323: IN THE ARENA / Want to master PR as an expert founder? Be like Jay!

Co-host: Foreign. Welcome to Earn the Right.

Host: My name is Trevor Young and Earn

Co-host: the Right is your audio platform for reputation based authority building, uh, pr, uh, uh, personal branding and turning credibility into recognition and recognition into opportunity. Very multifaceted, uh, topic and we cover many, many, many of those uh, facets on this show across four different tracks.

Host: Now today's track is going to, is

Co-host: called in the arena and that's when

Host: I have a riff, uh, around a

Co-host: particular topic that I feel is noteworthy

Host: and I've sort of done a bit of deep diving on. So let's get into today's topic. There are so many different public relations tactics to choose from today. It's so easy to get confused as leader, an expert, founder, a solo practice owner, what you can and should be doing to build your brand and your business. And if you're confused as to what PR is versus what's marketing, then you're likely to tangle yourself up even more. Now in my experience, business owners tend to feel one way or the other. They're either a marketing first type person, that is their sole focus is demand generation activities designed to spark more leads and sales, or their school of thought and action is more PR oriented in that emphasis is placed on human connection, storytelling, fostering conversation and nurturing relationships as a way to build trust and reputation in the marketplace. Being known, liked, trusted, being top of mind with your audience and talked about in a positive way. These are all forerunners to commercial success. So let's set aside the whole marketing versus PR debate for a minute. This is a topic I, uh, continue to explore publicly as the lines between both disciplines blur against what is an ever shifting media landscape. So what does savvy PR look like in action? Let me introduce you to us based speaking and storytelling consultant Jay Acunzo. Now I don't know Jay personally, but I followed his work for a good while now and I've heard him interviewed numerous times on podcasts. Philosophically, we seemed to be very nicely aligned when it comes to all things creating content and building an audience for our insights and our ideas. Now I reckon Jay is a terrific example of a credible expert who effectively leverages PR activities to build his brand and his business. Now, I'm pretty sure Jay himself wouldn't classify, uh, himself as a top notch PR operator per se. Uh, so this is me saying it from my personal observations. I've also said the same thing previously about author speaker Mark Schaefer. I recommend checking out both of these gentlemen to get a better handle on on what they do. And just as importantly how they do it. Interestingly, Mark and Jay, uh, share many traits when it comes to connecting and communicating with their audience. They are very much like minds. Okay, so what are some activities that Jay undertakes? In a recent LinkedIn post, Jay outlined all the ways he has built an audience, uh, that don't involve social media feeds. Uh, it was a great list. And I'm just going to go through those activities now, uh, in Jay's words, and then I'm going to talk a little bit more about it. So this is in Jay's words. This is Jay okunzo talking in LinkedIn. What has he done to build his audience? Organized my own meetup. Group of marketers in town. Gave free talks to local companies. I wrote guest columns for niche media companies. I pitched myself to podcasts and said yes to every single invite to appear on other people's podcasts. To get the reps, I attended as many local meetups and events as my schedule would allow. And I did this for years. I delivered or organized webinars and guest teaching opportunities for small mastermind groups. I contributed quotes to expert roundup, um, articles. I hosted podcasts and invited people I wanted to meet to guest on the show. I organised or said yes to invites for coffees and drinks and virtual networking calls. Eventually, I did bigger things away from social media, too, like giving conference talks, first breakouts, then keynotes, and creating and hosting shows with brand partners. First small organizations and then known brands. And I always, always had a writing practice and email newsletter. Now, to my mind, this is me talking now. Uh, these are all very powerful PR tactics. And when combined, as Jay has done over the years, they can be very effective for credible professionals and expert business owners wanting to raise their profile and reputation in the marketplace. But you might say, isn't PR all about media coverage? We hear that time and time again. I'm thinking. You're thinking that, aren't you? PR is all about getting your name in the press. Uh, yeah. Nah. No, it's not. That's what the media and Hollywood would have you believe. Do not fall for it. PR today is all about. Here it is deepening the level of connection you have with the people who matter the most to the success of, of your business or cause or issue, if that's your end game. Now, those people might include media types, journalists, editors, podcast producers, but in all likelihood, they should only represent one part of the broader PR pie. Indeed, I know public relations practitioners who wouldn't even talk to a journalist today. Okay, so using this lens, deepening the level of connection you have with the people who matter the most to the success of your business. We can see how the activities outlined by Jay fit these criteria beautifully. And never underestimate the power of face to face. Getting, um, up close and personal with people has never been more important in today's AI dominated digital first world. And Jay gets this, as you can see from the numerous face to face activities he undertook over a period of time. There's a really good lesson there for all of us in that regard. Face to face. At the end of the day, PR is about earning the right to market your wares to people, attracting the right people to your brand, to your ideas, to your message, to your story, organically, sustainably and in a way that respects their time and intellect. Or as I like to say, credibility before conversion. It's as much of a mindset as it is a set of tactics. Okay, rounding up, um, one thing you'll note from Jay's list, from that list of activities we just, uh, went through, aside from, uh, the involvement he has with his local community, is he's open to accepting invitations to speak and network. Jay is also diligent when it comes to his writing. I recommend following him on LinkedIn and checking out his blog and or newsletter. His body of work is substantial and certainly is a key reason why people want to interview him on their podcast or clients seek him out because to mentor them. And finally, as many listeners, uh, of this podcast would know, I'm a big advocate for professionals and experts. Getting off Broadway and off Broadway means out of the big lights and spending more time in those channels that aren't dominated by the mainstream platforms and big media names. Authority isn't built under the bright lights alone. It's built in the quiet rooms, the overlooked venues, the hidden stages where trust is earned, conversation by conversation. I'm tipping Jay understands as well. The takeaway from Jay's approach is pretty straightforward, diligent work that builds credibility with the right audience over time. My name is Trevor Young. I hope you've enjoyed this episode of the podcast.