Big Ideas, Small Package: Solo PR Summit Recap, Day 1

Table for One. Or a Hundred.

The quality and calibre of the content at the 2013 Solo PR Summit – Second. To. None.

One standout for this event for me was relevance: this wasn’t pie-in-the-sky luxury available only to global brands, these concepts are scalable to many of the small and medium businesses we advise. Even more, much of what was presented – the need to be nimble, flexible, adaptable; the focus and human touch – cuts both ways.

Wish You Had Been There

After fearless leader Kellye Crane kicked things off, we got two days of smart, insightful and best of all, take-this-home-and-actually-USE-it! presentations.

Personal Branding. Even though I’m not a big fan of the term, Amanda Littlejohn and Mary Ellen Miller brought it home. Key takeaways:

• Professional means just that. Think professional – doesn’t mean boring, stuck-in-the-mud stiff! – headshot, social profiles, brand image.
• Website, blogs and branded, professional business email address.
• ” Waiting to build your personal brand until you need it is like waiting until you’re cold to build a fire.” – Kevin Dugan

Online meets Offline. Great collab with Arik Hanson and Heather Whaling, showing how this is works together. Key takeaways:

• It’s not about traditional vs. digital; it’s about how those can layer, build and support each other – creating value.
• Solve clients biggest problem: no time to keep up. Be resource, share info.
• “Don’t tell, beg, or ask people to follow you/engage with your content, show them why they should.” – Lucas Miller

Proposal Secrets: Revealed. Love when I get a chance to know people better, this time it was Natalie Ghidotti. Key takeaways:

• Creativity Works. It’s not about the boilerplate and formula; use visuals, match presentation and format to the client.
• Start at the right place by asking the right questions – H/T to Mary Barber for great list of questions – in order to give them what they need (not just want they want).
• I need to start watching Mad Men DVDs.

Learning from Biggest, Brightest, Bestest. Jeremy Porter, Definition 6/Journalistics; Aimee Ertley, Sage North America; Ashley Callahan, Coca-Cola; Candace McCaffery, Independent Consultant. Key takeaways:

• Interesting case studies on the use of social, the rethinking of web, traditional and new media, convergence of content, CRM and more.
• Solo or Independent isn’t limiting; much of this is scaleable, adaptable at the SMB level.
• Think Different. There’s more than one way to tackle issue or position a client. “Any business can be interesting.” – Aimee Ertley

And that was just a half-day! So much was shared, this barely scratched the surface.. and one of the days I’ll get a handle on embedding these awesome tweets.

For a first-of-its-kind event, the Solo PR Summit really hit a home run. Big time all caps bold KUDOS to Kellye Crane for making this happen. Look for Solo PR Summit Day 2: Electric Boogaloo next week when we do the Harlem Shake and expose someone as a cheap hooker. Stay tuned.

What did you think of Day 1? Please share.

Want More? Keep Reading.

• 2020, #ThisIsUs and another New Year’s Resolutions blog post
• Creative Ownership: It’s Still a Thing.
• Game of Thrones and Avengers Give Customers What They Want. Too Bad.