Upgrade your PR Game: Lessons from Wimbart Global PR & Media #SheHiveLondon
Jessica Hope, founder and managing director of Wimbart PR joined us over the weekend at #SheHiveLondon. With over a decade of experience at places like iROKOTv, Jessica launched Wimbart Hope earlier this year. No matter the size of your business or brand, PR can help upgrade your business. In this installment of the #SheHiveLondon catch up, we share key takeaways from Jessica’s sessions on how to master the PR game. On the importance of PR for African businesses PR can help your business or brand majorly by giving you that all-important exposure. It expands your audience and helps prove that you are legit: it’s one thing to tell someone that you’re great, but when other publications or news outlets do it, it’s another level. Someone reads about you, they get curious and start to build trust in your product. That’s what brings you one step closer to closing a deal or making a sale. On starting her own business After over 10 years of building and honing her PR skills, Jessica Hope stepped out to launch one Wimbart PR. Wimbart found it’s niche: African Tech startups and it is flourishing. She never let any social challenges get in the way – recalling one time she went to an industry event six months pregnant and still managed to close multiple deals. She recognised that business is about making that personal connection. So by putting your real authentic self out there, all sorts of opportunities jump out at you. Mentoring also helped her to make the move from employee to M.D. Having worked for university friend turned iROKO TV CEO Jason Njoku, he encouraged her to take the plunge. On developing the right PR strategy Start to build your own narrative. Your narrative is the story of your brand and how your product is going to help customers. It’s what makes you unique and interesting. It’s not just about the story though, if you can back it up with good data and already have endorsements from other people, your story gets stronger. When you’ve crafted your story you can pitch it to publications, to in-house journalists and freelancers why can then feature your work to their audience of thousands (and maybe even millions if you’re lucky). On working well with the press Creating the right narrative isn’t the only important thing to do, you have to be a careful planner. Everything in publishing works on schedule, so if you’re interested in getting a story in for Christmas, you should be pitching it to publications months in advance. Ask around, go to industry events to meet journalists and get to know what they want. (That’s right networking is unavoidable, no matter how awkward it might seem at first). Remember many businesses are trying to do what you’re doing, and sometimes being one of the first to reach out to the press will give you the upper hand. Journalists are on strict schedules and also quite cynical make sure your pitch is high-quality, interesting and timely. Remember while the goal is to build your media presence, it doesn’t always happen overnight. Be patient and be prepared to get ignored at times, don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. Just stick with it, persistence pays off. On embracing the quirks of your brand or business To put it frankly, the fact that you exist is not news. When pitching your brand or business you need to think about what your ‘so what?’ is. News outlets get hundreds of stories a day, what is it about you that is specifically interesting? Jessica used the example of AfroEmoji. While the app was relatively simple, it was pitched to the international market as ‘Africa’s first Emoji brand’.The app got featured on CNN and the Huffington Post which led to thousands of downloads. Even though there were a few side-eyes about how the African Emojis all looked suspiciously Nigerian, the controversy helped the buzz and put it on the map. Embrace your quirks and let your personality come out. You can’t please everyone, no matter how hard you try. On building partnerships with the press The African business ecosystem is still being figured out by international media, this means that it can be tough to get noticed. You can help journalists out by giving them context and a full backstory around your journey so far. On the plus side, unlike some African publications, Western publications don’t usually charge for editorial features (nothing better than saving some $$$). Never forget that relationships with journalists can move from purely business to a more personal connection in the long-term. When you think of this as a journey, not just a one-time goal, developing PR partnerships comes right into your reach.
Be your own cheerleader: Why women need to PR their own PR
There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. “Confidence smiles while arrogance smirks”, they say. Women often shy away from listing their accomplishments for fear of being seen as the latter. However, who will voice it out for you if you don’t PR your own PR? It’s time to start tooting your own horn and getting comfortable with the idea of self-promotion. “Unfortunately, we live in a culture where competence and likability have an inverse relationship for a woman,” says Tara Sophia Mohr. Women who are sharp shooters and do not readily display more ‘feminine’ traits are seen as aggressive or bossy. Add to that, a woman who speaks her mind and doesn’t shy away from broadcasting her achievements, but instead proudly states her role is seen as arrogant and pompous. Women are therefore penalised for displaying characteristics that are contrary to gender stereotypes. Be your own cheerleader Even though it might be perceived as flaunting, no one will be your biggest cheerleader except yourself. You know best how hard you worked to get where you are. The benefits of making your achievements known far outweigh the negatives. Pr-ing your own PR doesn’t mean boasting mindlessly. Rather it requires calling attention to your successes and receiving credit for them. This way you can be seen as first choice for the next assignment, raise or speaking engagement. It makes you visible and helps advance your career, leading to better compensation, more high profile projects and career building assignments. To move on, “working women should continue to ensure that their managers are aware of their accomplishments, seek feedback and credit as appropriate, and ask for promotions when they are deserved, just as the high-potential women we’ve followed have been doing. Helping others recognize their contributions will help women get ahead further and faster.” Grow your career by doing your own PR Women who self-promote and network in influential circles achieve more career success. Unfortunately, doing good work isn’t enough. Your visibility gives you space for recognition. Being proactive in linking up with people who you admire and aspire to be like within your industry helps advance your career and ensures that your reputation precedes you. This earns you the recognition you so rightfully deserve. Self-promotion also needn’t be in just traditional means, especially in this age of digital media. You can have speaking engagements, attend networking sessions, write a blog or publish a paper about a subject you’re well-versed in. This positions you as an expert in your field. Being active on social media is also a great way to expand your audience and get maximum reach. However, don’t let it stop there. As you rise up the ranks of the corporate ladder, leverage that newfound confidence and pass it on to young women within your circles or organisation. Being empathetic and patient towards young minds will help them reach inside themselves and excel. Women can also nurture other women better, partly because we’ve been down that road and can steer others in the right direction. Passing on the baton is the only way we’ll see more women at the top, realising their dreams and living up to their potential.
Sheila Afari: Mistakes and hardships were my best teachers
Sheila Afari is a young pan-African entrepreneur who launched Sheila Afari Public Relations at the age of 26 after recognizing the opportunity to promote African brands across the globe. Sheila wants to create one of Africa’s leading boutique agencies, and with clients in Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa, she is well on her way to pan-African domination. In this piece, she shares with SLA her entrepreneurial journey and some advice on how startups can develop a public relations strategy that turns heads. You resigned from a marketing manager position to start your own business. How were you able to make the transition from a steady job with a guaranteed paycheck to the uncertain world of entrepreneurship? Having been an entrepreneur before taking on the marketing manager position, I was aware that I was able to create something from nothing. The plan was to work to get more business skills and leave. Fortunately for me, I had no debt or people dependents, so I was fearless and able to make the transition being comfortable with my odds in the risk vs rewards scenario. I also had a degree to fall back on as well as invaluable skills to offer if things have not worked out for me. And since I had no large monthly overheads/expenditures, I was able to offer my services for free and do jobs at low paying rates to build a portfolio and show my worth. What are the branding and marketing tools that you have used to grow your company and differentiate it in the marketplace? From day one, I decided that I wanted my PR agency to take on a bespoke approach to the clients we service. With that in mind, growth came from referrals as clients were happy with the services they were receiving. Word of mouth is known to be one of the most powerful marketing tools, so I go out of my way to ensure that every client is happy. I’ve spent the past 3 and a half years very hands on in shaping the business and overseeing the work done for each client. I believe my agency stands out in the marketplace because of the below reasons: We have a continental focus and reach outside of South Africa We work with traditional and non-traditional media platforms We incorporate a social media drive to all campaigns and projects We have a bespoke approach to each client We have a strong brand development focus We operate under unconventional business hours We believe in ethical business practices; integrity, honesty, exceptional service and team work As a lot of our clients are entrepreneurs and don’t operate with an “8-5” mindset, there’s a need for an agency that can keep up with them and service their needs in “real time”, which is what we do. We are available 7 days a week and after hours for our clients. From a branding perspective, I’ve stayed behind the scenes and that has positioned the business as somewhat exclusive. People won’t often see me unless it’s business related and they’ve done their homework. The work we do is better known than me or the company’s name, so if clients haven’t come via referral then they have done their homework and sought us out. My 2016 approach to branding and marketing will change somewhat as the company has grown. I’m tackling different industries, and there will definitely be a concerted effort with B2B marketing and advertising/visibility in key industry platforms. What advice would you give to startups that are looking to develop a PR strategy but don’t necessarily have the funds to hire an agency to work with them? 1) Draft a PR Plan. Even if it is just a one pager, you should be able to answer the below: Who am I/Are We? What am I trying to achieve in the market place? Where do I want to be in the next couple of months, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years? What do I want to be known for? Who are my competitors? Who do I strive to be like? What is my unique selling point? i.e. What do I bring that is different from my competitors as well as different from who I strive to be like? How can I get my message/service/talent across authentically? Then take a blank piece of paper and understand that your PR plan is a blank canvas that you can do anything with. Don’t try copy your competitors or the people your strive to be like. Pave your own way. Come up with fresh creative ideas and map out a way to get there. 2) Get online! Make sure that you have a strong online presence. With the digital age, and Google being one of the first platforms people go to search, you need to make sure you have a presence online and can tell your story the way you want it to be told. To start off with, get on the below platforms (may vary slightly for different industries): Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Soundcloud LinkedIn 3) Identify 5 people or platforms you deem important/relevant to giving your brand publicity and start making your way through the list. 4) Understand that contacts aren’t necessarily secret and content is king. Pick up a magazine, call the telephone number there and ask for the contact details people relevant to your field that you need to get in touch with. Also understand that media platforms need content, so “pitch” your story with an understanding of who their target audience is and how your story will be of interest to them. 5) Don’t give up. You will need multiple interactions in order to build your brand. Every attempt you make at building your brand’s presence all adds up and you will surely see results even if they may appear barely visibly. What is the one thing you know now that you wish you knew when Sheila Afari PR launched? I wish I knew that mistakes and hardships would be my best teachers. I spent so much time “playing it safe” out of fear of not being perfect or not keeping clients happy, that it took me quite a while to learn a lot of the things that have helped my business grow exponentially. Had I allowed