Why Building Your Personal Brand is Important

There is so much power in building and maintaining a strong personal brand in business and even in the professional careers world. So many business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals want to raise their corporate visibility and business credibility but lack direction or even confidence in doing so.

Personal branding allows you to stand out in a crowd and stand firm in your own authenticity but it also allows you to understand the spaces that you are navigating in; empowering you with a greater understanding of how to navigate them successful.

The key to effective personal branding is reputation. What do you want to be known for? What is your reputation among your peers and to your target audience? If you struggle to answer these questions then this video offers some insight into building your personal brand and why it is important in helping you stand out from the crowd.

Building a personal brand involves being intentional about how you present yourself and consistently aligning your actions and values with that presentation. It requires identifying your strengths, values, and passions, and showcasing them in a way that resonates with your target audience or desired industry. Your personal brand should reflect your authenticity and what makes you unique, while also being relevant and appealing to those you aim to connect with.

Developing a personal brand involves activities such as defining your personal mission statement, creating a strong online presence through social media and professional platforms, sharing valuable content, networking, and consistently delivering high-quality work. By actively managing and nurturing your personal brand, you can shape how others perceive you and create opportunities for personal and professional growth. 

Ariatu PR founder, Ronke Lawal, conducts Personal Brand strategy sessions which are ideal for business owners, entrepreneurs or professionals who want to raise their visibility and business credibility. Each session covers:

• The Power of A Personal brand - how having a strong personal brand can open up new opportunities in your business or career journey.

• Using PR to enhance your profile - Using public relations strategies to enhance your public profile.

• Identifying your values & Knowing your purpose - Understanding what your brand is and how you can maintain your integrity and authenticity.

• Social Media strategy - How to use social media platforms to raise your visibility.

• Public Speaking Tips - Advice and guidance on becoming a more confident public speaker.

• Measuring Success - Assessing Long term goals and celebrating success.

Choosing A PR Agency

Ariatu PR founder Ronke Lawal had the opportunity to speak with Alex Holliman, MD of Climbing Trees about what clients should be looking for when choosing a PR agency to work with. It is an insightful and pragmatic conversation worth listening to

The importance of Black media: why it is important, why does it need to survive and the challenges

Written by Ella Desewu

The Black Ballad Instagram live event on the 23rd June 2021 was a conversation between Tobi - @iamtobioredein the founder of Black Ballad and Blvck Canvas founder Tope - @Sincerelytops. They discussed how hard it is to create and manage Black publications and media platforms and mentioned past and existing ones, such as ‘The Voice’ and ‘New Nation’, the last online issue of ‘New Nation’ was February 2016. Tope gave some very good suggestions of black media publications including Black Ballad itself, gal-dem, Bkchat, Blvck Canvas,  About Race Podcast with Reni Eddo-Lodge and the Black Gals Livin’ Podcast.

The pair spoke about the roles and responsibilities of Black media in the UK. Authenticity is key to represent and target a Black audience successfully; therefore having these platforms to share relatable and understandable experiences is essential in comparison to morning television where lived experiences seem to be the topic of debate rather than being treated as educational. It is also important to show an accurate representation of the Black community in Britain, not everyone fits into the stereotypes fed in the media. A lot of mainstream media outlets also know what is popular and gets views so they may seem interested in amplifying Black voices but in reality, are performative and disingenuous in their approach according to the pair.

Tobi and Tope discussed prioritising the work of first-time writers and opening the door for young creatives into the industry as part of their roles, rather than overlooking young talent. They express Black media as a space to learn and improve and to create a ripple effect when you make it to help someone else to succeed. They gave high praise to Ariatu PR founder Ronke Lawal and how much she opens the door for small publications and is the reason why Blvck Canvas is featured on some PR lists that they may not have been before.

Ronke has previously written about the value of Black media outlets and whether they can survive in the UK from her perspective as an experienced PR. Watch the full conversation below:

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The future of our profession

Written by Ella Desewu

On June 22nd, Global women in PR hosted an international panel debate on The future of our profession.

The key themes of this conversation were the rise of AI and decline of journalism.

There were four speakers; Sandrine Cormary, Katie King, Clarissa Haller  and Marina Shilina and the panel chair was Koray Camgoz. The conversation started off with a focus on AI and how it can aid the PR and communications industry as it focuses on specific aspects of an individual and is no longer based on concepts such as just age and gender. AI has the capability to know our names, interests and even our dietary requirements.

There was a strong stance on AI being ‘Augmented’ intelligence rather than ‘Artificial’. “AI can replicate creativity, democratise and flatten the hierarchies that have been established within this industry”. However, AI cannot replicate trust and it will not take over our roles as PR professionals as it cannot display empathy or have a rapport or genuine relationship with an individual which is at the core of what we do.

The panel discussed the recent decline in journalism before the Covid-19 pandemic. Digital news was already on the rise and TV was using 24 hour rolling news channels more often, which, according to the panel, caused a decline in media freedom. A rise in hate speech during the pandemic led to audience realisation of media bias and knowing they were being fed a particular narrative through mainstream media. When AI is used for media, it can be programmed to fuel an existing bias or eradicate biases depending on who programmes it. Social media platforms have now become a source of news and politics as there are multiple views to see and AI shows users content which reflects their own views.

Internal communications has to create a better environment for both employees and their audience as employees are now exposing the gap between a company’s statements and what they have actually been doing. Employees expect the CEOs to be outspoken on certain topics. PR is relevant as we have to direct channels to use to reach the demographics we want to work with and want as clientele. We have to be conscious of the changing media and tech landscape and how it influences the organisations we work with and each other.

“Ethical responsibility has never been greater than it is today.”

Building better relationships between PR and journalists – with Journo Resources and Freelancing for Journalists

Written by Ella Desewu

Building better relationships between PR and journalists – with Journo Resources and Freelancing for Journalists: An event hosted by Vuelio on June 16th.

This webinar featured four journalists who spoke about the relationships between PRs and journalists and how they can work together well. In the webinar they used interactive polls to keep the audience involved as their answers were also used during the conversation.

The panelists discussed how the pandemic has impacted the relationship between PRs and journalists and they said that remote working has benefited those who are not London / City based due to access of online Zoom/Teams calls that would have been more exclusive if they were in person.

The panel expressed that looking into their personal social media accounts can give an insight into stories they are actually interested in rather than the by-lines they have had to write for work. They went on to explain that every good relationship they specifically had with PRs was from those who replied to their social media requests with extremely relevant info and a timely response, they are more likely to come back if you have helped them out successfully in the past (established credibility).

Lastly, they discussed the importance of PRs being reliable and not just sending random pitches or press releases to journalists as they will probably ignore it. They prefer exclusivity with the information that they are given, e.g. a case study or report from gathered data rather than a generic press release. They would rather an individual intimate relationship. The client of PRs must also learn to understand the commissioning process as they do not have the power to publish in a newspaper right away

Host:

Rebecca Potts – Access Intelligence

Panellists:

Jem Collins

Faima Baker

Lily Canter

Emma Wilkinson