April is here and as the weather gets warmer and the days get longer it feels like for the first time in a long time, the world is starting to finally move forward again.
This spring feels like a big one and not just because of the previously mentioned longer and warmer days, there is a real positivity that genuinely hasn’t been felt for close to a year.
Like most people, I’ve been reflecting on the last 12 months. The impact that Covid has had, not just on me personally but the industry we work in and how it has changed.
Yes, there have been some pretty major shifts in working – all of which we are VERY aware of by now so I won’t go into them in much detail here. However in some instances, certain things really haven’t changed at all.
For me, the one thing that has stayed the same during this whole Covid-wrecked year, is that the best PR that you can do, whether it’s for you personally or your business, is your own.
By that, I don’t mean having flashy social media accounts that boast about what you’ve been up to or the car that you’re driving etc. What I mean is, what are you like as a person? How are you to work with? What would people say about you if you’re not there? And can you deliver on what you say you’re good at?
The reason I think this is just as vitally important now, perhaps more than ever, is that one of the major shifts we’ve seen over the last year is the number of people that are setting up businesses on their own.
Whether it is due to redundancy, a change in circumstance or just wanting to go in a different direction, a quick look across LinkedIn shows just how many people are going it alone or in pairs.
Brand Ambition was formed by Sam and Robin during this last year, and I’ve seen first-hand just how important a person’s personal brand actually is when it comes to setting up your own business a success.
Sam is an extremely popular person in the digital marketing industry across Leeds and the rest of West Yorkshire. Robin has a great reputation across design, advertising and branding in Northern Ireland and further afield.
We recently went out with a press release that covered the launch Brand Ambition, the first six months of the business and the success. The response has been brilliant. That doesn’t happen purely because of our USP of helping SMEs. It’s because Sam and Robin have spent time doing their own good PR by building solid reputations for years.
A quick look across the marketing industry as a whole and you’ll see plenty of businesses and freelancers that are successful for that exact reason too. I can name a few off the top of my head without even thinking about it. I could also name a few, both people and organisations, that have got shocking reputations too.
It’s all well and good going into an interview or a new business pitch saying that you’ll deliver X ROI or will generate Y amount of coverage or will earn Z links. What matters is how you act in between. It’s all well and good doing the work, but if you’re a bit of a dick? You’re probably not going to be at that business very long or have your retainer renewed.
We’re entering a world where there are more choices than ever before for brands to choose from when they’re looking for marketing services. Empathy and kindness has been such a big takeaway from the last year, that I firmly believe that those businesses won’t just choose the biggest or cheapest agencies.
More than ever, they’ll go with the ones that share their values and approaches. Alongside what you can deliver, they’ll want to know about how you act and how you are to work with. How can you demonstrate that? By doing the best bit of PR you can do – your own.
