Go Online with Your Ideas

Today, I had a wonderful planning meeting with web developer Ana Julia Ghirello of GhireLLo Design, www.ghirello.us. Currently in Brazil, I look forward to launching www.lynnescottjackson.com and the Grassroots to Global Public Relations (www.g2gpr.com) franchise under her watchful eye.

For now, you can learn about what I do via this blog and my business to business corporate site, which showcases what I’ve done for the past 11 years under my marketing communications consulting firm Millynneum Inc; www.millynneum.com.

As we evolve throughout our careers, it’s important to develop and maintain clean and consistent images and messages for the world to see. And, you have to make it easy for people to do business with you by showcasing your talent and giving them the tools to reach you. The web is a beautiful thing, because it gives business colleagues an opportunity to check you out (online) before having an email exchange or phone/face-to-face conversation.

Let the web work for you and consider hiring people who make your job easier and let you focus on what you do best. Yes, you build a website yourself, but is that what you do best? The media landscape is splintered and online specialists are the gurus of the interactive galaxy. You get what you pay for; specialists are worth their weight in gold.

I value my role as a marketing strategist and pay homage to the following specialists, who make my job easier and are worth the money regarding what they bring to the table by way of their network and expertise: graphic designers, web design specialists, photographers, event planners, online advertising and social networking strategists and people with specialized crisis, governmental or financial relations expertise.

Inexperienced communicators simply call it publicity or marketing communications which can be a disservice to the PR profession. There are many nuances to the profession. It’s big business and is becoming increasingly important, as the US presidential campaign showed the world. Everything can’t be done from a template or your kitchen table. You need specialists who know the ins and outs and can work the system (in this case the search engine optimization system) to help you succeed.

It also pays to have colleagues who think big. During our morning telecon, Ana and I spoke about her forthcoming trip to South Africa next year for the World Cup. An accomplished soccer athlete, she first first came to the US on a soccer scholarship. A few years back she landed in the Big Apple, completing her degree at The City College of New York (CCNY), where we met.

Just a few years ago, I was her professor. Now, I’m proud to call her my colleague and business associate! That’s how the world works. Always maintain contacts and connections, and learn to spot specialized expertise and mutual areas of interest.
Soon, your network will expand dramatically and you’re in a position to help more people. In turn, more people will be in a position to help you!

Go Verbal

The beauty of email is that it’s often referred to as “a quiet phone call.” Email is tremendously efficient and usually quite effective.

But sometimes, you just have to pick up the phone! There’s nothing like “deep background” to obtain industry background and keep our creative juices flowing.

Today, I had the pleasure to connect with a colleague from a past work experience. In two words: what fun! As we rehashed the old days, I came to value our relationship and the opportunity to bounce things off a trusted colleague and friend. We're now determining new ways to work together to achieve our mutual career and business goals.

Text messages, twitter and emoticons -- : ) -- : ( -- can’t capture unique phrasings or your particular take on current affairs, etc. And, sometimes you need to give your fingers a break from the keypad, reduce eye strain, kick back and participate in a phone conversation for business or pleasure. As people who know me understand … I don’t do it often, but when I do, I share about 50 computer screens of “verbal knowledge” that would certainly take a very long time to type!

A-Days

I thank client Dawna Michelle Fields for this valuable business tip. As Colgate’s National Program Manager for Bright Smiles, Bright Futures™, she manages scores of consultants in markets throughout the US.

In order to manage reams of digital reporting, she encourages market managers to set aside “administrative days” to get expense and status reports in order for submission to the national headquarters.

Bulk tasks and save time by establishing “A-Days” (or “A-Hours”) to tackle vital administrative tasks.