The Power Behind Power Media Solutions, is non other than Sharen Rooks.
Sharen, welcome to the Bluff City Magazine family. You’re in PR & Marketing, a very important industry. Tell us about your firm Power Media Solutions and how you help clients.
Power Media Solutions is a comprehensive public relations and marketing firm which also intersects in the advertising arena. We work with entrepreneurs from concept to execution; to help them amplify, elevate, and progress throughout their business life cycle.
What does that look like in terms of your services?
Our first step is to conduct a thorough client/project intake. When appropriate – particularly for clients who are unsure of their direction – we conduct a feasibility study. This process helps the client refine their goals as needed. Once everyone is clear on the direction, we then customize our action plan. Some examples include evaluating business structure, logo design, establishing brand colors, or identifying the target audience. The bottom line is that we create a boutique experience focused on each individual client’s unique set of needs.
Power Media Solutions’ in-house team focuses on client success. We provide graphic design, website development, press release copywriting, securing all the branding material, and making announcements to the media. There's a grand opening. We're there. Those are the things that we bring to the table through our firm. We just continuously amplify that brand and create partnership opportunities for our clients so that they can grow.
Is there anything specifically that made you think that PR was a necessity?
Definitely! Many of us are not making the connection that public relations and marketing are different, but they must marry together. They are joined. They are connected. They are a pair. You can't have public relations (PR) without marketing. You can't have marketing without the PR side. I realized over time, based on what I've seen in the industry, that the public relations component was deficient. I mean, it was anemic. It was so bad. It’s still a little bit off even now, but people don't understand that. In business, you have to connect with the people and with the public in some form or fashion. These are your consumers. How are you reaching your people? Most people think that, oh, I can just market to people, and I never have to interact with them. You still have to build relationships. That's so important. I think that over time, businesses have become marketing top-heavy. Relationships do matter in the community as well as business. That's how that came about. It was needed. It was necessary. It was deficient.
Define the difference between public relations and marketing or maybe promotions vs. advertising.
Let me give you an example. A person starts at a clothing line, and they spend a whole bunch of money on social media, digital ads, and all of those things, and they're doing really well. They still see something is missing, but they're selling. However, they're using the form of digital placements and other forms of advertising – doing those things – but they're not making the connection in the strip mall in the community where they live. That's where your public relations come into play. You need to hire someone, consult with someone, and say, hey, what's missing? People walk by here. I don't think they know I exist. I don't get people to come in. No one comes into the store. I'm not getting media interviews. I just gave away 300 dollars in clothes to a women's group, but I didn't get anything back from it. Nobody even knew that I did that. That's your PR. Your public relations person or component would come in and they're going to get the story, help you tell the story, put a press release together, send it to the media, connect you with organizations that you have a heart for, and they're going to partner you guys together.
Now the $300 contribution that you gave to this organization, the people in the community will know that you have a heart for people, children, women, or whomever. Then that's also going to increase your brand recognition for your business, which now you're going to get traffic coming into the store versus your online sales because now they know you're a real person. You do care about the community, and you have a give-back component in your business. That's going to also enhance your advertising because now you have partnered with an organization that knows that you do this. That organization has a platform of 50,000 to 60,000 people, and they're going to be advertising your company, your brand, as the place that people need to support because you do this, you support that. That's how public relations, marketing, and advertising work together.
PR is the foundation. PR is the message. Advertising is only an amplifier.
Newbie entrepreneurs and seasoned entrepreneurs both need marketing and PR services but at different stages. Do you think one may not be ready for some specific parts of PR?
It's different stages, yes. But the public relations component never goes away because you still need consumers. You still need the community. You still need people to buy into your brand. What if you shift? What if you have some acquisitions that come along? That's where your public relations piece comes in. Your marketing and advertising are not always going to suffice. If you have opened a second location, that's newsworthy for a press release. Your marketing and advertising component doesn't tell the media that you have a second location. So how do they get that information?
We all say I got this new clothing line. I just added shoes, I just added a dress line. But that's you saying that message. That is not an official document that can be tracked that you have done anything. A press release is an official media document that can be tracked throughout the lifetime of your business. It is an official document that is respected in the industry and a press release has a very long digital life.
Is there a difference between Power Media Solutions as a company versus Sharen Rooks as a publicist?
That's a good question. It's not that much different because I'm known as a connector, a resource – someone no-nonsense, straight business, who operates with excellence and thrives off the success of others.
That’s also what power is about. It's an acronym for Professional Outstanding Women Engaging in Redevelopment. It's all about the power. You make power moves, you make power decisions, you serve with power, you take care of your clients through the power, and operate with excellence. That's my personality. They're one and the same.
This actually goes into my next question, which is a bit loaded. As a publicist, great character and great integrity are two important traits that one must have. How does that play a part behind the scenes and how does it play a part for people who have gotten abused by other non-reputable coaches, mentors, publicists, etc.?
Loaded question, but that's a good question. Being a person of integrity should be in your DNA. I often say this: you cannot train a person to have integrity. You cannot train a person to have good character. They have to already have that. If they have that, their journey and their flight are much different because there are things that they just won't do. They won't compromise certain things. They're going to do what's right. They have an ethical duty to do what's right and they understand that whatever they put their hands to, whatever they speak to, whatever they're a part of, it's connected to them. I don't take that lightly in all the years that I've been in business and even in places where I've worked. I have left some corporate jobs because I just won't do things that are unethical. I'm not that person. I just won't do it. Money is not the driver of anything in my life because when money becomes that, you'll never have enough of it and you're always going to be chasing the money and you're never going to have enough money and so you're never going to be fulfilled. The thing that keeps you in your business and in the game is the thing that has sustained you.
What does a potential customer need to look for when selecting or when choosing to use a public relations firm?
You need to check the references, check the testimonials, go read the reviews, and talk to these people. You also need to watch how they move in the digital world. That's important. As an aside, I just got back from Nashville yesterday, and this lady I’ve known for eight years saw the ring on my finger and she said, I didn't know you were married because you don’t talk about that on your own social media. Decide early on what parts of your life are private and which are eligible for public consumption. But back to the subject: read the reviews. Evaluate the digital footprints. Is this firm active on platforms and media outlets that align with you? Talk to people and ask a lot of questions.
Next, know what you want or at least come to the conversation with a sense of direction. When you don't know what you want, people can take advantage of you and may steer your business off-road and into a lake-like bad GPS.
Clients should request a no-risk consultation to discuss goals and determine strategic fit. Those are some things I would look for because that's what I do. I do my due diligence on prospective vendor partners and clients alike. If someone tells me about their activity, I'm going to check and see if those things are actually true. That's how you can make a determination. I encourage people to check me out. I sign a number of NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) so I can't talk about certain things, and I can't share certain details about projects with other clients, and I'm okay with that. You won't ever know who those people are. But again, that goes with integrity and confidentiality. You have to be a person of character where you're not sharing things that you should not be sharing. That's important because you need to be trusted. You need to be trusted because you're talking strategies.
You need to be trusted. If you're always saying things prematurely and some of this stuff doesn't work well, that hurts your brand. When you miscommunicate or share things that are not true or never happen, that's not good business.
What does a consultation look like through Power Media Solutions?
A consultation is about an hour and a half, give or take. It's an in-depth assessment. When I meet with a client, I already have their information through my intake form. As they're sharing their vision, ideas, goals, and deficiencies, it is my job to provide them with a high-level assessment of how we need to navigate and correct the course. If I go out online and I see things that are not polished and put together correctly, I raise this during the assessment period. This may be why you're not getting the push that you need to get because errors need to be corrected. The messaging could be too broad – or even completely wrong. It could be something amiss in aesthetics. These are a couple of examples of points I raise during the consultation.
Once a consultation is provided, how does a prospect prepare for the next steps?
They will get a formal Power Media Solutions diagnostic and “health” report that also contains recommendations and how our services can help them achieve those goals and an invitation for us to draw up a proposal. Next, they will receive a far more detailed outline, which includes our pricing and budget estimates for ancillary costs (i.e. advertising, vendor expenses, and other add-ons). From there, a client will decide if they are moving forward. Their package will be solidified and go to the contract phase.
You have an amazing membership arm of Power Media Solutions called Jump Start Your Business Network, and it is creating quite the buzz. Tell us more about that.
I love it, it's my sweet spot. All of my little projects are my sweet spot. That's crazy, but they are. Jump Start Your Business started about 15 years ago with WorldFamousLeveda McCou, who worked at Hope Credit Union on Madison Ave. We started it at the bank. When we outgrew the bank, we just started doing it all over the city and we're still doing it. Now, we have the Jump Start Your Business membership and radio/podcast, and it is so unique. I wanted to create something where I could still help entrepreneurs and not necessarily be tied down to the work because I already had access to all of these platforms. It just really made sense for me to do it this way. We have an in-person networking component of Jump Start because you got to understand that piece first. We're active 10 months of the year for Jump Start your Business live network, 10 months of the year all throughout the city and also in other states.
With the membership, you get 25 radio spots, one press release, advertising across eight of our social media platforms, an ad in Bluff City Magazine, one podcast interview, and then access to our monthly networking functions. In the back office, there are strategies and resources for the members. We have a private directory that only members can access. That membership is doing very well. Most entrepreneurs can afford the $685 for one year because it makes sense. Now, you're not going to go anywhere and have 25 radio spots for that. You're not going to get a bigger value than what you're getting from Jump Start Your Business Membership. We also have an electronic badge graphic that we send to you and you can post it throughout social media as well as add it to your website. That's one of the benefits. Then you get to be on our podcast. You're just being amplified all around. I think that's pretty cool. Our members report all time on social media how the membership has amplified their business, viable leads, increased sales, media exposure, and more!
I’ve had the pleasure to attend several of the in-person networking events, which were awesome. What more can you share about those?
When people come to our events, it's not just a bunch of people wandering around passing out cards and doing the exchange. We don't do that. We give out cash prizes. People can text their questions. If they have marketing or business questions, they can text those questions right there live during the networking, and we'll answer those questions. It's like you're getting a free consultation every month. We're there for two hours. Two hours of getting free stuff, cash, and goodie bags. People always leave there with something.
Our events are held at real businesses and hosted by their owners. That's the time for owners to have a spotlight. They share best business practices and leadership pointers with attendees because they're the brick-and-mortar. They can share how they were able to open up their location and marketing experiences they can share with you. It’s a very dynamic type of business-to-business access and loyalty branding.
Every year you have this incredible annual conference, the TELL IT NOW PR & Marketing Conference! How does an entrepreneur become a part of that?
The TELL IT NOW PR & Marketing Conference is actually a clinic. Yes, it sounds so long, but it is so good. Again, most people don't understand the public relations and marketing side of the business. We are sick in our businesses, and we want to be well. At the end of the day, we're trying to provide a living for our families, and this is a way of life. We take a full day every April at the Great Hall Event Center in Germantown. With a $75 ticket, we offer a full day of interactive workshops, keynotes, power sessions, and vendor booths with subject matter experts across multiple platforms. No cookie-cutter, surface nonsense. We get deep. Breakfast and lunch are included. You have the privilege of having me all day and I come up and I do my thing and I'm going to just TELL IT like it is and just try to break it down so people can understand. There's a disconnect between you having a business for three years and you've never made it to TV, you've never been part of any type of publication, and you don't understand why people aren't supporting your business.
It’s also a bit of tough love. Maybe there are some things that you need to hear at the conference that will enlighten you and bring awareness of some things that you may need to change. You may need some course corrections. I often say this, people don't know what they don't know. When you come to the conference, you get to hear all that.
Not to mention, we have an annual giveaway. One entrepreneur is awarded a $5,000 in PR and marketing on-year service package. That's how committed I am to helping people succeed in their business. I'm serious about this. That’s what Power Media Solutions does!
We have to close it out with your business tagline, “If you want it told, you're the one to TELL IT”. How powerful is that?
That's it. If you want it told, I'm the one to TELL IT. You want us in your business, I'm in your business and I can tell your business. Now, if you don't want me to know, you don't want anybody to know, don't come to me because that's what I do. I TELL IT. I TELL IT. I TELL IT. I TELL IT. It’s powerful because we TELL IT on the radio show. We TELL IT on billboards. We TELL IT on social media. We TELL IT through all of our platforms. That's what we do. Power Media Solutions. And if you want it told, I'm the one to TELL IT.
