The brand needs to be realistic and clear on their goals first and foremost. That is going to be the most important thing that is going to assist you in being successful.
Welcome to another installment of our PR Strategy Series, where you can learn directly from top industry experts on how you can leverage media attention to grow your business.
Today we are talking about how you can grow your PR career by highlighting parts of a conversation I had over at Authority Magazine with Alli Rodriguez.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
I was watching MTV one day and saw this show PoweRGirls which featured Lizzie Grubman and a group of PR professionals that were learning how to become publicists. They were out at clubs, hanging out with celebrities, getting free products. I instantly was intrigued by the profession. After being hooked on the show and researching what a publicist was, I was in the doctor’s office with a friend’s mom reading Seventeen magazine and there was an article featuring what a publicist was, their roles & responsibilities, and their average salary. I am a HUGE believer in fate and that those things are “meant to be” so I knew I had to explore this field more.
I was 18 at the time and in college. We had a paper to write about our career. I was going to school for a medical degree at the time and I didn’t want to write about the medical industry because I felt it was boring. I decided I was going to call Lizzie Grubman and interview her for this college paper. Her VP at the time, Kelly Brady answered and thankfully she did! I was able to meet her in New York City, she allowed me to interview her for my paper, and I landed an internship with her in 2011 when she started her own company Brandsway Creative. I learned so much from Kelly and she has been a mentor since I was 18 years old.
After the internship, I went back home to Pennsylvania and I wasn’t able to land a job at an agency due to lack of experience. I had so many doors slammed in my face I got fed up and decided to create my own opportunities. In late 2011, I started a website and networking on LinkedIn. Before you knew it, I grew to having over 20 clients and had to partner with another company to handle the load.
10 years later, I rebranded and launched Alli Rodriguez Public Relations LLC and here I am with a pretty impressive background featuring clients in national outlets such as CNN, Fox, ABC, & more. Having done this without any agency experience has been difficult but so rewarding!
Which 3 character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success thus far?
Persistence-If it were not for me persevering through the hard times and not taking no for an answer, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I continuously push for each client and fight for them to have their stories told everyday.
Communication. Without a clear and transparent understanding of your client and their goals, you won’t be able to successfully score a pitch. I ensure I am communicating with my client and the outlets consistently.
Determined-I have always been someone who has goals and goes after that. I knew that PR was what I wanted to do and I was determined to make that career goal happen. Even though it was not the traditional way of doing so, I was able to land huge press for my clients based on my determination.
Wonderful. Let’s now jump into the main part of our interview. What 3 media strategies are typically most effective in generating more business for a national brand?
Media is always a great place to begin. The more press that you have, the more buzz that is going to be created and when people are searching online you and your brand will be the first link that populates.
Speaking opportunities. Get out and speak on the topics you are knowledgeable about in conferences, workshops.
Social media is a great free way to reach people. Create engaging content, reels, go live, all of these things will engage your audience more and grow your exposure.
One more before we go: If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I would love to start a movement that would encourage people to work hard but play even harder We are so accustomed to working late hours and miss events and our weekends to get things done.
I would love to incorporate more mindfulness & meditation practices in work-life and encourage harmony and balance instead of burning the candle at both ends. Just ending that work-a-holic lifestyle.
