The PR Maven Podcast Nancy Marshall

Telling your story is a big part of building your brand. In this episode, Mads Hanna starts off by talking about her career and how it led her to brand storytelling. Mads explains how you can breathe storytelling into your brand, the four fundamental pieces for brand storytelling and when having a clear story is important in all aspects of your business. Nancy and Mads also discuss how brand storytelling is important to staying relevant, especially with all the different methods of sharing your story today.
2:29 – Mads explains how she grew up telling stories and how her mom suggested that she pursue a career in public relations.  
4:22 – Nancy and Mads talk about staying relevant and consistent.
10:26 – After working in PR at the beginning of her career, Mads describes how she took a gap year (or two) and went abroad, becoming a digital nomad.  
17:54 – Mads shares how to breathe storytelling into a business.
20:12 – Mads lists the four fundamental pieces for brand storytelling.
27:37 – Mads explains how storytelling impacts all aspects of your business or brand, helping make sure everyone is on the same page.
33:31 – Mads talks about the importance of consistency which can allow customers to see themselves in your brand and help them trust the brand.
36:26 – Mads gives her advice to PR professionals on how to incorporate storytelling into their work.
38:11 – Mads shares some resources that have helped her.
 
Quote
" I think everybody needs to understand the story so they can bring it to life within their own discipline. I look at everything. How are we telling our story here? Is there a moment where we can bring the identity to life? Have that surprise and delight moment. We can catch people off guard and show that they're seen and heard." – Mads Hanna, founder of Curated Compass
Links:
Check out these other episodes featuring storytelling:
Episode 219: Growing Your Passion Into a Brand
Episode 114: How to build brand exposure by understanding your story
Episode 77: How to tell stories that build authenticity and relationships
 
Pure Barre: https://www.purebarre.com/location/portland-me
Unilever: https://www.unilever.com/
Intuit QuickBooks: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/
Heroic Public Speaking: https://heroicpublicspeaking.com/
Sugarloaf: https://www.sugarloaf.com/
StoryBrand: https://storybrand.com/about/
I and love and you: https://iandloveandyou.com/
Cultish by Amanda Montell: http://amandamontell.com/cultish/
Defining Decade by Meg Jay: https://megjay.com/the-defining-decade/
 
About the guest:    
Mads Hanna has 12 years of blended work experience across PR, copywriting, storytelling and brand strategy.  She’s worked with big-box consumer lifestyle brands like Unilever (frozen novelties and spreads) and B2C tech companies like Intuit QuickBooks. She now runs her own remote-always brand storytelling studio where she partners with founders and small business owners to help them articulate their story and share it with the masses.
Looking to connect:          
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madshanna/
Website: www.curatedcompass.com

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the art of the podcast became a full-blown renaissance. But in truth, podcasting predated the coronavirus, responding to the evolving wants and needs of young listeners who don’t just want to blast the radio in their cars.
Around the globe, there are more than 400 million podcast listeners who tune in for all sorts of content. Because of that high listenership, there are over 2 million independent podcasts with tens of millions of episodes between them. That’s right: Over 2 million podcasts.
Nowhere is the podcast more popular than in the United States, which lays claim to the most podcast listeners in the world (over 100 million). The growth in recent years has been astounding. Nearly 80% of Americans over the age of 12 are now aware of podcasts – up more than 30% from a decade ago. Even in 2015, only a minority of Americans considered listening to podcasts in their day-to-day lives. So much has changed in less than a decade.
Continue reading here.
 
The article read in this episode originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice™ in December 2022.
 
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TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform worldwide, surpassing social media giants like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. In this podcast episode, Anna McDermott shares some of the tips she has learned from creating TikToks for Marshall Communications. Anna also shares the data and demographics that prove why TikTok is an important PR and marketing resource for your business.  

1:32 – Anna explains how her career started in the hospitality industry.   

2:40 – Anna describes how she started using TikTok for herself personally and for Marshall Communications.  

3:38 – Anna talks about the kinds of videos she creates.   

5:04 – Anna shares what some of her most popular videos have been so far.  

6:08 – Anna explains what Marshall Communications’ goals are for using TikTok.  

11:48 – Anna talks about how social media fits into PR.  

12:26 – Anna describes the demographics for TikTok. 

14:20 – Anna explains why you should consider using TikTok.  

16:27 – Anna talks about the algorithm on TikTok.  

18:45 – Anna explains how to share a TikTok video to Instagram Reels.  

 

Quote  

"Most public relations agencies are not doing TikTok. They have experience with the older, familiar platforms like Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. We're kind of on the cutting edge, I think, for social media marketing, and that's where we as an agency want to be. We want to be at the intersection between traditional PR and social media marketing. I think TikTok is helping position us very well for that." – Anna McDermott, account supervisor at Marshall Communications 
 

Links:  

Listen to Anna’s first episode on The PR Maven® Podcast.  

Listen to Kat Child’s episode of The PR Maven® Podcast.  

Listen to Chip Carey’s episode of The PR Maven® Podcast.  

 

University of Southern Maine: https://usm.maine.edu/  

Down East Magazine: https://downeast.com/  

Mainebiz: https://www.mainebiz.biz/  

 

About the guest:     

With a passion for creative strategy, Anna brings nearly 20 years of experience to our Marshall Plans. Her insightful work highlights each client’s unique qualities and connects them with targeted audiences and media. Anna’s areas of expertise include crafting vibrant copy for press releases, pitches, newsletters, SEO and other promotional materials as well as bringing a fresh perspective to social media marketing. Recently, Anna has been creating TikToks for Marshall Communications and is here today to teach us about TikTok!  

Looking to connect:            

Email: amcdermott@marshallpr.com  

TikTok: @marshallcommunications 

Did you know that the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 96% of all the world’s oceans? Anna Dibble joins Nancy to talk about her environmental advocacy as an artist and what Gulf of Maine EcoArts is doing to shine a light on the impacts of climate change. Public relations plays a key role in helping spread the word about art exhibits, including the Gulf of Maine EcoArts’ latest collaboration with Maine Maritime Museum, an exhibit called “SeaChange: Darkness & Light in the Gulf of Maine.” Listen to this episode to find out what role PR plays and learn more about the SeaChange exhibit.  

2:47 – Anna explains how growing up around nature led her to her career and helped her realize how there is a disconnect between most people and the natural world.   

4:38 – Anna talks about the inspiration behind the SeaChange exhibit at Maine Maritime Museum.  

10:15 – Anna describes what she hopes will come out of the SeaChange exhibit.   

14:26 – Anna shares how PR is important for all the different aspects of SeaChange, whether the exhibit is being covered from an environmental or artistic perspective.  

17:10 – Anna explains how PR can help promote art exhibits.  

18:55 – Anna talks about working with interns to create the SeaChange exhibit.  

21:52 – Anna shares one of her favorite books and some environmental authors that have impacted her work. 

 

Quote  

"I've had to do a lot of publicity for myself and for the arts, it's extremely important because the arts in our culture are almost put in this separate category. It's too bad they're not more part of the culture the way they are in Europe and Canada and even Mexico. They are separated so publicity is extremely important, I think. Otherwise, word of mouth isn't enough. We need the press." – Anna Dibble, founding director of Gulf of Maine EcoArts 

Links:  

Listen to Amanda Pleau’s episode of The PR Maven® Podcast.  

 

Colin Woodard’s Gulf of Maine series: https://www.pressherald.com/2020/09/07/mayday-gulf-maine-distress-six-part-series-from-colin-woodard/  

Bigelow Lab: https://www.bigelow.org/  

Maine Maritime Museum: https://www.mainemaritimemuseum.org/  

Conservation Law Foundation: https://www.clf.org/  

Commentary: Art Can Help Us Understand the Gulf of Maine’s Warming Problem: https://www.pressherald.com/2023/02/06/commentary-art-can-help-us-understand-the-gulf-of-maines-warming-problem/  

Intertidal: Maine Maritime Museum Exhibit Features Underwater Mountain Range: https://www.pressherald.com/2023/02/09/intertidal-maine-maritime-museum-exhibit-features-underwater-mountain-range/  

Where Art and Science Intersect: https://news.colby.edu/story/where-art-and-science-intersect/  

Maine College of Art & Design: https://www.meca.edu/  

Saint Joseph’s College of Maine: https://www.sjcme.edu/  

Maryland Institute College of Art: https://www.mica.edu/  

“Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr: https://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Cuckoo-Land-Anthony-Doerr/dp/1982168439  

Gretel Ehrlich: https://www.amazon.com/Books-Gretel-Ehrlich/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AGretel+Ehrlich  

Barry Lopez: https://www.amazon.com/Barry-Lopez-Books/s?k=Barry+Lopez&rh=n%3A283155  

Paul Kingsnorth: https://www.paulkingsnorth.net/books  

 

About the guest:     

Anna Dibble is a visual artist, project designer and curator.  She has shown her work in galleries and museums in the northeastern United States since 1971.  Between 2018 and 2023, she founded and directed a project-based initiative, and produced two collaborative large-scale, year-long sculpture and environmental exhibitions.  In the past, she worked in the animation industry in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York at Disney, Sesame Street and Electric Company, Marvel and Hanna Barbara.   

Looking to connect:   

Social engagement is the name of the game for business leaders. As we move into the new year, take some time to consider your own social capital and goodwill. The key to branding yourself is the impact you have on others – whether or not they know, like and trust you. Elevating your social capital and fostering goodwill among others (including clients and customers) takes your entire brand to another level. 

Ask yourself: Am I (still) relevant? Am I (still) recognizable in the eyes of others? Because online branding is so important these days, relevance and recognizability come down to “searchability” – your presence in Google Search. When people search for your name or your business, they want to see your expertise. They want to see thought leadership. They want to see content that demonstrates unique know-how – from LinkedIn posts and tweets to news stories and op-ed columns. 

Continue reading here. 

 

The article read in this episode originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice™ in December 2022. 

 

Activate The PR Maven® Flash Briefing on your Alexa Device.   

Join The PR Maven® Facebook group page.   

Sign up for email notifications for when new episodes are released. 

How can you get your pitch noticed? In this episode, Rob Caldwell describes what he looks for in a pitch. If you tell a story in your pitch and make sure it is targeted to the media outlet, your pitch will be more likely to get noticed. Sending a handwritten note can also break through the clutter and help you stand out. Also, someone with a lot of personality will increase the chances of your story being covered or being featured in a cooking segment. Listen to the episode to find out more tips and learn about Rob’s career.  

3:05 – Rob shares how he had no plans to get into broadcasting, but quickly realized he didn’t want to be a cab driver after graduating from college.   

14:11 – Rob gives his advice on how to become better at interviewing, starting with having a genuine interest, curiosity and being prepared.  

18:16 – Rob explains that he is always looking for a good story and broad appeal in a pitch, specifically stories about people with lots of personality.   

25:28 – Rob talks about handwritten notes and how they can help you break through the clutter.  

28:32 – Rob recalls how TV, media and news have changed since he started his broadcasting career.  

30:42 – Rob explains how NEWS CENTER Maine uses social media to promote its programming.  

35:29 – When it comes to the NEWS CENTER Kitchen, Rob shares that they are looking for people with personality in addition to having talent in the kitchen. 

40:48 – Rob shares a resource that helped him figure out a career path he did not want to take. 

 

Quote  

"Tell me a story. That's what I want to hear in a pitch, or from anyone, whether it's a pitch from a PR professional or from the person I meet on the street. What's the story here? Why is this a story that people will want to hear? " – Rob Caldwell, anchor and reporter for NEWS CENTER Maine 

 
Links:  

Listen to Bill Green’s episode of The PR Maven® Podcast.  

Listen to other episodes about handwritten notes: 

Tate Sandrock 

Christine Richards 

 

60 Minutes: https://www.cbsnews.com/60-minutes/  

Pure Barre: https://www.purebarre.com/location/portland-me  

Portland Press Herald: https://www.pressherald.com/  

O’Maine Studios: https://omainestudios.com/  

“One L” by Scott Turow: https://www.amazon.com/One-Turbulent-Story-Harvard-School/dp/0143119028  

 

About the guest:     

Rob Caldwell is an anchor and reporter for the NBC television stations in Maine, WCSH in Portland and WLBZ in Bangor. He has done thousands of interviews and stories in his 41-year career and his stories have received honors that include regional Emmys and a national Edward R. Murrow award. 

 Since 2003, he has been the co-anchor of “207,” a news magazine that airs weeknights at 7 p.m. In 2015, he was inducted into the Maine Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. 

 
Looking to connect:            

Email: rob.caldwell@newscentermaine.com  

Website: www.newscentermaine.com