Trace Cohen's Insight

Breaking the social norms

Do Business Like you Have Road Rage!

Jan 9

Posted by Trace Cohen in business, creativity, inspire, passion, social norms, Uncategorized | No Comments

I was just driving in NYC and the two cars in front of me were battling it out for the upcoming merging to one lane. It reminded me of the Meet the Fockers scene when Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro where racing on that street trying to get home first – both had determination in their eyes and ego in this hearts to make it home first at any costs. It made me think about how you can apply what happens when you have road rage to your daily life because there are definitely lessons to be learned.

Fight for every inch – get in front of that other car:

Most people inch up at a red light or in bumper-to-bumper traffic and treat it like a battle won, just that much closer to victory. You should have the same mentality in business as well. A new partnership, client, deal or functionality are all like that inch, small battles won so you can ultimately win the war.

Check your mirrors – see if that jerk is trying to cut you off:

If you have ever driven in NYC, you know that you must be checking your mirrors and surroundings at all times. In business, you need to know what is going on in your industry at all times as well to make sure you don’t get left behind and sideswiped by a competitor.

Change lanes – the other one may be moving faster:

On long drives you usually like to sit in the same lane just driving along and you can get pretty complacent with yourself. In business the same thing can happen because you are so laser focused on one thing. While multi-taking may not be the best idea, try to focus on something else that you need to get done and come back to the previous thing later. You may not be thinking about it, but your brain subconsciously is.

Turn down a side street – there is more than one way to get there:

In NYC if you can’t go straight, you can go left or right usually. If you’re in a rush, you will try to take shortcuts or you know the streets well and know where the traffic is going to be. In business you have to be agile and able to take different approaches to achieve the same desired result.

Life in the fast lane – pedal to the medal:

There is a lot of stop and go traffic in NYC but sometimes you get lucky with the lights time perfectly and you can fly. When you get an opportunity like this you need to take advantage of it and go as far as you can. In business the same is true because of a new opportunity that you can take and run with.

Detours – everything is in a constant state of renewal:

Getting stuck behind a construction truck or two lanes merging into one can cause some serious problems and aggravation. In business there is no such thing as a great first draft, only great rewrites and the same can be said for anything that you do. Iteration is the new innovation.

Get angry – honk, yell and hit the steering wheel:

Enough said. Point being is that you need to be passionate and driven (no pun intended) to accomplish whatever it is that you’re doing. It’s amazing how crazy some people get when their behind the wheel of a car and feel empowered for nothing.

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How to be successful in PR when making an announcement

Dec 5

Posted by Trace Cohen in business, inspire, passion, PR, Public Relations | No Comments

To start off, let me make it very clear that the PR business is 100% service driven and if you need to get something done, you have to do it yourself. Now that that’s out of the way, PR can be very effective and pay off for all the effort that you put in if done right and thoughtfully – more so than paid ads etc.

At the end of the day, our job is to get publicity for our clients, visibility for the launch, announcement, product, hire that they want people to know about. So we work with our contacts and the media outlets made up of bloggers, writers, journalists, columnists, mommy bloggers (whatever they call themselves these days) to get a story published. They are the gatekeepers to an established audience that we need to get in font of. So how do we do it?

1. Develop the story – Get all the information

Your client has something that they want to announce. PR professionals will work with them and ask all the right questions to get the info we need to create a compelling and interesting story.

2. Pick the right time – Timing matters

Just because something is ready, doesn’t mean that it is the right time. Try to see trends in the market, conferences taking place or even the day of the week. You need to reach out to the press well in advance, so that you can time the announcement properly.

3. Writing the story – This is the bread and butter of your announcement

The header needs to clearly state what it is about because that is what most people will see, so it needs to catch their eye; the sub-header will back it up. As I say to my clients, always focus on the benefits, benefits, benefits to the consumer.

4. Pitching the story – Never sell something that you don’t believe in

In this day and age you need to be honest and transparent, so if something smells fishy there are a lot of other people pitching your targets and they will move right along. Also, please do research to make sure that your targets would actually be interested in the story, see what they have covered in the past and what their interests are.

5. Getting coverage – If it was easy, everyone would do it

You will be measured by the coverage that you get your client in the end, so work hard to get it. Make sure you have some type of measure/analytics in place to track views, traffic and if you can sales (they love this!).

6. Keep your client happy – You’re in the business of making other people famous

If you secured press for your client, they will be well aware of it and be very grateful (until next time). If you didn’t then you need to show them that you tried your best, executed the plan you put together for them and go from there.

It’s a process that everyone follows and one that you need to master in order to be successful. While it is easier said than done to do, you sometimes just need to hold your clients hand along the process as you build your relation with them.

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PR is a process – know the steps

Jun 8

Posted by Trace Cohen in Uncategorized | No Comments

To start off, let me make it very clear that the PR business is 100% service driven and if you need to get something done, you have to do it yourself. Now that that’s out of the way, PR can be very effective and pay off for all the effort that you put in if done right and thoughtfully – more so than paid ads etc.
At the end of the day, our job is to get publicity for our clients, visibility for the launch, announcement, product, hire that they want people to know about. So we work with our contacts and the media outlets made up of bloggers, writers, journalists, columnists, mommy bloggers (whatever they call themselves these days) to get a story published. They are the gatekeepers to an established audience that we need to get in font of. So how do we do it?

 

  1. Develop the story – Get all the information: Your client has something that they want to announce. PR professionals will work with them and ask all the right questions to get the info we need to create a compelling and interesting story.
  2. Pick the right time – Timing matters: Just because something is ready, doesn’t means that it is the right time. Try to see trends in the market place, conferences taking place or even the day of the week. You need to reach out to the press well in advance, so that you can time the announcement properly.
  3. Writing the story – This is the bread and butter of your announcement: The head needs to clearly state what it is about because that is what most people will see, so it needs to catch their eye; the sub header will back it up. As I say to my clients, always focus on the benefits benefits benefits to the consumer.
  4. Pitching the story – Never sell something that you don’t believe in: In this day and age you need to be honest and transparent, if something smells fishy there are a lot of other people pitching your targets and they will move right along. Also, please do research to make sure that your targets would actually be interested in the story, see what they have covered in the past and what their interests are.
  5. Getting coverage – If it was easy, everyone would do it: You will be measured by the coverage that you get your client in the end, so work hard to get it. Make sure you have some type of measure/analytics in place to track views, traffic and if you can sales (they love this!).
  6. Keep your client happy – You’re in the business of making other people famous: If you secured press for your client, they will be well aware of it and be very grateful (until next time). If you didn’t then you need to show them that you tried your best, executed the plan you put together for them and go from there.
It’s a process that everyone must follow and one that you need to master in order to be successful. While it is easier said than done to do, you sometimes just need to hold your clients hand along the process as you build your relation with them. In business, everyone has thei

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1 Q&A With Thought Leader and Futurist Brian Solis

May 26

Posted by Trace Cohen in creativity, Interview, passion, PR, Public Relations, social media | No Comments

Social this, social that, everywhere you look someone is “socializing” something. I don’t need someone to tell me how to be social, I want someone to SHOW me how to be social, which is why I am apart of the Pivot Con conference coming up this October 17th and 18th (http://2011.pivotcon.com/). And who better than Brian Solis to host this conference to really show us how to do social right.

As part of the build up to the conference, they offered the first 100 people the opportunity to ask Brian one question and I was lucky enough to just make it in time. As a PR professional and social media user I wanted to know how these two ideas where converging as brands build their own community and rely less on traditional media and more of their own outlets. My question to Brian is below with his response:

What are your thoughts about the current state of PR and how it has evolved/changed over the years? Social media has had a huge impact on it and I was wondering what tools you have found to be most effective to amplify your message or that help “listen” ?

“Social media is the latest technology to impact public relations but the industry really was blind sighted by the internet and it is just now starting to realize that controlling messages, pitching stories, and leveraging media and influencers is the least of the opportunities facing PR in the future. A lesson I learned early on was understanding where consumers, or the people we were trying to reach, went for information. It was and is about dissecting how they discovered and shared relevant insight and what communities held their attention and why. I realized that public relations was presented with an opportunity to become the influencer. While still relying on other influential people and organizations to help tell the story, my mission then became how do I tell the story in a way where my audiences recognized my company as the authority instead ofsimply being viewed as a public relations professional. More here:http://www.briansolis.com/2009/05/reviving-traditional-press-release/ AND http://www.briansolis.com/2009/06/state-of-pr-marketing-and/“

 

My thoughts to his response:

YES YES YES! PR is THE influencer now (through their clients) to their communities by telling the story that they can relate with. Why do we have to rely on press to tell the story that we can now tell ourselves? With twitter, facebook and my blog, I can know interact with user/readers/communities and go directly to the source, more or less bypassing some of the media.

I hope to see everyone at Pivot Con October 17th and 18th to learn more!

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Is the Pubic Relations / Media Model Flawed?

Feb 8

Posted by Trace Cohen in breaking social norms, business, change, inspire, PR, Public Relations, Quick Though, social norms, technology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

If you are in the PR world or have ever worked with a PR agency, you know that at the end of the day the goal is to get press. You and a million other people!

The system is inherently flawed. Thousands of PR professionals and companies doing it themselves are bombarding journalists/writers everyday for a story about them, or at least references to them in a positive way. This has forced us to make every word count and come up with innovative (tricky) ways to entice a writer to open an email, and follow-up with a pitch on the phone if necessary.

If you have made it to this step, that means that you have something you feel is worth being written about and a press release to back it up. And if you’re a PR agency, you know you put hours of strategy, effort, thought and preparation in to that press release to make your client sound like a million (billion) dollars and a Nobel Prize laureate.

Yeah! Someone you reached out to is interested in covering your client, oh happy day. News comes out… They totally butchered the story, have no idea what your client does and didn’t even include the most important facts! Your client is pissed that the story missed the point and now you have to wait until the media outlet will cover you again. #FAIL.

Media Mind Set

A journalist wakes up every morning with a blank piece of paper or screen that they need to fill – think of them as a realtor and you’re a client looking for space to rent. If they work for a top publication, then they have a full inbox every morning of emails that want to be read. It’s their job to sift through them, find the most interesting one, get some facts, write it up and publish it.

Not to be too cynical, but they don’t really care who the company is or what they do, they have a job to fill space and that’s what they will do. Are they the most qualified to cover a chemical company, or a tech company with some new platform? Most likely not, though they hopefully have some background in it.

This simple model represents the ridiculousness of the media industry – and it is even more skewed then the model shows – where the long tail is completely neglected because it isn’t possible to cover all news.

So ask yourself, who is the expert and most qualified to write the story about a company’s new widget? The company and PR agency is!

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The 10 things I’ve Learned From Working In the PR World

Dec 9

Posted by Trace Cohen in business, inspire, passion, PR, Public Relations | No Comments

It has now been a few months since I wrote my last post about the 10 Essential Principles of PR That I’ve Learned while working in the PR industry. Most of my principles still hold true but I have learned a lot since then, running a PR firm with my father and it has been quite a ride that I would like to share with you.

1. You have to be a mind-reader – the force is strong with you

To be successful, you need to know your clients business better than they do so that you can make recommendations as if it was something they would have thought themselves. They love this.

2. Clients always expect more – don’t lead with your chin

Your client has expectations for you and will always want more. By never leading with your chin, you will not set the bar high in your clients mind and not be able to deliver. Unless you’re aiming for the fences, stand tall.

3. It’s client 2.0 now – show them you care

Your client has the choice of who they want to work with, so give them another reason to keep you on board.  Some agencies are happy if a client stays for 12 months, they even prepare for them to leave by that time. Wrong mentality!

4. You need to get coverage – that’s your job

You can strategize, write releases and pitch the media all you want, but in the end, you need to get visibility for your client.

5. You really need to get coverage – there is only so much strategy talk

Your job depends on your ability to get your client coverage often, which is what they expect from you.

6. Social media has changed the game – everyone has a voice

There is now a direct line between the company and it’s community like never before. How often can you get the chance to tweet with the CEO of a company?

7. You’re the expert – act like one

Your client runs their company and you are a champion for them to the media – make professional and highly educated assertions.

8. There is no ego – this isn’t about you

In the end, your job is to get your client coverage in the hopes of helping them go viral. If any story you helped secure does this, you were just doing your job.

9. Network network network – people like to work with people they knowIf

If you want to succeed in this business, you need to know everyone in your industry. This can be a defining reason for why a client will work with you.

10. There is no common sense – don’t assume anything

Everyone comes from different backgrounds so you need to make sure you explain everything and assume nothing. The worst that happens is that you will repeat yourself to ensure your client knows exactly what you’re thinking.

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The 10 thoughts that come with an “AH, HA!” moment

Aug 25

Posted by Trace Cohen in breaking social norms, business, entrepreneurship, gen-y, passion, technology | 6 Comments

How many times have you been hanging out with your friends or doing something completely random and have an idea just pop into your head? It happens all the time, especially when you’re not thinking about it. I’m going to give you an inside satirical look at someone’s thought process when this happens.

#1 You have an “AH, HA!” moment and think you can become a millionaire over night

Every so often you have an idea that pops into your head that makes you smile. You came up with an idea that will make you millions!

#2 Everyone will want to use this, they just don’t know about it yet

It is such a genius idea that once everyone starts to use it, they will never know how they lived without it.

#3 To tell or not to tell?

If I tell everyone, they will steal my idea! If I don’t tell anyone, I can’t get feedback or help. I’ll make them sign an NDA!

#4 They will pay for it… only if I give it away for free first – Freemium!

I’ll give it to my friends, family and a few other people once it’s ready. Once a few people have it, everyone will want it.

#5 Get thousands of Facebook “likes” and twitter followers

This is the easy part, I have a lot of friends and who doesn’t want to be apart of such a good idea?

#6 Design a website and platform

Hire a few programmers and designers to build an awesome looking and interactive website that will sell my product.

#7 I need money! Let me ask for $500,000 because I can

Investors will be throwing money at me to start this company.

#8 Execute

This will only take a few weeks.

#9 Execute

Maybe a few months.

#10 Execute

Ok, maybe a few years.

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10 Essential Principles of PR That I’ve Learned

Aug 17

Posted by Trace Cohen in business, entrepreneurship, inspire, passion, social norms, Uncategorized | 25 Comments

The world of PR has always been somewhat of a mystery to me.

My parents have been in the industry for 30 years and like a lot of my friends, you’re never really sure what your parents do. This all changed a few months ago when I started to work with my father, shadowing him and doing everything that he did. I’ll get more into that another time because I want to share 10 fundamental principles that everyone is PR must master and execute.

#1 Clients are easy to find – Keeping them happy is the hard part

Every company needs a PR agency hustling for them; they just don’t know it yet. Your job is to use your proven track record to convince the client that you will get them press, prep them for the media and help them with their 6 months strategic communications plan. That’s the easy part though. Now you need to keep them happy so that they don’t start looking for another firm to take your place

#2 Everything is positive – If it isn’t, make it

There is no negativity in your repertoire. If you have something to say and it’s not positive or constructive criticism then don’t say it at all. No one wants to spend time with a “negative nancy” because it’s just not fun.

#3 Your job is to get them press – Period.

PR agencies are hired to represent their clients for media coverage. If you’re not getting them coverage, then what are you doing? At the end of the day, no matter how hard you work and how nice you are, if you don’t get press for your client, they will probably fire you.

#4 PR is not public relations – It’s People Relations

A little cliché but still very relevant. It’s the client, media publication and the readers that you build a relationship with. Your job is to be the liaison between the three and master the ability to communicate and translate between all of them.  This is what separates a master from a novice.

#5 There is a reason for every action – It’s all behavioral

Once you start interacting with numerous people on a daily basis, you start to notice a lot of the small things that they do. This is something that you need to be aware of in business so that you can communicate properly with anyone when you need to get something done. The whole “be yourself and don’t conform to anyone else” mantra is dead. You have an objective and you need to accomplish it by any means possible, by playing to your strengths and truly understanding why people do the things they do.

People do things for a reason and you need to figure out what makes them tick. Common sense is an outdated colloquium because everyone has had different experiences. You need to be able to read people on the fly and adapt.

#6 Pitching is a way of life – Learn from Ari Gold

If you have ever watched Entourage, you know exactly what I mean. Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) is one of the biggest agents in the world because he is so damn good at what he does. You need to learn to talk to the press like he talks to his clients. He is a man that exuberates confidence, has no fears and knows exactly what he wants – with some profanity which I don’t recommend.

#7  You need to have an agenda – Six months out

In the PR world, you need to be able to predict the future. No not really but you need to be aware of everything that will happen in the next 6 months that can affect your client. They need to know that you are looking out for them and that you have mapped everything out for them moving forwards so that they don’t have to worry about. There is only so much that can be done in the present which is why you need to plan for the future because it’s coming fast.

#8 It’s PR 2.0 now – Yes that mommy blogger has influence

When I first started working this summer, I naïvely thought that with social media and the Internet the PR world has gotten easier. Epic Fail.

I soon learned that it was the complete opposite because anyone can do PR now, especially social media marketing, which is a large chuck of what companies want today. On the other side of the equation, we have now analytics to track everything we do on our computers, and I mean everything. Years ago when a PR firm got a client an article or ad in a magazine, all you knew was the distribution of it – there was no way of tracking how many people read, glanced or even skipped over it.

That has all changed now that anyone with a computer plugged into the Internet can become a thought leader or influencer. Mommy bloggers, case in point.

#9 Words are everything – It’s not what you say, it’s what they hear (Dr. Frank Luntz)

Frank Luntz is the acclaimed marketing/PR guru who has worked with every politician under the sun and is famous for saying that “it’s not what you say, it’s what they hear.” This means that you need to use the rights words when talking to someone so that your message resonates with them and doesn’t get lost in translation because you said what you wanted to hear. Like the behavioral aspect that I touched on before, you need to tell people what they want to hear, using the right words. For instance, which sounds better – someone who believes in abortion or someone that is pro choice?

#10 Celebrate every success – more reasons to party

If your employee lands a good coverage for a client, let them know that it was a job well done. If a client lands a big deal or is celebrating a 1 year anniversary, make it count. Celebrating every success – even the small ones – shows that you care about them, which at the end of the day is the only thing that separates you from the competition. People like to work with people they like, make sure that your client not only adores you but that they respect you as well.

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Everyone I Know Wants To Work For a Start-Up: Updated!

Aug 9

Posted by Trace Cohen in breaking social norms, business, entrepreneurship, gen-y, inspire, passion, social norms, technology | 2 Comments

It has only been a few weeks,  but I am officially a college graduate. Four long years of bad habits to be broken down and assimilated to whatever establishment feels I’m worthy among the masses. Luckily for me I get to stall this future for another year or so while I go off to graduate school to become a master. For everyone else though, my fellow graduates, the majority of them will move home or to a thriving city to join the “real” world that was only oh so far away when we were in school.

This past weekend, I had dinner with an older friend of mine from college (I only graduated a few weeks ago, that’s weird to say) who has been working for two years now. When she graduated, her job at Company X was a huge accomplishment and the culmination of years of hard work. After a few drinks and some prying questions, the truth came , out – she wants to quit her job and join the exhilarating world of a start-up.

Everywhere you look, you will see some social media, hi-tech company raising money, getting acquired or hitting the million-user milestone. It is all very exciting of course, but you still have to realize that 99% of entrepreneurs fail and that they are actually in the business of failure and not capitalism to put it so bluntly. If that doesn’t shatter your dreams, you’re well on your way to becoming the next Zuckerberg.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of doing so – some of which can go both ways:

PROs – Some positive outlook on why you would want to work for a start-up.

#1 Working with passionate, like-minded individuals

If you start a company you are most likely working with others who share the same passion as you. When you join a start-up they aren’t just hiring you because you are smart and have a great background, they are hiring you because you are someone they want to spend time with.

#2 Less strings attached

One of the major factors that drive people to working at a start-up is the freedom that they are granted. A small company most likely doesn’t have the same corporate structure as other places you may have worked and thus you have the ability to try new things and be more creative.

#3 Everyone is close – maybe even back to back

With most start-ups it’s a rag tag office set up in whatever place that they can afford (hopefully nicer if they received investment) Your co-workers are within arms length, if not a just a simple shout away. This can make for a more enjoyable workday assuming you like everyone you work with.

#4 Inspire Others

One of the best parts of starting my own company was the ability to inspire others to do the same. Anyone can start their own company – hopefully for the right reasons (another post in the works) – they just need a little push and encouragement sometimes.

#5 Stock options!

You have heard all the success stories about companies early on not being able to pay their employees so they gave them some “imaginary” stock options. That paid off huge for the original Google janitor who is now a multi-millionaire. Long story short, if you receive stock you now have a vested interest in the outcome of the company, which will hopefully motivate you to work that much harder.

CONs – Not really the worst things in the world but things to consider.

#1 Job security

When you receive a job offer, hopefully you are looking at it as more of a career and not just another placeholder for the next few years. In the start-up world, companies come and go with the blink of an eye because it is such a crowded and hard place to survive. Be weary that your company can seriously go under at any point and you can be looking for a job again.

#2 It’s just another job

To touch on my first PRO, and this is really only for more of the ego driven bunch, the true excitement of working for a start-up comes from being a founder. This is debatable of course but from experience, while you can work with others or have others work for you, the “glory” and “fame” is usually only for the founders.

#3 9-5 is optional

Your company will most likely have you working the 9-5, but the day doesn’t end until you finish all of your work. Unlike larger companies, some items can wait until the next day, but in a start-up timing is everything and it needs to get done ASAP. How many times have you slept in your office?

#4 Small Budget

Lots of new companies are bootstrapping their way to success, which means less money to spend on most initiatives. In times of drought you either shine or burn out, hence why new companies seem to be more innovative.

Advice from the community!

David Spinks of Scribnia:

My best advice to students who are on the job hunt and worried about whether to go startup or corporate is to not consider anything permanent. Anything can (and will) change at any point in your career. If you try something and find that you don’t like it, then you’re one step closer to finding out what you do like.

Ryan paugh of BrazeenCareerist:

Consider more practical concerns like health care, mobility, benefits and vacation time. You won’t always find these types of luxuries at early-stage startups.

I’ll tell you what though. If you can get past all of that stuff and focus on the pros you listed above, you’re going to get a learning experience that you can’t necessarily find any place else.

—

I hope that these reasons inspired or discouraged you to join a small company. My goal is to give you a realistic point of view that the press and other publications are unable to do.

What are the other PRO’s and CON’s of working for a start-up?

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Social Media Rant: Anyone can push a button but how do you make it count?

Jul 5

Posted by Trace Cohen in breaking social norms, business, gen-y, Linkedin, social media | 3 Comments

As a recent graduate (still weird to say) and avid user of social media I have numerous profiles across the web. For the past two years I have adamantly tried to get my friends and fellow Gen-Yers to embrace social media to assist them in their networking and job searches. While I was successful on a few fronts, it never caught on as originally intended.

Lately I have been getting invites from friends to connect on LinkedIn and other professional networks, which is great. Unfortunately I have drawn a line between my professional and personal online life and take it seriously. So when I get an invitation to connect on LinkedIn with a generic message “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.” from a friend with an incomplete profile, I get a little twitch in my neck. As much as I love my friends and want to see them succeed, I refuse to accept their invitation. If they don’t take the time to complete their profile and think that by pushing a button with the click of the mouse that they can join my network then they have missed the boat on the meaning of social media.

When I get an invite on LinkedIn or any other professional network from someone I don’t know with a generic message, I simply reply to them asking for an introduction and why they would like to connect. The point of social media is to be S O C I A L. If I connect with someone whom I don’t know for unknown reasons then they are of no value to me and can actually be detrimental if someone asks for an introduction to them. This is almost like the only debate about quality over quantity. Is it better to have 10 close friends or 100 acquaintances?

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