PR Pros: Katherine Cotsonas Hoagland of k + co On The 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro
Ask for help early and often. PR pros are often the go-to for a variety of marketing problems. In fact, when you’re working directly with brand and business owners, sometimes you’re a strategic catch-all for a variety of problems. While you shouldn’t work in a silo or stick to outdated tactics, you don’t need to do it all or be it all by yourself. I love looping in other subject matter experts as teammates when the problem calls for it.
Have you seen the show Flack? Ever think of pursuing a real-life career in PR? What does it take to succeed in PR? What are the different forms of Public Relations? Do you have to have a college degree in PR? How can you create a highly lucrative career in PR? In this interview series, called “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro” we are talking to successful publicists and Public Relations pros, who can share stories and insights from their experiences.
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Katherine Cotsonas Hoagland. She’s been thriving as a startup and small business thrill seeker for over ten years. She’s best described as a professional hype girl and media wrangler with a knack for the e-intro.
Katherine started k + co. in 2019 to help brands, organizations + people find their voice. She amplifies brand awareness with strategic partnerships, events, business consulting and traditional earned media. She’s worked with clients in hospitality, beauty, health + wellness, politics, and beyond. Katherine has placed hundreds of pieces in national publications for dozens of clients.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I graduated from American University with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, but I realized quickly that the news side of media was not for me. I was much more interested in how stories and messages got to reporters and editors in the first place. I did a short stint in federal consulting learning more traditional communications tactics, then hopped around the startup world for a bit. After working with another PR firm for a year, I realized that it made much more sense to develop my own business rather than to keep bringing clients to someone else. My path is a good demonstration of gathering experience across a few industries and environments before making the jump to start your own firm.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your company?
Well, if you do the math, k + co. started in December 2019. We signed a few clients, launched a few partnerships, and placed a few stories before…an international pandemic hit. In some ways, pandemic world is all k + co. has ever known! Luckily, March of 2020 proved to be a key turning point for many businesses. We signed several big clients that month who were looking for strategic guidance on how to move forward. We pride ourselves on the work we did to guide hospitality clients through closures, pivots, and business changes during the early days of the pandemic.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I always say you don’t know what you don’t know. As a new entrepreneur, the most flawed or laughable idea you can have is that you already know what you’re doing. Approach everything with a curiosity and open mindedness that you might be (or probably are) wrong. Specifically, me + numbers = a disaster. I’m a right-brain kinda gal! Thinking I could do accounting without…an accountant…is still funny to me.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Every day is a new adventure! I’ve really enjoyed getting acquainted with TikTok and Instagram Reels for clients like Pimento Chz Club and Rooster & Owl. Rooter & Owl also has a new concept in the works, launching in late 2022/early 2023. Now that in-person events are back, I can’t wait to put together some large-scale partnerships.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I am endlessly curious. Learning information about obscure people, places, and things has often led to my most creative ideas. I’m an incredibly good communicator, which is simply a non-negotiable in PR leadership. Being an out-of-the-box thinker is also key — clients don’t want cookie cutter solutions, they want custom strategies.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. For the benefit of our readers, can you help articulate what the different forms of PR are?
In today’s changing media landscape, good PR pros know that they’ll need to balance the following things:
- Strategic planning
- Brand management
- Media networking
- Content creation
- Audience building
Where should a young person considering a career in PR start their education? Should they get a degree in communications? A degree in journalism? Can you explain what you mean?
I have a journalism degree, but I certainly don’t think it’s a requirement. It’s more important to focus on building a key set of skills: writing and communicating clearly and efficiently, getting a good understanding of the media landscape, learning a brand or organization quickly, and measuring progress. A lot of young folks are very social media savvy, so I recommend starting with a social media platform as a case study. Do you understand the ins and outs of the platform? How would you use this platform to help a brand achieve better brand awareness? Can you create content that align with these goals? Do you know how to use all the technology associated with the platform? Can you measure your success? If the answer to all these questions is yes, that’s a good indicator you’d be able to translate those skills over to other forms of digital or even traditional media.
I also did a LOT of internships and worked in a variety of environments until I found the best use of my skills and experience. I’d say the most valuable of these is the time I spent working in news and media — it builds a level of empathy and understanding of the press that has been key in my success.
You are known as a master networker. Can you share some tips on great networking?
Drop all pretense and connect authentically. There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for a favor trade if it mutually benefits both parties. Stay open to similarities and differences you have with folks across industries — the more you share, the more likely you are to find inroads to opportunities. If you approach networking from an aspect of — “how can I help this person” versus “how can this person benefit me” you’ll build a rich network in no time. I also truly think there is nothing better than a good old handwritten thank you note.
Lead generation is one of the most important aspects of any business. Can you share some of the strategies you use to generate good, qualified leads?
Word of mouth referrals have been our best source of qualified leads. It’s also incredibly important to be upfront and clear about your services and rates from the start of the conversation with a potential client. This saves everyone time and frustration in the long run.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro” and why.
- Ask for help early and often. PR pros are often the go-to for a variety of marketing problems. In fact, when you’re working directly with brand and business owners, sometimes you’re a strategic catch-all for a variety of problems. While you shouldn’t work in a silo or stick to outdated tactics, you don’t need to do it all or be it all by yourself. I love looping in other subject matter experts as teammates when the problem calls for it.
- Become acquainted with risk versus reward. I’ve worked in PR in a variety of environments — from federal consulting to startups, working both in-house and freelance. There are tradeoffs in every single situation. A lot of folks I know who are doing PR internally at a company or corporation are jealous of the flexibility I have as an entrepreneur, but they don’t realize I’m working (or worrying about work!) almost 24/7. Every environment has its own risk and reward, and every PR pro needs to figure out what situation enables them to produce the best results.
- You’re the boss — you can customize anything and everything. This was a true ah-ha moment for me during the pandemic, when the hospitality industry was tackling unprecedented challenges. Custom strategies just perform better and are more helpful than always sticking to the script of traditional PR tactics.
- Be a mentor and seek mentorship. My business mentors have been indispensable as both a source of qualified business leads and a place where I can get unbiased opinions. I’ve also really enjoyed flexing my teaching muscles with mentees. It’s a great way to give back without expectation.
- Find a “co-worker.” As a PR entrepreneur, you do get to build a team of colleagues, but finding someone who deals with the same issues and challenges you do daily is so key. I have one specific friend who also has her own firm and has the same kind of mix of clients that I do. Rather than looking at her as a competitor, we’ve teamed up for a variety of things and can talk freely about what has worked and what hasn’t. She’s also a confidante when it comes to the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurship.
Because of the role you play, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
No more gatekeeping! My philosophy is the less we gatekeep strategies, contacts, rates, salaries, etc. — the more we can move the media, PR, and marketing industries forward. I’d love to create a platform or a place for industry professionals and media to connect in a way that benefits everyone and promotes transparency. Social media has democratized information sharing, but the algorithms still emphasize some themes, groups, and stories over others. In a perfect world, my hypothetical platform would give voice to the lesser known (and sometimes more important) stories.
This was really meaningful! Thank you so much for your time.
PR Pros: Katherine Cotsonas Hoagland of k + co On The 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.