Foreward by Lara:
I first became acquainted with Liese Gardner through Twitter. If you’ve read my post “First Impressions are Everything” you’ll know that Liese’s profile caught my attention…which led me to her blog: Fuel. Poignantly written and choc full of inspiration, I knew that Liese was someone I could learn from. Despite giving her no direction on a topic, and instead asking her to “write something that inspires her”, Liese was kind enough to write a post for my readers. I hope that you enjoy her response as much as I did.
Great work comes not from trying to MAKE something happen, but by BEING that happening. Today this is more possible than ever. A challenging economy has collided with the rise of social media to create a perfect storm; a new way to do business that is alive with generosity, ideas and inspiration. You could say it’s ready2spark! Certainly the popularity of this blog and Lara herself within the industry are evidence of the ability we each have to ignite and inspire our clients, our selves and one another. Here are several ways to fan that flame!
Be Fearless When Cultivating Relationships. Relationships are at the core of all public relations but not just with media. Reach out to clients and colleagues in a new way — a free workshop, a dinner party in an offbeat venue, a decadent poker night. As you create these experiences, think creatively. For instance, if you are a rental dealer and can’t favor one caterer, hire a mobile specialty food truck – or two! Los Angeles and New York have their share of trendy trucks from Korean BBQ to Mexican food to ice cream and cupcakes. Other cities are following. AND, by creating these events, you have also created an authentic reason to get in touch with print and TV media as well as bloggers with the story. And, of course, you can cover it in your own company blog and send out e-mail blasts with photos and information to clients … hopefully you have that in the works already if not up and running.
Widen Your Circle of Influence. As you can see from the above, forget the medium – today you personally are the message. Thanks to blogging and social media, we can now create and deliver our own stories to an ever-widening circle of people. The catch is to stay on message and not get too personal, too one-sided or too general. Try to keep in mind a couple key words that define you and what you do when you begin to write a blog, tweet or send an e-mail blast. Once you have a “voice” in place, you will find that blogs are an effective way to drive traffic to your web site (the jewel in the crown of your marketing efforts). To complete the circle, Twitter is a great way to drive traffic to your blog posts (although here again, be wary of only tweeting about your posts). Be fearless here too! Social media now allows us all the opportunity to get our ideas out before our competition. Don’t sit on a great idea. That luxury is not part of this new economy.
Rethink. Rework. Reinvent. Remember the words of Yogi Berra – the future ain’t what it used to be. When it comes to marketing and public relations in a 2.0 world where things morph fast, be ready for anything.
Liese Gardner has consulted with special event professionals on their marketing and public relations efforts for the past 10 years as the owner of Mecca: A Communications Destination, www.reachmecca.com. And this year, she began her own blog, www.passionsthatdriveus.com to explore the varieties of “fuel” that drive us personally and professionally.
Lara McCulloch-Carter
Author of the Special Event blog ready2spark
Director of Marketing – Regal Tent Productions
Past-President – ISES Toronto
. Follow me on Twitter
. Connect with me on LinkedIn
. Become my Peep at EventPeeps
. Befriend me at Events Network