Strategic Public Relations and Personal Branding

Strategic PR& Personal Branding

Trinity University

September 28, 2010

Before we start

• Inventory of cell phones

• Leave them on for the 1st 20 minutes of the discussion....turn up the volume

• Take all calls, but speak in soft voice

• Check Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, email

• Respond to IM in real time

Today

• This course is critical to your career / life path regardless if you become a PR person, politician, doctor, lawyer, rock star, architect, etc or win the lottery never work a day in your life.

Today• Background

• PR as it was

• PR as it is becoming

• Social Media

• Case Story: Trinity Alumni Company- DenimGroup

• Personal Branding - you!

About

• PR guy for 25 years

• Social Media for the last 5 years

• Blogger with.... 4 blogs

• Former Journalist.... contributing columnist “Express-News”

• Content producer

When I went to college

No PC - we used a typewriter

Research was done the Library

No InternetNo iPhone or wireless

devicesNo digital camera

Social Media did not exist

Caveat

• Presentation based on my belief sets

• I try things out and like to experiment

• Not everything I do works, but the good news is that this costs almost zero, other than your time

PR

• PR still matters in the traditional sense but it’s rapidly changing

• message

• voice

• content

Strategy

• I still believe in strategy, but even the best laid plans have shorter shelf life because the media and how “news” gets reported moves so fast

I still pitch

• I still develop story ideas

• I still pitch journalists

• I still get “media coverage” for clients, but it’s getting harder and... less relevant

Every company is a...• Media Company

• content creator

• story teller

• community builder

• aimed at being discovered and shared if you do your job right and deliver on your brand promise

Premise

• Don’t just study “PR” at Trinity

• become your own client

• start marketing and selling you in advance of your graduation so you can go on to grad school, start a new business, or get an amazing job

Today

• Focus on branding

• you are a brand

Dear Mom & Dad... today in

school, I learned that I was a

brand

How to package yourself

• Thought leader

• Innovative

• Connecter

• Networker

• Ear to the ground

raise money

build a team

partners

grad school

cool job

Influence is the new currency

• Influence and thought leadership is the new currency

• Make your voice heard

• Make a difference

study. work hard. have fun.

start storytelling

stream your

narrative

build a following and new deal flow will come

your way

how: > ?

converse

interface

broadcast

inform

share

spread you ideas

give away as much information about you as you can

The Basics

• Develop your “voice”

• Write like you speak

• Write to and for your audience(s)

• Give yourself six months to see it work

Who are you trying to reach?

• Have the right message and tone of voice

• the right people

• the right networks

• be persistent with outreach

The Social Web

If you populate the social web with great and relevant content about yourself, you’ll be found, and it will serve its purpose in whatever you want to do after you graduate from Trinity

static

Web Site

Brochures

Press Releases

active

Trade Show Booth

VS.

Go wide and deep

You Company Technology

Facebook

Twitter

BlogArticle

submissions

Digg

YouTube

Comment on other blogs

LinkedIn

SlideShare

Docstoc

Slideshare

delicious

How I’ve used the power of social web to get media coverage, gain credibility and

demonstrate thought leadership as a pro-active consumer of AT&T’s three screen

service offering

trade business/financial broadcast radio

YouTube -great way to pitch the media

Industry leaders demonstrate

N-trig technology

Re-purposing content...

Industry leaders demonstrate N-trig applications & product

differentiation

How To: How I watch Internet TV - U-verse and Internet TV

DenimGroup

• Founded by 2 Trinity Alum

• Dan Cornell & Sheridan Chambers

• Building secure software

• 50 + employees

• Inc 5,000 company 3 years in a row

PR / Social Media

• Thought leadership in emerging market category

• Hard news

• Media coverage in tech / IT / security media

• Social Media / Content Development

Branding YOU

• Your brand is your best personal resume

• If you understand the power of personal branding it will help you get into grad school, start a new business, or great an amazing job when you finish Trinity

• Branding really shows who you really are

How I am branding Alan

• Social Networks

• Blogging

• Journalism

• Self PR

• Photography

• Videos

I’m a mini broadcasting

network

What about you?

• Student leader

• Innovator

• Collaborator

• First mover

• Entrepreneur

• Community builder

Consumer facing blog covering AT&T positions me as an authority in triple play services in

telecom

Facebook connects me to friends & business associates in

the U.S. and Israel

LinkedIn - business focused social networking in the U.S. and Israel

Flickr photos....I always carry my camera when I travel for fun or business

Monthly columnist for San Antonio “Express-News” covering AT&T

and Social Media

B.B. King, Tom Petty, The Who in Concert

Branding You!

• Join a few networks

• Determine what you want to communicate about yourself

• Make sure you have an up to date photo

• If you are on social networks, make sure you have an up to date profile

Branding You• Your personal site on Facebook

incorporated with your school work

• Start a blog on your professional interests

• 30 days of listen

• 30 days of research to see who you want to engage with

• 30 days of conversation and outreach

Brand Persona

• @TrinityHottie

• @LoveMyBeer

• @BigAssCamero

• @AnarchyNation

careful how you brand yourself on

twitter...

Be aware

• You are what you post...

• “got shit-faced last night at Fiesta”

• “going to Mexico this weekend to....”

• “Prof. Smith is an ass-hole”

• “looking to buy term paper on....”

Contact

• Alan Weinkrantz

• www.alanweinkrantz.com

• alan@weinkrantz.com

• @alanweinkrantz - Twitter

• FaceBook, LinkedIn too!

Copy of presentation

• online today: alanweinkrantz.com

• Slideshare.net

• copy and share with others

• this is just what I believe and seems to work

• your mileage may vary

start story telling

be your own client

don’t just “study” PR; do it for yourself

Thank You

© 2010