I read a very interesting article in this fall’s issue of The Strategist and it’s really stuck with me. The article, “From manager to leader: The nine action steps to get you to a leadership role,” asserts that “…making the leap from manager to leader may be the most important move in one’s PR career” and lists nine actions we can all take to become true leaders.

1. Articulate the values. By what standards does your organization live? Here at Dittoe, our mantra can be taken off of the blackboard in co-founder Liza Dittoe’s office: Do what you love. Love what you do. We live by this “golden rule” and not only does it make our job more fulfilling and fun, but we are – as a whole – very successful because of it.
2. Create a vision. Real leaders are constantly looking beyond tomorrow to visualize what their company can be and where it is headed. Once you have your vision of “after tomorrow” it’s necessary for the entire team to buy into it – so it becomes our vision. This is crucial for PR firms during such uncertain economic times. Without a vision, how can you set goals and objectives – how can you measure success?
3. Build trust. People don’t follow other people because their title is president or CEO – they follow them because they trust them. If you can’t trust your leader, there’s no buy-in to the company’s vision.
4. Provide inspiration. People follow people who inspire them. Be inspiring. If you think about it, three body parts are used by employees on a regular basis: heads, hearts and feet. If a leader can cause people to think about the possibilities and imagine what we could do together, feel the passion to attain it and then act to make it happen – then they are truly successful.
5. Act courageously. It’s one thing to think or say “this is where we are going” – it’s another thing to make it happen.
6. Share the credit. Let your team share the spotlight.
7. Establish empathy and listen. I can’t tell you how important this is. Who wants to work for someone who never listens to your concerns or suggestions? A good leader understands his or her team’s motivations, worldviews and aspirations.
8. Be open. There are two ways a leader can do this: 1) be approachable, and 2) admit failures. No one knows everything, and trust can be gained when leaders admit they don’t have the answer. After all, we’re all human.
9. Empower your followers. Learn when to let go. There are more leaders to be found in your team. There’s no such thing as an organization of one. Encourage followers to create their own vision.

For more details on what to do once you become a leader, check out the whole article by Ken Jacobs online. I think you’ll find it just as interesting and inspiring as I do.

This morning in my inbox I found one of my favorite newsletters, "The Firm Voice," from the Council of Public Relations Firms.  Most of the time the articles are more for owners and presidents of PR firms but I am usually able to find some morsel of wisdom in each edition.

Today was no different.  "The Firm Voice" offered a link to Cision's free white paper on "What Never to Do When Targeting the Media."  I highly recommend all PR folks out there download this document as it is really helpful.

"A lot of PR people and agencies just blast out blanket e-mails to anyone on the lists they bought. That's glorified spam. The e-mails that work are those that are targeted. They open with something like, 'Dear David, I saw your story about cell phones and thought…' This shows they did their homework. If you take the time to personalize your pitches or e-mails to us, you will get a thousand times more bang for the buck in terms of responses." - David Pogue, Columnist for the New York Times

Dittoe PR is an anti-spam agency.  You won't find one of our email addresses on the Bad Pitch Blog or mention of our firm any journalist's rant on poor PR techniques.  However, it is important to stay up-to-date on all things public relations related and this white paper is worth a download, no matter how amazing you are at your job.

Last night I did something I never did before, by choice... I watched C-SPAN. I tuned in to watch Sen. Hillary Clinton speak at the Democratic Convention as I wanted to hear how she planned on convincing her passionate supporters to vote for Obama (as opposed to voting for McCain or not voting at all).

The crowd in Denver ate up Sen. Clinton, cheering, applauding and even chanting her name during her 35 minute [or so] speech. I found the video her daughter, Chelsea, narrated to be very interesting and personal. The pictures of a loving mom and wife put a very different image in my head of the Hillary I've always been skeptical of. For a moment, I almost forgot about the scandals of the Clinton presidency as I watched her husband mouth the words, "Love you, forever and ever," to her from his seat in an upper level suite. Her rhetoric was exciting and the response of the audience proved to be more than I had expected.

As I watched her speak, I couldn't help but think, "Whoever wrote this speech knew what they were doing... How can I use words of my own to get media contacts this excited about my clients?"

Writing a pitch, whether you email, fax, mail or say it over the phone, takes time. You have just a few seconds to capture the attention of the journalist or blogger so you have to make the most out of the subject line and first sentence of the pitch or else you'll lose them. This is much easier said than done!

Unlike many public relations firms who provide little PR training to their new hires or interns, Dittoe PR works one-on-one with each new employee to explain and demonstrate how we do business every day.

What it essentially comes down to is: Do your homework. Read recent articles from the media contact you are planning to pitch - does their beat fit with your story? If the contact does prove to be a legitimate match, then write a personalized pitch. Every pitch we send out, even if the story angle is similar, is different because we recognize that no two journalists or bloggers are alike and what interests one may not even so much as raise the eyebrow of another. We spend a tremendous amount of time on writing targeted pitches and researching contacts. Because of this, you will not see Dittoe PR on any "SPAM" list.

I guess you could say that Sen. Clinton's speech got me excited about public relations. I came into work today with more confidence and excitement than normal. Now, did she convince me to vote for Obama? Time will tell. For now, my goal for the day is to come up with the most creative pitch that will truly get journalists and bloggers excited about my clients.

Today I came across an article at EvanCarmichael.com on effectively using PR tactics. I thought it was really worth sharing with my colleagues and so now you’re the lucky ones subjected to it as well. It’s written by Maggie Holben, but I’ve summarized the main seven points below. Check out the entire article when you have a few minutes to spare (I’ve included the link to it at the end of this post).

“It’s up to you to make use of proven PR tactics to help build awareness and credibility of your brand. Here are seven tips to help jumpstart your PR efforts, or improve existing programs:

Focus On Your Newsworthy Attributes: You’ll have far greater success garnering news coverage if your announcement is based on a proven news hook, rather than being full of puffery and information only of interest to you.

Keep Your PR Tool Kit Up-To-Date: The more information you are able to provide an interested reporter, the more likely your encounter will result in thorough, accurate and engaging coverage.

Utilize Newswire Services: Newswires can give your news release added exposure to both the media and potential customers searching the Internet for your products or services as the release remains posted online.

Become Skilled At E-mail Campaigns: E-mail is, on the whole, the most preferred form of communication for reaching the news media (versus unsolicited phone calls, text messages or podcasts to busy journalists).

Make Use of Leads Services*: The leads service is a special PR tool that allows reporters on deadline to reach out to companies and individuals for information and interviews.

Share Your Expertise via Articles: Write or ghostwrite articles for your clients about their particular area of expertise.

Win Awards To Attract Attention: Quite frequently, the prestige of receiving one or several industry awards offers the “awareness lift” necessary to secure a profile or full feature about your company or organization.

I’m pleased to report that none of this information is groundbreaking or newsworthy to me but it’s a great reminder. If anything, it reaffirms my belief that Dittoe Public Relations is truly one of the best PR firms around because these seven PR Tactics are the core of every plan we develop for our clients. Keep in mind, it’s possible to do each of these tactics and still not gain the coverage you and your clients are looking for – so the trick is to do all of it skillfully and to the very best of your ability.

Check out the full-version of the article here.

* If you want a recommendation of a U.S. and Canadian leads service, leave a comment and I’ll be happy to share two valuable services with you!

It's not every day someone tells you what a fantastic job you're doing for them. Fortunately for me and the rest of the team at Dittoe PR, we hear it more than most people.

Part of me was jaded by corporate America. At 25 years old, I came to expect I would never receive a hardy handshake, pat on the back or even a complimentary email after performing above expectation. Continuously striving for perfection and approval in the eyes of my supervisors grew old and I soon became disenchanted with my role in the company. Not a good sign, right?

I regularly write about how lucky I am to work at Dittoe, how this is my dream job, how Dittoe is truly the best Indianapolis PR firm... What you may not realize is, I mean it.

Today I received the best compliment I have received to-date from a client. After sharing some good news with them I received a one-word email that will have me smiling for the rest of the week: "PHENOMENAL."

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." - Leo Buscaglia

Working at Dittoe has changed my life. No, I'm not going to get all sentimental on you but I am serious.  I thought I'd be doomed to a lifetime of working 9-5 at some job I hated. You know the feeling, waking up every morning wanting to call in sick, dragging yourself into the office and then spending your time counting down the seconds until quitting time.

Now I look forward to coming into work each day. I get excited thinking about the emails sitting in my inbox, messages in my voicemail and the ideas I came up with the night before to help bring more coverage to my clients.

Each day is another opportunity to ask, “What can I do now?" and provide the best service to my clients - the kind of service they've come to expect from Dittoe.

What's even more important is I want to work hard for my clients because they get excited when I'm successful and that excitement is what keeps me going. My hard work resulting in a "phenomenal" reaction is plenty reason for me to continue working my tail off here.

Please do me a favor today... when someone around you at work or even at home does something really well or impressive, tell them. It will make their day and encourage them to do it again.

In my experience, marketing, advertising and public relations agencies tend to have lots of turnover.  It's not because people are unhappy or not talented, but because over time clients are lost and there's a constant shifting of positions. 

I had a friend who worked on one account at a big firm in SC -- when the account left her agency, she was let go.  Two months later the firm landed an even bigger account and she had to essentially interview to get her old job back.  Her story always frightened me and I think it had a little bit to do with me starting my career in a corporate environment instead of with an agency.

Now that I'm in agency, I'm experiencing a very different world than she did.  Part of the reason is that we're a PR firm, not the all-encompassing advertising, marketing and PR agency.  However, I think the real reason is because of our clients, team and leadership.

The last time I checked, Dittoe PR ranks as the 5th largest public relations firm in central Indiana.  I think that's fabulous - we're not the biggest but we're definitely competitive in our space.  We have great clients who stick with us for years and we're constantly growing because word is getting around about our clients' successes.

After working here for just over six months, we're already expanding into the office space next door.  This summer we're adding five more desks and all but three will be occupied.  I'm guessing that by Christmas we'll have every desk filled. 

My friend in SC can hardly believe that we're expanding with the intention of not downsizing at a later time.  Deep down inside, I think she might be a little jealous.  It's an exciting time to be working at Dittoe.  We're moving on up -- well, moving next door.

A major component of what we do each day is build relationships.  In fact, you could even argue that the majority of good public relations professionals succeed because of their existing relationships and their ability to build their contact lists into much more than just names, email addresses and phone numbers.

Over time, PR executives begin to know their clients and their media contacts as much more than just CEOs, VPs and columnists.  It's inevitable -- bonds will be formed.

I've come to understand what types of coverage each of my client views as "solid," "dream come true" or "not what we were hoping for."  Each client is different -- as are their people, stories, products and/or services.  While one may be jazzed to be featured in a online review -- the other might prefer a review to run in a specific trade publication.  It's my job to determine what's going to provide my clients with the best amount of coverage AND keep them really happy with the services I provide.

It's almost like a marriage, really.  There are challenges and hurdles to overcome every once in a while -- but usually it's pretty smooth sailing because I want to keep my clients happy and they want to provide me with what I need to do just exactly that.

Yes, some marriages fall apart.  It's inevitable.  Not every company in this world is a perfect fit for Dittoe Public Relations.  Not only do our clients research us to find out why we're so successful and how we can help them -- but we research our potential clients to make sure their goals fit with our abilities. 

So why would a company or individual need a PR firm?  Well... think of it this way:  At my previous job I handled all of the public relations, which meant I cultivated all of the relationships on top of my other duties which included business development and marketing projects.  Here, not only does each account executive cultivate their own relationships for each one of their clients but we share contacts from time to time, producing hundreds, maybe thousands, of solid contacts who recognize the name "Dittoe Public Relations" when we call or email them. 

Remember, it's who you know.  At Dittoe we focus on public relations -- that's it -- not marketing, not advertising... just PR.  It's what we do and we do it well.  We cultivate relationships with members of the press on a daily basis because in the long run, they're the ones who are going to provide the "dream come true" coverage our clients are expecting.

We’re a small company here at Dittoe, but that’s how we want to keep it. With only ten public relations professionals, we’re able to give our clients the personal attention they need, and more importantly, deserve.

I see numerous benefits to keeping a company small for both its employees and for the clients, but what I’d like to touch upon in my blog post today is- Why a small company needs a “personality.”

As a young, hip and dynamic company, Dittoe makes sure that our image portrays the ‘real’ us. Here’s why I think showing a company’s ‘true’ personality is important:

• A company’s personality is what makes it unique and stand out from the competition  
   
• Showing your company’s personality and character helps build loyalty, establish long term relationships with customers and grow brands 
   
• While customers might come to your company based on your product or service offering, what keeps them coming back is an emotional bond 
   
• Bonding helps generate repeat sales and a long term business relationship 
   
• Land big customers.  It’s hard enough for small business to land big name customers. But show a celebrity you’ve got a ‘personality’ too, and they’ll be more apt to give you a shot. 
   
• The personality of your business actually reflects how your organization works and performs the service you are offering.

Our amazing personalities are what have helped Dittoe become the best Indianapolis PR firm- bottom line.

Have you ever sat down at your desk, started working on a new project and suddenly thought, "If I was in college right now, I'd still be in bed asleep?"  Every once in a while it hits me... usually after a conversation with a childhood friend or college classmate.  I'm getting OLD.

It really doesn't seem like that long ago I watched my Dad graduate from business school -- I remember it was after Independence Day because I fell out of a lawn chair in our driveway and scraped my head on the concrete when a firecracker went off nearby.  My lovely scab throbbed the day I watched my Dad receive his MBA.  That was 22 years ago this summer.

I remember learning how to drive a manual transmission in my Dad's convertible.  We spent hours making figure eights in a huge parking lot -- practicing shifting gears, looking out my side mirrors and his foot hitting the "brake" on the passenger side.  That was 10 years ago this summer.

Just yesterday I was in college, going to class, living in my sorority house, going to fraternity parties and playing field hockey every fall.  Seriously, my biggest concern then was an upcoming paper or who my formal date would be.  Wake up call... that was 4 years ago this summer.

Now most of my friends are married or engaged -- some are even starting families, buying houses and looking at minivans.  We've all chosen careers... some of us are doing what we always thought we'd do, others ended up in a completely different arena.  My parents talk about retirement and tell me constantly how important my 401K is instead of telling me to eat my vegetables or clean my room.  Life now is a far cry from what it used to be. 

Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing.  Everything I've experienced, good and bad, has brought me to this point.  I'm the happiest I've ever been in my adult life... it's not fair to compare my life now to kindergarten with Mrs. Frank or my roller rink birthday party.  I'm excited to think about where I'll go next and what will happen.  No doubt, Dittoe will play a big roll in this chapter of my life.

I'm sure years from now I'll think about how easy I had it "back then," when I was in my twenties, married with no children and working at the best Indianapolis PR firm.  No doubt the stress and struggles I am currently enduring are not easy, but years down the road they will seem just as petty as some of my college and high school concerns do to me now.

As nice as it is to reminisce about the good ole days, it's exciting to imagine what life with be like 5 or 10 years from now.  I'll have to try not to blink -- I don't want to miss it.

This weekend I'm heading south to my alma mater, Hanover College, to participate in the Center for Business Preparation Colloquium.  The Center for Business Preparation is like a business school within the liberal arts college.  Students with any major can apply to be in the center and if selected, will gain hands-on business experience.  I wish it was available when I was in school!

My friends will be the first to tell you I'm slightly obsessed with Hanover.  I loved my four years there.  I got married on campus three years after graduation and this past fall was the first time I missed homecoming (but I did attend Coach Perry's last football game later in the season).  I feel incredibly lucky to have gone to such a great school. 

At the last colloquium I attended, a student asked me if I had any advice for him.  Even though I'm not at all wise, I do know what's important: "Write well," I told him.  If you are a poor writer, your job opportunities will be very limited.

With degrees from the Indiana University, Butler University, Notre Dame University and Hanover College, Dittoe PR is certainly comprised of a well-educated group of people.  More importantly, everyone here writes extremely well.  I am amazed at the amount of talent each account executive possesses.  Any company or individual looking for a quality PR firm to do business with will be amazed at the energy, education and talent this group has. 

On Sunday, approximately 45 Hanover students will hear five business problems and be randomly assigned one to discuss and provide a solution for in a presentation to the group.  Faculty and alumni will grade the students on how well they work with their group, the quality of their contribution and their overall participation. 

These students will one day be working in the real world and I hope they all succeed at what they do.  That’s why I’m going back to Hanover on Sunday.  Well, that and I could use a new coffee mug... maybe I can get one that says "alumni" this time.

So this week I'm attending my last board meeting for Indianapolis Chapter of the American Marketing Association.  I thought I would be looking forward to being done with it, but I find myself feeling sad my time with the organization is coming to an end.

I joined the AMA when I was promoted into the marketing department at Autobase, Inc.  After being a member for only three months, I volunteered to be the chapter's secretary and year later I was nominated and accepted as the chapter's vice president of programming.

With no experience or guidance, I set up all of the programming for September 2007 through June 2008.  I attended every luncheon and networking meeting that I could.  I even wrote programming summaries for the luncheon invitations and chapter website.  The AMA has been a big part of my life over the past two years.

I am fortunate to have held such an important position in our local chapter at such a young age.  Not only am I friends with fellow board members but I'm on a first name basis with local CEOs and entrepreneurs.  I'm also more familiar with local marketing and PR firms, as well as local companies.  I feel like I'm truly a part of Indy, that I actually know people here (which is an awesome feeling when you're from out-of-state).

But it's time to move on.  I keep trying to think of moving on as "growing up."  I grew a lot professionally and personally with the AMA and now it's time to grow even more.  Who knows what my next endeavor or adventure will be.  I'm determined to make 2008 my best year yet, so anything is possble!!!