Four Reasons I Unfollow People in PR & Social Media
I’m not a social media guru. I don’t have thousands of twitter followers. And I don’t follow thousands. But like any PR professional worth his or her salt, I follow a fair number of my fellow PR flacks and social media types. Lately I’ve noticed an overwhelming trend among this group that leaves me shaking my head, and flexing my itchy “unfollow button” finger.
There’s only so much time in the day to look through your twitter feed and cut through the clutter. Call me fickle, call me a jerk, but here’s the four fastest ways PR and social media folks get unfollowed by me:
1. Live tweeting common sense: While attending a public relations seminar or conference you repeatedly tweet comments like “Social media expert says that your brand is your identity.” Or, “PR guru says customer service is key!” Holy Smokes! This is life altering stuff here, thank you for sharing. Of course, I jest…my four year old knows these concepts. It’s common sense and I wouldn’t be too excited to share that with people as if you’re just learning it for the first time. If you just paid in the neighborhood of $1,000 to attend the PR conference, and this is what you’re getting out of it, you need to ask for your money back. Because you just lost money, and you just lost a follower. Unfollowed.
2. Exercise: “Woke up 4 hours early to do a 23 mile run and…” STOP, we don’t care! Good job staying healthy. But we get it, you wake up way earlier than everyone else, exercise much longer than everyone else, and you work much much harder than everyone else. Congratulations, you’re awesome. Awesome at getting unfollowed.
3. Quit complaining: “Company XX customer service sucks!” While your twitter feed is yours and yours alone, when you work in PR, you must realize by now what you’re putting up there is a reflection of your company. And especially if you work at a PR firm, or are a social media expert for hire, how are you so sure you will never be trying to win sucky company XX’s business. It seems short sighted to me to complain in such a public forum. Save it for a private Facebook page, or if you need to reach out to a company, do it in a more positive manner. I’m under the impression that you never know who’s looking to hire you three months or three years from now. And you better believe that when they do come knockin’, your twitter feed is going to be researched. Knock Knock. Who’s there? Unfollowed.
4. The Over-Quoter: One inspirational quote every now and again? Acceptable. Making it painfully obvious that somebody gave you a book of famous quotes as a gift, it’s now sitting on your desk and you pull from it every day to tweet in an attempt to make it seem like it’s really meaningful to you at that particular point and time. “Unfollowed.”
Now it’s time to go back and check @lyonspr and see if I’m guilty of any of the above over the past three years. Do i need to unfollow myself? Time to go find out.
Pitching radio? A few tips for radio media tour success
Pitching radio interviews or setting up a radio media tour? Check out a few key tips for pitching success from an expert here at Lyons PR:
Radio Media Tour — Tips from Lyons PR
In the PR business for yourself or creating a PR business?
Thinking about heading out on your own in the PR industry? Whether your focus is traditional full-service public relations, broadcast media relations, social media or some other PR specialty, you have quite a few decisions in front of you. But one sticks out above the rest and demands your attention early:
Are you going into the PR business for yourself, or are you creating a PR business?
There is a difference, so decide early on, and adapt the proper mentality. Ten years down the road, is it your goal to be a self-sustaining solo PR practitioner, or do you plan to be at the helm of your own PR firm with a significant client base and multiple employees? There are pros and cons to both, and one is not necessarily better than the other. It’s a very personal decision based on your own strengths and weaknesses, and only you know in which environment you have a greater chance of success and happiness.
From the onset of Lyons PR, I knew that I wanted to create a PR business. I didn’t have much intention of going at it alone for my entire career, or even more than a few years. That said, I didn’t wake up on day one with employees, offices and a water cooler. Rather, I worked alone in my frigid basement putting in 60+ hour weeks for nearly two years before I hired my first full-time employee. But I always had that goal in mind of creating something bigger than just myself.
If you have ambitions of creating your own PR business, I say go for it. And once you have that big decision behind you, to successfully develop your business into something larger than yourself, there are a few things I recommend to keep in mind. Mainly, you need to stay focused on a few key elements of the business side of PR:
1. DELEGATE–Decide when it’s appropriate to outsource or sub-contract. If it’s your goal to grow into a larger business, it will be worth the expense to sub-contract certain aspects of client work to somebody you work closely with and trust. Even if this means you’re not making as much profit, or any profit for that matter, if you can afford to, it will allow you the time to work “on” your business, rather than “in” your business. But don’t forget, you are ultimately responsible for any and all work done under your company banner, so manage closely.
2. SELL SELL SELL!–Congratulations, you’re the company’s #1 sales person. You’re also the only salesperson. Communication professionals are extremely adept at filling many different roles and completing whatever job needs to be done. However, sales is not always one of them. New business development is a fact of life when you are actively trying to grow your company, and you must be proactive about it. There are so many tools available now, you don’t need to take the George Costanza approach to selling. But you do need to be savvy about how you are conducting your new business outreach, and you need to get comfortable very quickly with the notion that selling is part of your job.
3. COUNT YOUR PENNIES–Get set-up with accounting software from day one. Even if you have zero money coming in, and zero money going out initially, it will be well worth it in the long-term to take care of your finances the right way from the beginning. Once you start adding employees and clients, you’ll be more than glad you did. I know several small business owners that didn’t set themselves up until they had already been in business for a while, and it’s a huge undertaking to go back and enter in all the data. Do it on day one.
4. NO ESCAPE–A luxury some independent PR professionals have is the ability to take jobs when they want, and schedule themselves to be completely free of any work while on vacation. If you have ambitions of creating a larger business, take a nice long vacation now while you’re working for somebody else, because those days will soon be gone. PR is a profession that is all about relationships, connectivity and responsiveness. And when you’re at the helm of a public relations small business, you always need to be available.
During my seven years heading up Lyons PR, no client has ever received an “out-of-office” auto-reply from me. No client has waited more than a day to get an email or phone call returned. With modern technology, it’s incredibly easy to stay in touch, even on vacation, but you truly never get away.
So decide early on. Are you going to be more successful and ultimately happier as a PR consultant, or do you have loftier goals of launching a full-fledged public relations business. Only you know what’s best, and deciding from the start of your business launch is the first step in reaching your ultimate goals.
Snow, Stingrays and Stunt-Driving—Looking Back at Year One
While heading up the day-to-day operations of a PR small business, you usually don’t take the time to reflect back on the early days. Especially since the PR industry can be non-stop, it’s a foreign concept to stop and smell the roses. You’re constantly thinking five steps head, and thinking about what you can do for your clients, and how your firm can grow.
So using this blog as the excuse, I spent some time during the Thanksgiving weekend thinking about the early days of Lyons PR, and some of the challenges. From working 60+ hour weeks in a frigid basement, to conducting a radio media tour from the ER, that first year was interesting to say the least. But in thinking back on year one I recognized that it was many of the choices I made in that first year that helped propel Lyons PR into the award-winning broadcast PR firm that it is today.
As we start to put the finishing touches on our seventh year in business, a minute to reflect on some defining moments:
When it must get through
The first year in business can definitely make or break you, and you’ll need to overcome quite a few obstacles. One obstacle in particular I encountered was on a Friday afternoon on a beautiful spring day when the internet went out.
Normally such a short-term outage wouldn’t be a huge deal, but it coincided perfectly with an important email to a client that had to be sent that afternoon. This was before the Blackberry had been surgically attached. This was even before I had a laptop, so wi-fi was not an option.
But here’s what was an option—as I stepped outside for some fresh air, and to contemplate my dilemma, I spotted a service truck of our internet provider. So like any rational small business owner would do, I jumped into my car, followed and tracked down the service tech, then cut him off “Dukes of Hazzard style” as he was making a turn so he’d be forced to stop. I proceeded to offer him a little monetary “token of my appreciation” and he followed me back to my office to fix the internet issues. Within the hour, internet was back up, and the crucial email was sent.
The airport was lovely that time of year
Still in our first year of business, I was attempting to meet up with some friends for a long weekend in Phoenix. After several stressful months in the first year of running Lyons PR, I felt as though I was due for a long weekend. I thought wrong.
Unfortunately, I picked a terrible travel day and snowstorms were hitting most the country. In fact, it was the day a plane skidded off the runaway in Chicago, which happened to be my connection city. Without fail, during my layover in the Windy City, I received an urgent call from a client. Looking back, I’m sure the work could have waited until I returned on Monday, but as a fledgling small business, you never want to take the chance that you leave a client dissatisfied. I had a tough choice to make, and just one of many you make as a small business owner. Did I want to risk the success of this project by not being available to take care of a few tasks (which had to be done back in my office), or did I want to get in my weekend with the guys. After two cancelled flights and a night spent in the airport, I was on the first plane back to D.C. the next morning.
RMT from the ER
Perhaps I should have never left the basement office world headquarters that first year of Lyons PR. While on a short getaway to the South Carolina coast for a family reunion, I was also finishing up a radio media tour. One of the services we provide with our radio media tours is moderating each interview conducted, and being on the line with the client throughout the RMT. We had several interviews scheduled which I had planned on moderating from the house where we were staying and from the airport before we flew home.
But that was not to be.
The plan was: I would moderate the first leg of the radio media tour in the morning, get in a quick run on the beach, then head off to the airport. While at the airport I was going to moderate the afternoon leg of the RMT. Easy enough.
The day started off according to plan. I wrapped up the first leg of interviews in the morning, and hit the beach for a run. I decided to take a quick dip in the ocean to cool down. Bad decision. I had the unfortunate luck of getting stung on the foot by a stingray on my way out of the water. I was about 4 feet from shore.
Despite my best efforts to tough-it-out (and no, nobody peed on my foot but thanks for asking) I realized there was no way I was getting on a plane home later that afternoon without some medical attention. The pain was excruciating, but there was still a radio media tour to moderate. So upon arriving at the ER, and with my foot in some sort of bucket for treatment, I pulled out the cell and moderated the last leg of the RMT, the client none the wiser.
If I had taken a different approach to any of these situations, would Lyons PR be different today? Who knows. But in the first year of a PR business there are literally hundreds of these types of decisions, and if you put the business first and go to extreme lengths to generate results and ensure happy clients, you’ll have a bright future.
The Business of PR—Dealing with the Slow Times
Like many of the small business owners in the PR industry I talk with, probably the single hardest thing for me to deal with are the down times when business slows. As a Broadcast PR firm owner, it’s my job to constantly be looking ahead, so even when we’re slammed with radio PSAs, ANRs and Radio Media Tour projects, there’s no time to get complacent. You allow yourself to enjoy the capacity project load for about half-a-second, then start looking to the future.
So when the slower times come, and trust me, in a project driven public relations business there will be slower times at one point or another, here’s how I deal with: worry constantly, drive my wife nuts, and lose sleep. Not the sage advice you probably expected, but some habits are hard to break, sorry. To my credit, after seven years at the helm of a broadcast PR business, I am getting better at minimizing the worrying, but in a project driven industry, you are always looking ahead and searching for ways to grow and improve your firm.
But here’s the other thing I do during down times—I work my butt off. All that networking, business development, website refreshing that I’ve been forced to put on the back-burner to make time for client work, it’s time to give that my full attention. I start planning and implementing marketing campaigns. I reconnect with contacts I haven’t talked to in a while. And for those members of the DC PR Lunch Crew that have been asking, yes, I will be planning the next installment of the networking group. Sorry for the delay.
When we hit those inevitable slower times, here are a few activities I undertake to make the best use of the time:
1. Desk Drawer Digging. You know all those business cards you’ve collected over the past year that are accumulated in your desk drawer—pull a few out and connect with those folks. It’s not a sales call, don’t forget that. Get connected and see what you can do to help them, not sell them.
2. Networking out of industry. Step out of your comfort zone, attend a networking event that’s only semi-related to what you do. Too many people attend networking events looking for their next job or new clients. Attending an event that isn’t directly related to what you do on a daily basis will give you the chance to make some great connections outside of your direct industry, and give you some great ideas that can be applied to your business.
3. Think. It’s amazing, I’m constantly thinking about what’s going on at Lyons PR—thinking about what projects need to be finished, thinking about concepts for new PSA productions, thinking about distribution schedules. But I seldom get the chance to really think about the big picture—what’s the identity of this firm, what are our goals, how can we provide even better service to our clients. Sitting and thinking is not something most small business owners do well. In fact, I do my best thinking while out for a long run. So give yourself time to get in your best thinking zone, wherever that may be. And just as the successful entrepreneur will work on the business rather than in the business, take the time to think “on” your business, not “in” your business.
4. Chill. Take a long lunch, go for a walk, relax. Admittedly, I’m not practicing what I preach here. But rest assured that every business experiences slow times, and things will pick up. Probably when you least expect it or are neck deep into your new marketing/ business development/networking activities. But in the PR industry, we so seldom have a chance to take a breather, it’s important to give yourself a break when you have the chance. Burn out can quickly catch up to you in a 24/7 industry like PR, so even though the down time might not be on your own terms, take advantage of it.
Bottom line–don’t let the slow times scare you. Know that every business experiences them, and if you have a strong work ethic, strong client base and solid business model, you will be stressed out soon enough because you have too much business. Anticipate the slow times, embrace them, and use time to its fullest.
My kind of research….
One of the great things about working in broadcast PR is the variety of clients we work with on a weekly basis. Just this month, we’re working with two former chairs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on PSA projects, an extremely popular NASCAR driver on a Satellite Media Tour, and a judge/creator of one of the most popular TV shows today. So it’s definitely not boring.
But every now and again, I read about a job that makes me a little envious. I wish this type of research was involved in what we do here…
Deadliest Catch, PR Style
Catching up on the latest season of Discovery’s Deadliest Catch this week, I realized there are quite a few similarities between the captains of the crab boats and those of us that head up small-to-mid sized PR firms. I’m not saying I could last even two hours on a crab boat, but a few parallels stuck out to me.
4,100 miles southeast of Dutch Harbor…
You’re in the Wheelhouse Alone
While most of us aren’t chain-smoking at our desks like the crab boat captains, there is the shared feeling that everything is on your shoulders. Just as the captains know that they’ve got five guys on deck that are depending on him, we’ve got our employees that are depending on us to get the job done, and it’s up to us to keep our eye on the big picture. On the other side of the equation, our clients depend on us to deliver results, just as the processors waiting at the dock depend on the captains for tons of crabs. Either way, it’s on our shoulders.
A Good Crew is Key
You’re only as good as your crew. This is very evident when you’re working in the close confines of a crabbing boat, or a small PR firm office. A weak link will quickly come to the surface. And while a single mistake by one of our employees is not going to result in taking a cold, wet plunge into the Bering Sea, it can have quite an impact on our business.
Move to More Fertile Grounds
Sometimes when the fishing isn’t great, the crab boats have to move to more fertile grounds. It can be a tough and maybe even painful decision for the captain. They’ve invested quite a bit of time and money into a fishing spot, but it’s just not paying off for them. Occasionally, as an owner of a PR firm, you’ll face the same situation. You can’t be afraid to change your direction at certain points, or change your focus. Whether that means changing your marketing efforts, new business targets, or even core competencies, you have to be able to make that tough decision and change direction when things just aren’t working as you had planned.
You’re Only as Good as Your Last Pot
When a boat is in the midst of a successful trip, the boys on deck are churning along on all cylinders, the pots are coming up full and the captain and crew are smiling and joking. Fast forward to the boat’s next trip out—that great catch is a distant memory, and the captain is back chain-smoking, cursing and worrying about how the upcoming trip will go. Same goes for those of us at the helm of a PR firm. At Lyons PR, we’re fortunate to have extremely loyal clients, but for each project we take on, we put the pressure on ourselves to deliver the best possible results. And just like the crabbers, in the world of PR and especially a broadcast PR firm that deals in earned media placements, guarantees are tough to come by.
Heading up a PR firm is definitely not one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. But like running a crab boat, if it was an easy thing to do, more people would definitely be doing it.
Large PR Firms—with high profile clients, professionally decorated offices and shiny job-fair swag—get a lot of attention from graduating communications students. But after seeing the grass on the both sides of the fence, I think smaller PR firms deserve more consideration.
I initially joined Lyons PR, a broadcast media relations firm and a small business, as an intern the spring semester of my junior undergrad year, and continued to intern with them the following two summers. Before coming on board full-time, I completed several other internship programs, including positions at a large PR firm, working in the press department for a U.S. senator, and at a mid-sized stock photography company. Though all these organizations have their advantages, my PR skills flourished most at Lyons PR. And here’s why:
Compared to larger firms, at a smaller PR firm, feedback is timely, questions are answered immediately and managers and supervisors are accessible. While larger companies definitely have their perks, some downsides include rarely seeing the fruits of your labor, or receiving specific feedback. For example, I’d send a project off to an e-mail address and often times I had never met the person on the receiving end. I’d write campaign participation letters, and never see final copy or know if it was successful. In college I was accustomed to receiving feedback on everything, but I cannot think of a single occasion of having my work critiqued as an intern at larger organizations. Speaking from the newly-professional perspective, work evaluation is crucial for growth.
In addition to work feedback, small agencies allow for career advancement within the company. You didn’t have to go to business school to understand that a large corporation simply cannot promote all of the entry level employees they hire each year. The position I currently hold didn’t exist when I first started as an intern, it was later created because the firm was rapidly growing. Look for a company that you can grow with, not just a place to launch from.
Dan Lyons, aka Radio PR Guy and President of Lyons PR, mentioned in an earlier post that heads of small PR firms wear many hats. The same goes for all employees. I’ve been asked to design PSA labels, edit audio, pitch stories, write copy, track PSAs, build Web pages, and (of course)—contribute to this blog! The diversity of project opportunities is a wonderful way to get a better sense of your personal passions and strengths within the public relations field. No need to become helplessly pigeon-holed during your career’s infancy. We have an all hands on deck mentality; which in addition to helping out whenever needed, also means helping wherever needed with all of our clients.
Furthermore, in small businesses, seniority is not always as significant. In an effort to stay savvy on the most recent platforms for communication and social media, and to reward the Lyons PR staff on a productive year, our entire office received iPads. My point being, all benefits (and not just bonuses) are distributed more evenly in small businesses. This isn’t to say large companies don’t value new communication tools. Last fall, JP Morgan Chase gave their investment bankers iPads—none of whom graduated college anytime recently I’m sure. Fewer employees means fewer chances your ideas and contributions are overlooked.
All young PR professionals should consider small businesses when looking for a company to launch their career. This isn’t to suggest stress at small firms doesn’t occur, or that large firms are never a good fit. But smaller PR firms—with accessible management, ability to promote from within and exposure to a variety of responsibilities—are most advantageous for those just stepping into the PR field.
Salone Johnson, a 2010 graduate of American University, is Account Coordinator for Lyons PR. Follow her on twitter at @suhloan.
We Interrupt This Program…
Quick thought about the effects of breaking news on a broadcast media relations firm. First, the bad news—when news breaks as it did on Sunday night about the Bin Laden killing, there’s a very good chance anything previously scheduled for Monday morning is going to be canceled or rescheduled. We had a radio media tour scheduled for Monday morning, and not surprisingly, we are now rescheduling several interviews. It’s out of your control, so the best thing to do in that situation is to give your media contacts some space, and touch base with them a few days later once the pace has slowed. And unless it’s 100% relevant to the breaking news story, don’t even think about pitching a new topic during this time.
Now the good news. With the 24/7 news cycle and the non-stop coverage by talk radio and cable news outlets, a breaking news story on par with the Bin Laden killing does not totally dominate the media landscape for nearly as long anymore. While it’s still obviously in the headlines and getting much attention, just two days later, we are already hearing back from producers and reporters to reschedule previously scheduled interviews, and they are inquiring about who we have available for the coming weeks.
So when breaking news strikes during your next radio media tour or SMT, be ready to shuffle things around, be flexible, and most of all, be patient.
8 Rules for the New Business Meeting
Over the past couple of months, I’ve been on the move holding several meetings each week with potential new clients. I’ve met with trade associations, PR firms, corporations, non-profits, and government agencies to discuss our broadcast media services and how we can help them with their radio media tours, PSAs, and radio outreach in general.
These meetings have taken me all over the DC area, as well as all over the country. This has also left me with several long plane rides with some time to think about the rules and etiquette that I follow for my first face-to-face meetings with potential clients. These are rules that transcend the public relations industry, but in an industry that image and perception are so important, they are particularly relevant for that first key meeting.
So here then, are my eight rules for a successful meeting with a new prospective client:
1. Three minutes early. Arrive to the meeting three minutes early. My very scientific research has proven that this is the exact correct amount of time to arrive prior to the scheduled meeting time. Absolutely never be late, that part is simple. And don’t arrive too early, because that can make your contact on the other side of the meeting feel rushed and harried. Three minutes is the perfect amount of time to present yourself to the receptionist. It says, “I’m punctual, I know how to arrive on time, but no-rush, because I’m a few minutes early.”
2. Be prepared. This sounds like a no-brainer, but I can’t stress it enough. Know who it is you’re sitting across from, what they do, and what their organization does. More so, know what is currently going on within the organization, and how you can provide value to them. It’s pretty easy these days to do your research. Especially with Linkedin, Twitter and other social media, you can quickly get a sense of the type of person you’re going to meet with, and what his or her organization does. Being prepared will also help separate you from the competition. I’m often told by clients that they were both surprised and appreciative of the homework I had done prior to our first meeting.
3. Don’t be a used car salesman. Do I hope that the meeting results in new business? Absolutely. Do I sit there yammering on about our different radio media relations services and how great we are? Never. I usually can sum up the gist of our services in about five minutes or less. This should be the tip of the iceberg for the meeting conversation. Have thoughtful ideas ready-to-go about how the potential client could benefit from your services, and what the value would be. When I’m prepared (as mentioned above in number two) I can ask intelligent questions, which will ultimately lead to a greater understanding of how we can work together.
4. Location, location, location. If a meeting is scheduled over lunch, spend some time researching the ideal location. The ideal spot with differ depending on the type of client, type of business being discussed, and expectations. I’ve conducted meetings at the top restaurants around the country, and I’m also a regular at DC’s finest grilled cheese restaurant where the total bill is about $20. Have several “go-to” options in mind and pay attention to the restaurant’s layout. You don’t want a restaurant where the tables are packed in, and you’re right next to your fellow diners. That could hold back the conversation. You also don’t want a restaurant that is so loud you can’t hear each other. And lastly, check Yelp for reviews. Food here is not the main focus, but picking a horrible restaurant could be a reflection on you.
5. Eat this, not that. It’s a business meeting, which mean you’re going to be talking, people will be looking at you, and you have limited time. So you need to order something you can eat rather quickly, consume while talking, all while not getting it all over yourself. Nobody wants to do business with a slob, and there’s no quicker way to earn that reputation by talking the whole meeting with grease dripping off your chin. For the first time ever, I will now reveal my lunch meeting secret. The perfect lunch meeting food is…ravioli, or better yet if it’s on the menu, risotto. But make sure it doesn’t have too much sauce. It’s the perfect meeting food. You can easily consume while talking without constantly looking down at your plate, doesn’t (it least it shouldn’t) make a mess, and you can finish quickly over the course of the meeting. Stay away from burgers or other sloppy sandwiches during that first meeting, save that for once you have the business.
Salads can be a good second choice, but make sure it’s not one that requires too much effort. My downside on salads is they can often take a long time to consume, and often I would end up only getting through half of it. Then I’m hungry the rest of the day and that’s no good either. The day doesn’t end with lunch.
6. Forget the Three Day Rule. Follow-up with an email the following day, no exceptions. Often times, the next step after the initial meeting is that we’ll create a customized proposal. While this may take a couple days to compile, a quick email thanking your contact for their time and a quick recap needs to be sent the day after the meeting.
7. You’re on the clock. Always be respectful of the person’s time that you’re meeting with. I factor in 30 minutes for an in-office meeting, 45 minutes-to-an-hour for a lunch meeting. Don’t linger, don’t drag out the meeting trying to overly sell yourself and don’t carry on about your company’s accomplishments. The goal is to establish a naturally flowing conversation, and if the conversation is going well and you find yourself into “extra-time” that’s fine, but let the situation dictate.
8. Shut up and listen! While you have limited time with each meeting, don’t feel pressured to talk the entire time trying to sell your services. To get the most out of each meeting, make sure you’re truly listening to the person you’re meeting with. Ask good questions, and pay attention to the responses. You’ll gain valuable insight into an organization, and discover new ways you can provide value.
So those are my 8 tips for successful new business meetings in PR. It’s what works for me. What works for you?
