So one of my clients was recently told by a man that he he
lped get Rachel Ray on Oprah and that’s how she blew up and offered his “no strings attached” help for her product to blow up, too. She called me with excitement in her voice but I didn’t reciprocate her excitement. She said she was going to make the call so I asked her to let me know how it goes. Fast forward two weeks later, and my client received zero returned calls, text messages, emails, tweets, Facebook or LinkedIn messages. (**sigh**) Unfortunately, this happens every day in the networking world of business. For me, this makes me extremely leery because time and knowledge is money; you pay for what you do not know, literally and figuratively. In the Public Relations industry, there is a stigma that we are all about the hype and fluff. That we over promise and deliver less than appeasing publicity; because they do say “there is no such thing as bad publicity”. [Raising my hand and giving the side eye] I think that industry is called Keeping Up with your Ego. In order for people to keep their egos inflated, they need an audience to brag to. Who is a perfect audience member? A new business owners or a new industry professional. I, as a Publicist, am here to reject that stigma and offer one piece of advice—Stop bragging before you have the business credibility to do so.
Here’s 5 Quick Lessons to handle business before you can start bragging:
(1) make sure your business or service is legit—file the necessary paperwork to the
state offices and tax offices; get an online presence with a website, blog, and
social media
(2) make sure you know about your product or service—make a list of common questions and
have an answer already prepared and create questions to ask others so you can
personalize an answer, especially if you have a product
(3) keep up with the ever-changing trends within your industry—that’s how your
credibility builds AND to go a step further, learn other closely related
industry trends for cross marketing opportunities
(4) as your industry changes, make the necessary, creative changes to make sure your
product or service is sustained
(5) lastly, be honest with your intentions and keep your word—if you say you want to help
someone, do it but be clear that you’re doing it because you want something in
exchange either now or down the line; let people make a choice and your word
will remain your bond.
About the author: TJ Jefferson is the owner of Fresh Touch Publicity, which is a Public Relations Consultancy company. It is based in Atlanta and designed to assist small businesses and non-profits with maximizing their exposure through traditional media, blogging, networking events, and community service efforts. Please LIKE her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/freshtouchpublicity and/or visit http://www.ftpublicity.com/ for more info.
lped get Rachel Ray on Oprah and that’s how she blew up and offered his “no strings attached” help for her product to blow up, too. She called me with excitement in her voice but I didn’t reciprocate her excitement. She said she was going to make the call so I asked her to let me know how it goes. Fast forward two weeks later, and my client received zero returned calls, text messages, emails, tweets, Facebook or LinkedIn messages. (**sigh**) Unfortunately, this happens every day in the networking world of business. For me, this makes me extremely leery because time and knowledge is money; you pay for what you do not know, literally and figuratively. In the Public Relations industry, there is a stigma that we are all about the hype and fluff. That we over promise and deliver less than appeasing publicity; because they do say “there is no such thing as bad publicity”. [Raising my hand and giving the side eye] I think that industry is called Keeping Up with your Ego. In order for people to keep their egos inflated, they need an audience to brag to. Who is a perfect audience member? A new business owners or a new industry professional. I, as a Publicist, am here to reject that stigma and offer one piece of advice—Stop bragging before you have the business credibility to do so.Here’s 5 Quick Lessons to handle business before you can start bragging:
(1) make sure your business or service is legit—file the necessary paperwork to the
state offices and tax offices; get an online presence with a website, blog, and
social media
(2) make sure you know about your product or service—make a list of common questions and
have an answer already prepared and create questions to ask others so you can
personalize an answer, especially if you have a product
(3) keep up with the ever-changing trends within your industry—that’s how your
credibility builds AND to go a step further, learn other closely related
industry trends for cross marketing opportunities
(4) as your industry changes, make the necessary, creative changes to make sure your
product or service is sustained
(5) lastly, be honest with your intentions and keep your word—if you say you want to help
someone, do it but be clear that you’re doing it because you want something in
exchange either now or down the line; let people make a choice and your word
will remain your bond.
About the author: TJ Jefferson is the owner of Fresh Touch Publicity, which is a Public Relations Consultancy company. It is based in Atlanta and designed to assist small businesses and non-profits with maximizing their exposure through traditional media, blogging, networking events, and community service efforts. Please LIKE her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/freshtouchpublicity and/or visit http://www.ftpublicity.com/ for more info.
