Most companies, big and small, have accepted the inevitability and importance of a proactive public relations strategy. PR can aid in building brand equity, improving hiring prospects, educating the public, developing credibility and increasing brand awareness, all of which will eventually lead to sales. Yet too often, startups and established companies wait until a crisis hits to think through their perception issues and how to use PR to their advantage. It’s not uncommon for my crisis communications clients to tell me that they wish they had hired me before they had a problem.
Strategic public relations is often the only tool at the disposal of a company in crisis, and the same goes for your own personal brand. Below I’ve outlined three ways to start doing PR for yourself to avoid a personal crisis.
1.) Make your boss aware of what you’re doing.
I recently spoke with a group of professional women and I asked them ‘does your boss understand your job and what you do all day?’ and more than half of the room laughed. Some may consider that job security, but I think it’s a major issue if your superiors don’t understand your role and bandwidth. In fact, I think it’s one reason why there is a gender pay gap. Women are stereotypical doers and often don’t make a point to highlight their accomplishments or how busy they are at work.
I realized quickly in a new role that my boss had no idea how much I was tackling each day and more importantly, wasn’t aware of the results I was producing. I requested an assistant, and because I hadn’t sounded the alarms about how overwhelmed I was, my boss was really confused. I remember thinking ‘doesn’t she know what I do all day? Hasn’t she seen what I produce?’ But of course the answer was no, she was the chief of staff for a prominent politician and had enough on her plate.
I decided to help her understand what I was getting done each week with an informal email report on Friday mornings. I didn’t tell her it was coming but just divided a quick email up into four sections; weekly wins, areas of improvement for my team, what was coming next week and what I needed from her. Instantly, our communications became more useful,…
