When people are fulfilled and happy in their work life, they pass that positivity outward and become more responsible and dedicated global citizens. It can truly change everything.
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 Christina Eyubolgu.
Christina Eyubolgu is a public relations, marketing, and crisis management strategist working with B2B companies and consumer-facing brands. She is currently the Managing Director at the MarComm firm Adduco Communications and is frequently quoted in industry and business media where her expertise and advice on marketing, public relations, and crisis management are often featured.
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 have a degree in political science and worked for a leading US political party for about 8 hours before deciding it was not at all what I wanted. As a Brit comedy fan, I loved AbFab and the lead character was in PR. I was like, “that sounds fun.” I called around to every PR agency in NYC and Long Island until I found one that would let me work for free as an intern. I stuffed envelopes, created guest lists, assembled promo boxes until I worked my way up to pitching and interviews.
My free internship turned into a full-time position and from there, I got to do all the fun things I always dreamed about — working with celebrities, big brands, producing and attending fancy parties and fashion shows, but most of all, learning the craft from the ground up. I loved and still love every minute of it.
When I transitioned to B2B later on in my career, it was exciting to find out a whole different world existed outside of B2C and how marketing and PR can be such a powerful tool for growth for any brand, no matter who it sells to.
As a successful business leader, which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
Teamwork is key to being successful. Understanding that your job function does not stop at you and that your work impacts your team is critical. That means, doing what you say you were going to do, being accountable, and being available to jump in and support your team when needed.
Dedication is another key. Every position you have, no matter how small your role is, take ownership of it. The outcome directly affects you. Become dedicated to each and every task and do it well. The results will get you far.
Lose the ego. Don’t take yourself too seriously and be open to criticism and feedback. While taking ownership and being dedicated to each project is important, you need to realize that you may not always have all the answers. Listen to your team, collaborate and most importantly, be open to others opinions. And when you get to a position of leadership, lead with a servant leader mentality. You are there to serve the greater good, not your own ego or self.
Wonderful. Let’s now jump into the main theme of the series. What 3 media strategies are typically most effective in generating more business for a national brand?
Strategy 1: Social media is part of a cohesive media strategy. Make sure to know the journalists important to your industry and follow and engage with them often. Relationship building through social media is a successful way to do pr for your business and there’s no real experience required.
Strategy 2: Know your industry and business journalists and create relationships. While they may not be as accessible as local journalists, you can still engage with them at trade shows, industry events, and association meetings. Make an effort to introduce yourself and try to make connections. You will be remembered and called upon in the future when they need an expert.
Strategy 3: Writing articles for industry publications is key. As with local media, publications are often open to contributor articles and are always looking for unique perspectives — as long as they are not overly promotional. Get to writing and send your articles to the publications you think are most relevant to your business. Don’t forget to share, share, share with everyone you know and especially on social media.
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 believe normalizing a diverse and inclusive workplace can be transformative. Allowing people to come as they are, rather than try to fit into a predetermined culture creates a space that makes everyone feel safe and welcome. When people are fulfilled and happy in their work-life, they pass that positivity outward and become more responsible and dedicated global citizens. It can truly change everything.
