Define Yourself Before Someone Else Does

By Rebecca Cleary
Rebecca Cleary Consulting
902-304-0113
Rebecca@rebeccacleary.com
2010 Graduate

 The Importance of Image

We’ve all heard the expression: you only get one chance to make a first impression. Have you ever really thought about it? Studies prove that it takes just seconds to form an opinion about an individual.  This initial opinion or opinions play a major role in determining the course of the relationship – whether business, personal or intimate. According to Wharton University studies, we utilize our five senses to take information from the world, however, our eyes account for 82% and our ears are just 11% with other senses accounting for 7%. The retention of verbal is 11% and non-verbal/visual is 51%.

According to psychologists, the brain takes first impression images utilizing signals we interpret based on our past experiences or pre-conceived social norms. Psychology today, stated in an article published in 2004 and written by Clarlin Flora, that snap judgments are a holistic phenomenon in which clues (mellifluous voice, Rolex watch, soggy handshake, hunched shoulders) hit us all at once and form an impression larger than their sum.

But, don’t take my word for it. Search into your own memory bank. Imagine a time when you were in a position of meeting an individual for the first time. Perhaps you were conducting an interview. Maybe there was a time a sales person was trying to sell you something or maybe you are simply meeting a hairstylist for the first time before they style your hair?

Now try to remember what you noticed about that individual.  Did you hire them? Did you buy their product? Did you feel they were representing their industry, skills and talents well?  Did they appear credible, trustworthy and knowledgeable about their field?

The bottom line is: we live in a world where we are bombarded by messages on a daily, minute-by-minute basis and whether intentional or unintentional, our appearance communicates messages to the world. That means, the minute we see someone, we assign meaning to his or her clothes, expressions and body language.

What messages are you sending? Are those messages consistent with the message you want to project? Do you feel your image properly displays your capabilities, your financial worth, your position or your desired position?

If you would like your messages to be favorable, your appearance has to be consistent with what matters to you. Having a strong and consistent professional presence; and image appropriate for your brand, industry, values, clients and over-all vision will reinforce what it is you want people to believe about you or your business. 

When an individual’s image is of a consistently high standard, it projects a sharper message of quality, responsibility and success. This is because, if you are consistent with your dress and overall visual image, the assumption is that your work follows the same pattern. On the other hand, when you are inconsistent in this manner of communication, you are in fact sending mixed messages, causing recipients to be confused. This can be a major limitation and can cause the trust level to be weakened. So as you can see, it’s important to understand how controlling ones image is an essential part of controlling the message you send to the world. 

Many people think that image is superficial and comes from an external set of rules. The fact is the most effective and authentic image comes from inside you. It is derived from your strengths, values, goals, personality, and over-all vision of your future.  It’s not about changing who you are as a person, but bringing the best you forward and creating an authentic personal brand.

Tell Me a Story

By Denise Butchko
http://www.DeniseButchko.com
(September Guest Blogger)

Tell Me A Story
Because who doesn’t want to hear a good story?
The media most certainly does, because then they can take the story that you tell and utilize it in
many different ways to provide content for their readers or viewers.  Getting the press to tell a good story about you and your business is one of the best forms of promotion that there is.

So, how do you do that?

One of the most important things that you can do to get press coverage is to pay close attention
to current events with an eye on how what you do ties in to whatever is happening in the
world.

For image industry professionals, this is much less about congressional committees or terrorist
plots and more about the areas of entertainment, fashion, design of any kind and all things
Hollywood. So look for reporters and editors who work in those areas. And honestly, when you
find their bylines, search for them on Google, Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and Google+, tell
them briefly about you and your business and ask to connect. They will typically say yes – and
then they can easily be aware of what you’re doing from your online posts (because you are a
savvy 21st century business professional who is active in online business development). You
are engaged in conversations with them.

Second is to think like a reporter.
Here’s what I mean when I say think like a reporter:
Imagine that you’re crazy busy with tight, tight deadlines every single day (I know, I know, this
part is already true for you as well as the reporter). You receive hundreds, if not thousands, of
unsolicited emails and phone calls and snail mail from others who think that what they have to
say is either interesting, important or news worthy – and they think it merits column inches in
your publication – television, print or online.

So, a big part of your job as the journalist is to search through all of those inquiries for the
“golden nuggets” that would make great stories. Another big part of your job is to have your finger on the pulse of what’s going on with your “beat” (or area of expertise that you cover). That means up-to-the- minute, find-it-on-the- CNN-crawl or in your Tweet Stream – current.

So when somebody pitches an idea that ties in with a current event, but has an angle that
relates specifically to your beat, your job just became a lot easier. And the odds of that persons’
suggestion getting some “column inches” just got way better.

HERE ARE SOME WAYS TO HELP YOU DO THAT
What will get a reporters’ attention is something that ties in to current events and has a relevant
angle or benefits the readers/viewers. Clever and creative also garner attention.

Who is their audience?
How have they covered “professional image development” in the past?
Do they want more than one expert source to include in a story?
How are you one of those expert sources?

It really is important that you know this kind of information. It’s considered not only rude, but
rather unenlightened to pitch something to a reporter without having done your homework first.
You see, the easier you make the job for the reporters, the more likely you will get a response
from them, as well as their respect and appreciation.

In the 21st century, electronic or “social media” releases or press kits do the best job. You can
include photos and captions and links – all very relevant to our industry and important to the
odds of you getting coverage. Plus most reporters prefer electronic methods for communicating.
So the short recipe for success is to tie together current events with the solutions your business
provides. Then pitch that angle to publications you’ve researched and determined appropriate.

HERE’S MY FAVORITE EXAMPLE -
The Sex and the City Closet
When the first “Sex and the City” movie was released, I knew it was an opportunity to tie in my
closet design work in a very “current' way. The angle that I pitched that tied in the movie & closets was sharing several different ways to create your own dream closet.  I was able to get the story in The Chicago Sun-Times.

Also, with this particular topic, I knew I needed a visual approach that meshed with 21st century
technology – so I worked with a small company named PWR New Media (PWRnewmedia.com).
I gave them the copy and the photos – they put together a layout with live links and photos
(h"p://www.pwrnewmedia.com/2008/butchko0508/index.html) and assembled a press list of about
1000 contacts that received the electronic press release.

In addition, they generated a wonderful report that included not only every person who opened
it, but how many times they opened it. And their creation of the media list made it more than
worth the financial investment.

I’m not saying that making a financial commitment is the only way to secure press coverage. It’s
not. I’ve gotten lots of other coverage with the investment of my time, energy and expertise. By
commenting on blog posts as well as Facebook and uploading my project photos to a variety of
sites related to design, I’ve had my work featured in the L.A. Times, KBB Design News, Forbes
and Chicago Home Improvement magazine. I also have been a guest blogger for one of the
largest interior design firms in the Midwest.

I’d also like to note that the way I was trained to pitch the media has changed dramatically in the
last year or so. Social media tools are really becoming the main source for story ideas for
members of the media. Many journalists are not only effectively getting pitched on Twitter, some
news outlets are reporting their stories based on Twitter updates.

Public relations strategist Sarah Evans created #journchat# as a weekly Twitter discussion that
connects journalists with communications professionals. And Peter Shankman’s “Help a
Reporter Out” program is providing a great way for journalists to direct queries to PR
professionals and get story ideas quickly, effectively, and yes, for free.

Start engaging in conversations with the media and building your effective content strategy.

So we’ll end where we started – tell me a story.