IABC

Inspiration for a recharge

Posted by Megan Neher —

My senior college photo at K-State (1993). Time to go back to college!

I really love my job, and I’ve been doing it a long time. I believe there are seasons in life when it’s time for a refresh. This is the longest I’ve ever worked in the same position and I’m ready for something new.

I was thrilled when I was selected to be on a National Advisory Council at K-State. https://jmc.k-state.edu/advisory/index.html We meet quarterly in Manhattan to culminate expertise from a variety of backgrounds to advise our alma mater, the AQ Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communication. And THIS was the motivation I needed to kick off my master’s degree (which will also be in journalism) at that “other” Kansas University. 🙂

I guess I’ll have to get used to saying that I’m a Wildcat first, and hopefully soon I’ll be a Jayhawk grad too in a couple of years.

I’m not quitting what I do now. Instead I’m enhancing it. I’ve taken stock of my life, and I’m simply looking to recharge. I think the master’s degree is just what I need.

When I meet with new college graduates as part of a mentoring program or internship, I explain that their first job is only a stepping stone to the next and then the next… and sometimes not even in the same career field. Two generations ago, it was common to select a career and then you retired 50ish years later from that same career. Thank God that’s changed. I just think that would have been so boring!

Today, my life consists of two teenagers (who want to spend no time with me), a husband and an elderly mom who lives nearby. Most of my focus is on my business. I knew I wanted to sprinkle in something new. I’ve had this dream in the back of my mind for a decade, and 2018 is the year!

Working with college students or having interns has been important to me since I started my own PR firm in 2003. I’ve always considered mentorship as a growth opportunity, not just for the mentee. Darn it when I actually learn more from them than they do from me!

So when I was selected to help on this advisory council I decided that the time was right to jump in with both feet.

Ultimately, I want to find a teaching job in Kansas City where I can work in the areas I’m most passionate about: public relations, journalism, social marketing, communications or the combination. I believe one stepping stone has lead me to the next and finally to my destination, which is mentoring and educating college students. In the meantime, you will find me with a backpack, a laptop and a book, because I will BE the college student.

Nov
06 ^th

Success with Collaboration

Posted by Megan Neher —

Photo caption: PR girls should know better than to do a photoshoot on the hottest day of the summer! What were we thinking?

I’ve had my own company for 14 years and it took me the first five years to figure out how to categorize it. I started by saying I was a freelancer or a subcontractor. But as I grew and got more clients and even my own subcontractors, things began to change.

My elevator speech morphed into: Hi, I own my own boutique PR agency. But we were a unique model. Today, I don’t believe we are. We are collaborators who work virtually rather than a traditional PR firm. Most of the people I work with have their own business cards and have successful marketing, writing, graphic design or social media freelance companies of their own. I have longstanding relationships with: Ashley Cleveland, Erica Cohen, Laurie Morrissey, Kari D’Amato, Nancy Besa, Angela Presnell, Suze Parker, Robyn Caulfield, Jenny Kincaid, Melanie Deardorff, Elaine Symanski, Kerry O’Connor, Jenny Wheat and more. We exchange ideas, business leads and referrals and most importantly collaborate on client work!

I spoke to an agency owner in 2004 who had been doing marketing and PR this way in San Francisco for more than a decade. He described his business model and to this day I’ve patterned my company after his. Through Kansas City International Association of Business Communicators, I’ve met many other small/boutique PR firms and other communicators who have similar businesses set up very much the same. I knew this was the model I wanted to continue for my business.

I love working from home (at least most days I do when the kids and pets aren’t driving me crazy), and I love having the flexibility of subcontractors.

But I think the best part of this model is being able to take advantage of the collaboration of experts in the industry. When my clients have a complex challenge, it makes sense for my business to capitalize on specific individuals who I’m confident will be successful for specific strategies.

How have we been successful? Communication is paramount. Facilitating information flow across clients and the team through weekly status meetings, daily emails and other tools is just one of the ways we support each other.

What does this look like for the future? Even more collaboration! As a boutique PR firm handling social media, grassroots marketing, media outreach, influencer relations and community events, we have already been working collaboratively with larger advertising agencies and digital firms as their “PR department.” I predict that trend will continue as the industry evolves.

When working with these larger agencies, it has been so exciting to be a part of a team servicing a big client and a more comprehensive agency team. I’ve learned a few things as an “agency collaborator” and it’s been a rewarding challenge.

We’re collaborators not competitors.
Egos are checked at the door.
We must prove collaborative results and be willing to work cross agency.

Like all industries, this one continues to evolve and I’m excited about the future of collaboration and continued industry networking.

Sep
28 ^th

Millennials – Thanks for collaborating! Now, please stop texting.

Posted by Megan Neher —

(I’m not pictured yet in this photo. I’m still yet to come! I was number 5.)

I’m a gen-Xer. I’m kinda jealous of my millennial little bros and sisters. I feel like I’m the middle child; mad that the youngest is getting all of the attention.

As the baby in my own family, I remember my brothers and sisters say things like:

She got a car, we didn’t!
Her curfew is later!
She gets to go on a spring break trip, we stayed home!

Today, I feel like I keep hearing the same messaging: We must cater to the millennials.

I realize in marketing and PR, I have to pay very close attention to the millennials preferences because of their incredible buying power in the marketplace. Things like:

How they like to place their orders for food,
Online shopping preferences,
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram views,
How they communicate, and
How they consume the news.

As applicants and employees, millennials seem confident but sometimes lack in good old-fashioned persistent. We usually hire interns who don’t just send an email, but followup with a phone call because a tenacious young professional is the kind of intern that we’re looking for.

Some of the best learning experiences for new professionals in the workforce is to collaborate. I think it is important for all of us Gen-Xers and beyond to mentor (good learning experience for us too!), help motivate and show our appreciation.

I try to offer constructive criticism to interns and mentees from time to time, but something I’ve seen a few times recently in client meetings is an unconscious use of cell phones.

My advice: GET OFF YOUR PHONE.

Find something for your hands to do without it. Do not bring it to a meeting or if you do, put it away, do not text during a meeting, do not check your Instagram and do not have it out on the table. Without your phone, you might be able to:

be engaged
offer input
live your life in the moment and truly learn from us old folks some times

In fact, I learn every day from working with young professionals, and I plan to continue my education by surrounding myself with bright young minds.

Apr
14 ^th

Do I have to?

Posted by Megan Neher —

Learning new things at my age has become common place. I thought that after college and by my 20s and even my 30s, I would become a “seasoned” professional (just read my bio, because it says I’m “seasoned”); and wouldn’t have to spend my days learning. Instead, I would sit back and counsel all of the less smart people of the world with my intelligence. Of course, I would get paid millions of dollars for this amazing “counsel.”

Well, for anyone who isn’t past their 30s… lucky you, first of all! And, secondly, you’re not done learning. Not by a long shot.

I’ve considered going back to school to get a master’s degree. I’d like to re-career some day and teach college. (Maybe if I become a college professor I’d finally be done learning!) But going to school is not the kind of traditional classroom learning I’m talking about.

I’m talking about the daily lessons I get from real world experiences. Things like:

younger professionals who school me on how to use the new technology in a meaningful way to reach target audiences.
online professional resources – I have a few favorites on vocabulary and grammar. (I know… I’m weird)
incredible professional organizations such as the Master’s and Independent Communicator’s groups within KC/IABC as well as the monthly meetings. These face-to-face meetings are a tremendous resource. I have truly benefited from learning lessons from these groups and still draw on these individuals when I have questions.
a new lesson from someone outside of my industry who is more than happy to tell me all of his or her secrets over coffee that I can use at my PR firm. (I’ve learned to do ad buying, fundraising, graphic design, websites and much more from these experts)

I was blown away yesterday when I sat down with a longtime friend who took more than hour out of her schedule to walk me through her decades of industry knowledge for a small client of mine. In exchange: a promise to help her out sometime and an inexpensive lunch. Obviously, I can’t become an expert like her in an hour but I was writing furiously to try to capture just a little of her vast knowledge to share with my client.

In turn, I try to always do the same for others. When I meet with small businesses who are looking for PR help, I offer them a short tutorial and even share my media list, knowing they may not have the resources to hire a PR firm or consultant. Why not offer them a lesson and pay it forward? After all, it has become clear to me… learning never stops.

Dec
20 ^th

One decade in business. A few lessons I’ve learned.

Posted by Megan Neher —

My favorite photo of the day Natalie was born ten years ago. It looks like she’s smiling at her dad!

This is my tenth year owning my own PR firm. You learn working in PR that no one “in the biz” really celebrates anniversaries. I would have trouble even remembering the date except for one very significant reminder. I started my business just a few months before my daughter was born. So big and pregnant… I opened my laptop, cell phone in hand, on the couch of my parent’s house and started a PR consultancy company. We had just moved to town from Scottsdale and hadn’t even bought a house yet. This probably isn’t exactly part of the ideal business plan when you go to the SBA or the Kauffman Foundation’s entrepreneurship program. But it worked for me.

Like with a lot of small businesses, it takes time to work through the first few years. Things like: learning the art of prioritization and delegation; how to say no; do I REALLY have to file taxes EVERY year; and so on.

In addition to the tedious things every new business owner has to learn about taxes and technology, I’ve put together a list of “First Decade New Business Lessons Learned” by Megan Neher. I plan to read this 10 years from today and get a good laugh. Hopefully I’ll have a whole new list of new lessons learned by then!

1. FIO. Anyone who knows me will understand this acronym. I had hoped it would catch on like LOL or OMG. It stands for “Figure It Out,” and it’s something I tell every new intern or college student I’m advising. I think back to when I started as a newspaper reporter. At 23 years old, driving around the city with a folded paper map, not a GPS, figuring out how to get from one place to the next without Google. I had a written calendar, no cell phone and did research the old fashioned way. I’m not suggesting we go back to that; I just think we need to allow people to figure things out on their own.

2. Breathe. This lesson took me nearly ten years to learn. It’s basically my way of saying “don’t sweat the small stuff.” As I look around at clients and colleagues, I’m observing similar professionals my age going through the same growing pains. I guess this is something we all do! Start out rigid, and as we grow and mature in our professions, we become more flexible. We begin to understand that it is the gray area where progress happens.

3. My bra is not the only support I need! I’ve enjoyed being a part of KC/IABC but especially the entrepreneurs (support) group now called independent communicators. We meet monthly to talk about a variety of topics including things like clients, taxes, technology, websites, workload and more. It’s been my best support group, my best resources for subcontractors and a wonderful place to meet friends.

4. Don’t underestimate follow-up. This has become my secret to maintaining happy clients. (don’t tell my competitors!)

5. Mistakes aren’t for newbies… unfortunately. I wanted to get my mistakes out of the way early on and be done with them, but guess what? I’m still making them, and I’ve come to the realization that learning lessons the hard way is sometimes the only way we’ll learn.

6. Faith. I have a unrelenting faith in people. I can’t get rid of it. I am a terrible judge of character and instead of becoming a skeptic, I’ve decided to embrace it and continue to believe in people even when they let me down. I’m constantly surprised by them when they disappoint me, but at least I’m optimistic. And, by the grace of God, I haven’t been hurt by anyone too terribly bad, so perhaps my faith in people isn’t misplaced after all!

7. Home sweet home. As much as I’d like to be “more professional” with a real office, receptionist, fake plant, logo hanging on the wall… all of those things will never outweigh the ease of having a home office. I can roll out of bed, make coffee in my slippers and get two hours of work done before 8 a.m. or squeeze in three hours of work after the kids go to bed. (Of course the home office challenges my work-life balance from time to time, but it’s been remarkable how clients and others have understood kids and dogs in the office!)

8. Solitary confinement. I can’t do this job alone, nor do I want to. I loved working at the advertising agency in Arizona because of the close friendships I made. I quickly turned my “sole proprietorship” into a boutique PR shop so I could bring in some seasoned experts to learn from, share ideas and collaborate. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Ashley Cleveland has worked with me for about seven years and she’s been a gift from heaven. I’ve partnered with other colleagues along the way too, including Nancy Besa. We share a lot of laughs as well as ideas!

So those are some of the lessons I’ve learned. And, trust me… there are many, many others.

After 10 years, what do the next 10 years have in store – who knows? More figuring it out; mistakes and faith! I do hope to breathe a little more and maybe even change the company’s name. What a boring name! Got any ideas?

Sep
28 ^th

Pinterest’s Utopian Lifestyle

Posted by Megan Neher —

I’m a waffleler. I don’t know if that’s a word or not, but I waffle on the topic of Pinterest.

I just attended a session on how fabulous Pinterest is for businesses at the IABC Southern Region Conference in Charleston, South Carolina. The presenter was Tim McMullen, a really cool guy who founded a marketing/social media firm in Nashville called Red Pepper. Prior to hearing him speak, I was four paragraphs into a blog post on what a waste of time Pinterest is. Thus, I waffle.

So, I begin with the negative: Generation Y’s love Pinterest, and they go around pinning everything they believe is perfect online. These mostly young women plan their perfect online lives. (Men, hello? Are you on Pinterest?) These girls adorn their dorm rooms, schedule their engagements, plan their weddings, decorate their homes or apartments, organize their pregnancy, reveal the sex of their children, and welcome their babies.

Keep in mind these are beautiful lives. In Pinterest land, nothing bad happens.

Yes, I believe in dreams. Everyone should have aspirations. But why waste your time sitting on your ratty apartment futon for hours pinning recipes you’ll never make, extravagant homes you’ll never live in and amazing hairdos you can never achieve?

I think we should all strive to improve our lives, but what I don’t like about Pinterest is that it has created a generation of women who believe this sort-of online Utopia will someday come true. Or worse, people who sit around pinning and make themselves miserable knowing that it won’t ever come true. Perfect homes. Perfect makeup. Perfect bridal showers. Perfect Thanksgiving tables with tiny turkeys at every plate.

And, a true story about a Pinterest-loving Bridezillas who was so obsessed with her balloons lifting off immediately following her wedding ceremony (an idea she lifted from Pinterest) that she couldn’t focus on one of the most important moments in her life.

I used to hate the phrase “live in the moment” because I thought who isn’t living in the moment? We are all living (well, aren’t we?)… and this is the moment! But, Pinterest is taking that away from those who are pinning, because that’s not living. That’s fake living.

And, isn’t it sad to pin things day after day that you want. It’s like a child’s Christmas list filled with ponies and backyard merry-go-rounds – but for grownups. Forever unattainable.

Now, to Mr. McMullen’s point.

First of all, he did his entire presentation IN Pinterest… which I didn’t even know was possible. And, that was SO cool! He talked about some very fascinating marketing strategies I hadn’t thought about: ways to target audiences, capture customer information and most importantly generate sales.

Yes, today people consume media differently. It’s not just traditional stuff like TV anymore. And, it’s certainly not newspaper, (even though I still read it)! Pinterest is growing at an astounding rate. In only two years, it has more than 10 million users – Facebook only had 6 million users in its first 2 years. (Thank you Red Pepper Pinterest page for that pin!)

Bottom line: from a business perspective, I MUST use Pinterest. I have to get on board, get excited about it and get creative!

I’m open to suggestions. If you use Pinterest for more than a fake/beautiful/coveted life, inform me! I’m a newbie and I’m willing to be “pinned wrong” on this one!

Feb
10 ^th

Are you prepared for a social media firestorm?

Posted by Megan Neher —

Communicating at light speed – that’s the new norm. We PR practitioners need to get accustomed to it or become dinosaurs.

That was never so evident than when the marketing/PR/communications team for the Susan G. Komen Foundation was blindsided with the concerted effort of Planned Parenthood recently. No matter what side of the argument you land on, it was clear to anyone watching this national controversy unfold that one side was communicating effectively and powerfully, while the other was getting pounded.

Komen had decided to publicity announce that it had pulled its funding from Planned Parenthood. They politely and quietly made their announcement apparently unknowing what was about to happen. They were unprepared for the social media firestorm.

I have no idea how Planned Parenthood was able to secure its grassroots armies of social media troops throughout the country to attack Komen so quickly. Did they have prior knowledge of the announcement? Was it solely the passion behind the cause that fueled the storm and efforts so quickly?

Whatever it was, they communicated via Facebook and Twitter in a concerted and effective method. So much so, I believe, that it was the single most significant reason Komen reversed its decision. From their standpoint, thousands of people were hammering them over and over again with targeted negative messages. This hammering was preventing them from getting their messaging out. Even a PR person for Komen tweeted on day No. 2 of the controversy that her office was full of #idiots for not recognizing this would happen.

Another recent example proves that social media is more than just a social playground. JC Penney named Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson. Because she is gay, an organization called the One Million Moms began an online protest. Again, I think the organization may have been surprised by the response they received.

Ellen, with the power of her television show and passionate following, addressed the protest head-on. In response, supporters of Ellen have offered to shop at JC Penney… even if they’ve never shopped there before by posting thousands of Facebook and Twitter messages – all pointed directly at One Million Moms. Probably not what they expected! Ultimately, I was pleased JC Penney stood by its decision and didn’t let an organization bully them with threats of boycotts and value complaints.

I’m writing this blog post today because I was asked by a Kansas City TV station to be a social media/public relations expert for a news segment last week. I figured… if I gathered my thoughts enough for the TV interview, I should at least get some use out of it and put it down in a blog!

The interview occurred before Komen reversed its decision to fund grants to Planned Parenthood. It’s interesting… at the speed of communication today; things can change in a split second. You have to stay on top of the issues or you’re left arguing for (or against?) a topic that is no longer relevant!

Feb
11 ^th

I’m Flexible!

Posted by Megan Neher —

Two articles caught my eye in the January/February issue of IABC’s Communication World. Above The Fold and Make Your Own News both resonated with me and the transition my business has underwent in the past three years. It’s been a natural transition – thankfully – and one in which I’ve been excited about. Let me tell you why.

Above The Fold tells the story of the sad decline of print media. This is particiularly troubling to me because I majored in print journalism and truly enjoy reading a printed newspaper daily at my kitchen table. I started reading it each morning with my breakfast in high school and it’s been a daily ritual since. Of course, it also impacts my PR business leaving fewer reporters and publications to pitch stories.

Make Your Own News is how companies – many just like my clients’ businesses – are responding to this decline. And this is the exciting part. I’m busier than ever writing for blogs, shooting photos and video to post online and keeping up with clients’ Facebook pages and Twitter accounts.

I’m stealing a line from the article, but it’s a good one and it’s what I’m telling my clients about the transition: “used in the online environment, storytelling can reflect passion, uniqueness and immediacy.”

It’s this “storytelling” – or otherwise known as news or public relations – that can create a personality for the company. It offers an opportunity for us PR people to put some creativity into our writing, use imagery and demonstrate an identity for a brand that the old-style of PR and press releases simply didn’t allow for.

Again, I still can not accept that I won’t be reading a newspaper at the kitchen table. (My laptop doesn’t fit as comfortably on top of my cereal bowl.) But, with this transition, I’m thrilled to be writing stories that connect us with the past/present and help define what is authentic about someone… even if it is just for a computer screen.

Jul
02 ^nd

Diversity – even within professional organizations

Posted by Megan Neher —

When I moved back to Kansas City from Scottsdale, Ariz. six years ago and decided to start my own PR business, I knew I needed to join an organization to network, continue my professional development and meet people. But which one?

The most important thing I was looking for was diversity. I wanted an organization that was made up of individuals who offered a variety of skills, skill levels and even diverse professions. It wasn’t going to help me much to sit around with a bunch of people who were exactly like me!

That’s my favorite thing about IABC. However, what I’ve discovered as I finish my year as president of KC/IABC is that marketing to this diverse group, even within a single professional organization, can be challenging.

We enjoy a fantastic membership of graphic designers, ad buyers, newsletter writers, corporate communicators, PR professionals, photographers, events planners, social media experts, videographers, communication strategists and the list goes on and on. And, we welcome all professionals who may fall into the vast category of business communicators to join one of our meetings to see what we’re all about. In fact, we’ve created a variety of special interest groups as a way to cater to these vertical categories within our organization, and it’s been a huge success.

So whether you’re a senior vice president of corporate barbeques, director of lengthy complicated corporate jargon, manager of chaos or even CEO of really cool projects, we hope you’ll consider KC/IABC your home and offer your feedback on ways we can make you feel more welcome. Thanks for making this year as president of KC/IABC a tremendous opportunity.

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