PR = positive relationships.

At some point in our educational or professional career, we’ve all heard it, and it’s true. In my young professional career, each of my positions has involved some sort of relationship building. So what?

Becoming a master of relationship building should be at the top of your priority list. Grow into a counselor, not a tactician. Building a successful career isn’t just about tactical skills. It’s about becoming a counselor who can build trusting relationships, gain the confidence of management quickly and reliably and provide the high-level counsel executives want – and for which they’ll pay top dollar.

Industry veterans will share tips and techniques they’ve used to develop dozens of high-performing strategic counselors. You will:

• Learn proven ways to develop as a strategic counselor.
• Acquire insights that characterize the best strategists.
• Learn how top counselors set themselves apart.

This New Professionals Section Brown Bag will be held on Monday, Sept. 10 from 1 to 2 p.m. EST. Remember, it’s free for PRSSA and New Pros Section members! Register here.

Roger Friedensen, APR, president and CEO of Forge Communications in Raleigh, N.C., will host a conversation on becoming a top-tier strategist. For more than 25 years, Friedensen has built an impressive career in public relations, crisis communications, brand management and strategic communications consulting.

 

Elizabeth Rhoads Greenaway serves the PRSA New Professionals Section Executive Committee as programming director and chair-elect.

“Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do,” says Malcolm Gladwell, author of our first Summer Book Club selection “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference“. If we think of trends and changes in society as epidemics, like the flu, we can better understand why some ideas spread and how to start positive epidemics of our own. Each trend has one moment, where one small change can—be the Tipping Point.

“The Tipping Point” offers three rules of epidemics–the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context, which all can be helpful when applied to PR. The rule that stuck out to me the most was the Law of the Few.

The Law of the Few

The Law of the Few suggests that a small group of people, if they are the right people, can start an epidemic. Gladwell cites three different types of the “right” people who are capable of starting and epidemic–Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen.

• Connectors are those who seem to know everyone and have their feet in many circles. Perhaps they are the president of PRSA or your seasoned PR mentor.
• Mavens are vaults of information and want to advise others. Mavens are trusted sources of information because they sincerely want to help, and people listen to them for it, such as keynote speakers at educational conferences. As a blogger, I also would like to consider myself a Maven.
• Salesmen are the persuaders, when others are unconvinced. For an epidemic to start, people need to be persuaded to do something.

What This Law Means for PR

Connectors have the power of numbers, Mavens have the power of credibility and Salesmen have the power of persuasion. They each own different strengths, but each have the ability to spark an epidemic.

Now, whether the epidemic we are trying to spread is a viral video on YouTube, a product or service or a public campaign, Gladwell’s law shows that to whom we communicate is crucial to spreading the word. Instead of trying to share our message with anyone and everyone, or “spray and pray“, we should target those who have the influence to start an epidemic.

We can reach out to social media for Connectors who have a large number of followers in many different areas of interest. We can reach out to bloggers for Mavens, who are experts in their industry and have the trust of their readers. We can reach out to influential people through partnerships, maybe those who are public figures or have some amount of celebrity, who can change opinions and move people with little effort.

Spamming everyone with a press release that doesn’t get covered won’t start an epidemic. Telling one trusted blogger who writes a post read by thousands, who always follow their advice–that can spread your message like wildfire.

Before you send your next release or pitch to a list of generic reporters, think about with whom you are communicating. Are they a Connector? Maven? Salesman? Can they be the Tipping Point of your epidemic?

 

Other discussion questions:

1. How can the Law of the Few help us in our careers? Should we be more deliberate in choosing to whom we are marketing ourselves?

2. Gladwell published his book in 2000. How do you think his rules would have changed with the introduction of social media? Do social networks make everyone a Connector? Are the lines of who has influence blurrier?

3. Have you identified any Tipping Points in your own PR campaigns? What do you credit for your successful initiatives?

Don’t forget to visit our Facebook page and vote for our next Summer Book Club selection. Thanks for participating!

 

Heather Sliwinski is an account executive at KemperLesnik, a Chicago-based public relations agency, providing media relations and social media services to a variety of B2B clients. She has held positions in marketing and event planning for corporations, nonprofits and higher education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications with an emphasis in strategic communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Sliwinski is the blog co-chair for the PRSA New Professionals Section. Feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter.

During my college career, I was very unsure of whether or not to pursue a specialization within the public relations industry or to keep a general focus. I had interests in various fields, and who doesn’t want to wake up every day to a job in which they are thoroughly intrigued? However, I didn’t want to be hindered in the job hunt for only having experience in one field. I chose to play it safe and keep business as my overlying generalization and taking on internships in a variety of different fields. After working within the public relations industry for a year and a half, I have been able to compare the results of my choice to those who have chosen a specialization, and have come to a few conclusions.

The first impression any employer gets from you is through your resume. It’s great to have a lot of experience in one field if you’re pursuing a career within that industry. However, a one-sided resume can work against you if you’re trying to switch things up. In interviews, be consistent with your overall package by not only talking about your diverse interests, but by having an assorted history to prove it. If the majority of your experience falls outside of the position for which you’re applying, you don’t want to create the assumption that you are just desperate for any job.

In today’s economy, it’s tough to get any job, especially a tailored one. It’s imperative to be able to market yourself to all types of organizations. If one industry stands out to you, get some initial experience within that industry, but gain knowledge in other areas as well. Variety highlights flexibility, and if times get tough, it’s always a good backup plan to be able to mold yourself to any circumstances.

When beginning a career in public relations, it’s crucial to get to know the entire business. The beauty of PR is that its function is used across industries. Don’t allow a specialty to hold you back from advancing your knowledge and range of skills in the overall industry.

Generality allows room for change. It’s very possible to get into a field that sounds interesting, but after working in it and learning all the pros and cons, it may not be what you thought it would be. Having broader experience allows you to move around and adapt your knowledge in different settings. On most occasions, a broader range of experience also teaches you what industries you prefer by allowing you to have put your feelers on many different things.

Specialties tend to form on these own, after years of experience in various industries. Deep knowledge is generally associated with an expertise, and generally a new professional doesn’t hold that wealth of knowledge. It’s much easier to streamline your experiences to one specialty after you have spent many years in the workforce.

 

Have you pursued a specialty within PR early in your career? Has becoming a “jack-of-all-trades” benefited your career development? Share your experiences below!

Whitney Winn is a communications assistant at Dewberry, a nationally leading professional services firm. From King William, Va., Winn has brought her public relations knowledge to the Washington, D.C., area, where she attended George Mason University. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in communication with a concentration in public relations.