The St. Louis-based Public Relations Firm

Social Media and Public Relations is like a Stone against Goliath!

When I was a pharmaceutical representative with Pfizer (way back in 2000) my sales trainer, Jenner Marcucci, gave a mesmerizing presentation on “Guerilla Marketing” based on the book by Jay Conrad Levinson.  Jenner gave a delivered his presentation dressed in Army camouflage, with great passion and fervor, so much so that I remember it vividly to this day! The point of guerilla marketing is that when you are small and your competitor is big, you CAN compete with them on a level playing field provided that you market your business or service in unconventional ways.  The fact that Pfizer, the pharmaceutical behemoth, was considering adapting unconventional marketing was very interesting, because they were the Goliath in the classic battle!

So this brings me to my point that a combination of public relations and social media can be the Great Equalizer, an unconventional way to market you or your business. On the web, both  micro businesses and large companies can compete at roughly the same level, provided that the micro business can is resourceful and uses as much free PR and social media promotion as it can handle.  AMM Communications, for example, is a micro business with just Ann Marie and me, but our WordPress-based website stacks up and grades better (www.websitegrader.com) than our much larger, and more established competitors.  We accomplished this by using a mix of social media and easy-to-use SEO concepts, and we are amazed at how many large companies with elaborate websites don’t have optimized websites.

Don’t discount any news about your business, such as setting up a YouTube channel, a new hire or a  promotion, or perhaps a speaking engagement.  Use online wire services such as dBusiness, Pitch Engine, and for the St. Louis-area, stltoday.com to post these announcements.  You can distribute these links to your social media network and generate a buzz about you and your company.  Don’t forget to include a link back to your website.  You’ll be amazed at how much traffic you can build with these backlinks.  PR and social media, when used together, are an effective equalizer! 9GDSK8SE7TW8

Would you trust or hire this guy? Mullets aren't "business in the front"!

I have been in sales for 2o years and found that a key part to selling effectively is maintaining a positive, professional image.  Professional image, both in appearance and in presentation skills, was always important, and fortunately social media can help tremendously.  People do business with people that they feel comfortable with and like it or not, everyone has their own internal bias towards people with whom they feel a connection.  One common theme in connecting, though, is that people respect those who they feel demonstrate expertise in their field, product, service and “look” the part.  People make snap judgments based on first impressions, so appearance really does count.  The ability to carry oneself confidently stems from managing your own image.

Whether you are a salesperson, an entrepreneur, or a job-seeker, it is important in today’s competitive environment to “look and feel the part” whenever you are trying to impress someone, such as a prospective client, a banker, or an interviewer.  This is where a managing your image through publicity can really count! The Public Relations Society of America defines PR as:

“Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.”

In this case, the “Organization” is you and your personal brand – what you are “known for”.   “Publics” recognizes the need to understand the attitudes and values of — and to develop effective relationships with — many different stakeholders, such as employees, members, customers, local communities, shareholders and other institutions, and with society at large.  So managing your image can be done with a mix of public relations and a dash of social media.

How?

• Write a blog – Demonstrate your expertise and for job-seekers, you can actively demonstrate how you are marketing yourself and your expertise to potential employers.
• Dress up your LinkedIn profile – Businesspeople are increasingly using this network to connect to and assess potential business partners.  Don’t make it look like your resume, it can be so much more than that!
• Use a professional headshot photo – A professional photo can cost as little as $50 and is a worthwhile investment.  Actors use headshots when reading for potential roles and “sell” an image, so why can’t you?

If you have ever been quoted in an article, received a public award, or profiled in a story and you are able to find that reference through one of the search engines, then a good strategy to manage your image is to send that link to your networks via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook etc.  Name recognition is a key factor in standing out from the pack.

For more information on personal branding, watch my videos on AMMCommunications1 here: http://ammcommunications.com/ammcommunications1-video-channels/

Thank you to all who attended my presentation this morning at SLAREP! I especially want to thank Kevin Cottrell and Stephanie Combs for their tremendous insight and demonstration of “what great looks like”! I will post the video of the presentation soon.