PR Pros: Steve Turner of Solomon Turner PR On The 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro
Public Affairs and Lobbying. This is a form of public relations rarely seen by the public. It involves individuals charged with helping their companies or organizations influence politicians to vote a certain way on various forms of legislation. The goal is to help the company maintain its positioning, prevent a new bill or law from harming its ability to conduct business as currently practiced, or enact new legislation to better serve its corporate stakeholders.
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 Steve Turner.
Steve Turner is the co-owner and principal of Solomon Turner PR in St. Louis, recognized by Small Business Monthly as one of the top PR firms in St. Louis for 13 years in a row. Steve has over 30 years of experience in public relations and marketing, and has written dozens of articles and been interviewed on radio and TV on various aspects of PR and communications. He and his firm specialize in media relations and have worked with well-known personalities, large corporations, entrepreneurs and small businesses throughout the US.
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 started in journalism. My original career path was in radio and television broadcasting sports and news.
In addition to on-air activities I also was involved with ad sales, copywriting, and commercial production.
Over time I realized that opportunities to move to a prestigious job in broadcasting were extremely limited.
A business colleague offered me a chance to work at an ad agency. I liked the idea of offering clients the big idea that could be applied to a multitude of mediums.
I learned a lot at that agency, and, when the timing became right, I opened my own small PR firm, and later merged with another agency. I haven’t looked back since.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?
One that in many ways put us on the map occurred by happenstance.
I was listening to motivational tapes created by an outstanding speaker named Brian Tracy. His ideas for success made sense and struck a chord with me personally.
In those days you listened to cassette tapes for educational purposes as well as music and entertainment.
It turns out that I was with a client at a radio station preparing him for an on-air interview when in pops a gentleman carrying a large number of Brian Tracy cassette albums.
I introduced myself and found out Brian was coming to our town, St. Louis, to speak at a public seminar. As a big fan, I offered to publicize the event in exchange for tickets.
The seminar promoter loved the idea, he had no real money to spend on promotion, so this became a win-win for both of us.
The promotion went well and the event made a sizeable profit. The promoter hired us, in real cash this time, to represent Tracy and the seminars in markets all over the country.
Later some of the people who worked with Tracy left to go to work with Anthony Robbins Seminars and they hired us to work with Robbins.
We developed a nice reputation helping promoters build attendance at motivational seminars. At one time we were representing a good amount of speakers working with seminar promoters throughout the U.S.
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?
It wasn’t funny at the time but I had booked a client for a radio interview I thought he could easily handle. Unfortunately he was frightened by the site of a microphone and the large studio.
Needless to say the interview did not go well. You could feel his pain trying to sound conversational and answer the questions posed by the host.
It taught me to always, always, make sure our clients got at least a minimum amount of media training before getting them in front of a microphone.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
We are fortunate to have a variety of great clients in many business segments. One that is highly exciting is a growing commercial woodworking firm, Cohen Architectural Woodworking, in St. James, MO.
Cohen has clients nationwide, ownership is top notch and two of the founder’s sons have taken over the company with excellent ideas to continue to build sales and revenue.
Recently they were recognized as one of the Small Business Giants by Forbes and were featured on the cover of Woodshop News, a key trade journal. It an excellent company and we are pleased to build on our relationship.
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?
Three character traits must instrumental to my success include…
1. Strong networking skills.
Relationship building is basically what we do. Whether you are trying to land new clients or in the pursuit of a reporter to write a client story, the ability to reach out and helps others achieve their goals, while at the same time, learning about you and your business, will serve you well.
We have created many outstanding business relationships that started from attending various networking events.
People will often pull me aside and say they have someone who could really use our help.
Networking has helped us secure dozens of clients through referrals and establish some strong relationships with editors and reporters as well.
2. Excellent writing capabilities.
The ability to tell a story is a great skill that separates great PR people from the rest of the pack.
Most business owners are good at a running a company but need assistance to communicate their message and generate impactful media grabbing stories.
Over time I have honed my writing skills to tell a story pitch that is not only interesting but also clear and concise.
These efforts have helped land clients on national television and in a number of magazines, newspapers, blogs, news posts and podcasts.
3. Persistence.
Fortunately I had a strong sales background prior to starting to my own agency, so I was familiar with the high amount of rejection that can come from pursuing client relationships and stories with top tier media outlets.
Sometimes it may take six or seven emails and/or phone calls before you attract the attention of a reporter.
I have often landed stories on the fourth, fifth or sixth attempt. Persistence is a necessary trait to build a successful career in public relations.
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?
According to the Public Relations Society of America, “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”
To accomplish this goal one must communicate to different segments of the entire business ecosystem. This can include the following forms of public relations.
1. Media Relations.
This is what PR is primarily known for but actually is just one segment of the practice. Media Relations is what is commonly known as publicity.
It helps the company deliver its message to its current and prospective customers through the use of traditional and social media via articles, interviews, blogs, photos and podcasts.
2. Employee Relations.
This is the internal part of a company’s PR plan.
It utilizes a variety of strategies and techniques to keep the team aware of everything newsworthy happening within the company as well as clarify any external news that may occur.
It can include communicating messages through an employee handbook, newsletter or internal network, to special events honoring team members, to developing weekly or monthly employee recognition.
3. Crisis Communications.
Crisis Communications is called into play when a crisis occurs at a company location.
In most cases the crisis can be caused by a weather event (tornado, hurricane, etc.). In some cases it can be caused by a fire, shooting or act of violence.
It requires the business to develop and, in some instances, practice its strategy to ensure all procedures are in place to first protect its employees, and then setup a nearby command center if possible to communicate any type of messaging and updates to the media.
This type of effort is often tied-in with those of local police and other authorities.
4. Event Planning.
I broke this out separately because events (prior to Covid) were a growing piece of the public relations landscape.
Many companies plan and host special events from corporate picnics to ground breakings for new buildings, to ribbon cuttings, to customer appreciation events and more.
In many cases professionals skilled in event planning are needed to execute each activity. The PR department should play a strong role in ensuring the company’s messaging is communicated in the right way.
5. Public Affairs and Lobbying.
This is a form of public relations rarely seen by the public.
It involves individuals charged with helping their companies or organizations influence politicians to vote a certain way on various forms of legislation.
The goal is to help the company maintain its positioning, prevent a new bill or law from harming its ability to conduct business as currently practiced, or enact new legislation to better serve its corporate stakeholders.
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 would recommend an individual get a degree in journalism. The ability to write and communicate clearly is a highly needed skill in public relations.
Prospective PR pros will learn how to write great stories, or develop them for broadcast purposes, by attending a school known for its journalism curriculum. Plus, they will able to practice these skills writing for the school newspaper and/or working for the college’s radio or TV station.
They will see how the journalistic process works from both sides of the desk. Since most young PR professionals will be pitching stories to writers and editors, understanding the needs of a journalist will be extremely helpful.
I would also suggest they pursue a master’s degree either in business, public relations or communications. Some clarity into the operations and business side of public relations will also be helpful as you progress in your career.
You are known as a master networker. Can you share some tips on great networking?
I would recommend attending as many business events as possible at the outset. The goal is to get know a variety of people in business, public relations and media.
Keep in mind the great networkers don’t just go to talk about themselves but also to see if they can help others achieve their goals. You should too.
Politely work your way into conversations with others without being pushy.
I would ask other attendees to meet you for lunch or a coffee. The one-on-one meetings is where you can develop a lot of great relationships that will serve you both now and in the future.
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?
Most of our leads come from referrals from other business people. This is where strong networking, as described above, comes into play. By the time they reach us they have been “qualified” in most ways by our referral partner.
We also look for relationship building with other firms that complement our PR practice but are not competitors. This can range from business consultants to SEO firms. Over time they learn the type of companies that are good fits for our agency.
Finally you need to adequately position yourself and your firm online. By highlighting some of your key work on LinkedIn, on your website, on social outlets, and using SEO to rank high on Google searches, prospective clients can learn a lot about your company and the type of results you can provide.
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.
My five things for a successful career in public relations would include…
1. Top notch writing skills.
I attended a seminar once when the presenter said if you can write, and write well, you will always have a job. This is a key for those in public relations who must present ideas and story pitches in a clear, concise and interesting fashion.
Fortunately I have been around long enough to have honed my skills over the years, and have written numerous articles for both clients and myself that have been published in all types of trade journals and online publications.
My writing includes chapters on PR for a book for a business colleague. Once I was contacted by a professor who wanted to incorporate something I wrote into their PR curriculum at their college.
Whether its articles, blogs, or even long posts on social media-write, write and write some more. Compare your writing to those of top highly paid professionals. Then adjust and keep improving.
2. The ability to craft a great story.
Storytelling is a key part of the PR professional’s repertoire.
Learn how to communicate your thoughts and ideas into shorter platforms.
Sometimes an excellent photo or a video can make a big impact with your audience.
An interesting headline can draw a reporter or your audience into the heart of your story desiring to learn more.
Read your local business publication who will often attract your interest by teasing you with a headline.
“Local pet food company creates new breakthrough nutrition for dogs and cats.”
You definitely want to find out who the company is and what their pet food is all about.
3. Enhanced selling skills.
Whether you are pitching a story to a reporter, attempting to influence your team to take a certain strategic direction with an account, or trying to convince your boss to give you more responsibility, the ability to sell your ideas is paramount to your success.
Many sales skills can be learned from a variety of sources in books, seminars and one-on-one training.
Enrolling in an in-person or online zoom course will enable you to make sample presentations, gain feedback, and improve your selling skills.
Over the years I have picked up and utilized valuable tips from Anthony Robbins, Brian Tracy and others to become a better salesperson.
4. Leadership capabilities.
Any businessperson will tell you there is a difference in managing a team versus just managing yourself.
Public Relations professionals who wish to climb the ladder will eventually be in charge of a client and an account team.
Those who can build trust and motivate their teams to high levels of performance can secure growing responsibility and eventually move into vice-president status or higher. Some will start their own firms.
It all begins by desiring and accepting more responsibility, then learning what motivates others and what does not, and putting those successful nuggets into practice.
5. Flexibility.
When I started my career there was no internet, no cell phones.
Media placements were earned the old fashioned way, by tracking down editors and reporters by a landline phone and pitching them story ideas.
Only a few key media players existed at the time. In our market there was the daily newspaper which was well read in those days, three network affiliated TV stations with news operations, one or two news oriented radio stations, and a business journal or two.
Then along came the internet, digital media and everything that would eventually come with it. Traditional media suffered from shrinking audiences and more emphasis became placed on blogs, videos, online publications and social media.
Some old veterans in the PR business never did adjust to the new communications environment. Many closed shop or retired.
Our firm, like everyone else, had to undergo a learning process to gain a grasp on the new digital world. We took courses and learned the new ways to communicate.
The lesson here is to always remain flexible and not be afraid to tackle new projects and new technologies as they occur.
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. 🙂
I would like to see some kind of overall campaign to end gun violence, especially in our metro areas. I understand city governments and local tasks forces are traveling various neighborhoods to help educate young people on the dangers of fire arms and the benefits of a high school or college education. However it could be a game changer if movie stars, recording stars, and celebrities, and social media stars, especially those followed by teens and others, made strong statements against gun violence on TV, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
This was really meaningful! Thank you so much for your time.
PR Pros: Steve Turner of Solomon Turner PR On The 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.