The Social Enthusiast

I read a ton of business-related books.  If it has to do with branding, retail, or Starbucks, there’s a good chance I’ll read it.  A friend of mine recently recommended that I check out “The Trump Card,” Ivanka Trump’s first book.

To be clear, I’m a huge fan of Ivanka.  I admire her professionalism and passion for the real estate industry.  Many people will argue that her privileged upbringing undoubtedly helped her in her career, but I’m a firm believer that you are in charge of your own destiny.  After all, you have to be pretty darn intelligent and disciplined to get into Wharton.

So eagerly, I picked up “The Trump Card” at the local library one afternoon.  I enjoyed many aspects of the book, particularly the chapters that discussed the important of building relationships.  This is a subject Ivanka is clearly well-versed in, and I commend her for making the most of her connections.

She’s also not afraid to get dirty…literally.  In fact, if you follow her on Twitter (@IvankaTrump), she often posts pictures of herself at various job site locations.  In “The Trump Card,” Ivanka discussed how she always knew from a young age that she wanted to build things, so it’s no surprise that she’s now spending her days wearing a hard hat.

The cover of "The Trump Card." Image via Simon & Schuster.

I started thinking about how these principles could be applied to social media and public relations.  If you’ve worked in PR long enough, you know it’s not a glamorous field.  In fact, a lot of time is spent “blocking and tackling,” (a phrase we often use at Doe-Anderson) reaching out to reporters and bloggers, staying on their radar and keeping them up-to-date on what’s going on with our clients.  And yes, sometimes, we even have to roll up our sleeves and get a little dirty. (If you’ve ever put together hundreds of media kits, or worked at a special event, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.)

Cultivating relationships, in my opinion, is what social media and public relations are all about.  This isn’t an easy task but with a little time and patience, you can start to build those important connections.  The old adage “You get what you give” rings true as well.  We often tell our clients that they’ve got to communicate with their customers and engage in conversations with them.

Good, old-fashioned hard work never goes out of style and is certainly the key to having a successful social media or PR campaign.  And like Ivanka Trump, you can be professional and polished while doing it.

Image taken from Ivanka's Twitter account.