This Zulu greeting is a truly thoughtful way to acknowledge someone.
It means ‘I see you’.
The response is Ngikhona, 'I am here.'
 
Everyone wants to be seen, heard and understood.
It’s a basic human need.
 
Unfortunately, making eye contact is quickly becoming a lost art.
Our gazes are glued to a screen instead of seeing who is standing right in front of us.
Communicating via text has replaced real conversation . . . even between people inside the same building!
 
Social Media is an oxymoron that charades as a connector but in reality offers a virtual fake façade. The connection we think is at our fingertips is facilitating a divide that is driving us to lose touch with each other and the real world. Too often we only see a highlight reel of someone’s life that makes our reality pale in comparison.
 
We turn to likes, shares and followers to satisfy our insatiable appetite for attention . . . to be seen, heard and understood.
 
Instead, we only need to look at who is right in front of us.
 
Sawubona.
Ngikhona.

Today, everyone specializes in “content” . . . for blogs, for social media for SEO . . . oh, my!
 
NEWSFLASH!
 
Content isn’t new.
Content is stories.
 
Stories are as old as . . . well . . . man.
Cavemen were the original storytellers, communicating with stick figures on walls.
 
From cave walls to communities to the cosmos, how we share stories has evolved in conjunction with mediums available for scribes.
 
Everyone has a story as unique as the character it belongs to . . . from companies to charities, CEOs to entrepreneurs and everyone in between.
 
Today, Public Relations professionals are Storytellers who utilize the myriad of mediums available to spark conversations, build relationships and shape brands.
 
Let me explain:
            Public Relations is the strategic crafting of your story, your message. 
 
            Publicity is the result of your story being placed in front of your target audience through
            social, print and electronic media.
 
            Public Relations goes beyond telling your story to engaging your public in conversations.             
            It's about connecting and building relationships.
 
            Communication has come a long way, baby.
 
It’s a two way street.
 
Thanks to social media and other technology we can engage in conversations. The ability to listen to our customers and community to know what they think and want is game changing. Are you in the game?
 
According to Scott Bedbury, ‘A great brand is a story that’s never completely told.’
 
That’s good news!

You see, your brand isn’t your logo, your tagline or even what you say it is.
 
Your Brand is a perception in the mind of customers.  
You don't own it, they do.
 
You can, however, help shape the perception through stories, the 'content' you share. The key is to communicate clearly and consistently in every message across all mediums:
 
                 - articles and blogs                         - bios                                                                                         
                 - client testimonials                        - social media web site copy                                    
                 - collateral material                         - web site copy
 
While stories help shape the perception, before you know what stories to tell you first have to know where you are in the mind of your customers.
 
Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
 
Once you know where you stand in your customer’s mind, you can begin to shape the perception.  It takes more than randomly throwing stories . . . uh content . . . out there hoping something will stick. Random stories, like random ads, don’t work. There has to be a purpose to your prose.
 
You wouldn't build a house without a blueprint, so why communicate without a plan?
Communicating without a plan is risky business.

Clear, consistent and strategically planned communication is key to realizing your organization's goals. A well-designed communication plan can help you:
 
            • build your brand
            • position you as a leader in your industry and community
            • connect you with clients, community and employees
            • create customer evangelists
            • communicate effectively through targeted media channels
            • provide clear direction in a crisis
            • establish you as a valuable and reliable resource in the media and your industry
           
Make sure your message . . . uh content . . . fits the medium.
It’s about what’s news to the audience, not to you.
Here’s a few places you can start building strategic communication strategy: 

Web Site
            - Your web site is a living billboard for your company.  It houses:
                        • Bios
                        • Blogs
                        • Testimonials
                        • Case Studies
                        • Company story
                        • Customer and employee stories
                        • News stories
                        • Media Interviews
                        • Videos
                        • Photos
 
            What story does your web site tell?

Community Engagement
Translating the mission, vision and values of your company into a customized                                     community engagement strategy is the key to building lasting relationships.                                     Capitalizing on them through a well-crafted communication strategy connects you                         with your clients, community and employees.
 
            Research shows that companies that are involved in their communities:
                 • enjoy higher employee satisfaction and retention rates
                 • are viewed more favorably by customers
                 • increase market share from customers who switch brands to support a cause in which
                    they believe
                 • help strengthen the community in which they serve, creating a better place to live and        
                    do business
                  • get more press coverage from what they do in the community than what                              
                     they do as a company

It’s not what you sell it’s what you stand for.


Social Media
Social Media is comprised of communities. 
Knowing how to communicate in each one is part of a strategic communication plan.
This is the place to engage in conversations, listen and build relationships. 
It's a community, not a commercial.
            • A clear purpose is the roadmap for navigating each social media neighborhood
            • Ensure the message fits the medium and supports your purpose.
             • Just because you post doesn’t mean you’re communicating. Just because someone
               responds doesn’t mean you’re engaging in conversation.
             • Learn the etiquette and remain positive.
             • Like a good neighbor, don’t show up empty handed - contribute value.
             • Be responsive, don’t leave customers on hold.
             • Establish communication guidelines.
             • If you wouldn’t let them meet with and talk to customers, don’t let them speak for you on
               social media.
 
The real story about content.
 
Social media and technology have empowered communication on many levels. We must, however, remain aware of our consumption. Even though a diet of junk food might satisfy our appetite, it isn’t healthy. The same is true of a diet of fake media. Not everything you read is true. Just because someone can search for ‘facts’ and write a post doesn’t make them a journalist. Just because someone can tell a story doesn’t make them a PR professional. Just because someone can take a photo doesn’t make them a photographer. There are techniques, strategies, ethics and experience that separate professionals from amateurs This doesn’t mean that amateur contributions aren’t worthy, they are often instrumental in documenting breaking news, creating awareness for a cause or providing entertainment. Today, more than ever, we must remain diligent about the content we digest. Not every story is true. Not every content creator is trustworthy. Don’t believe every story you read. In conversation, as with content, always consider the source.

For more insights, ideas and inspiration to help you share your story visit www.1bluecube.com. 

You wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint so why do you communicate without a plan?
 
Communicating without a plan is risky business.
 
When you throw up post after post to see what sticks you’re playing social media roulette. It’s an ever-changing game where the algorithms are always stacked against you.
 
Like a house, a strong foundation lays the groundwork for success. For a business or nonprofit, the foundation is their story.
 
A solid foundation is built by diving deep to excavate, craft and share the story behind the organization. Today, that story is trendily referred to as the ‘origin story’.  Too often organizations want to launch a website, attract attention on social media and ask people to sign up before the foundation is built. This can do more harm than good because your first impression will be one of confusion and instability. A well-crafted story, shared on a website with valuable, relevant content, speaks volumes about you and your organization. At minimum, a good website needs to include:
 
            • A Homepage that is inviting, uncluttered and showcases the purpose of your company                                                        
              or nonprofit
            • An ‘ABOUT’ page that clearly communicates the story of your organization                              
            • Bios of the Founders that read like a highlight reel of their life, not a regurgitation of a
               resume or company commercial
            • Services/Products page that clearly defines what you offer to whom and why you are            
               the right choice for the clients you want to attract
            • Testimonials of satisfied customers and employees that showcase how you made them               
               feel, solved specific problems and what it’s like to work with you
 
Like a good story, a solid foundation is unable to support a weak structure. Having a good product or service is merely the price of entry. Ensure what you offer is backed by actions in alignment with core values, customer service and policies/procedures that reinforce your stories because actions speak louder than words.
 
Core values are your framework. They rise as an extension of the foundation to embrace your organization and serve as guideposts in all decision-making.
 
Policies and procedures provide the insulation to protect you inside and out while ensuring a comfortable atmosphere for all working in and doing business with your organization.
 
Core competencies are the walls. They house the talent and expertise that shape the structure of your organization, making room for products and services that reinforce your core competencies.
 
Once you’ve built a strong foundation and the structure is in place, you’re ready to put out the welcome mat and open the doors.
 
A strategic trail of stories, placed throughout the right social and traditional media neighborhoods, reinforced by consistent and congruent actions create the curb appeal needed to attract your ideal customers, employees, volunteers, donors and the community to your doorstep.
 
Constructing a house requires a plan and is done in phases. The same is true for creating a solid communication plan. Clear, consistent, strategically planned and placed communication is key to realizing your organization's goals.  A well-designed communication plan can help you:

• Build your brand
• Position you as a leader in your industry and community
• Connect with clients, employees, volunteers donors and the community
• Create customer evangelists
• Communicate effectively through targeted media channels
• Provide clear direction in a crisis
• Establish you as a valuable and reliable resource for the media and your industry

 
Contact me today because communicating without a plan is risky business. 

I should know, for years I was the in-house marketing department for a hospital. It didn’t matter how clever the tagline, how heartwarming the ad campaign or how many wonderful, feel good stories appeared in the press. If the patients, visitors, families, employees or volunteers weren’t treated right the image of the hospital was toast in their minds and the minds of everyone they told.
 
Everyone markets you. Your employees, customers, volunteers, donors, vendors . . . . even your children!. Anyone who talks about you is marketing you. From the way you answer the phone to what your office looks like to how it feels when someone walks through the door to the way you make everyone feel, you leave an impression that impacts your brand.
 
Make sure you make a good impression.
Building a brand takes time.
Ruining one only takes a minute.
 
Give people something good to say about your business or charity.
 
For more insights, ideas and inspirations to help you share your story and build your brand, visit http://www.1bluecube.com.

​​In stories we trust.
​
People believe people, not ads.
 
Every time someone tells a story about an experience with a product, service or organization it’s called word-of-mouth.
 
Word-of-mouth remains the best form of advertising.
 
Testimonials are one of the best forms of word-of-mouth because they showcase your organization’s products, services and solutions through stories. These stories help build your brand by providing new perspectives in the minds of customers, employees, volunteers, donors and the community.

Testimonials go beyond recommendations to tell a story about an experience. The best testimonials:
 
            • highlight how you met specific needs
            • showcase how you made someone feel
            • share stories that showcase all the products and services your organization provides
            • include employee, volunteer and board member stories about their experience:
                        - why they like working with your organization
                        - their favorite story about helping a client
                        - how they make a difference and contribute
 
Testimonials, like stories, are made for sharing.
Post them on your web site, as social media posts, video stories on appropriate channels and case studies for blogs and reports.
 
Testimonials are powerful stories to help:
            • build your brand
            • establish your expertise
            • communicate your value through memorable, relatable and repeatable stories
 
For more insights, ideas and inspirations to help you share your story, build your brand and connect with the hearts and minds of  your customers, employees, volunteers, donors and the community, visit http://www.1bluecube.com.

​The most effective communication starts from the inside out.
Everyone inside an organization needs to be on the same page.
Ensuring every manager, employee, volunteer, board member and intern is clear on the Mission, message and purpose of their company or nonprofit is crucial to building a brand and the bottom line.
 
Before I launched my own Public Relations firm, I worked in-house at several companies - a religiously-sponsored nonprofit hospital, a newspaper and a public education foundation in addition to serving on several nonprofit boards. Being responsible for communications meant I was charged with delivering a consistent message to every department and audience through a variety of mediums.
 
Getting everyone on the same page can be like herding cats. Too often, departments operate in silos with their own agenda, perspective and priorities. Each audience listens through their own filters. The key to true communication is to deliver messages in a way that breaks through the silo walls to highlight how each department’s piece of the puzzle is crucial to unveiling the big picture. Of course, first this meant listening to each department’s position, issues, goals and opportunities.
 
The way we talk to ourselves is also filled with a virtual cacophony of voices, each competing for attention. Orchestrating the voices into a single symphony in tune with our desired destination takes a lot of practice, patience and persistence. It also involves listening to the message behind each voice. First we must figure out if it really is our voice or someone else’s recording we let inside our head.
 
Stories are interesting beings. Yes, they are alive and as active as our imagination.
We need to excavate the Truth from the many sides of each story so we can re-solve, re-member and re-write our stories.
 
You see, our reality is shaped our perceptions. Our perceptions are shaped by the stories we tell ourselves. This internal communication dictates how we show up and travel through the world.
             • Do we see a friendly or hostile environment?
            • Do we perceive people as kind and helpful or out to take something from us?
            • Do we believe our good will come back to us or is life always unfair?
 
When I speak to college students about the power of storytelling to shape brands, I remind them that the most important story is the one they believe. Their first job, before any offer is accepted, is to get clear on their story. This builds a solid foundation that communicates who they are, where they’re going and, most importantly, why.
 
The most important story is the one you believe.
Make sure it’s True.

For more insights, ideas and inspirations to share your story to help build your brand visit www.1bluecube.com. 

​Everyone tunes into gratitude this time of year, sharing thoughts and lists of blessings.
Hopefully we remember to give thanks for the good every day instead of taking it for granted.
 
It’s easy to be grateful for the good things in life, though.
 
What about gratitude for lessons learned?
After all, it is through tough times, failures and diversity that we grow.
 
Today, take time to acknowledge and celebrate the times you lifted yourself up. The times you met diversity face-to-face and prevailed. Give yourself credit for making it through. No matter how messy the journey, you emerged on the other side wiser, more empathetic, stronger and still standing.
 
Everyone encounters trials. The key is how you handle the bumps and detours along the road.
 
You have a choice. You either fall victim to or rise above your circumstances.
Rising above doesn’t mean you handle everything with grace and perfection. It means you made it through, learned a lesson and are willing to move forward.
 
You see the most important story is the one you believe and how you frame that story makes all the difference.
 
Every story has many sides:
            • the facts
            • what we think happened
            • what others think happened
            • what we think it means - the stories we tell ourselves about what, how and why it happened
            • how we choose to remember what happened - victory, lesson, tragedy, etc.

When we are able to step back and look at what happened from a different perspective, we are able to re-solve the story by re-membering the pieces and re-write the True story.
 
As we count our blessings, let’s add a dose of gratitude for the multiple lessons we’ve sowed, reaped and harvested.

For more ideas, insights and inspiration on how to share your story visit www.1bluecube.com.

Tips to adhere your brand to the hearts and minds of your customers, employees, volunteers, donors and the community.
 
I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
You don’t own your brand.
 
It’s not your logo, your tagline or who you say you are.
Your brand is a perception held in the minds of your customers.
 
The good news is you can help shape their perception by the stories you tell.

“A great brand is a story that’s never completely told.” 
                        - Scott Bedbury, Founder and CEO of Brandstream

What’s your story?
 
Every time you text, answer the phone, send an email, post on social media, blog, give a speech or meet face-to-face you are making impressions that contribute to your brand’s story.
 
Are the conversations you’re starting meaningful to your customers, employees, volunteers, donors and the community?
 
Do you take time to help and endorse others in between promoting your products and services?
 
Are you engaging in conversations on other’s pages or just posting in hopes of securing conversions?
 
How often do you ask for feedback and from whom?
When was the last time you listened and implemented feedback?
 
Finally, are you including relevant stories from your customers, employees, volunteers, donors and the community?
 
Your brand is not about you or what you sell. Your brand is shaped by the stories you tell.
 
 
For more insights, ideas and inspirations to help you share your story to build your brand and bring people into your funnel visit http://www.1bluecube.com.
 
 

You’ve heard of Public Relations.
You think it might be beneficial to help market your business or nonprofit but you’re still puzzled about what it is and how it fits into your Marketing Strategy.

I can help.
 
As an award-winning Public Relations professional with 30 years of experience, I can solve the Public Relations Puzzle© by showing you how the pieces fit together.  All the pieces need to be in place in order to see the big picture.
 
 Learn the many ways Public Relations can help you:
          • share your story
          • build relationships
          • shape your brand
          • create conversations
 
No hype, no hacks, just common sense solutions you can start implementing today.    

For more insights, ideas and inspirations on how I can help you share your story and build your brand visit www.1bluecube.com.

Do You Believe In Ghost Stories?
 
I’m not talking about Psycho, The Shining, Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween.
Have you ever thought about why Hitchcock, who created movies before today's special effects, was such a master at suspense and horror? It's because he left it up to the audience’s imagination to fill in the scene.
 
Just like the movies, we script narratives in our minds that haunt us down to the bone and paralyze us with fear.
 
Our ghost stories can turn into beliefs that block our path to success, sabotage loving relationships and erase our peace of mind. Like ghost stories, the characters aren’t real. They are fictional phenomenon brought to life by imagining our worst fears. Even when our ghost stories are based on real events, our imagination hijacks our train of thought to ride the rails on an endless track of terrible scenarios.
 
                               Don’t believe everything you think.
 
People often say they are afraid of the dark. It’s not the dark that is scares me; it’s what’s hiding there that I can’t see. Once your thoughts are lured into the light, their grip will loosen when you find an escape hatch. You see, by dissecting and re-membering the story, new perspectives can suddenly appear right before our eyes.
 
When I was in elementary school, my vivid imagination brought to life ghost stories I read. One night, I was so terrified that I changed the ending of a haunting story so I wouldn’t meet a deadly demise. That began my writing career.
 
A few years later, I traded in ghost stories for poetry in an attempt to understand love, life and relationships. It’s no mystery why I ended up telling stories for a living as the founder of a Public Relations agency.
 
Over the years, I’ve told a lot of stories . . . from entrepreneurs to entertainers, from CEOs to charities and from survivors to inspirers. While each story is as unique as the individual who owns it, they all have something in common. Every one of them told themselves a story that got them through their scary, worst case scenarios to realize success. Rest assured that no nightmare lasts forever.
 
The most important story is the one you believe.
Make sure it’s true.
 
For more ideas, insights and inspirations to help share your stories and build your brand, visit www.1bluecube.com.