Be confident in yourself. Nick Carraway was certain of his honesty and stated in the movie that he is one of the few honest people he’s ever known. Assert your qualities and virtues and be confident in them. Once you acknowledge facts about yourself people will acknowledge them in you and associate you to these traits.

Be confident in what works. Gatsby spends years trying to repeat the past to get his true love back. Just because one thing worked in the past, it doesn’t mean that it will work every time. Some tactics in PR are worth repeating but be open to embracing new possibilities and approaches. One key thing is to use past experiences to fuel your future success.

The importance of promotion. Gatsby was famous for his shimmering parties that EVERYONE attended.
When creating a PR campaign make sure to develop a holistic approach, including all channels to ensure maximum exposure to all your audiences.

The importance of connections. Gatsby kept his distance from all the guests so, though his parties were always a busting at the seams with attendees, no one showed up at his funeral.  It is important to socialise and network. Events are a great way to make connections, foster relationships and make a lasting impression on people.

Stay truthful. Deception is an evident theme that runs through the novel. Capitalising on untruthfulness led to corruption and outbursts of all parties in the movie and their eventual downfall. It is risky to stretch the narrative without proper foundation. PR pros should ensure their brand remains truthful and relevant, communicating honest and authentic messaging.

Living by the Gatsby?

But the problem starts when I don’t know what to write about. Not just that, how can I be sure that people will be interested in the topic and the way I have approached it? Above all, am I giving the reader valuable information?

The most important part of the blog is the information it contains and if it’s explained properly and clear for the readers to understand.

Is it answering their question?

Is it a topic that they want to know more about?

What have others written about the same topic?

How is my approach any different?

Finally getting started on writing my blog, I can find inspiration from the web or from professionals around me. By asking the questions and getting different answers, I can start to formulate my own point of view.

The last step is making sure people can find it online, by making sure that I have used the key words that they will be searching for that will lead them to my answer.

That is what this blog was about, what’s your next one going to be about?

This is a question that starts from the day we are born. We learn to listen and obey our parents (well less and less in today’s times), then we move onto school where we are expected to follow the instructions of our teachers before heading out into the ‘real world’ and following our bosses’ every whim.

But should you?

A good leader is not one that expects ‘Yes’ men, but one that encourages innovators. People that think above and beyond the constraints of their day to day role are the ones that will lead to innovation.

An interesting article by Forbes gives 6 Reasons Leaders Make Bad Decisions. While the point is not to put them down, the take away is that our MDs and CEOs are not superhuman, they’re human.

If you feel it’s wrong speak up, and if you feel you’ve found a way to do it better, share.

That’s what is great about today’s corporate world; while some are still doing it old school, many ‘great’ leaders have found an open door policy is the best one.

Should you follow the instruction of your leaders blindly?

But times have changed, people have changed and the ways we communicate have changed.

While I personally remember thinking: “Why do we have to decode the words of Shakespeare when his words make little plain sense to readers today?” I also remember arguments of keeping history alive.

Fair enough. But we speak differently now. Some will even say we have butchered the English language. With children growing up communicating through texts and social media, slang and shortcuts have overtaken proper English.

Emoticons have even found their way into our work emails, and while I would argue that they have no place in a professional sphere, the reality is that this generation uses them to express feeling behind the words.

So the question is: are we butchering the English language?
Yes and no, but I think that that is just how evolution works. Things change because we change.

But now I find it ever more important to study the words of writers past, so that we never lose sight of where we came from.

What do you think?

Once this stage is yesterday’s topic we move on to getting familiar with the accounts we’re handling, the clients, the content and the amount of time we put into each account before it becomes routine and with that comes the feeling of safety, as everything feels under control.

And then the account becomes a couple of months old and by then we’ve met the client and may have even visited their house. Moving on, at this stage an open two-way communication with the client provides us with a distinctive connection that gives us a feeling of belonging and also the motivation needed to see our client’s future in our grasp. This of course relates to Maslow’s 3rd stage, which is (love & belonging).

And the story goes on to ultimately reach self-actualization and that’s when your client is well rooted in your company and you’re the one who is responsible for many of the successful, and maybe unsuccessful changes that you put your client through in the past, and still in gear for more creativity and spontaneity.

That all sounds fairly straightforward, something you already knew. Then here’s something for all the fresher’s out there trying to get their piece at the pie. Working at an agency is never how I just mentioned it to be in the above. Maslow explained the stages, all while giving a timeline, “starting at physiological needs and ending with self-actualization.” But in an agency its different, to be exact, its shuffled. For example: Today you’re pitching to a new client, perfect – no complaints. Tomorrow however, a new client is coming at you with a crisis you couldn’t even imagine, asking you to step in and work magic on projects half-way done and expecting success. Besides that, it’s extremely challenging to work at an agency where there’s never an ordinary day! But that’s simply the beauty of it – the challenge is what keeps us coming back for more.

How would you describe agency life?

Take a look at this checklist and use it as a refresher course to make sure your emails are on the right track.

1. Keep it simple. No one wants to read a chapter or even a long paragraph for that matter. Stick to your point and get there quickly.
2. Don’t use strange fonts and crazy colours. It doesn’t matter how quirky your personality is, this is just not professional. Keep to standard business fonts in black or blue.
3. Answer the question. Don’t go beating around the bush. Address the topic at hand.
4. Answer today or by tomorrow at the latest. You need to answer as soon as possible, and don’t ever not answer even if you don’t know what to say. It’s bad form; at least reply that you will be looking into the issue and set a time for when they can expect an answer from you.
5. Be polite. Kids nowadays aren’t really using Mr. and Mrs., but starting off with a professional greeting and closing with a nice one can really make a difference in your email.
6. Spell-check. You need to check for spelling and grammar before you hit send.
7. Right recipient? We’ve all done this at least once – accidentally send an email to the wrong person. Sometimes this isn’t so much of a big deal, but sometimes it can be detrimental to your career. Take the time to make sure you are sending to the right person.
8. Clear subject. People want to know what you will be talking about. Don’t mislead them, give a good heading to bring the recipient into the right state of mind when reading your email.
9. Don’t send when you’re angry. You can say something you don’t really mean and live to regret it later. If you feel compelled to write it when you are angry, at least wait a few hours and reread before you actually do.

These are just a few happy reminders.

Any more you would add?

Many of us Tweet and many of us simply ReTweet. Both forms of using this tool are acceptable, but for those of us who Tweet, let me ask you this: What good is a Tweet if it doesn’t get a ReTweet?

A ReTweet is a sign of acceptance, a sign that the information is worth sharing and an even further sign that people see you as a reliable source.

But for some, people just aren’t ReTweeting. Why?

Automatically generated Tweets
These shortcuts are made available on many platforms from Twitter to WordPress. The problem is that people do not want to listen to robots; they want to follow the words of real people. Turn off this option and take the time to structure and send the Tweet on your own.

Too long
Or too many hashtags. Remember there are character limits when it comes to Twitter. Make it easy for people to ReTweet and leave some space for them to add a comment of their own.

You are not reliable
You need to become a reliable source in terms of what information you share and how. If people have been disappointed by the links associated with your Tweets before, they might not be willing to give you a second chance.

Twitter can be one big popularity contest. Make sure you speak their language if you want them to hear what you have to say.

Getting that ReTweet you wanted?