We Have Moved To: The "Be Heard" Blog

We've moved this blog to Be Heard, which you can access at:

http://www.mmipublicrelations.com/blog

Patty and Gloria will no longer be blogging here -- but they are still blogging!

MMI Public Relations has rebranded itself and taken its blog to the next level. Please visit us there, and thank you for your support!

What is Considered "News"?

Photo Source

We steadily send out news releases about our clients every time something newsworthy occurs.







But what do journalists consider newsworthy? Here are some ideas.

• Your company has a new product or service
• Either you, your company or someone in your company has won an award
• You have been elected to a board of directors
• Your company has hired or promoted an employee
• Your company has just signed a major new client
• Your company has relocated or expanded its facilities
• Your company is sponsoring an event for a charity
• Your company has re-launched a new Web site
• Your company has significantly changed or improved a product
• Your company has expanded into a new market
• You are offering a seminar or giving a speech at a conference
• There is a new trend in your industry
• You are the author of a newly-published book

The reason to issue a news release is to get the media to call back and interview you. Even if the media does not interview you, however, a news release can result in a couple of sentences or a short paragraph in various publications, keeping your name in front of your target public.

The media wants to speak to an authority in the field. When a topic on which you have expertise is in the news, e-mail a news release or a pitch with a brief comment and state that you are available for interviews. Over time, the media will begin to associate your name with your profession, industry or field of expertise.

To distribute your news release, create it as a word processing document, then copy and paste it into an e-mail. Do not send it as an e-mail attachment. E-mail the news release to yourself and use the “BCC” (blind carbon copy) function to send it to your media list. This avoids distribution of the e-mail to hundreds of media outlets via the “TO” function, so that the first thing the editor sees is the 100 other e-mail addresses who received your release.

The Press Conference: How To Do It Right

By Gloria

Experts become widely known when they make original contributions to their field through ideas, discoveries, mergers and partnerships, and innovative products and services. A major breakthrough may be worthy of announcing at a press conference.

A press conference is one of the best ways to get the word out when you want to provide the same information to all media at the same time. Other methods include setting up a TV satellite tour or sending a news release over the wire. All news releases distributed by PR Newswire , for instance, are delivered directly to newspapers; national news services, such as The Associated Press, Dow Jones, and Reuters; trade publications; broadcast newsrooms; and thousands of Web sites, databases and online services, such as Yahoo!, MSN.com and AOL.com.

The Embargoed Press Release

An embargoed press release is the traditional tactic used by PR professionals to inform the media of upcoming news, while still keeping the announcement confidential to the public until the exact day and time of the press conference.

Date, Time and Place

Choose your date, time and place as much in advance as is feasible.

• Date: Make sure that your press conference does not compete with other major events in your area.


• Time: Mid-mornings are a preferable time slot for press conferences, as it gives media people plenty of time to meet their deadlines.


• Place: Choose a location accessible to satellite vans and a room large enough for multiple television cameras. The room should have tables, chairs and plenty of electrical outlets. If you hold the press conference on your own premises, determine any media tours, off-limit areas, and photo opportunities ahead of time.

Format

• Your list of invitees may include media professionals, bloggers and VIPs.


• Send each a media alert and follow up with a phone call to determine how many will actually attend.


• Coffee, tea, water and light refreshments are always appreciated.


• The format should follow the generally accepted order of a formal statement followed by question-and-answer.


• Consider having industry leaders or political figures give opening remarks, which signals a higher level of importance to the media and the public.


• After the press conference is over, provide a press release and background material to all attendees, as well as those who could not make it.

How To Be A Popular Blogger

By Gloria

The world's best and most popular blogs are the product of someone's passion. Bloggers let their obsessions show! Blogs become successful because of the blogger's personality, knowledge and expertise. When you blog, use first person ("I")and be authentic.

Content and good writing are important. Some of the best blogs have won major journalism awards--a good example is Talking Post Memo. Another highly regarded blog is The Huffington Post , called the “most powerful blog in the world.” Co-founded by socialite Arianna Huffington in 2005, HuffPost has a highly successful business model: its hundreds of guest bloggers don't get paid for their posts at all, yet they include celebrities, politicians, and well-known academic and business leaders.

Other blogs that consistently make the "top blog" lists are the New York Times’ Freakonomics ; the geek blog BoingBoing ; the political Crooks and Liars by "Vlogfather" John Amato; Mashable , the largest and most popular blog focused on social networking; a favorite site for movie buffs called /Film (Slashfilm); and, of course, Seth Godin’s Blog .

Characteristics of Top Blogs

Top blogs ask questions and engage readers in an interactive way. Top bloggers do not shy away from controversy. They are always be civil but state their opinions forcefully. And they are original!

The most interesting blogs include other media--photos, artwork, charts and videos. It is important to use headers and/or numbered/bulleted lists for search engine optimization (SEO) reasons.

The best blogs link to other bloggers all the time. Link to other bloggers in your profession or industry--hopefully they will reciprocate. For the same reason, comment on other bloggers' blogs! The blogosphere is a place for dialog, not a soap box.

Hmmn. What's YOUR favorite blog? Mine is my own company’s blog, Be Heard . No kidding! Not only does it cover a topic I'm passionate about--public relations--but it's written by nine other people besides me. And they all have interesting things to say.

Five Crucial Leadership Skills

Artwork courtesy of: thegoldguys.blogspot.com/ and www.lumaxart.com/

By Gloria

Entire books have been written on leadership, and you can spend thousands of dollars on leadership development and training. Establishing yourself as a leader in your industry or profession is a long-term process.

Leaders inspire others with their vision and motivate people to follow them. They are take-charge types who direct the actions of a group to achieve a common goal. There are many leadership styles—authoritarian, democratic, Laissez-Faire—but every leader has a plan. If you lack a plan, you cannot effectively lead others, because you don’t know where you’re going yourself.

To become a more effective leader, focus on developing the following five skills:

Strategic-thinking skills

You have to know exactly where you want to take your business, if not the details of how to get there (that’s what your employees are for!). Concentrate on the big picture and how you will communicate that shared vision to everyone.

People skills

Your employees are your most important assets, so treat them well. Give them an environment and where they can perform well, supplying them with all the necessary tools, and then provide them a way to continually learn and grow in their jobs. Then pay them what they are worth, and you will have very loyal employees.

Public speaking skills

As a leader you will be called upon often to speak in public, whether it is at business meetings, conferences or press conferences. If your speaking skills are rusty, join a local Toastmasters club.

Listening skills

Speak out in public but don’t neglect to listen to what others have to say, especially one-on-one. People love to talk about themselves. Let them do it. Ask questions and listen to their answers. You will walk away with valuable information, leaving behind someone who appreciates you because you took the time to listen.

Decision-making skills

Whenever other people will be impacted by a decision, involve them and seek their input. Then when you make the decision, not only will you have the information you need, but you will have the buy-in from those affected by that decision.

Establishing Yourself As An Expert

http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryhart/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

By Gloria

Publishing magazine articles or a book on your area of expertise is de rigueur for establishing yourself as a leading expert in your field. Having published work out there gives you instant credibility and can get you on radio and television shows and speaking circuits. To get yourself known in your field, you should publish articles and books, even if you have to use a ghostwriter.

Let’s talk about magazine articles. Whether online or hard copy, magazines share certain general characteristics.

While consumer magazines are produced for a wide, general audience, trade magazines and regional magazines target niche audiences. Trade magazines are professional journals or technical publications aimed at a specific industry. More than likely, you are quite familiar with those in your own field.

So how do you get published in a trade or regional magazine? First of all, you read every single issue for a while until you have a feel for the editor’s preferences. Then you contact that editor with a query, usually via e-mail.

Convince him or her that you have something of importance to share with readers. Tell the editor about your credentials and offer to provide your media kit. Hook that editor’s interest with a unique slant or a timely topic.

Query only one editor at a time. You don’t want to alienate anyone—because the editor you alienate today may be the one you hope will accept your next article tomorrow.

Use your own experience as inspiration, and that way, you’ll avoid re-telling the same tired, overdone stories that magazine editors see over and over. This is not to imply that writing articles is a simple, straightforward process. It isn’t. Writing is difficult work, so don’t hesitate to request writing or editing help from your staff, your network or a professional source. Getting published is worth every dollar you pay a ghostwriter or editor.

Mentoring Others

By Gloria

Judges love nominees who have mentored others, especially if they have mentored young people. Mentorship tends to be an important factor in winning awards.

Your desire to mentor others will expand in relationship to the growth of your reputation as an expert in your field. People are naturally drawn to experts and want to learn from them. When it is time for you to mentor, your mentees will begin to appear. Teaching these people and taking them under your wing will be a logical next step for you. If mentees don’t appear when you think they should, take action to bring them into your life.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is the oldest, largest and most effective youth mentoring organization in the United States. For more than a century, the organization has been the leader in one-to-one youth service, developing positive relationships that have a direct and lasting impact on the lives of young people.

If you want to mentor someone in your profession or your company, it can be accomplished through something as simple as an occasional lunch together and regular talks and e-mails consisting of advice. On the other hand, you may want volunteer for a formal mentoring system that requires training and certification on the part of mentors. Among those service organizations that offer mentoring programs are Rotary International and Toastmasters International.

Small Business Development Centers and SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) provide entrepreneurs with free mentoring and workshops at hundreds of local offices nationwide. A nonprofit group of 11,200 volunteers across the country, SCORE offers e-mail mentoring and an online database of its mentors. You could become one of them.

There are few things in life as rewarding as mentoring others and seeing their success.

Good PR: Mattress Firm Maximizes on Mattress Warehouse’s Failure

by Patty Briguglio

The News & Observer’s Triangle Troubleshooter recently assisted a local resident, David Charboneau, in trying to iron out a problem with the Mattress Warehouse store near the Streets of Southpoint. While it was largely a “he said, she said" situation, the point is that the customer said they received a product of lesser value than they ordered and for which they paid. When the Mattress Warehouse management did not take Charboneau’s complaint seriously and refused to put him in touch with higher ups, he took his story to The N&O. This is where the bad PR officially turns into a PR disaster.

From Bad to Worse
Mattress Warehouse could have easily turned this situation around by following the number one rule in customer service, “The customer is always right.” This was their first mistake. However, when The N&O became involved, the store still did not take the opportunity to correct the situation. Instead they continued going back and forth on who said what, even telling the N&O that their decision on whether or not to give Charboneau the more expensive mattress would be impacted by whether or not the newspaper was planning to run the story. The story did run on Aug. 29 and ended stating just that. To date there are 42 online comments on the article furthering the negative conversation for Mattress Warehouse.

Competitor Saves the Day
With readers primed against the competition, it was the perfect opportunity for a competitor with a head for good PR to step in and take advantage. Mattress Firm contacted Triangle Troubleshooter and offered to exchange Charboneau’s mattress for one from their store. Charboneau took them up on the offer and is now enjoying both his new mattress and the resolved situation. Mattress Firm donated the original mattress to a shelter. Not only will Mattress Firm most likely have a customer for life in David Charboneau but probably several others who followed the dispute as The N&O covered it in an update on Sept. 5.

Mattress Warehouse could have easily avoided this negative press by admitting responsibility regardless of what happened and correcting the situation. Allowing the conversation to continue only heightened awareness of the situation and allowed a competitor to step in and save the day. Great job, Mattress Firm!

A Health Care Reform Spokesperson For The U.S. Chamber

By Patty Briguglio

In recent weeks, I have been privileged to serve as a spokesperson for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, representing the chamber’s views on health care reform and its effect on small businesses.

I support the U.S. Chamber’s Campaign for Responsible Health Reform in North Carolina. There is a real need for a respectful dialogue with a focus on what is good for American businesses and our health care system. Small businesses are critical to our nation’s economic infrastructure and should be at the table in any discussion that will have such a sweeping impact on businesses, health care and our economy as a whole.

Moving To The Airwaves:
Recently, I have moved the discussion platform from television to the radio airwaves, speaking on both Rhonda Bellamy of WAAV in Wilmington and Viewpoints with Lockwood Phillips in Morehead City. After speaking with multiple callers on both shows, it is clear to me that people truly are fired up about the effects of health care reform on small businesses.

How Will Reforms Affect Small Businesses?
The proposed reforms to health care will create a government-run plan that could decimate employer-sponsored health insurance, which is the backbone of our nation’s health care system, potentially impacting coverage for 160 million Americans. We need to build on what works – employer-sponsored health care – and fix what’s broken.

I still do not understand why our government is pushing for a program that we cannot afford. Government-run health care will:

• Raise taxes on small businesses that cannot afford to offer health insurance
• Raise personal income taxes on small business owners who earn more than $280,000 in personal income
• Tax certain employer-sponsored health plans

How does government-run health care benefit small business owners? Simply put, it does not. Nor does it benefit the employees of these businesses, since their salaries and benefits are so sensitive to their company’s bottom line.

Let Your Voice Be Heard:
I encourage small business owners across the nation to speak out about the effects of this legislation and make your voice heard. Write your local representative in Congress and tell him or her about your concerns regarding health care reform’s effects on your small business. Together we can make a difference

N.C. State University Officials Need Better Crisis Management

By Patty Briguglio

When it comes to crisis management, N.C. State University officials just cannot seem to get it right. Over the past months they have made the same mistakes over and over, resulting in a public relations nightmare.

When Mary Easley’s position at N.C. State first came under scrutiny, a good PR plan would have dealt with the situation quickly and truthfully. Instead, officials went on the defensive, resulting in a long, drawn-out scandal that may cause some permanent damage to the university’s reputation.

At the onset of the crisis, Provost Larry Neilson maintained he did nothing wrong in the hiring of Easley and claimed that her 88 percent pay increase last year was warranted by the additional duties she assumed. Then Neilson resigned due to the stress over the questioning about Easley’s hiring and his promotion to Provost, and so began the steady stream of PR mistakes.

In a crisis such as this, when a state official is under public scrutiny, good public relations is the only thing that can save a sinking ship. As we always say here at MMI, tell it all, tell it fast and tell the truth. Period. Unfortunately, N.C. State officials did none of the above. Instead of quickly divulging all information about how and why Easley was hired, they have allowed for documents to slowly (and painfully) trickle out into the public. Now, documents have been uncovered showing that the Easley job at N.C. State was orchestrated at the highest levels of state government and involved her husband, then- Gov. Mike Easley. Whoops!

Multiple university officials close to the governor were involved in making the necessary contacts to allow for the hiring of his wife—and each of them had previously denied their involvement. But as documents are being released to the public, so is the truth. Following Neilson’s resignation, a key member of the board of trustees, McQueen Campbell, was asked to resign after he admitted to UNC system President Erskine Bowles that he had told N.C. State Chancellor James Oblinger that Easley was looking for work. As if the resignation of two top officials isn’t enough, the PR disaster does not end here.

Scandal erupted yet again over the severance package Chancellor Oblinger provided former Provost Nielsen. The story changed several times (another whoops!) but documents uncovered that Oblinger offered a better pay deal to Nielsen than had been previously negotiated when he was promoted to provost. Citing the intense public scrutiny as his reason for stepping down, Oblinger has become the third top university official to jump ship as a result of poor crisis management.

Despite calls for Easley to resign, she refused to do so. Her contract has now been terminated by the N.C. State Board of Trustees who claimed her departure would be in the best interest of the university. Just goes to show there is no happy ending without a proper PR plan.

PR and Politics

Are you an entrepreneur? A self-employed professional with employees? A small business owner?

House Democrats are proposing a surtax ranging from 1 percent to 5.4 percent on those persons who make $280,000 or more. The Treasury Department has estimated that more than six of every 10 individuals who earn $280,000 or more are small business owners, operators, or investors. Half of all small businesses with 20 to 249 employees are likely to have their income affected by the surtax.

The surtax would continue to rise the more money you make. The problem is that the proposal does not include any exemptions for S corporations or other small businesses. But as high a percentage as 75 percent of all businesses are organized as S-Corporations, which means they pay income tax as individuals.

Policymakers at the Capitol are considering a health care reform bill that will require businesses to provide insurance for employees or pay a tax equivalent to 8% of payroll. Legislation passed by one House committee specifies that businesses with payrolls under $500,000 would be exempt from the mandate and the payroll tax. Separate legislation passed by two other House committees exempts only businesses with $250,000 or less in payroll.

If there ever was a time for entrepreneurs and small business owners to step into the political arena and make their voices heard, it is now. This is not “politics” so much as good public relations. PR and politics are both involved in influencing the public and the decision-making process.

Are you a self-employed insurance agent, for example? What do you think of a government-run insurance plan? Make your opinions known. Respond to blogs, write an op-ed for your local newspaper or stand up and speak at a town meeting.

Big business has lobbyists galore. All small business has are the voices of individuals who are concerned enough and courageous enough to speak out.

Patty Sticks To Her Talking Points on CNN and Fox News

By Gloria

"You're pretty connected." That’s what Neil Cavuto, Fox Business Network host, said to Patty Briguglio on television today. He’s right! PR is all about real relationships and honest connections with the public. In fact, MMI’s promise to its clients is to help them start big conversations and make powerful connections.

Our clients understand the value of PR. You know, a company may offer the best products and services in the business, but if the public is unaware of its existence, that company will fail to grow.

And speaking of companies that fail to grow, you’ve gotta hand it to Patty and the points she made for small business tonight on CNN and Fox News. Patty took the reins in the interview with John Roberts on Campbell Brown's CNN news show. When she talked about the company health insurance concerns of owners of LLCs and S corporations, Roberts said, "It's all Greek to me," and he turned to CNN's Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi for help. Velshi corroborated everything Patty said, emphasizing that the government must be careful not to discourage the growth of small businesses. Many small business owners, like Patty, are afraid the president’s health care plan will slam them with higher taxes.

Patty nicely sidestepped Roberts' invasive question about the amount of her company payroll, too. She’s media savvy and knows how to stick to her talking points. That just wasn’t an appropriate question for the airwaves.

My Fifteen Minutes of Fame With President Obama

By Patty

I had my fifteen minutes of fame on Wednesday when I attended President Obama’s speech on health care. I was able to ask the president my question of choice on the issue. My question was this: What current long-term social program created and run by the government should we look to as a model of success and one that we as taxpayers should be confident that a new government-run health care system would be better than the current system in place? In other words, what are you going to do differently?

The president was genuinely concerned about my question. He looked me directly in the eye and even allowed me a follow-up question. I was really impressed when he approached me at the end of the meeting and assured me that any tax increases I would see as a result of health care reform would be offset by the tax credits I would receive. I told the president I would hold him to this, shaking my finger in the meantime, and he shook his finger right back, saying that he would be accountable. From this exchange the now "famous" New York Times front page photo was born. I assure you, I was not disciplining the president. We really were having a good conversation and laughing. I think he is extremely charismatic and I understand the passion that people have toward him. I really do believe that he is concerned about health care reform and the American people.

I don’t want to be presumptuous, but rather than having a beer with the president, I would like to sit down and have a glass of my favorite pinot grigio with him to talk about some of the fears that small business owners have regarding health care reform. I would love to give him a few public relations tips to help him sell health care reform to the American public. As Sue Stock of the News & Observer mentions in her .biz blog post, I will be sure to avoid wearing white another if chance to meet with Mr. President comes after Labor Day.

Measure the Effectiveness of Your PR Plan

As you begin to execute your personal public relations plan, you will want to gauge its effectiveness. For instance, you will want to know whether wire services or syndicates are publishing your news releases. A clipping service can scan thousands of newspapers, trade publications, magazines, and Web sites, finding where your story has been published. Some will manually clip published pieces and provide them to you. Others are primarily Web-based services that deliver clippings to you in electronic form.

Google Analytics is a free application which tracks hit counts, unique visitors, page views and many other metrics to accurately measure Web site traffic. You can use Google Analytics to improve Web site performance and to track your social media campaigns, gauging the effectiveness of your blog posts, your tweets or Facebook Connect, for example. It’s important to know who arrives on your Web site as a result of social media and whether that traffic is converting into increased sales.

Are you winning the awards you set out to win? Have you been appointed to a board yet? How many news releases have you sent out? Only you can gauge the effectiveness of some of your efforts. It’s a good idea to document each achievement on your personal public relations plan, then replace that goal with a new one.

Know the Environmental, Ethical and Social Values of Your Public

To research the environmental, ethical and social values and concerns one of your publics, such as your customers, find out their favorite charities. Then volunteer for those charities or hold an event that benefits a favorite charity in some way.

As an inspiring example, New York Times bestselling romantic suspense author Brenda Novak holds an auction every year to support diabetes research. Novak’s auction has grown too large for her to effectively manage as a third-party fundraiser, and she found she had to file the paperwork to become her own nonprofit. Besides providing Novak with the gratification of doing something meaningful with her free time, Novak’s well-known auction has brought her enviable publicity.

Author Jenna Black, for example, who writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, said in her May 2009 Newsletter that she has donated books for Brenda Novak’s auction every year, because this is a cause that is near and dear to her heart. Jenna has donated signed copies of her Morgan Kingsley series, signed copies of her Guardians of the Night series, and a signed ARC (advance reader copy) of Speak Of The Devil to Brenda Novak’s auction.

You can see a list of the hundreds of other items available at Novak’s auction at: http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Home.taf. In 2008, Novak raised $252,300 for diabetes research. Her goal for 2009 was $300,000. Auction items have included a $420 diamond ring, a $200 sterling silver and diamond necklace, an $80 magnetic therapy bracelet, a Brenda Novak Fan Pack of goodies, and a six-month subscription to Dorchester’s book club.

As another example of a business owner who has received publicity as a side effect of his passion for a cause, look at tech billionaire Tom Siebel, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Siebel Systems, which Oracle Corporation acquired in 2006. The May 2009 issue of Fast Company magazine devoted several pages to describing Siebel’s crusade to keep teens off crystal methamphetamine. Siebel’s grisly TV ads on the Montana airwaves about meth abuse have significantly lowered Montana’s meth-abuse rate, so he enjoys the double satisfaction of having the effect he desired on his public and getting some hot publicity to boot.

What professional associations, clubs and organizations does your public join? The Encyclopedia of Associations is a comprehensive source of detailed information on over 135,000 nonprofit membership organizations worldwide. This can be helpful if your service or product targets a certain public.

Are you the owner of a pet store? If so, you have probably joined the local ASPCA. But you can also find out if there are birdwatching groups that meet in your area. If there are, you can join and network with the members. Perhaps you can volunteer to give a presentation at one of their meetings or provide helpful information in some other way.

Almost every association, club or organization you can imagine has a newsletter, a Web site or some form of regular communication with its members. Since these publications are often produced on a shoestring budget by volunteers, you may find yourself welcomed with open arms when you offer to write an article or a tip sheet for them. Focus on providing solid, useful information to people, rather than blatant self-promotion of your company, products or services.

The publication will allow you to provide a one or two-sentence “About” blurb at the end of the article, which gives your readers the information they need to contact you. This blurb can be distilled from your short bio.

"Op-Ed" Articles

“Op-ed” articles, which typically run opposite a newspaper’s editorial page, are your opinions and comments on today’s news and current issues. They are your opportunity to “piggyback” on the news and are an important element of your personal public relations plan.

Once published, op-eds can be effectively used as reprints. Many newspapers publish as many “Letters to the Editor” as possible. Make yours brief—never longer than five paragraphs or about 500 words—and to the point. Some newspapers specify acceptable lengths. “The People’s Forum” in the News & Observer, for instance, is restricted to 200 words.

The op-ed article is your opportunity to affect a public debate or governmental policy and to improve matters in areas from health to education to the environment to politics. It can bring you considerable recognition and establish you as an expert in your field. But an op-ed must address an issue of interest to the average newspaper reader.

Put yourself in the place of the busy reader and ask yourself why the reader should care about your topic. Offer recommendations and a solution to the problem you are discussing. Urge the reader to take action. If possible, provide tools and information such as the date and time of a public meeting you want readers to attend, or the name and address of someone to whom readers should send letters of protest.

An op-ed is a rallying cry. Summarize your ideas in a strong final sentence or two, and be sure to include your contact information at the end.

Personal Brand Crisis

What’s a personal brand crisis? It can happen to you when you’ve been laid off. Or if you’ve made a big mistake. Or you’ve been publicly humiliated. Maybe you lost a fortune in the stock market or a business gamble. Or you failed to win something important, such as a crucial client account or an award you felt you deserved.

You can fall into crisis mode when your self-image has been shattered and it looks like you’ll never achieve your hopes and dreams. In personal terms, a crisis is an emotionally stressful event or a traumatic change in your life.

Sooner or later, everyone undergoes a personal brand crisis. Like any public relations crisis, it can be brought on by an accident, an omission, a scandal, a layoff, your own misbehavior or through no fault of your own whatsoever. Even if events are beyond your control, you may find yourself feeling depressed, fearful, confused, humiliated or desperate.

These are miserable emotions, but you may find you cannot stop yourself from feeling them. Life may seem pointless. You wonder whether you are a failure or one of life’s “losers.” Your reputation is in the ditch and you’ve lost your direction and sense of purpose.

It often takes a personal crisis of some sort to stimulate real change and growth in a person’s life. Knowing this fact intellectually, however, may not help you in the early stages of your crisis.

That’s why the first step you must take is to remind yourself that your personal brand is a self-created identity—not the real you. Your personal brand is a collection of images, competencies, experiences and values that others associate with you. It’s your reputation and your perceived value, not just in the minds of your public, but in your own mind. Because it is your personal brand that has been assaulted, humiliated, destroyed, overlooked or “harmed” in some way, the reality of the situation is that you are just fine.

Never identify too strongly with your personal brand. It’s not really you. It’s something you have crafted. And because you are the one who has crafted it, you can change that personal brand at any time. You are in charge.

Publicity, PR and Your Personal Brand

Publicity is an important part of public relations. If you or your company builds a Habitat For Humanity house every year for a family in need, that’s good public relations. If you write a news release about the fact and get it distributed and published, so that the public is informed about your company’s good deeds, that’s publicity.

Many consumers want to know about the company behind the products they buy. Consumers are concerned with the environment, with ethical behavior and with social responsibility. Good public relations reassures the public that the companies they choose to give their business to share their values and concerns.

As an example, Parade magazine just reported that Drew Barrymore can represent CoverGirl with “a clear conscience” now that the cosmetic company no longer tests its products on animals. You can bet that Barrymore represents a sizable chunk of CoverGirl’s customer base who feel the same way about animal testing. The company’s action to cease testing on animals was a result of sensitivity to the preferences and values of its customer base.

In the same vein, you must be sensitive to the values and concerns of the public you want to influence and impress. Your personal brand should reflect the same values and concerns.

Dan Schawbel’s Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success

Leading personal branding expert for Gen-Y Dan Schawbel has just published a book. Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success (Kaplan) is available on all the major online retails and bookstores internationally. The first book about personal branding written for the millennial generation, Me 2.0 is the primer on using the Internet to build a strong brand. It includes a four-step, proven process and focuses on how to leverage social media, such as blogs, podcasts and Facebook, in order to stand out, gain confidence, network professionally and have a successful career.

Me 2.0 has been endorsed by authors, executives and scholars. It is a handbook for thriving, surviving and excelling in this recession, whether you are a job seeker or are looking to change careers. Highlights include:

• An effective 4-step process for discovering, creating, communicating, and maintaining a personal brand.


• Expert insight into how blogs, podcasting, and social networks can position individuals to find careers based on their passion and experience.


• A complementary website (http://www.personalbrandingbook.com/) with helpful templates for each tool in the personal branding kit (i.e. resume, portfolio, etc.).


• Proven advice on branding from leading industry experts.


• Tips on using social media tools for personal empowerment, confidence building, and professional networking in order to attract jobs directly, without having to perform tedious job searches.


• Strategies for creating an online and offline presence for career protection and self-promotion.

Schawbel has written more than 40 published articles in major magazines and online resources such as About.com and BrandWeek Magazine and has been featured in media such as Fast Company, BusinessWeek, MSNBC and Yahoo! Finance.

Twitter – A Natural PR Tool

Twitter is all about promoting yourself or your business. It’s basically a broadcasting tool, so it is a natural outlet for public relations. Use Twitter to build a following. To be seen as an expert, regularly tweet about your opinions, the latest facts and any happenings. Provide links not just to your articles but also to articles written by others in your industry or profession. Be an expert commentator and a resource for others. Try to provide value in your tweets—which we admit can be quite challenging at Twitter’s limit of only 140 characters!

One cool aspect of tweeting is that you can easily set Twitter to publish your posts on your personal blog, your MySpace blog and your Facebook account simultaneously. The best thing about tweeting is that you don’t have to read or respond to all the tweets you receive. In this respect, tweets are quite unlike e-mail, and you don’t have that “Oh-no-I’ve-got-to-catch-up” feeling hanging over your head if you ignore Twitter for a few days. Who cares what everybody did yesterday? Tweeting is very much a “happening now” kind of activity.

One MMI client that tweets regularly serves as the primary economic development catalyst for North Carolina’s Wake county and its 12 municipalities. Wake County Economic Development’s purpose is to encourage businesses from outside Wake to expand and relocate there as well as assist local companies with their business expansions efforts in the county. To accomplish those goals, WCED provides a bounty of data about the great lifestyle and economy you find in Wake County, one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation.

For example, one WCED tweet says, “Over 100 summer camps are offered by Parks and Recreation Department of Raleigh.” http://idek.net/4bh Another tweet says, “Forbes Magazine ranks Raleigh #1 ‘Best Place for Business and Careers’ for third year in a row.” A third tweet: “The New R Line in Raleigh provides FREE energy efficient transportation around downtown Raleigh.” And a fourth: “Check out the Carolina Hurricanes upcoming schedule.” http://idek.net/4be

In short, tweeting is a natural form of promotion for government entities seeking to promote their regions and encourage tourism and economic development.

Live Your Personal Brand

Domesticity diva Martha Stewart has a personal brand that has survived adversity. Convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice in an insider stock trading case in 2004, Stewart spent five months in federal prison, then launched a highly publicized comeback and returned to daytime television. Her business made a strong comeback right along with her. What did Stewart do that "Swindler of the Century" Bernie Madoff didn’t?

She kept living her brand.

Through adversity, obstacles, personal attacks, smear campaigns, big mistakes and any kind of personal crisis—you must continue to be faithful to your brand’s promise of value to your customers and your public. Madoff’s personal brand promise was one of financial protection and prosperity for his clients. What he dished out instead was financial ruin. The emotion he promised was peace of mind. Now many of his clients feel anguish and despair.

Stewart, on the other hand, got out of prison and doggedly returned to providing the familiar products, tips and entertainment promised by Martha Stewart Living. She salvaged her personal brand—but Madoff cannot possibly salvage his.

If your brand is that you are the “Banker With All The Answers,” be ready to deliver on that promise. Even if you don’t have an answer to a customer’s question immediately, follow through by finding the answer, and get back with that customer as soon as possible with the information. If you don’t follow through, then you’re not living your brand.

The Jekyll and Hyde Personal Brand

Bernard Madoff — the guy who “made off” with so many people’s money — is a dramatic example of a personal brand turned topsy-turvy. Once a trusted, even beloved, advisor, Madoff now has been dubbed “The Swindler of the Century” and “The Most Hated Man in America.”

His personal brand promise turned out to be a monstrous and hideous lie.

What’s fascinating and disturbing is just how diametrically opposed his new personal brand is from his old one. The perpetrator of a $50 billion Ponzi Scheme was a man who had been highly respected and well-connected, a rock of respectability. Talk about Jekyll-and-Hyde! How could a man undergo such a transformation?

But I’ll leave the psychological analysis of Bernie Madoff to the psychiatrists. What I see here is something more akin to mythology than anything else. I see an archetype known to all of us — the fallen angel. The downfall of someone powerful. The story of wretched excess. The classic fall from grace. It’s the Garden of Eden. It’s The Godfather. It’s Apocalypse Now.

Bernie Madoff’s personal brand is the stuff of legend. He is in a sense already larger than life and his story will be told for generations — a dark tale of power and corruption and greed. It's the journey of man into moral abyss. A cautionary tale for all of us.

Giving Feels Good

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that charitable giving activates the same part of the brain stimulated by sex, drugs and money. Giving also activates the part of the brain that influences social attachments, trust and economic interactions. NIH researchers used MRIs to monitor brain activity, and their imaging study is said to support an actual biological basis for the existence of those warm-and-fuzzies you get whenever you donate money to your favorite charity.

Charitable giving just plain makes you feel good about yourself. And you don’t have to donate money to feel that way—you can donate time instead.

One of our clients has volunteered to serve as a judge in the North Carolina Education Ball, to help decide the winner of a dance competition among Raleigh business leaders. The seventh annual Education Ball, hosted by Communities in Schools of North Carolina, includes a progressive dinner, a silent and live auction, dessert, champagne, music and dancing for all attendees—and a dance contest featuring seven North Carolina leaders. The Ball will have its own version of "Dancing With the Stars!"

Because our client has volunteered to serve as a judge for this event, we are sending out a news release announcing the fact. When you are doing good deeds for the world, why not trumpet it? You gain goodwill from the public and you serve as a wonderful example to others.

If you have ever wanted to volunteer for a charitable organization, but are unsure which one or where to start, take a look at Charity Navigator, a 501© (3) non-profit organization that provides information on over five thousand charities. One or two of those charities will probably pull at your heartstrings. Find one that means something to you.

The Marketing of Brand Obama

The online marketing of President Barack Obama’s personal brand has been called the “campaign that redefined modern politics.” The masterful implementation of social media by Team Obama campaign is a lesson not only for political candidates, but also for any professional who wants to promote a personal brand.

Candidate Obama built grassroots support through a powerful Web site (www.MyBarackObama.com) and presence on every major social media network--Flickr, Facebook, Youtube, Myspace, LinkedIn, Twitter and more. Looking at statistics before the election, Blogger Jeremiah Owyang pointed out that McCain had far less social media presence than Obama.

Besides social networks, millions of blog postings mentioned Obama. The Obama campaign’s online fund raising methods were particularly effective. Within minutes of donating online, for example, people received e-mails thanking them for their contribution. On Internet forums, people shared personal stories about why they donated. Obama’s Web site at www.change.gov asked for input from citizens about their personal stories and where they thought the country should go. The use of this kind of online tool empowers people, encouraging them to participate in the process of government. The effective use of social media can build passionate communities.

Candidate Obama and his team carefully calculated how to market his personal brand through consistent messages, graphics and the sans serif Gotham font. Initially commissioned by GQ magazine, the Gotham font was chosen by GQ editors because of its “masculine, new and fresh” look. The Obama campaign logo--a blue ring shaped like an “O” with red and white stripes and a rising sun symbol--looked patriotic and inspiring. His “Change You Can Believe In” slogan promised a fresh approach, while at the same time it conveyed a solid trustworthiness.

All this careful branding paid off. Keith Reinhard, chairman emeritus of DDB Worldwide Communications Group, Inc., the largest consolidated advertising and marketing services global network in the world, has said that President Barack Obama is the three things you want in a brand--“new, different and attractive.”

The Right of Publicity

First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy created a personal brand so striking, we are still captivated by the memory today. Complex and reserved, glamorous and self-possessed, Jackie was known for her sense of style and sophistication. Decades after her death, Jackie’s name still crops up in the media.

The September 2008 issue of Vanity Fair featured an article on France’s first couple, Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni, comparing them to Jack and Jackie Kennedy. When asked how she liked being compared to Jackie, the First Lady of France responded in a positive way. Her own personal brand—that of an Italian heiress, model and singer, with past liaisons with Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton—is actually quite dissimilar to Jackie’s, but that hardly seemed to matter within the context of the article. To be compared to a legend has great allure, n’est pas?

But we must tread carefully when it comes to comparisons. In Onassis v. Christian Dior-New York, Inc., the court held that the use of a Jackie Onassis look-alike model in a photograph with other live celebrities violated a right known as the “right of publicity.” You cannot use a celebrity’s persona for free. “Persona” comes from Latin and has to do with the mask worn by an actor. The term “public persona” is a legal term which includes the person’s name, likeness, voice, photographs and mannerisms.

Public figures, actors, athletes, writers and musicians all make money from the use of their public persona, which is considered a commodity. The “right of publicity” is a person’s right to control and benefit from the commercial use of his or her identity, and this right is just as important a legal concept as the “right of privacy.” Private people, according to the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics, have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.

If you create a public persona, you are moving into that group of leaders who deliberately seek and benefit from media attention. Rest assured that the time you invest in developing your personal brand will give you a return on investment (ROI) that can be legally protected from piracy or misappropriation.