Labor Day weekend always highlights the blending of our professional and personal lives (hey, it’s a three day weekend that’s thanking you for working; how could it not?) As you know, I’ve written about the blending of professional and personal lives in the past. However, the first weekend in September seems to shine a spotlight on the subject matter. 

This Labor Day weekend was a bit different than those of my past. My best friend separated from her significant other and instead of spending the day at the beach pretending to put on sunscreen and mingling, it was spent creating a new life for her. True to form, this got me thinking about work and reinvention.  Her life is taking a new form, but her core qualities remain the same – core qualities that make her one of the best people I’ve ever known.

Like my best friend, Bolt Public Relations’ expansion is thrilling, a new life if you will. However, in order to maintain the consistent, fantastic work we produce, we have to remember our core qualities that allowed us the ability to expand in the first place.

Here are my top five traits that create a solid foundation, that, if maintained, allow for unlimited reinventions:

• Timeliness: One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given was to treat people’s time as if it were your own. Don’t be late. If you are late, call. Remember that other people’s time is just as valuable as your own.
• Respect: Working and personal relationships take on various forms. It is important to respect all of those various forms.
• Quality: Making sure everything you do is top quality. If it’s always quality work, you never have anything to worry about. Take care of what you do, as you are a direct reflection of what you produce. Take pride in it.
• Attitude: Simply put, have a good one. If you don’t, fake it until you make it.
• Humor: Life is funny. It would be possible to insert thousands of movie quotes here, but that would be very cliché. It’s important to look at life in a way that you can at least experience its wicked sense of humor.

With Labor Day behind us, as we venture into the fall, I challenge you to create a solid foundation for yourself and never be scared of reinvention. After all, all reinvention really means is that you’re growing- and who doesn’t love a little growth?!

The last week of July I took a vacation and went to Chicago for a week. My trip home included various activities: a bachelorette party, a Stanley Cup grab, Lollapalooza and my mother throwing new books my direction every two seconds (to be fair, it was either do the dishes or read the book.) Some things never change. I began having flashbacks to the eight year-old version of myself trying to barter my way out of reading the Chronicles of Narnia.

So, I started in on Bringing Home The Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World’s Most Coveted Handbag by Michael Tonello.  Most people who know me realize that I am more of a satirical type of person. Chick lit, is not necessarily my thing, ask my best friend Ann- she’s tried to convert me for years, having minimal success.

Suddenly I realized I was on page 50 and loving the book. I’ll spare you the book report, but it goes something like this: man is not happy in his life, man goes on a trip to Spain, man loves Spain, man moves to Spain, man finds soul mate in Spain, man starts a business acquiring and selling Hermes Birkin bags on EBay to a growing client roster, man has a personal life changing experience that leads him to re-evaluate his priorities, this ultimately leads to a game- changing business decision, man makes decision, book ends.  (Hey I can’t spoil it for you; I like Michael Tonello too much.)

As I finished this book on the plane ride back to San Diego, I realized the point Michael Tonello was making; it’s about the journey, knowing when something is right and going for it, and that life and business are never independent of one another. As much as you may try, you cannot separate them.

This story, leads me to where I am today; Bolt Public Relations’ newest office in Dana Point, California, writing this blog. I knew for a very long time that we’d be expanding into the Orange County community. I knew for a very long time that this would mean moving my life from San Diego to Orange County. But, like Michael Tonello, something deep down knew that life and business were never meant to be independent of one another. In fact, at this point in my life, they’ve never been more dependent and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I do what I love, in an industry I love, with people that challenge me to be a better communicator, thinker, writer, orator and the list goes on, daily.

Dana Point, thank you for having us. We are thrilled to be here.

Oh and for Ann, yes I see it now, I think you might be onto something with this chick lit stuff.

I find myself asking at various points in my life how did I survive before the Internet, between Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google most anything I need or want is at my beck and call in a few short key strokes; it can be mind blowing.  It is only inevitable that with this current social media revolution the question will be asked, “what does this mean for my business?”

BusinessWeek took a position in 2008 and stated that organizations could “go ahead and bellyache about blogs. But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they’re simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they’re going to shake up just about every business—including yours. It doesn’t matter whether you’re shipping paper clips, pork bellies, or videos of Britney in a bikini, blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They’re a prerequisite.” Now that we’ve established social media as a prerequisite, how does a team handle its varying clients with varying needs to create a successful social media campaign?

The answer lies in strategy with a purpose. As writer David Finch acknowledges, social media is more than just a buzzword. There are opportunities and results that are measured which can be extremely beneficial to businesses of all sizes. However, simply knowing how to operate social media tools is not enough to furnish a successful campaign; businesses must become immersed in strategy.

Here are a few of my best practices on creating a successful campaign for any sized business:

• Get creative: Utilize all the resources social media has to offer. Creativity, backed with the speed at which social media moves, can offer unlimited opportunities.
• Research target markets: Where are you engaging? Different demographics use different social media sites. Make the most of your opportunities by using the right channels for your target audiences.
• Be accessible: Consumers build higher trust margins with businesses they believe to be accessible and transparent.
• Provide information: Followers, friends, consumers and associates are utilizing your social media site to access information. Provide it, it will bring a consistent stream of visitors.
• Be engaging: Talk with your clients, consumers, customers let them know their social media channels are a way to connect.

The evolution of social media reminds me of my favorite quote from Hunter S. Thompson: “buy the ticket, take the ride.” Social media strategy requires commitment, but it’s definitely a ride worth taking.

Let us know what you think! How do you strategize for clients on social media relations? How is your organization using social media?