1652 – The Conversations in Podcasts with The Conscious Publicist’s Ashley Graham

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0:58with us right now it's ashley graham ashley you're the founder and publicist with the conscious publicist you're found on the web at the conscious publicist.com ashley thank you so much for joining us thank you so much josh i am very excited to be here i want to point out that you are as well you are a podcaster. So to our friend, this couldn't be easier. You're already in a podcasting app. Do this really quick. Search for conscious publicist podcast. Probably don't even need to put the word podcast in there. Just search conscious publicist. Ashley's podcast is going to come up and you can hit subscribe and start binge listening.

1:35Because if you like this conversation, you're going to love that show. But Ashley, I'll let you kind of describe what you do as a conscious publicist. Yes. So as the founder and publicist behind the conscious publicist. Our mission is solely focused on helping conscious leaders as well as organizations that are purpose-driven to get visibility online and through medium platforms such as podcasts, as well as other verticals as well. Yeah. Why would it tell me about podcasts specifically since here we are as a PR or a, you know, kind of a branding, you know, again, when we're thinking about publicity, what are the, you know, why would somebody be interested in connecting with audiences through podcasts?

2:22Yeah, I'll give you a little bit of a backstory because most of my experience with podcasts up until January of 2023 was representing clients to get featured on podcasts. So I was solely a publicist who worked with podcasters to get clients highlighted and featured and their stories told. And then coming into this year, 2023, it's interesting to now be on the other side of that journey of being a podcaster myself. So it's, again, it's been kind of awesome to see the evolution of being on both sides of it. But one of the things that I love specifically about podcasts, regardless of whichever side I'm representing, is truly the conversations that are being had through podcasts.

3:05And I always like to say that when you listen to a podcast, or if you're part of a podcasting journey as a guest or as the host is you're able to take somebody through a story in a very auditory perspective. So when we're thinking about other forms of media, whether that's contributing articles or getting commentary and quote pickups and trade publications and other digital platforms is you're kind of taking that written story into this auditory journey where someone can really truly make an emotional connection through the person's voice, through the story and experiences that they're sharing.

3:44And you get to hear this beautiful transition of what happens between the host kind of guiding that leader or guiding that guest through that storytelling journey, and then listening to how the guest really kind of lights up through that conversation as well. So I just feel that it's kind of a direct looking glass into that conversation and the impact of what's being told through that story. I agree. I think the content, you know, again, I'm biased because I am a, not only am I a producer, a content producer, but I'm a very, very avid listener. And for me, you know, I like podcasts simply because it's a great way for me to engage on either topics or people.

4:31So someone recommends a book to me, oftentimes, I'll search my favorite podcasting app for that book title to see if the author's been interviewed, start, you know, kind of getting a high level preview of everything and, you know, conversation around that. And then I'll take the next step. So it's kind of part of my buying process is researching podcasts in that way, which has been exceptionally helpful. And we've actually hired a lot of people. I've hired consultants and coaches and bought programs based on a conversation around it first. I just want to hear what regular people are saying. And certainly when I can meet the humans behind a service, that is so much more important to me than just necessarily only the facts and figures of a brand.

5:19Absolutely. I almost kind of attribute that to the people relations. So I always kind of do a quotations of PR. There's the public relations part of that, but there's ultimately, most importantly, the people relationships aspect of that as well. Yeah. Ashley, how would you describe? So a lot of times when people are thinking about getting publicity, they might have some goals in mind. What are you, you know, and feel free to spend as much time talking about podcasts if that's the case. But what are you most excited about in terms of making connections? So let's say it's a business owner, business leader, a thought leader.

6:00It could be someone that it could be an author, for example. But what are you most excited about in terms of making those connections and building those audiences and deepening those connections? Yeah, I always lead with something that you don't often hear, I think, in the PR space is really the thought leader's journey of how they go from this starting point of knowing that they have a story, knowing that they have a mission to serve and they're starting in the beginning stages and being able to be a catalyst or be a supporter for them to walk them through every single phase of that journey. Not only do they get the credibility and the recognition and the visibility of what they've come to me to get in the beginning, but they also build these interpersonal skills that they never really thought was part of the process as well.

6:52And so again, when we're talking about a thought leader who again is very heart-driven, very purpose-driven, they already lead with a lot of emotion as it is. And they know that there is this strategy and this process part of it, but what they're not thinking about is how they naturally evolve through that process as well, process as well of getting even stronger in their mission, stronger in their purpose, because they've now gotten these visible validations, if you will. That's what I'm going to call it. They've gotten this validation through the media, through these visibility pieces to ultimately better serve that purpose and keep them moving forward.

7:31So I always say that there's a blend between doing NPR, but then also a process of being and really coming back to center and identifying what led you on that path in the first place. Yeah. Yeah. You've been talking a little bit about this, but let's talk about goals for PR. What are some examples of some unrealistic or mismatched goals for PR versus realistic goals that one could get through PR? And PR, publicity, however you want to do it, whatever your favorite word is. Yeah. I'm like, that's like a whole hour conversation, but I'll try to condense this into like five minutes. But, you know, coming into the bare basics of PR, you know, a lot of it is performance based, right?

8:20And so I do have clients come to me that they were like, okay, well, what's the guarantee here? And no conscious publicist or nor conscious, you know, PR representation would be able to say that they can guarantee results. But what really comes into play there is the relationships as you led into the beginning, you know, a publicist or anybody that is media facing their main goal is to build a very strong strategic relationships to bring value to the client, but ultimately bring value to the story that is being told through that media. So going back to goals, you know, I do kind of express to clients or prospective clients that at the end of the day, the whole goal is to get visibility, is to get that recognition, but to also think about it from a long-term perspective and not something that could be done in just a couple of weeks.

9:12I always say that PR is a journey. It is not a sprint. It is not something that you need to look at from a very short lens of one to three months. It is something that you need to take in consideration almost on a yearly perspective. And listen, the way I to think of it is the next six weeks or the next six months are going to go by either way. Either you are making inroads, you're kind of building your authority and you are being a part of the conversation over the next six months, or you're not. And, you know, if you start that work, and my opinion is if you just, you know, Rome wasn't built in a day, you're not probably going going to be an overnight celebrity.

9:57And that's okay. That's not the way that it works. But the reality is, you know, serving audiences, being visible, being a part of the conversation. If you continue to do that work consistently, there are amazing rewards to be had. And I'm sure in your work with clients, you've likely seen some pretty cool things happen. Can you think of any examples of someone who they did the work and then they achieved some great results? Yeah, absolutely. Well, one of the, one of the experiences that comes to mind with a client, you know, and again, we, we create a very collaborative environment, both as myself, as the individual who is the representation, also those that I work with, but then also the clients.

10:41And so in the beginning conversation, there is, you know, a conversation had to set the environment that it is collaborative. You know, there are assets, there are insights, there's things that I need to be informed of in order to know what I need to pitch outward to the media. So there always is that conversation to be had in the beginning to create that foundation. And one of the most incredible, you know, kind of like trails that I've been able to see on the media side is I had a client who was picked up in Newsweek. It was a quote that I was able to get directly from the client. And because syndicated media is incredible, the way that it is structured and curated together, you know, one press hit turned into over 25 that expanded all over the state of California, which was predominantly one of our bigger target areas because we are based in California.

11:35And, you know, the hits were incredible. They had a huge uptick in their website traffic, which ultimately there is an SEO component that is built into PR and those kind of go simultaneously with one another. But ultimately, as a conscious publicist, one of the biggest takeaways from that outside of the analytics and out of the traction was it really spoke to the collaborative relationship that I had built with the client to be able to get real, true, valuable insight that the reporter loved and could not wait to share on behalf of the client. So we got kind of a win-win on both sides. It really spoke to the expertise of the client, but then also we got the digital footprint that came with it.

12:17Yeah. And what would you say to someone who says, I'm not certain that traditional media, or at least I hadn't really been thinking about that, is going to be good for our brand. What is the value of traditional media today in what might feel like a world dominated more with social media platforms? Well, is it okay if I ask you a question to that question? Because I know that traditional media can be perceived in a number of different ways, depending on who was introduced into media and at what point. So what would traditional media mean to you? Yeah. So, you know, print, TV, maybe radio. Again, where we got most of our information 15 years in before.

13:08Yeah. You know, it's, it's interesting because I do get requests, you know, from prospective clients who are still looking for traditional media. But one thing that I do kind of entice them with during the discovery and the onboarding process is being open to other opportunities as they come through and not pigeonholing themselves into one specific avenue. And I think ultimately that speaks to coming back to that collaborative component that it's like be open to other opportunities because you could be missing a lot of opportunity if you're just wanting to focus on TV or if you're just wanting to focus on print.

13:46And now there still is a lot of value that comes from those traditional media platforms. But again, speaking to the digital footprint, you can get a lot more value from digital because you can repurpose content. There are upswings in traffic, you know, six months down the road when SEO starts to take in place. And it's a little bit more measurable through the digital side than it is with some of the more traditional platforms. And I am a huge, huge, huge fan of repurposing when you get your traditional media. So, you know, background, you know, even with all my TV segments, like the response is good.

14:25Not usually it's, it's, it's not the panacea generally, unless you happen to land like a major, major deal. like you know my bread and butter has always just been kind of like local tv it's kind of my thing and here in Orlando um you know and and again we'll get some we'll get some we'll see some response um however my experience is that you know that's about a third of the total value you can get so so in other words if you're showing up and you're going to do a traditional media spot and then you go and you say cool I gave him the quote my job is done and you just kind of like you know do this with your hands or you show up and do your TV segment.

15:03You're like, okay, I'm done. Now it's their work. No, no, no, no, no. The real magic is now like, what are that thing happened? What are you going to do with that? Because again, it, you know, you don't want this to be a, you know, tree falling in the forest. No one's around to hear it. Did it make a noise? I don't know. But to your own audience who already knows and likes you, sorry, this is my interview. It's it's your interview, but that's my editorial opinion on that. Hey, no, we're collaborative here. Remember, we're collaborative. Yeah, what's your take on that? Like, you know, in terms of like using that opportunity or effective ways of best, you know, best practices for that.

15:45So best practices of repurposing traditional types of media, specifically for TV and those types of things. you know, it kind of brings me back to the on location publicist days of going with clients, actually to radio stations or TV stations to be able to get actual behind the scenes footage, even though it was not the actual on air segment itself, getting some of those behind the scenes of the client, you know, standing in front of the station logo or with the actual, you know, journalists or the reporters, I feel that kind of brings some unique insight into what the experience was, but it also kind of builds again, this relationship and this fun way of collaborating, collaborating with the, the, the station and the anchors there, because it kind of, it just brings them into the journey with you.

16:39And then, you know, some media stations will also So ask if you want the recording or they'll do digital publications of the segment and embed the video there as well. And so it's just making sure that you are requesting those assets when they are published so you are able to get them and kind of putting some additional systems in place to make sure that you have kind of digital files of those as well. Yeah. Your website, Ashley, is theconsciouspublicist.com. Who would make a really ideal connection for you? And who's not really, I don't really work with these people, but if you know someone to da-da-da-da-da-da, yeah, send them my way.

17:23Like who would those be? I am really seeking to work again with those heart-led thought leaders, those heart-led visionaries and creators who ultimately want to use the PR and media space as a way to make strong connections with their audience and or their ideal clientele as well. And again, those could be small businesses. Those can be entrepreneurs. Those can be solopreneurs. They can be large organizations and they're just wanting their spokesperson who is a heart-driven leader to be the recognition in the media. It really could go either way. I have a number of different offers that serve specific clients in that part of that journey.

18:06And at the end of the day, it's just those who want to bring the consciousness to the PR and media space because that's what I specialize in. Yeah, your website, theconsciouspublicist.com, what do people do when they go there? You honestly feel free to browse the platform as much as you want. I will say that if you are interested in getting connected with the podcast, the Conscious Publicist podcast, There is a podcast page where you can tune into all of the platforms and where to find the podcast. You can dive into some of the most beautiful reviews that I've gotten on the podcast so far, only about four or five months into the journey.

18:44I also have my exclusives page, which is a number of different blog articles that you can kind of dive in on what to do with your media placements after you've gotten it to get the most maximum effort out of your efforts. You can find a number of articles on just different parts of the PR process. You can find insight on podcast episodes themselves to see if there's episodes that are directly aligned with what it is that you're looking for. The exclusives page on the website is ultimately going to be a hub for anybody to learn what it is that they're wanting to learn through the brand. All right.

19:23Ashley Graham, your website, theconsciouspublicist.com, the podcast, The Conscious Publicist. Ashley, it's been great having you. Thank you so much for this conversation. Thank you so much, Josh.

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