice, by email or even — wait for it — snail mail, that are helpful, useful, educational or even entertaining? 

Continue reading here to learn more about high-tech, high-touch PR. 

The article read in this episode originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice™ in December 2019. 

Activate The PR Maven® Flash Briefing on your Alexa Device.   

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