Imperfect Marketing

Episode 20: Do you want to go viral? Start by defining what that means to you.

July 21, 2022 Kendra Corman
Imperfect Marketing
Episode 20: Do you want to go viral? Start by defining what that means to you.
Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Welcome back to Imperfect Marketing. This week I speak with Andrea Walker-Leidy of Walker Publicity Consulting.

Andrea and I spoke about a ton of marketing and PR topics for your business, including defining your target audience, going viral, and how being different is better than being better.

In this episode:

00:01:32
How Andrea tells stories
00:04:46 Where are your referrals really coming from?
00:09:24 Personal and professional branding- business is personal
00:24:14 What does going viral mean to you?
00:35:12 Right now is better than perfect

Click here to access the transcript and follow along!

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Kendra Corman:

Hello and welcome back. Thank you guys so much for tuning back in for another episode of Imperfect Marketing. 

Today, we're talking with Andrea Walker of Walker Publicity Consulting. She and I have run in the same circles for many years now and we really started working together with clients over the past year, year and a half. And as Brenda Miller shared in the first podcast that I did with her, we are something of coopetition. 

So, we could be considered competition but I think we actually work better together and have more opportunities to help each other out. So, I can't wait to hear more from Andrea on her public relations and storytelling strategies. So, welcome and thanks for joining me.

Andrea Walker:

Thank you so much for having me.

Kendra Corman:

All right. So, you work in the world of public relations. I know that you do social media for your clients, press releases, media pitches. 

Can you tell us a little bit more than just those terms about what is Walker Publicity about? What do you do?

Andrea Walker:

Yeah, for sure. First of all, I love that coopetition term, that's just so fantastic because it's true. I'm of the mindset that no one has to be competition unless they really want to be so I love the idea that we really do all work to better together when we collaborate and, yeah, so I think that's fantastic. 

We do exactly what you said, right? Publicity, press releases, media pitching, social media. What that really means and the reason that I started saying really consistently that my goal is to share stories. 

So, when I work with a client, we really sit down and I figure out what is your story. If they don't know what their story is, we take a step back and figure out what that story is. What their story is really is the simpler way to approach branding. So, what your story is really what they want to share with the world.

Once we discover what the story is, what makes you unique? What makes you special? What makes you better than X, Y, Z that does a similar thing that you do. Then we find out, okay, who would want to hear that story and who do you want to hear that story. 

So, that's where the PR and the social media and media pitching all comes into play. And when I started doing PR, that was the main world. It was news, television, radio. The goal was to get on the big guys. 

And that's when social media entered into the world and it was no longer that you needed someone else to share your story, you could start sharing your own.

For folks like Kendra, they understood this world in email marketing years before everyone else did on social media and a subscription list on your email was very similar to our, nowadays, Instagram following, you were creating your own following. And so, what I discovered was that, if we did it right and we did it well, people could create their own following, their own news outlet, the people who were interested in what they did.

And so, that's really what I do. We look at everything as a very integrated plan and people will say to me all the time, "Well, should I be here? And should I be here? And should I be here?" 

Every time I do a talk I say, "Someone's going to ask me about Snapchat and someone's going to ask me about TikTok and should they be there and the answer is never the same because it really matters who your audience is and where they get their storytelling, where they listen, where they get their news.

So, that's really why we started combining all of those pieces, I love it, I absolutely love what we do. Every day is brand new, every day is finding a new person's story to tell and finding someone new to tell that story. 

I know, Kendra, you and I have talked a lot about influencers and social media and the fact that, now, that's its own whole world so a lot of what we do is actually reaching out to influencers on behalf of our clients. 

And you hear an influencer who talks about a cool new product or you see something on the news and you wonder, how did they get that? Well, it was probably someone like me on the back end, emailing someone and calling them for a while to cultivate that relationship and to get that on behalf of my client in that place.

Kendra Corman:

Yeah, no, I love that. And what I like most about what you said is, someone's going to ask me about Snapchat, someone's going to ask me about TikTok and it depends because it's truly all about your audience. I am blown away by how many people don't understand their audience. And don't get me wrong, I struggle with it on a regular basis myself-

Andrea Walker:

We all do, yeah.

Kendra Corman:

... but I guess I would ask you, how do you help them identify who their audience is or are you involved in that part of the process?

Andrea Walker:

Yeah, that's really where I start first. So, when I deep dive with a new client, one of the things that we look at is that traditional marketing piece of things. So, we have to take that ... 

Again, I always say, "Okay, let's take a step back. Tell me who your bread and butter clients are, the ones who pay your bills. Tell me who your dream client is, tell me who the clients are that you get every once in a while but you really love, tell me the demographics."

 If people don't know the demographics of their clients, I start asking them those questions. So, we really cultivate that when I first meet with someone and it's not scary, it's very conversational, people are typically pretty overwhelmed to call a PR person or a social media person, you know that.

And so, it's very conversational, I have found ways to make it feel really comfortable and natural just to talk about, "Okay, hey, tell me last month what your client roster looked like. Tell me in the last six months what's your client roster looked like. Who is your favorite client? Who's your dream client?" 

So, once I get that information, if I don't know already which ... We've been doing this long enough to know where these folks are. We know where women between the ages of 35 and 45 hang out most days. But if we don't know that already, we cultivate that list for them. 

We look at, okay, here are the places that these people that are your dream client, your current client, your every once in a while client, here's where they live, here's where they get their news, here's what they do.

That's really how we start looking at that. That's how we start looking at, okay, so here's what they like to hear about, here's how they found you in the first place. And a lot of times we'll find out that, okay, most of our clients are referral, everyone says this. 

My clients are word of mouth and referral. Okay, great. When it was word of mouth, where did they get that word of mouth? Oh, well their friend told them on Facebook. Okay, that wasn't word of mouth, that was word of mouth via Facebook. 

So, you got to dig a little bit sometimes because everybody thinks their referrals are word of mouth and it's a referral, which it probably is, but where from. And that's really the unique part and the part that I actually love because it's very investigative journalism for me but with a client who doesn't really ... They don't get it. A lot of times people do, but a lot of times, they don't really understand where stuff comes from.

Well, they found us on Google. Okay, well, let's look at the first three things that come up when most people Google. 

Oh, it was your Facebook page, comes up pretty quickly on Google or Twitter or this event that you had last year that was posted to the local news calendar. 

Those are the first three things that come up when somebody googles your name. So, yes, it's Google but it's also these other things that Google found that you need to cultivate more of. So, it's like a really fun puzzle to figure out what people can pull together and then create a strategy around it.

Kendra Corman:

Mm-hmm, yeah. One of my favorite questions is, okay, the person that's your current client, why did they call you in the first place? What was that? 

You talked about people being intimidated or overwhelmed by the time they're calling you or me and they do get that way at times but what was that point that they reached that they knew they had to make that phone call. They weren't doing it just because they were in the mood. And so, that's another question that I find people have trouble answering. 

So, my point to all you listening out there is be sure to ask that question when people call you. Where did they find you? And if they say word of mouth or referral, find out more, which is an awesome tip, and then also go ahead and be sure to ask them what made them call you. 

Understand that pain point that got them there because that's going to help you drive a lot of your content and you're targeting which is awesome.

Okay, so I spent some time stalking you on LinkedIn just because I wanted to learn a little bit more about your philosophy. And I know that you talk a lot about personal and professional branding, you have some webinars, you have a one-on-one brand discovery session that you offer to help people out. 

We talked a little bit about the target audience piece but tell me a little bit more about your approach or your stance on personal and professional branding because, for you and me, we are our brands.

Andrea Walker:

We are.

Kendra Corman:

So, they're the same.

Andrea Walker:

Yeah, I'm pretty passionate about the fact that, really, everyone is their brand. If you are a business owner, if you are an entrepreneur, if you are the leader of an organization or a leader in your organization, you are a brand. And really what that means is you have a vested interest in representing the brand and the brand has a vested interest in you looking good. 

So, when I talk about personal and professional branding, it really isn't just a you and me. Yes, Walker Publicity and Kendra Corman, we've decided. We've made a pretty bold decision when we named our companies that we would be the brand. 

But Sarah Smith who is the CEO of XYZ company is also their brand face. When you look at who you do business with and who a referral is, more often than not, it's, oh, you should call Sarah Smith at XYZ, she's wonderful. I'm her husband's cousin's sister's neighbor.

When you talk about those referrals and word of mouth, it is, more often than not, personal before it's professional. We were all raised on the it's not personal, it's business, right? Yes, and it is personal and it should be personal. If you are a business owner, I will tell you, you understand that it's personal. 

When you're doing invoicing late at night, you're starting your business and there isn't a bookkeeper yet, it is personal. You have taken a leap, you've taken a decision. So, when I talk to people about personal and professional branding, we just did a really fun talk for a women's professional networking group and it was a group of women business owners and I got to share some of my story with them and I was able to just cultivate their mindset a little bit on the fact that they are their brand.

You are the face that people see first and you are the person that someone is different. If seven people line up and they're all plumbers, the only reason that I might choose you is because something about you is different. Whether it's just the fact that your name is different, your name is your personal brand. 

If it's just the fact that you know someone I know or your story is cooler, that is your personal brand. And going back to what you said, Kendra, about that coopetition, which is a very difficult word to say, that's the reason why sometimes someone will call me and I say, "You know, you'll work better with Kendra."

Because I understand the personal brand and I understand that, even if we offer the same thing, we offer it differently but the only way to really understand that is to share that. The fact that you could dig through my LinkedIn and get my philosophy is intentional.

And so, I really encourage people to make a decision in their career that, yes, I will brand myself. Because then, no matter what company you go to, you have a brand that you take with you. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, wherever you decide to be, that's your resume now. 

People are going to look there before, during and after they get your resume even if you're not a business owner. If you're a business owner, all those places should be your marketing and your calling card. So, I'm very passionate about that. We do training on how to develop those brands, how to be consistent with those but also how to help people decide what stays personal and what world can merge.

So, some people don't want their personal life to be connected with their business, and I respect that and I'm the same way, but you decide where that line is and then you can create content around it and still be really intentional about it which, I think, is something people don't often think about, they want to seem natural and spur of the moment. 

You can seem really spur of the moment but have content planned out for a month or two and you and I both know that. So, I love that piece of what we do and it's become a lot more prevalent as people have realized they need to develop those social media personas for themselves and comment on things that are important to them but they don't really know how.

Kendra Corman:

Yeah. So, Marketing Props is a site that I follow and a podcast that I listen to on a regular basis and they recently had a guest and I think she did a book and she's got a personality test about how to fascinate and it's about being different, not better. Or, sorry, different is better than better. 

Because if it's a competition in better and features and things like that, it's always going to be a competition. But when you start talking about how you're different, what makes you different? Actually, she mentioned, I think, in this podcast, I'll link to it in the show notes but she was talking about what did you get picked on in school for that people said, "That's what makes you different and that can actually set you apart."

Andrea Walker:

Yup, yup.

Kendra Corman:

From everybody else.

Andrea Walker:

I have a seven-year-old son and I tell him all the time, it can either be your superpower or get you in trouble. And so, there are things about us that are really great and, when I was younger, I really hated when people told me no and I always was trying to figure out a way to get around that. 

Well, I'm a really good marketer now, I'm very good at finding a way to tell a story in such a way that I can convince you that what I am saying is really cool. For my clients, that's fantastic. As a kid who's throwing a fit, not so great and so you're exactly right. It really is what are those things that are your superpowers that you don't even acknowledge as what makes you different, I love that.

Kendra Corman:

Yeah, I loved talking about difference rather than better and I loved going back to what people were picking on you for because I think that that really sets us apart.

Andrea Walker:

Such a good idea, mm-hmm.

Kendra Corman:

I don't know, I loved it. I heard it recently and what you were talking about just really made me think of it so that was, I thought, pretty cool. 

Now, let's talk a little bit about the PR side of things. So, once we get through the branding and your customer avatar and your dream client and all that stuff, one of the things that you're doing is you're getting coverage out there and it's not ever guaranteed. That's why I stick to the marketing and advertising side of things because PR drives me up a wall. 

Talk to me about how you set expectations because I think everybody that works with a client in one way, shape or form has to set expectations and you're not going to necessarily get them on the front page of the Wall Street Journal tomorrow.

Andrea Walker:

Right.

Kendra Corman:

You may get them on the front page of the Wall Street Journal but-

Andrea Walker:

It's possible.

Kendra Corman:

... they've got to have the right story. So, working with you, it's not magic.

Andrea Walker:

No, it's not. I wish it was. So, it's the perfect tie in to all of the world's converging and it's the reason that you and I work so well together because you hate PR.

Kendra Corman:

I really, really do. I really do.

Andrea Walker:

In a really healthy way. You can bait the hook, go out to fish and maybe catch nothing and that is not everyone's cup of tea. I love it, it is the most fun challenge for me but I'm very aware that my clients take a risk when they do PR sometimes and a really good risk and a risk that you should take. 

Of course, I have to say that but I also really believe in it. So, the way that I manage expectations is part of that discovery, part of looking at who your ideal client is and where they are and where they get their news. 

I'm looking at traditional news, untraditional news and social media when I'm looking at all of those pictures. And it's the reason that we started combining social media with PR because they really go hand in hand.

Because now, tangible expectation valued PR can be developed on social media. How you relate to your public, that is public relations, that is the simplest term. It is relating to your public. So, if your public is on social media, we will relate to them there. 

So, that's the reason that I combine those worlds but there is still such a place and a need for traditional media pitching and getting the story because we know those work. So, early on in my career, I had my first client, one of my first clients. So, I'm in my 20s, I've started a business, I have a pretty good media list for someone in her 20s who just started a business because I'd been doing journalism for so long and I had a client and she was like, "Well, I want my product in O magazine." 

Oprah had just launched her magazine and I was like, "Okay. Well, do you have the budget of these seven other products who were recently in O magazine?" because what she showed me was a paid piece.

So, some of the expectation handling is just explaining, what you just showed me is sponsored content, here's how much it costs, would you like to do that, we can certainly do that. So, some of it is creating more of an expectation and understanding of what those relationships look like but the secondary piece of that is, okay, have we pitched the product to your local news? 

Have you had something on channel two, four and seven here in Detroit? It's looking at what are the steps to take to get to the big goal. I always want to know someone's big goal because then we can chart a path to it. 

You might be on the Wall Street Journal when we have a story that is worthwhile and when we have continued to position you as an expert in what you do so that the Wall Street Journal finds credibility in you.

Now, there are always those times, there are always those times where something crazy happens and you're in the right place at the right time and the Wall Street Journal calls. Love it, let's be ready for that. We are still totally ready for that, I am the person you want on the other side of that call, we will foster that reporter, we will get it right and then we will run with that front page story for the next two years, we will make that work for you for a long time but that doesn't happen all the time. 

So, the expectation is we're on our way to a goal and here are the things. If you are not posting your press releases to your local chamber of commerce that you're a member of, then you're not on the way to a goal. If you are not sharing it with local media, if you're not putting your PR on your website and in your e-blasts, then you're not on the way to the goal. You're not telling anyone the story, you have to start by telling the story to someone.

So, the real tangible things for me are just local news. We've got really good relationships with our local news so, if there's a story to tell, they typically will listen to us. If you're a business, it's understanding that a nonprofit is always going to take precedence over you. 

They always have a good story, they always have something that is heartfelt and without a hook. If you're a business, there has to be a reason why what you're saying to me is not an ad and that's where that different and not better really works.

We just did an interview with Roop Raj who was one of our local news anchors and was a reporter, and I'll give you that link, Kendra, to share, and we flipped the interview around on him. I'm usually pitching to him and we asked if he would let us interview him on what are the news tips that you like to get, what makes good news when you're getting pitched to and he shared some really great tips and one of those things was news is new. 

News is, it's weird, it's exciting, it's new, it's different, it does not mean it's better, that's an ad. So, some of that is just explaining that stuff and really setting those goals with the client right from the start.

Kendra Corman:

I like how you said it's about fishing all day and maybe catching something, maybe not and that's definitely my issue with PR and why I don't do it. I do a little bit of press releases but, nurturing those relationships and things like that, I leave it to the professionals like you because, as my husband says, I like to go catching, not fishing.

Andrea Walker:

Right. Perfect, yeah.

Kendra Corman:

Yeah, we actually did a little trip to Cabo for Christmas with my in-laws one year and I did a fishing charter and I didn't want to go because my husband said that it would be hot and boring and things like that. 

We caught so many fish that I actually said I'm tired and that I didn't want to catch anymore and then he's like, "This is not how it normally goes."

Andrea Walker:

Yeah, you went viral. In that analogy-

Kendra Corman:

I did.

Andrea Walker:

... you went viral.

Kendra Corman:

I did. Speaking of viral, so I read in one of your Walker Publicity posts back in June and it said everyone wants to go viral in the social media world. And you said did you know that viral to you might just mean all of the people in your community. 

I loved that, you have to define what that is for you. It's about setting goals and targets specific to your business because does it really help if you're a local store with no online presence in downtown Rochester, Michigan, do you really care that someone in San Francisco was liking and sharing your video? 

Again, I think it really comes down to that. So, tell me a little bit more about goal setting in your business and for your clients about when they're doing that. We talked a little bit about the PR but let's go viral.

Andrea Walker:

Yeah, yeah. And when I say that, I say that to people all the time and it actually, speaking of marketing and branding yourself, it was my content director who said to me, "You know we've never talked about that on social media, what you think about going viral." 

I was like, "Oh, well, that makes great social media content. Let's share that this month." 

So, we have to do the same thing to ourselves and cultivate our own minds over here in the marketing world. I think it's so important to remember exactly what you said. Everyone thinks they should be some grand social media influencer with a thousand hits a day and millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram. 

It's super fun but if that's not how you ... I just always remind people, how do you make money? If the goal of what we're doing is to make money, I'd get it. It is super fun to be famous but people are famous because that's why they make money. So, unless it's your job to be famous, we should probably be looking at other everything.

So, we talked earlier about that whole mindset of digging into who's your ideal client, where do they come from, how do you make money, I want to know that from folks. Yes, I think PR and storytelling is cool but, at the end of the day, my job is to help you make money. If we were not into this business to make money, whatever business that is, we would offer it for free. 

So, my job is to help you make money, your job is to do what you do great. And so, when I look at that, that is, when we look at those demographics, that's how we decide what someone's viral would be. To me, we set a few different things and you talked about that there's no guarantees in PR. 

And a lot of people love to talk about ROI, return on investment, and you can't get a tangible return on investment for PR, social media, all of those things. I don't believe that.

I believe that you can get a tangible return on investment from publicity, social media and media relations. You have to set what those returns are. So, viral for you may mean four new people came into your store this weekend, we set those goals with our clients. 

Viral for you may mean 20 people shared that, viral for you may mean a sold out event, viral for you may mean everyone in town just knows the name of your company and they didn't know it before. So, we really look at that. 

If you have an online store, yeah, we have to spread your branches farther, viral goes farther but, really, it's just that understanding of what can I handle. We've talked about this before with clients that you and I have collaborated on where, okay, it would be great if we did this but they don't have the capacity for an influx of new clients right now.

So, we got to be honest about that kind of stuff with ourselves as business owners and because I can ... I tell people a lot we do reputation management as part of what we offer to folks. And so, I'm on the back end of your Google and Facebook and Yelp and all of those search sites and social sites just responding and looking at what's going on. 

And I can make your social media look great and I can get you featured on the news on Saturday morning. If someone comes into your business or your location and the salesperson is rude and we get a bad Google review, I can't fix that. I can manage it, I can crisis manage it on the other side if your internal doesn't do really well. 

So, it's those tangible expectations of what viral will mean for you and can I handle viral. We really have to have honest conversations about that so I really like to remind people, okay, what will viral mean and what kind of viral do we need for you to make it worthwhile.

Yes, it's great to be famous, that's awesome. If everyone's talking about you across the country, awesome. But if a hundred people call you or go to your website and your website's awful, they're not coming back, that was our moment. 

So, I do, I like to make sure that people understand that. We also really try to look at what that community is and, Kendra and I, you and I were talking earlier today about this new Walker News project that we've recently launched and really the goal behind it was to be able to share stories in my local community. 

People are hungry for local news, they want to still know what's happening at their library and at their schools and in their city and we don't have a lot of that and that word of mouth in our local community is really important still.

And so, a couple of months ago, we started teasing into sharing some of our clients' news on this site and setting up a place where people could once again get local news. And when I say local, I mean my local, my community, our community. Where we do work, where we go to dinner, where we give back, all of those places. So, it's this Rochester area and the surrounding Oakland County area here that we really just want to start sharing stories again. Whether those be business or nonprofit or personal, I think, that, to me, if several thousand people are seeing you in the local news and you're a local business, you just went viral, celebrate that, be excited about that. 

So, I'm hoping to be able to continue to create what viral is for folks and be able to be that place that people can be viral and let it be our story that we're sharing.

Kendra Corman:

I do like that a lot and one of the things that I really pulled out of what you said is make sure you can handle it. Especially today where people are having trouble with staffing and sometimes taking what you can get, that's not the experience people want to see so I think that's really important. 

Okay, so you work with a lot of nonprofits just like I do, I think both of us really believe in giving back and putting our time where our mouth is and what we support and I know I love working with nonprofits. Tell me a little bit about how that's different or the same as working with your for-profit clients.

Andrea Walker:

Yeah, I mentioned that a little bit earlier. If you're a nonprofit, you have a good story to tell, you're doing something great and you're not asking for a profit for it, that's already a great story. If you are a nonprofit, please call me, I want to share that story. Please call Kendra, she wants to share that story. 

Or, if it's PR that you need, she wants to send you to me because she hates PR. So, yeah, if you're a nonprofit, that is typically what you see in the news. If you think about when you watch the news or you listen to the radio, those are the news stories. 

This is giving back, this is developing housing. We think about places that you would give, those are our core nonprofits. Food, shelter, children, clothing, transportation, those nonprofits that are really doing the core good work in a community, that is oftentimes the untold story that needs help telling.

So, I love working with nonprofits, I love being able to help them share a story. When you are in the thick of it and you're in the weeds and you're the one handing out the meals, you are not going to think about telling the story because you're thinking about getting the next meals and where they need to go. 

So, I love to come alongside nonprofits and a lot of times they have a marketing team, they have a fundraising and development team and we can just come alongside them and help share those stories. That is not to say that I don't absolutely adore my business clients. The difference is that you are for profit and that's okay, let's celebrate that.

 One of the things that I do with my business clients, though, is always say, "Where are you giving back? Where are you partnering with a nonprofit?" If the nonprofit is the story, then, not only is it the right thing for you to do to give back as a business, but it's also a great way for you to tell a story as well.

So, it's really important to tie those worlds together whenever I can and I encourage my for-profit clients to do that. But at the same time, it's going back to exactly what you said, what is unique about you. We have to cultivate that a little bit more because I'm typically not here to sell something to someone, I'm typically here to share a story. In the end, I believe that it will help you sell whatever you're selling but I want to share your story and let people naturally come and find you. 

So, that's really the biggest difference between those nonprofits and business clients. We love them all, they're all dream clients, in my opinion, but the way that we share the story is a little different and the end goal usually is a little bit different.

Kendra Corman:

Yeah, and it's still the same communication because people are people in the end, it's the same tools because there's only so many channels out there just a different message.

Andrea Walker:

Yeah.

Kendra Corman:

So, this show is called Imperfect Marketing because I am a big believer in the fact that marketing is imperfect. If it was, I'd be a millionaire. So, talk to me a little bit about your biggest marketing lesson learned.

Andrea Walker:

Whew, today or in all time? Because I'm sure I ... Every single day, every single day, I'm learning a new lesson that I'm like, "That's the best lesson I've ever learned."

Kendra Corman:

Actually, I have to tell you really quick, I got this five-minute journal and that's what I use to journal every day.

Andrea Walker:

Yes, I love it.

Kendra Corman:

And in the morning it has the three things I'm gratitude for, three things I want to make today great, an affirmation statement and then three highlights of the day and then something I learned and it's important to learn something every day. 

So, yes, I agree with you 100%, I learn something new every day, for sure.

Andrea Walker:

I would hope, I hope. If I don't, I need to seek out something new to learn.

Kendra Corman:

Exactly.

Andrea Walker:

The best lesson I have learned and something that I have to remind myself all the time and I try to teach my clients because it's really hard to remember and it's exactly this imperfect marketing mindset is something that my content director has to remind me every time I try to hit post on a blog or send a press release draft to a client, right now is better than perfect. 

When it comes to sharing your story or having news or having social media, right now is better than perfect. That is the most important marketing thing that I have learned probably ever and continue to learn in a new way every day. 

You started a podcast, you could have waited till it was perfect but starting the podcast was more important than getting it perfect but doing it is really perfect, just doing it is really perfect.

There are a lot of times where I say yes to something and then figure out exactly how that needs to work. Especially when it comes to my side of marketing, a lot of what we do is just researching trending news, trending news is trending right now. 

So, I have had a lot of clients miss the opportunity to be a part of the conversation because they're waiting for perfect.

Kendra Corman:

Yup, I love that. Perfection is the enemy of progress.

Andrea Walker:

Yeah, you will miss it. So, right now is better than perfect especially when it comes to news and social media. That moment's going to move in a second and the new headline comes out tomorrow morning is what we used to always say in the news world before it was the new headline's going to come out in six seconds but it's really that.

Kendra Corman:

Well, thank you so much. I think that is a very important lesson to learn and I know I talk about it all the time too because progress is better than perfection, for sure.

Andrea Walker:

Yes, yeah.

Kendra Corman:

Now, before we wrap up, I do want to ask you the question I ask everybody and we talked a little bit about superpowers before. But if you could choose a superpower for yourself, what would you choose and why?

Andrea Walker:

Sometimes this changes and I know I talked about that superpower thing earlier. It's funny that you ask that because it's a regular conversation in my life, how do I use my superpowers for good because it's the only difference between superheroes and villains is how they use their superpower. 

And so, when you have a seven-year-old boy, this is how you discuss life is superheroes and villains. As a working professional, wife, woman, someone who loves community, someone who has a family, you will get this Kendra, if I had one superpower, because all of them would be cool, I would love to not need sleep.

Kendra Corman:

Oh, I love that one as I'm sitting here needing a nap. But okay, yes, that would be amazing.

Andrea Walker:

So, a few years ago, I'm trying to think what year, it was years ago, it's on my Facebook page, I did a TED Talk at our local library and it was during the time when everyone was talking about leaning in and, as women, everyone was leaning in and the title of my TED Talk was Lean In and then Take a Nap. 

And it was very important to me to remind folks that, yes, you can lean in as much as you want but you better take some time for yourself and you need to know when you need to rest or you need to find out how you recharge. 

For me, recharging is always sleep. I have a calendar preset in my schedule where, once or twice a week, I call it a nothing 20 and it can be a meditation, it's usually a quick little nap, whatever that looks like, I have once or twice a week that's the nothing 20.

And it's what other people would call a power nap or any of those things. And for some people that might be a walk, it might be meeting a friend, whatever that looks like but I need sleep, it's the thing I need to really be super successful at myself and with my clients. So, if I could have a superpower that would save me a lot of time and give me more time for all the things I love, it would be no sleep. No sleep will be [inaudible 00:40:44].

Kendra Corman:

Well, that's amazing because I need more sleep than my husband so he just doesn't get it-

Andrea Walker:

Same. Yup, same for me.

Kendra Corman:

... and he's like, "You're sleeping in." And I was like, "But you slept in, it was 7:00," I'm like, "It's Saturday, I'm sleeping till 9:00, move on."

Andrea Walker:

Yeah, yeah.

Kendra Corman:

I'm like, "I get you can burn the candle at both ends, I can't write when I'm tired."

Andrea Walker:

No.

Kendra Corman:

And it's just-

Andrea Walker:

Well, and I'm going to be so much more productive with the six hours I'm awake than I'm going to be had I tried to be awake for 10.

Kendra Corman:

Yes.

Andrea Walker:

It's going to work better and so, yeah, it would be amazing to need ... Even less sleep I would take as a superpower but I think not actually needing sleep. Twenty-four hours is a lot of hours in the day, I'm pretty sure I could take over the world if I had this superpower.

Kendra Corman:

Yes, I agree. I love that one and that one is so different than anything anybody else has given me. So, thank you so much for joining me today, I really appreciate it. I hope all of you listening got a lot out of it, I know I did. 

She reminded me of some things that I need to do for my business personally and I'll be getting on that and you'll see some things in the Troy Chamber e-news coming up here but it's great to have that refreshed in that perspective. So, thank you so much for sharing all of that with us today, I really appreciate it.

Be sure to check the show notes to see how to connect with Andrea and Walker Publicity on all the social channels and check out Walker News, for sure. And if you are in the Southeast Michigan area or just want to hear updates from Southeastern Michigan, be sure to subscribe to it to get all the fresh news updates of all the great things that are happening in the area. 

Thanks again for joining and we'll see you on another episode of Imperfect Marketing.

 

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Right now is better than perfect