Victoria Kennedy - How To Crush PR For Your Brand

SPEAKER_00 0:04

This is the Beyond the Story Podcast, a show that goes way beyond the story. And now, Sebastian Frost. Yo, yo, yo. Welcome to another episode, ladies and gentlemen. My guest this week is a public relations rock star. N those are hard to come by these days. Social media has changed the PR game drastically. Well, my friend Victoria Kennedy has figured it out. We connected through a mutual contact online who wholeheartedly endorsed what she was doing. I refer to her client. We connected even further, and next thing I know, we're sitting down and having a conversation on the podcast. And I'm glad we did, because she really shed some light on not only her story and how what brought her to present day, that's what the show's all about, telling people's story, going beyond it a little bit, but then also talking about the importance of public relations. Why in the 21st century? The time I'm recording this episode in 2021, public relations is even more relevant than it's ever been. Why? Because you've got the rapid speed of social media attempting to make it public relations something that's not of a priority for your brand. Wrong. Victoria and her team have it all figured out. Just got an agency over in Las Vegas. I don't need to say anymore. She's a rock star. Let's get into the conversation. Friends, please help me. Welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Pleasure to be here.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

It's a great, it's it's great. It's a great. I know how to talk, I promise. I do it for a living. I do it for a living. It is. Uh so uh you and I first connected uh here on the internet. So the internet's work. It's this perpetual, uh, ongoing networking event that never stops. Uh our paths cross through uh mutual connection. Uh Dan Kennedy uh is up to some great things in the uh info uh info space, had him on the show at some point last year. In fact, we just did a um we did an audio course for his new how to think program that he's got going on. So that was fun. That's always good company to be in. But he fully endorsed your efforts. And an individual like myself, I'm a storyteller, I'm a content creator, I write books. I know that PR is the lifeblood of brands. However, not all of them take advantage of that. We're gonna talk about what you got going on in the world of public relations, but I always like to back up and talk about how the story actually started. I saw a post from you the other day that said, from from nun to opera singer uh to CEO of my own PR firm. So let's let's start there.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Yeah. Well, thank you for that intro. And yeah, I think it's um a lot of people, they don't grow up thinking, you know, I want to be an entrepreneur and start an agency or whatever it is, you know? And so me, like a lot of people, had this other dream. And my dream was I wanted to be a nun. I wanted to devote my life to God. I know that's a strange dream, but that's what I wanted. I'm sort of one of those people where I, if I decide I'm gonna do something, I do it 100%. You know? And so I just went all in and I thought, well, if I want to go to heaven when I die, the quickest way is to be a nun, obviously, right? That didn't quite work out, you know, but it taught me to always reinvent myself. You know, so that's how I've been able to go from nun to opera singer to PR expert, because I understand the idea of always reinventing yourself, not being stuck in an identity, not realizing like, well, this is who I've always been. No, any day you can wake up and decide and be somebody different. And that's sort of what I've done with my life.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

So, so walk me through that. When did you wake up and go, you know what, this whole nun thing, I'm out?

SPEAKER_01 3:45

Well, you know, it wasn't the sound of music. It wasn't the heels are alive with the sound of music, you know, which I thought it was gonna be. Sure. Um, you know, it's it's hard being a nun. It's very hard. And um, I just realized very quickly after like a month in that this was not gonna work for me, you know.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

Oh, gave it a month. Okay, cool. I I probably wouldn't have made it a week. So then again, I couldn't have been a nun anyhow, but you know what I mean. Maybe a monk. There we go.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

Yeah, I mean, it's a beautiful life. I just realized that it wasn't gonna be for me. And so I came back home thinking, oh my gosh, what am I gonna do with my life? Like that was my plan. That was till I die. That was my whole plan. What am I gonna do? I've always loved to sing, you know, and I thought, well, I'm gonna be an opera singer because I love to sing and I'm just gonna pursue that a hundred percent. So I couldn't afford the university that I got into. I got into the University of Southern California, which is amazing. It's a private university, it's very expensive. Couldn't afford it. Thought, how in the world am I gonna go to this university? I have to make it happen. Again, that just drive to succeed no matter what. If I've decided it's gonna happen no matter what. Well, I saw something on the paper that they were doing a local beauty pageant and the scholarship money was like $500 scholarship money, which could be to $10,000 scholarship money if you kept on going with the pageant. So mind you, I was just fresh out of the convent, still, you know, very modest, wearing dresses, but I'm like, well, I gotta put on the spikini. I gotta dance around in bikini. Oh my gosh, let's do it. Let's do it. You know, it was sort of a psychological of like I'm uncomfortableness, you know, of hiding your body for so long. But you just sort of do it, you know, and I just did it. I thought, well, this is gonna get me to where I want to be, so I'm gonna put on the dang swimsuit and walk around. So just and what I'd like to say is, you know, don't give yourself the option to back out. Once you've decided this is what I'm going to do, do it. You know, once you start negotiating with yourself and saying, oh, well, you know, the swimsuit, it's that makes me feel uncomfortable and I don't know how I feel right now. Feelings have nothing to do with the decision. Okay, take your feelings out of it. You've decided this, so do that. And that sort of is what really helped me reinvent myself and uh keep going towards my goals.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Yeah, once that monkey brain gets going, it's game over because we get in front of our head and then we just start making shit up and it's getting, you know, we're we go down this this. So I I I would venture to say that maybe your journey just begun began in that convent. And God said, hold on a second here. Wait a second here. I've got something real special here, and we're we're gonna use this in other places. So I think that you're and it's clear that your your passion and your desire to want to do great things is still alive and well. Uh, and as as my faith uh uh uh uh would would would say as well. And you know, God doesn't mess up. You know, it's it's part of this ultimate plan. I firmly believe that business is one of the most incredible platforms to live out your faith. I think it is because you're meeting so many different people and genres and and locations and just so many interesting conversations. So I've definitely made, yeah, and I I uh uh I commend what you've done so far. You just continue to lean into it, but also listen to that still small voice that says, hey, here's what's next. It can be better and it's going to be. So the world of public relations. So we come out of a convent in an opera singer and and the whole the whole school program, and then boom, public relations. Where where was that, where did that nudge come from?

SPEAKER_01 7:25

Yeah, well, if anybody's listening to this and you're a performer or a musician in any way, you know if if you can't get people to show up to your shows or buy your music, you are singing for your supper, right? Not glamorous. And, you know, if you're you're struggling if you can't fill those seats, if you can't get people to pay attention to your music. And so I realized very quickly, in order to survive, in order to not sing for my supper, you know, I got to get in good with these journalists. I need to understand how the media works so that people can buy my music and know about me. And so I just started doing it. I was on the cover of magazines, I had a number one hit single in Europe, so I sang in castles and cathedrals all over Europe, and all because I just leveraged relationships. I just started making relationships with the right people. You know, it came more out of necessity, and then it became a knack that I became very good at. But I didn't realize it was my superpower, not until later. And I think that's with a lot of people. Maybe you've done a job your whole life and now you're an entrepreneur and you're thinking, how do the two skills correlate? How is does opera singing correlate with PR? Right? On the surface, it doesn't. But if you dig deeper, the skills are the exactly the same. So I came back to America and I thought, what the heck am I gonna do? I literally have no skills outside of singing. I don't, I can't, I'm not even qualified to run a cash register at McDonald's. I don't know how, you know. I have no skills, but if you want an R, yeah, I got you, you know. Um so I thought, well, I just gonna have to start my own business. You know, I'm just gonna have to dive all in. So I started with real estate marketing. And why real estate? Because let me tell you a little fun fact. What happens when you can no longer perform anymore?

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Well you're forced to be. Oh, okay. There you go. That well, that too. Yes, that too.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Yes, yes, because it's such a great um usage of your personality. You know, real estate agents are so outgoing, you know, they're always on. It's kind of like they have to be that want warm friendly face for people. So a lot of my friends were former performers, they turned real estate agents. So I thought, well, cool, I'm gonna start with them. You know, I I understand them, I love their personality, and it went really well. Um you know them. I knew them to start. Of course, as you go, then you you're just not knowing them. But it did really well. Um, in our first nine months of business, we reached six figures and no paid ads at all. Just organic and PR. Now, mind you, I didn't know it was PR, I just thought it was survival. Then comes the pandemic, right? Every all the realtors are not essential businesses, they go on pause or they cancel. And I'm thinking, what the heck am I gonna do? I go back to what I've always done, which is I'm gonna get into publication so people start knowing about me. And even during the pandemic, they trust me. Within 60 days, I was a contributor to the number one real estate publication in the world, asked to be a brand ambassador, and was on virtual stage to over 1,000 realtors. My marketer friends, needless to say, took notice and said, Victoria, how are you doing this? Can you do this for me in my niche? And I thought, I'm gonna try it. I'm gonna do a beta, I'm gonna see how it works, you know, see how it goes because I really enjoy it. I love meeting people, I love building relationships. That beta went so well, some of those people are still with me to this day. You know, a year later, they're still with me, still getting PR from me. So I realized that it was my superpower. I love to do it. Uh, we scale the six figures in three months, and we've already passed the seven figure month in our first year.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Let's go.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

It's it's been uh a wild, amazing ride. But one of the things I'm most proud of is one, I feel like I found my passion, and it took going through all these crazy journeys to find it. And two, and now it's I've I'm so I'm helping people. I've been in the spotlight my whole life, and now I can shine the spotlight on others. And that's incredible.

SPEAKER_00 11:09

Yeah, it's a great feeling, isn't it? Yeah. So let's talk about why a brand needs PR. Why is public why why is public relations in a very important piece to to to a brand's puzzle?

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Absolutely. So some agency owners will do a neat niche that they've never done before or they've never proven themselves for. For me, I know PR and I'm so passionate and I'm so good at it because I've had to do it for myself. You know, every business that I've built, the real estate, you know, two, six figures in nine months, all organic, all PR. My own PR business, I'd say about five percent of the seven figures is pay tax. Everything else has been word of mouth, just like you, you know, just how you found me through word of mouth, you know, we found each other. I just do good work for my clients, I get into the right publications, and that's how people find out about me. And so this is how I know the power of personal brand because I've seen it in my own life. So this is why I'm able to do it for my clients. Here's the thing, guys, as your ad account's gonna get shut down at some point, right, in time. Pandemics are gonna happen, things are gonna happen outside of your control. You may need to switch niches, you may need to pivot. But if you have a strong personal brand, that's the one thing that no one can take away from you. And if there is, heaven forbid, another pandemic tomorrow and you have to start a new business, you'll be just like me and you can start, and people will follow you because they trust you, because you've built your personal brand. Why do you think I was able to go from a brand new niche to six figures in three months because people trusted me and they knew I'd do a good job because of my personal brand. That's why it's so important, guys.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

So vital. I'll never forget that. Gary Varendjuk told me 11 years ago, Sebastian, your personal brand in perpetuity is your reputation. And I never forgot that. That was one of some of the most sound advice uh he'd ever he'd ever given me, and it still plays out to this day. It's just now it's 2021, and it's like, well, of course, of course we're gonna start a personal brand. I've been beating the personal brand drum for for a minute now, and I'm glad to see that it is becoming the norm. Not just the norm, it's becoming the norm in the world of PR, it's becoming the norm in the world of talent. You know, you you you are judged based on your following, your content, and your talent. Before it was a headshot and talent. Step forward if you heard your name. If not, thanks for coming out. So uh things have changed drastically. Technology's really helped remove some of that, some of that friction on here. Has social media made the game of public relations easier, you think? Because before it was all about your black book, right? It was all about who you had in your Rolodex and who you could the the existing relationship that you had and the direct benefit of the publication. Has has social uh eased that that that process at all?

SPEAKER_01 13:52

Social media has definitely helped PR. And a lot, and I think this is another reason we've been able to scale so quickly is because I'm on the ground floor. Like I'm I'm a marketer just like everybody else. I have an agency just like everybody else. So I'm not this person in an ivory tower who went to school for PR and must do things by the book. That doesn't work anymore. Gorilla marketing works, influencer marketing works, getting your hands, being on the ground level, seeing what are people talking about. That is what PR is these days. Influencer marketing, making the right connections. That's what's important. That's what's gonna move the needle, you know? And so, yeah, absolutely, social media has helped. You know, getting verified on social media is one of the best calling cards you could possibly do. It's like the equivalent of carrying your Academy Award with you everywhere, right? You don't even have to talk about it because it's there. Every time you message somebody, there's that Academy Award, blue check mark, you know. And because of the pandemic, everything is online now. So your digital currency, your digital footprint, the fact that you have that check mark is the greatest thing you can do for your personal brand. You know, getting into magazines like Forbes, Entrepreneur, getting in front of your ideal audience, that's the best thing you can do because we're not, you know, I'm sorry, but things aren't going back to normal. You know, things are staying digital and are only gonna get more digital. So the faster you can realize this, you're gonna be ahead of the game and it'll be easier to get your personal brand up and going.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

So, how come you need to have um all those things in place in order to get verified? Do the platforms go out and verify your credibility based on the amount of press you've got?

SPEAKER_01 15:20

It's it's a variety of things. Press is definitely one of them. It's not followers, it's not what you think, it's not followers or how much money you make. Facebook doesn't care about that. They care if you're credible. Are you how many publications have you been in? Have you been in the right publications? There is a lot that goes into the verification process because, you know, it like I said, it's like winning an Academy Award. You don't just wake, roll out of bed, and get one. Like it there's a lot of work. But if you're working with the right people who know how to do it, you're fine.

SPEAKER_00 15:45

I I want everybody to make sure the plane lands with that. Do you understand? Being verified on a social media platform is your calling card these days. I know I just probably dated myself by saying calling cards. They still exist, though. They still exist. Being verified is when they and they they both work together, right? You've got a you've got a PR strategy on here. If you've been in business for a minute and you're trying to figure out this whole special sauce, listen, no one's coming to save you with your marketing, no one's coming to save you with your advertising and how you communicate and how you create content. It's your responsibility as a brand to make educative decisions on how to go about the right way as you're moving with the times. Getting verified on a social media digital platform, if I would have taught told you that 15 years ago, you would have looked at me like I had 10 heads and boogers. This day and age, it's the norm. So if you're listening to this right now and you're thinking, wait a second, this may be something that we need to take a closer look at. It definitely is. Victoria and I are already off to the races, um, and I've I've I've I've referred her some business, and um, I look forward to our relationship continuing to grow. And this is happening for one reason. Not because she we she's willing to pay a referral fee. That has nothing to do with it. I believe in what she's doing, and I believe in the work she's doing based on the credibility that she has and the existing PR she has. You see that? She's a product of the product, very similar to myself. I'm a podcaster that helps people start a podcast. So um if if if you think this is something that you or direction you want to go, hit me up, send me a message. I don't know where you're watching this, or leave a comment below if you're watching this on YouTube, send me an email, and I'll make a personal introduction to Victoria. I think it's at least worth a conversation for you uh to better understand what's possible with with public relations. So so what's next? What are you working on these days as far as I mean, I know obviously PR, but it's some some exciting stuff. I know you said you'll be in LA in the next couple weeks here. You were you were you were looking to put a team together for an event. So refreshing to hear events actually happening.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

Oh, isn't that nice? Oh, it's so nice. Yeah, we're putting together a great music event next weekend in Santa Monica at the proper hotel on the rooftop. It's a musical duo that is a client of mine, and we have already some top-notch guests who are on the VIP list, like Desmond Child, who wrote Living on a Prayer. Ever heard of that song? Absolutely. Right? So some top AR people, music executives. It's gonna be an incredible event. And that's the great thing about PR. It's all about, you know, networking, relationships. That's why I love what I do because I work in so many different niches. We work in real estate, mortgage, solar, music, entrepreneurs, and you know, entrepreneur can mean anything. But I always tell people it's like it's like building a, it's like going to a dressmaker. You know, your dress may be very unique. Maybe you want a purple wedding dress, right? With flames coming out of it, whatever. But you go to the dressmaker because they have the pattern. So it doesn't matter what your niche is, whatever it is, the pattern stays the same, right? That's how we make you the number one authority in your niche.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

Make you the number one authority in your niche. If listen, if that didn't wake you up for a second and go, wait a second, that sounds extremely attractive. Uh you you can uh you can connect with Victoria through through myself. Uh check her out online too, Victoria KennedyOfficial.com. Uh you can book a call with her or I can make a personal introduction to her. I again I really believe in what you got going on here, Victoria. And I um I I I I look forward to your to your success stories continuing of, hey, we went from seven figures to this and to that. And this PR is so hard to, so hard to to to dial in and to figure out. And a majority of the time it's well, we spend X on PR and great. What does that what is that what does that yield back? I I don't know. So if you're investing or have invested into PR before and the results were, I don't know, yeah, you definitely need to have a conversation with Victoria.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

Yeah, that's a problem. Make sure that you're working with someone who understands it's a brand story, just like you were talking about. You know, it's a story. It's not just, oh, hey, I got you on Forbes. What are you gonna do with that? Does that make sense as part of the story? Like, did you start small? Did you build the story of building your credibility? You know, it's a you're taking your audience on a journey. Don't forget, you're building the credibility in their eyes. It's not just about one random publication or two, it's an entire story you want to bring your entire audience on with you so they come to see you as that industry leader.

SPEAKER_00 20:07

Has podcasting been part of the strategy as far as PR is concerned?

SPEAKER_01 20:10

Absolutely. Absolutely. Podcasting is huge. If you if you haven't already, you know, get on yourself on some podcasts. That is such a huge part of strategies. Everybody's listening to podcasts these days. They see that as such a form of credibility and authority. Make that part of your PR strategy, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Do you hear that? You heard that, right? I just want to make sure the plane, the plane lands, okay? I know I'm beating this drum constantly, but then it's getting echoed from credible people that are that are doing great things and impacting people, leaving their business and them different uh because they're able to implement a strategy that actually works. So if that's you, let me know. Hit me up. I'd be more than happy to introduce and uh introduce you uh to personally introduce you uh to Victoria uh so you can have a conversation about what's possible with that. Victoria, I I commend all of the efforts you your your whole journey. I love. I love how you've just lean in is the is the constant phrase that shows up as you've shared your story. You're you've continued to well show up too. Lean in and show up. There's a tremendous amount of value uh on the other side of continuing to do that. You're now living in your flow state of passion, which I I know there's nothing better than going. I wake up every day and I'm like, I can't believe people compensate me to put a bow tie on and hop on a stage and dance and I have no rhythm. I can't believe this is possible. But 10 years ago, I set out on a mission to say I'm going to do something different. I'm gonna build a personal brand and my brand. I want to I want a longstanding relationship with people uh and I want to make a difference, and I want to do that uh by by sharing my talent with the world. So personal branding's here to stay. Public relations is alive and well. So keep doing what you're doing and uh and stay in touch. I look forward to us continuing to further our relationship too. Come back soon sometime, will you?

SPEAKER_01 21:55

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. It's been it's been a blast.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

It most definitely has. And I learned, I learned a ton here. Friends, I hope you're leaving this episode. Learn at least one or two things that you did not know about the wonderful world of public relations. Until next time. All right, we're good.

SPEAKER_01 22:15

Yay! Yay, good times. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

It is my gift. Funny story, I grew up in a radio station and my dad was a DJ for 30 years. I had zero desire to follow in his footsteps, but I had a buddy tell me on the golf course a couple months ago when I told him that story. He goes, Wow, our genes sure are powerful, aren't they? And I thought, oh, wow. To end up in the world of podcasting. So yeah, I look forward to connecting further with you. I'm head down and identifying new referral partners. That seems to be the best, as you know, the best quality lead that comes in. I sell a $5,000 program that gets people from I think I want to start a podcast to actually launch with their first seven episodes. So I've got that going on, and then I got my book dropped in December too. Podcast Suck if you don't have one. It's on, oh, actually, yours is on the way. So yeah, good times, good times. But I do want to have a conversation with you, just working a few things out on my end here. But um keep your ear to the ground. If you hear anybody that wants to start a podcast, I have a referral program as well, too.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

So yeah, I tagged you in a post that I saw somebody was looking to start a podcast. So I did tag you. I have my feelers out for you.

SPEAKER_00 23:26

I really appreciate I really appreciate that. And I and I did and I did get that too. No, this could this can be a real, real good back and forth, um, especially as I continue to build the podcast launch lab out. It becomes a podcast network and we start offering ancillary services, guest booking, research, PR services, biz dev deals, matchmaking with advertisers and sponsors. But it's getting people to the finish line and then continuing because pod fade is real.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

Yeah, absolutely. I love podfade.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

It is the pod the the the podcast graveyard or or pod fade, but it is definitely but you can't you can't be attached to the outcome of what pe what what it' what other people are responsible for. I can get you to the finish line, but there's only I can't press record, you know. So um exactly. But uh anyway, such a pleasure to connect with you, Victoria, and uh let me know if there's anything I can do to serve you on my side of the fence. I'd be more than happy to help you out.

SPEAKER_01 24:17

Yeah, can I get a recording of this?

SPEAKER_00 24:19

Yes, you most definitely can. Absolutely. Like the raw recording?

SPEAKER_01 24:22

Yeah, that would be great. Because my graphic designer will cut it up and we'll post it and tag you and I do the same exact thing.

SPEAKER_00 24:27

Yeah, I'll send it to you right now, actually. So and then when the when the episode drops, there'll be um there'll be a micro video. There's gonna be a couple with us because you you drop you got you drop some solid nuggets there. So I want to make sure um that uh we'll we'll create two or three of those. Um so everything will be in a Google Drive folder. So I'll just email you everything. Um that way you just have the assets, and all you gotta do is copy and paste and post. That would be fantastic. Yeah, and I'll send you the raw file right now.

SPEAKER_01 24:51

Awesome. Thank you so much, Sebastian.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

Thank you, Victoria. You're amazing. Have a great day, and I'll talk to you soon, all right? You too. Alrighty, bye bye. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode of the Beyond the Story Podcast. We sure do appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. We sure do appreciate it. Signing off from the podcast, launchlab.com studios. We'll talk to you next time.