As Warren Buffett says, if you think of PR in those terms, you may start to do things a little differently than you are right now. My guest today is my good friend and inspiration, Vito Glazer. Vito is a PR News/Media and Newsjacking expert. He's the guy people turn toward to help them keep their reputations in great shape and in this episode, he shares many valuable secrets for managing your own reputation both on and offline.
It is said there is no such thing as bad publicity. But, that couldn't be further from the truth. Vito explains a key part of the PR presentation is sharing your journey. After all, everyone loves a good backstory full of trials, tribulations, and victories. Humility is a virtue. However, not being the first one to tell your story leaves open the door for your competitors or haters to craft and tell that story for you.
And, that is exactly the lesson Vito learned when he first started out and found himself the object of his adversary's contempt. Getting into PR was out of necessity after soured business deals led his haters to craft false narratives, effectively ruining his reputation to save a little face for themselves.
The stories they told online didn't stay online. They followed him everywhere he went, even though the people who knew him best knew they were false. But, it took nearly a hundred thousand dollars and months of chasing wild geese at PR & law firms to help him regain his good name. He found that what he got for that money was no guarantee his reputation could be repaired. And, the services they provided were too little, too late.
Once he finally found himself back on solid ground, where he was crafting his own narrative, people around him began to take notice. They knew all too well how difficult it can be to recover from the malevolent actions of competitors. And, it was that story of his experience that people found they related to and launched his career in Public Relations.
Some people think PR is only for managing the reputations of the narcissistic or for celebrities and politicians. At the same time, some of the companies promising the moon and failing to deliver results give the entire industry a bad rap as being the worst AdSpend. But, bad actors in the industry doesn't mean that PR is something a brand should ignore. It is sometimes easy to forget that PR isn't simply about one person's or one brand's reputation. It has the power to influence habits and actually change the lives of the people who come into contact with that influence.
In order to use any tool effectively, a company must know how that tool is supposed to be used. If you hear others say that a tool like Facebook ads has worked for them, you try it and it fails for you, it's likely because you don't have the understanding of how to make them work for you. Education is key. And, there are four key categories for understanding how to make it work for you:
For many businesses, the killer problem of a lack of funding is a vicious cycle. You need money to get your name out there, but getting your name out there costs money. You can't just expect customers to stumble upon your brand and magically want to do business with you. So, how can you get your name out without it breaking the bank? Vito points out four possible ways to do just that.
