As the fall season sweeps in, many now turn their focus to football, foliage and budgets. That’s right…it is time to start thinking about 2008 and how to align anticipated public relations and marketing resources with your company’s core business goals.
The next six to eight weeks also present the ideal time to evaluate your own personal brand. How are you perceived by the important audiences with whom you interact professionally? Does it support your career path? Is your personal brand consistent with the image your company is working hard to establish?
I started thinking about personal brands after reading an interesting article from Scott Ginsberg, a professional speaker and author of "HELLO my name is Scott and the Power of Approachability." Several years ago, Scott started wearing a name tag wherever he went in an effort to make people friendlier. He soon became branded in business circles as “Scott, that guy with the name tag” which, he claims, has helped him sell books and land speaking gigs.
I have followed a similar path, minus the name tag. Shortly after launching Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), I began to refer to myself as the “Strategic Guy.” It is a professional brand that captures my belief in the importance of context-based PR/communications that are in-step with the goals of our clients’ business. It’s also a reflection of my personality – passionate and aggressive, while always maintaining a healthy sense of humor.
There are a couple of ways I market my brand. You’ll see it in the subject lines of my Emails. It is the name of my blog. And I often refer to it in presentations and speeches.
Is being the “Strategic Guy” effective? I think so. It sure is unique and memorable, and it reinforces why our PR firm has produced such dramatic results for our clients. That’s the ultimate purpose of marketing, right?
September 18, 2007, 10:02 pm
The Brand Called You
Posted by jeffM
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August 10, 2007, 4:25 pm
Blogs and the Power of Personal Connections
Pitney Bowes’ executive chairman believes a parent driving their child to school is wasteful. He also thinks our government is so fixated on current year budget balancing that they mortgage the future. And one of his favorite movies is the Karate Kid because the hero develops a valuable skill without realizing it.
I have never met or spoken with Mike Critelli so how do I know all of this? It’s in his blog , of course.
(Note: Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) has worked for Pitney Bowes Government Solutions. However, we have not consulted the company on, nor been involved in their use of social media.)
There is a change underway in corporate blogging. Initially, most blogs were constructed as an extension of an organization’s marketing, public relations and lead generation program. They were yet another channel to reach target audiences with promotional messaging hyping the company and its wares. Unsurprisingly, readership for most of these online journals was low and the business benefit from blogging was questionable.
Now, an increasing number of executives are reinventing their blogs as a forum for more uncensored commentary, views and interaction on topics that may or may not be related to their company’s business.
Corporate Blogs Take on an Edge
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticl
eBasic&articleId=299122&pageNumber=1
For instance, Pitney Bowes’ Critelli does write on occasion about direct mail in his “Open Mike” blog, yet he devotes more content to topics of personal interest like transportation reform and Alzheimer’s research.
What’s the value in this? Is there a true business ROI from a more widely read blog if the topics have little to do with the company’s products or services?
Absolutely! Ultimately, people do business with companies they know and trust. That’s the power of the personal connection. It is why I share with clients and colleagues the often humorous anecdotes that come from raising two sons under the age of four. It’s why I ask them about their families, vacations and hobbies. I want them to see me as a person, not just as their PR consultant or co-worker.
A corporate blog with a well-defined editorial mission can help your company make a deeper connection with the audiences most important to its success. You want to promote your company, while also identifying ways to engage your key audiences on topics of common interest. Connect with them on that level, and they’ll be more likely to buy from you…partner with you…invest in you…or work for you.
I have never met or spoken with Mike Critelli so how do I know all of this? It’s in his blog , of course.
(Note: Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) has worked for Pitney Bowes Government Solutions. However, we have not consulted the company on, nor been involved in their use of social media.)
There is a change underway in corporate blogging. Initially, most blogs were constructed as an extension of an organization’s marketing, public relations and lead generation program. They were yet another channel to reach target audiences with promotional messaging hyping the company and its wares. Unsurprisingly, readership for most of these online journals was low and the business benefit from blogging was questionable.
Now, an increasing number of executives are reinventing their blogs as a forum for more uncensored commentary, views and interaction on topics that may or may not be related to their company’s business.
Corporate Blogs Take on an Edge
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticl
eBasic&articleId=299122&pageNumber=1
For instance, Pitney Bowes’ Critelli does write on occasion about direct mail in his “Open Mike” blog, yet he devotes more content to topics of personal interest like transportation reform and Alzheimer’s research.
What’s the value in this? Is there a true business ROI from a more widely read blog if the topics have little to do with the company’s products or services?
Absolutely! Ultimately, people do business with companies they know and trust. That’s the power of the personal connection. It is why I share with clients and colleagues the often humorous anecdotes that come from raising two sons under the age of four. It’s why I ask them about their families, vacations and hobbies. I want them to see me as a person, not just as their PR consultant or co-worker.
A corporate blog with a well-defined editorial mission can help your company make a deeper connection with the audiences most important to its success. You want to promote your company, while also identifying ways to engage your key audiences on topics of common interest. Connect with them on that level, and they’ll be more likely to buy from you…partner with you…invest in you…or work for you.
Posted by jeffM
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Send this
July 10, 2007, 2:42 pm
Harper's Sparks PR Wild Fire
Harper’s Magazine’s Ken Silverstein sparked a wild fire in the lobbying, public relations and media communities. Ethics have been questioned. Insults have been hurled. And pundits have turned ugly on each other.
Silverstein spent years watching Washington, DC-based lobbying firms represent dictatorial foreign governments on Capitol Hill. What promises do these firms make in pitching their services? What scrutiny do they use to evaluate potential clients? How much of their PR work is visible to Congress and the public?
To answer these questions, Silverstein went undercover as “Kenneth Case,” a consultant for a fictitious London-based firm called “The Maldon Group” that had a financial stake in improving the public image of Turkmenistan. He threw up a rudimentary Web site, printed some business cards and then proceeded to contact several of the top lobby/PR shops in DC.
The resulting article titled “Their Men in Washington: Undercover with DC’s Lobbyists for Hire” is a fascinating read about the strategies and tactics lobbyists employ to enhance the reputation of a foreign entity with questionable beliefs and practices.
Equally intriguing has been the reaction from media pundits who, rather than directing their ire at the lobbying shops in the article, raised concerns about Silverstein’s ethics and credibility.
Washington Post columnist Howard Kurtz wrote “no matter how good the story, lying to get it raises as many questions about journalists as their subjects”. In an op-ed for CBS News Matthew Felling referred to Silverstein’s reporting as “gotcha journalism" .
Harper’s Magazine’s Silverstein was forced to defend his journalistic practices (and the importance of undercover reporting) in a Los Angeles Times op-ed titled “Undercover, Under Fire."
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-silverstein30jun30,0,19
39913.story?coll=la-opinion-center
While I have no standing to participate in that debate, I do believe Silverstein’s article should serve as a call to PR practitioners – both corporate communications professionals and their agency counterparts – to elevate their due diligence. At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), we do our best to practice honesty and full disclosure in external communications, while always representing the best interests of our clients.
We’re fortunate to work for a group of companies that I believe offer valuable products and services, and are led by ethical management. Can we do more at Strategic to ensure this is always the case? Absolutely…and that’s something I plan to discuss with the team.
While wild fires are destructive and dangerous they have benefits. In time they produce areas of new growth that help wildlife and plant diversity. Let’s hope Silverstein’s article does the same in the PR and lobbying industries.
Silverstein spent years watching Washington, DC-based lobbying firms represent dictatorial foreign governments on Capitol Hill. What promises do these firms make in pitching their services? What scrutiny do they use to evaluate potential clients? How much of their PR work is visible to Congress and the public?
To answer these questions, Silverstein went undercover as “Kenneth Case,” a consultant for a fictitious London-based firm called “The Maldon Group” that had a financial stake in improving the public image of Turkmenistan. He threw up a rudimentary Web site, printed some business cards and then proceeded to contact several of the top lobby/PR shops in DC.
The resulting article titled “Their Men in Washington: Undercover with DC’s Lobbyists for Hire” is a fascinating read about the strategies and tactics lobbyists employ to enhance the reputation of a foreign entity with questionable beliefs and practices.
Equally intriguing has been the reaction from media pundits who, rather than directing their ire at the lobbying shops in the article, raised concerns about Silverstein’s ethics and credibility.
Washington Post columnist Howard Kurtz wrote “no matter how good the story, lying to get it raises as many questions about journalists as their subjects”. In an op-ed for CBS News Matthew Felling referred to Silverstein’s reporting as “gotcha journalism" .
Harper’s Magazine’s Silverstein was forced to defend his journalistic practices (and the importance of undercover reporting) in a Los Angeles Times op-ed titled “Undercover, Under Fire."
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-silverstein30jun30,0,19
39913.story?coll=la-opinion-center
While I have no standing to participate in that debate, I do believe Silverstein’s article should serve as a call to PR practitioners – both corporate communications professionals and their agency counterparts – to elevate their due diligence. At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), we do our best to practice honesty and full disclosure in external communications, while always representing the best interests of our clients.
We’re fortunate to work for a group of companies that I believe offer valuable products and services, and are led by ethical management. Can we do more at Strategic to ensure this is always the case? Absolutely…and that’s something I plan to discuss with the team.
While wild fires are destructive and dangerous they have benefits. In time they produce areas of new growth that help wildlife and plant diversity. Let’s hope Silverstein’s article does the same in the PR and lobbying industries.
