May 20, 2024
Why PR Pros Need to Level Up Their Personal Brand
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Welcome to another episode of That Solo Life, where we dive into the world of PR and marketing for independent professionals. In this episode, we discuss the power of personal branding in the PR industry.
Publicists have recently been in the spotlight, from the Oscars to various articles highlighting their work. This recognition serves as a reminder for solo PR professionals like us to also focus on promoting ourselves, not just our clients.
Karen and Michelle delve into the importance of personal branding and how it can impact our businesses. While some may feel uncomfortable with self-promotion, they emphasize the need to market your skills and expertise in order to attract clients and stand out in a competitive industry.
The discussion offers practical tips for building a personal brand, from updating headshots to engaging on platforms like LinkedIn. We stress the value of sharing our knowledge and experiences, whether through writing articles, speaking engagements, or social media posts.
00:17 - Introduction to That’s Solo Live
01:14 - The Importance of Personal Branding
02:02 - Publicists in the Limelight
03:11 - Marketing Yourself as a Solo PR Pro
04:34 - Embracing Self-Promotion in the Digital Age
That Solo Life, Episode 250 - Why PR Pros Need to Level Up Their Personal Brand
Michelle Kane [00:17.483-00:33.078]: Thank you for joining us for today's episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves. People like me, Michelle Kane with Voice Matters, and my ever steady co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hi, Karen, what's new?
Karen Swim, APR [00:33.078-00:44.708]: Hey, Michelle. Well, you know, spring is doing its thing right now. And we are. Yeah, it is. It's I don't know what it's doing.
Michelle Kane [00:44.708-00:51.133]: It's, it's, it's the pollination. We're, we're in the pollinating as one might say, I don't know.
Karen Swim, APR [00:51.133-01:01.762]: It's, it's a little dusty to 80 and I don't know, it rains. We have that too. Yes. And then it's, you know, summer. So it's spring, it's summer.
Michelle Kane [01:01.762-01:24.013]: It's spring. I'm doing well. Yeah. Rolling along, enjoying, trying to keep my allergies in check during this beautiful pollen season. But, um, Yeah, and rolling with the weather weirdness. And on top of all those things of daily life, now we in PR have to think about PR for ourselves.
Karen Swim, APR [01:24.013-01:28.636]: Of course we do. What? Of course we do.
Michelle Kane [01:28.636-02:11.539]: Yeah, so today we want to talk about the power of your personal brand. Also, it seems like publicists are having a moment. Normally, we're in the shadows doing the thing, doing the work, showcasing who we're working on behalf of. But everywhere from the Oscars to some articles we've seen lately, publicists are having their moment. How could or should that affect those of us who work as solos, who maybe we aren't into focusing on ourselves, or we just haven't made the time for it. So I'm going to talk about that a little bit today.
Karen Swim, APR [02:11.539-03:11.340]: I find, of course, we all cheered when publicists got a shout out at the Oscars, because they completely deserve that moment. And you're right, no one ever talks about us publicly. And so that was a feel-good moment, because we all know the work that we do behind the scenes. And it should inspire all of us, not necessarily that our clients are going to talk about us, although that would be fantastic. Please do speak of us. Speak of us in your meetings. Talk to other people about us. Refer people to us. We love that. Yes, we do.
But it inspires, it should inspire all of us to not just wait for those kind of wonderful moments to happen. They're not expected, but when they come, they're fantastic. But we should be inspired that, yes, the client work is important. And yes, the client should be obviously our first priority, but we also have to be a priority.
Michelle Kane [03:12.706-03:57.425]: I agree. I agree. And it's, you know, when it when it comes down to it, and I'll do the shameless plug, there's a great blog post about this over at soloprpro.com. But it really is a means of marketing ourselves, let's face it. And I think if if we've seen anything in the age of the influencer, it's the importance of you know, branding yourself, whether, whether you're fully comfortable with that or not. I mean, look, if you're a hundred percent, not comfortable with it, that's going to show. And that may not show in a good light. So, you know, we're not saying everyone must do it, but if you can get to that level of comfort of presenting yourself as, you know, hi, I'm the face of this company. Yes. I am a topic expert in these areas.
Karen Swim, APR [03:58.971-05:17.995]: Why not? I definitely think that you have to get comfortable with it, or it's going to be problematic. And the reason I say that is because the younger generation does not have the same qualms as older generations do about self-promotion. They're good at it. They're doing it well. They are not shy about sharing their credentials or not shy about talking about their work. And if we are sitting on our hands and being, you know, continuing to just do good things in the background, it's probably not going to work well. Right.
All you have to do is take a look at LinkedIn and look at what people are doing. They're talking about all the things that they're doing professionally. They're sharing their things. And I know that that, you know, for me, I'll say for myself personally, that can sometimes feel a little overwhelming. And it makes me feel like, oh my gosh, what am I doing? These people are out here, and they have won awards and written a book and done a movie script and started four companies before I have even had my first cup of coffee in the morning, or my only cup of coffee of the day, actually. But you have to say, OK, what am I doing to promote my business?
Michelle Kane [05:18.627-05:48.938]: Right, right. And it's, you know, it doesn't have to be any massive undertaking. It can be, it can be simple, you know. Make sure your head shots updated. And there are even photographers who do mini branding sessions where, you know, they'll, they'll stock photo you, you know, here I am with my laptop, but in a good productive way that presents you well in your elements. I don't, I don't mean to say that we're going to become a stock photo, but, and it's simple as that. And just talk about what you're up to. Yeah.
Karen Swim, APR [05:50.118-07:18.373]: It's just that easy. Use your skillset to market your skillset. So if you love writing, then please go pitch yourself and write articles and posts. And if you love speaking, there's all kinds of opportunities to speak, whether in person or virtually. There's webinars and panels. put yourself out there.
Because here's the thing, people always say, well, put the client first and don't focus so much on yourself. However, if you do not focus on promoting your business, you will not have clients. You're just not going to do that because other people are stepping up to the plate and letting people know what they can do.
And if you think about this in a personal level, if you are looking for a dentist, Are you going to seek out the person that never does any advertising that no one ever talks about? Or are you more likely to be attracted to somebody that is visible and is memorable that you've seen? Maybe they've been on TV as an expert and they've talked about things like, Oh, I like that person's style. Maybe other people, their clients are talking about them because they're doing a really good job of marketing and getting their clients to market them too. So we have to have that same attitude. No one is going to know about you if you don't let them know who you are and what you have to offer.
Michelle Kane [07:18.373-09:11.695]: That's just so very true. And really, what better way to share your capabilities than to talk about them? And it could be just something as simple as promising yourself you're going to go on LinkedIn, if not daily, promise yourself once or twice a week. And just pick through. Whatever project you're working on, what are the steps? Keep it generic. You don't have to reveal too much. But just say, oh, hey, if a person in space A of some kind of industry is trying to reach whatever the goal is, here are some ways you can do it. Be helpful.
And we've said this before. I know I say this whenever I talk about you know, in the good old days when we talked about content marketing, you know, be the solution to someone's problem. List all the ways you can be that and just start to talk about that. And in between that, share things that are helpful to others. It may not even be news that affects what you do. But, you know, talk about ways that we can all do better, be better, and be more successful in business and our lives, because it just shows that you're thoughtful.
I'm not sure why this has been ringing in my head. I think just things that are going on, and it's something that we've said here before, but everything communicates. Everything communicates. The fact that you might share something that you have no skin in the game, right? Or you might, you know, share an opportunity. That communicates something about you. It does. That, you know, you're thoughtful, you're considerate, you want to see others succeed. So just, just keep that in mind as, as, you know, don't, don't think of this as some big, daunting undertaking of, OK, I must have a plan, and I must have a six-month rollout, and blah, blah, blah. Don't let that stop you. What is that? Don't make perfect the enemy of good.
Karen Swim, APR [09:12.289-11:28.281]: Yeah, I mean, I don't think it takes six months to come up with a branding plan, particularly for a public relations professional. You do this all the time. But you should have a plan and you should actually be very intentional about sharing.
I also want to remind the introverts in the audience that sharing about your business and talking about yourself is not bragging because there are a lot of people that really have that in their head and it's really hard to overcome. They feel like they're boasting when or, you know, being prideful when they talk about things or talk about successes out loud. You are not. And by the very virtue of the fact that you believe that it's boasting says a lot about your humility. So it's not even in you to be boastful. So I would not worry about that.
Because honestly, you know, look around, take a peek. people are very fascinated by the public relations industry. That's why we see TikTok videos and we see reels with PR people sharing behind the scenes and illuminating parts of our job. I believe that that's a good thing. Some of it is done humorously. I think it's a good thing because I think that that awareness of our industry and that we are not just, it's not like the dark arts. It's not like all happening, you know, that there is actual knowledge and skills and thoughtfulness and strategy behind what we do. I think that's a great thing to share with people. I think it opens people up to really understand this profession.
And here's what I love. I hope that we can inspire young people to go into this profession. We should all want that. We should all want to continue to see this profession to grow for innovations to take place and to attract people to say, wow, I want to do that. Because think about it, when you were growing up, maybe you didn't even consider PR as a choice because you didn't know much about it. You didn't know what PR people did. And so you could be part of that change and have little boys and girls, you know, think like, oh, I want to be a PR person just like Michelle Kane.
Michelle Kane [11:28.281-11:42.126]: I want to be one just like Karen Swim and maybe one day we'll get, we'll be thanked from the Oscar podium or at the least from your local chamber of commerce podium. Yeah, at the least.
Karen Swim, APR [11:42.126-11:45.507]: I'd like to meet you on the Oscar podium. How about that? There we go.
Michelle Kane [11:45.507-12:19.765]: Yeah. Hey, okay. Just get me in the room, man. Well, we hope this has been inspiring for you. And we hope as soon as you hit stop on your stream of this episode, you might start to talk about yourself a little more. We want to see you all out there. And please do, if you have any comments or questions, Find us at soloprpro.com. Please do share this around. If you found value in it, that just makes our day. And until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.
Michelle Kane [00:17.483-00:33.078]: Thank you for joining us for today's episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves. People like me, Michelle Kane with Voice Matters, and my ever steady co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hi, Karen, what's new?
Karen Swim, APR [00:33.078-00:44.708]: Hey, Michelle. Well, you know, spring is doing its thing right now. And we are. Yeah, it is. It's I don't know what it's doing.
Michelle Kane [00:44.708-00:51.133]: It's, it's, it's the pollination. We're, we're in the pollinating as one might say, I don't know.
Karen Swim, APR [00:51.133-01:01.762]: It's, it's a little dusty to 80 and I don't know, it rains. We have that too. Yes. And then it's, you know, summer. So it's spring, it's summer.
Michelle Kane [01:01.762-01:24.013]: It's spring. I'm doing well. Yeah. Rolling along, enjoying, trying to keep my allergies in check during this beautiful pollen season. But, um, Yeah, and rolling with the weather weirdness. And on top of all those things of daily life, now we in PR have to think about PR for ourselves.
Karen Swim, APR [01:24.013-01:28.636]: Of course we do. What? Of course we do.
Michelle Kane [01:28.636-02:11.539]: Yeah, so today we want to talk about the power of your personal brand. Also, it seems like publicists are having a moment. Normally, we're in the shadows doing the thing, doing the work, showcasing who we're working on behalf of. But everywhere from the Oscars to some articles we've seen lately, publicists are having their moment. How could or should that affect those of us who work as solos, who maybe we aren't into focusing on ourselves, or we just haven't made the time for it. So I'm going to talk about that a little bit today.
Karen Swim, APR [02:11.539-03:11.340]: I find, of course, we all cheered when publicists got a shout out at the Oscars, because they completely deserve that moment. And you're right, no one ever talks about us publicly. And so that was a feel-good moment, because we all know the work that we do behind the scenes. And it should inspire all of us, not necessarily that our clients are going to talk about us, although that would be fantastic. Please do speak of us. Speak of us in your meetings. Talk to other people about us. Refer people to us. We love that. Yes, we do.
But it inspires, it should inspire all of us to not just wait for those kind of wonderful moments to happen. They're not expected, but when they come, they're fantastic. But we should be inspired that, yes, the client work is important. And yes, the client should be obviously our first priority, but we also have to be a priority.
Michelle Kane [03:12.706-03:57.425]: I agree. I agree. And it's, you know, when it when it comes down to it, and I'll do the shameless plug, there's a great blog post about this over at soloprpro.com. But it really is a means of marketing ourselves, let's face it. And I think if if we've seen anything in the age of the influencer, it's the importance of you know, branding yourself, whether, whether you're fully comfortable with that or not. I mean, look, if you're a hundred percent, not comfortable with it, that's going to show. And that may not show in a good light. So, you know, we're not saying everyone must do it, but if you can get to that level of comfort of presenting yourself as, you know, hi, I'm the face of this company. Yes. I am a topic expert in these areas.
Karen Swim, APR [03:58.971-05:17.995]: Why not? I definitely think that you have to get comfortable with it, or it's going to be problematic. And the reason I say that is because the younger generation does not have the same qualms as older generations do about self-promotion. They're good at it. They're doing it well. They are not shy about sharing their credentials or not shy about talking about their work. And if we are sitting on our hands and being, you know, continuing to just do good things in the background, it's probably not going to work well. Right.
All you have to do is take a look at LinkedIn and look at what people are doing. They're talking about all the things that they're doing professionally. They're sharing their things. And I know that that, you know, for me, I'll say for myself personally, that can sometimes feel a little overwhelming. And it makes me feel like, oh my gosh, what am I doing? These people are out here, and they have won awards and written a book and done a movie script and started four companies before I have even had my first cup of coffee in the morning, or my only cup of coffee of the day, actually. But you have to say, OK, what am I doing to promote my business?
Michelle Kane [05:18.627-05:48.938]: Right, right. And it's, you know, it doesn't have to be any massive undertaking. It can be, it can be simple, you know. Make sure your head shots updated. And there are even photographers who do mini branding sessions where, you know, they'll, they'll stock photo you, you know, here I am with my laptop, but in a good productive way that presents you well in your elements. I don't, I don't mean to say that we're going to become a stock photo, but, and it's simple as that. And just talk about what you're up to. Yeah.
Karen Swim, APR [05:50.118-07:18.373]: It's just that easy. Use your skillset to market your skillset. So if you love writing, then please go pitch yourself and write articles and posts. And if you love speaking, there's all kinds of opportunities to speak, whether in person or virtually. There's webinars and panels. put yourself out there.
Because here's the thing, people always say, well, put the client first and don't focus so much on yourself. However, if you do not focus on promoting your business, you will not have clients. You're just not going to do that because other people are stepping up to the plate and letting people know what they can do.
And if you think about this in a personal level, if you are looking for a dentist, Are you going to seek out the person that never does any advertising that no one ever talks about? Or are you more likely to be attracted to somebody that is visible and is memorable that you've seen? Maybe they've been on TV as an expert and they've talked about things like, Oh, I like that person's style. Maybe other people, their clients are talking about them because they're doing a really good job of marketing and getting their clients to market them too. So we have to have that same attitude. No one is going to know about you if you don't let them know who you are and what you have to offer.
Michelle Kane [07:18.373-09:11.695]: That's just so very true. And really, what better way to share your capabilities than to talk about them? And it could be just something as simple as promising yourself you're going to go on LinkedIn, if not daily, promise yourself once or twice a week. And just pick through. Whatever project you're working on, what are the steps? Keep it generic. You don't have to reveal too much. But just say, oh, hey, if a person in space A of some kind of industry is trying to reach whatever the goal is, here are some ways you can do it. Be helpful.
And we've said this before. I know I say this whenever I talk about you know, in the good old days when we talked about content marketing, you know, be the solution to someone's problem. List all the ways you can be that and just start to talk about that. And in between that, share things that are helpful to others. It may not even be news that affects what you do. But, you know, talk about ways that we can all do better, be better, and be more successful in business and our lives, because it just shows that you're thoughtful.
I'm not sure why this has been ringing in my head. I think just things that are going on, and it's something that we've said here before, but everything communicates. Everything communicates. The fact that you might share something that you have no skin in the game, right? Or you might, you know, share an opportunity. That communicates something about you. It does. That, you know, you're thoughtful, you're considerate, you want to see others succeed. So just, just keep that in mind as, as, you know, don't, don't think of this as some big, daunting undertaking of, OK, I must have a plan, and I must have a six-month rollout, and blah, blah, blah. Don't let that stop you. What is that? Don't make perfect the enemy of good.
Karen Swim, APR [09:12.289-11:28.281]: Yeah, I mean, I don't think it takes six months to come up with a branding plan, particularly for a public relations professional. You do this all the time. But you should have a plan and you should actually be very intentional about sharing.
I also want to remind the introverts in the audience that sharing about your business and talking about yourself is not bragging because there are a lot of people that really have that in their head and it's really hard to overcome. They feel like they're boasting when or, you know, being prideful when they talk about things or talk about successes out loud. You are not. And by the very virtue of the fact that you believe that it's boasting says a lot about your humility. So it's not even in you to be boastful. So I would not worry about that.
Because honestly, you know, look around, take a peek. people are very fascinated by the public relations industry. That's why we see TikTok videos and we see reels with PR people sharing behind the scenes and illuminating parts of our job. I believe that that's a good thing. Some of it is done humorously. I think it's a good thing because I think that that awareness of our industry and that we are not just, it's not like the dark arts. It's not like all happening, you know, that there is actual knowledge and skills and thoughtfulness and strategy behind what we do. I think that's a great thing to share with people. I think it opens people up to really understand this profession.
And here's what I love. I hope that we can inspire young people to go into this profession. We should all want that. We should all want to continue to see this profession to grow for innovations to take place and to attract people to say, wow, I want to do that. Because think about it, when you were growing up, maybe you didn't even consider PR as a choice because you didn't know much about it. You didn't know what PR people did. And so you could be part of that change and have little boys and girls, you know, think like, oh, I want to be a PR person just like Michelle Kane.
Michelle Kane [11:28.281-11:42.126]: I want to be one just like Karen Swim and maybe one day we'll get, we'll be thanked from the Oscar podium or at the least from your local chamber of commerce podium. Yeah, at the least.
Karen Swim, APR [11:42.126-11:45.507]: I'd like to meet you on the Oscar podium. How about that? There we go.
Michelle Kane [11:45.507-12:19.765]: Yeah. Hey, okay. Just get me in the room, man. Well, we hope this has been inspiring for you. And we hope as soon as you hit stop on your stream of this episode, you might start to talk about yourself a little more. We want to see you all out there. And please do, if you have any comments or questions, Find us at soloprpro.com. Please do share this around. If you found value in it, that just makes our day. And until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.