Women’s History Month is not just about acknowledging the achievements of women who came before us. It is about making note of the women we surround ourselves with who are making history today.

The days of all women being placed in boxes of just childrearing or homemaking are gone as women themselves continuously burst through each ceiling placed above them. The women we traditionally celebrate throughout Women’s History Month are merely the spark of the modern day woman: one made of strength, grit and passion for building and excelling in all aspects of her life—professionally, personally and more.

An attribute of the female power network that never fails to disappoint, surprise, and most importantly, empower me is the success that spurs from women supporting women.

I have worked nearly my entire career until joining NP Strategy in male dominated industries like journalism and politics and rarely had a female boss. Due to those early years, I typically built relationships with male mentors and never understood the importance of honing in on those female leaders until later in my career.

Madeline Albright might have the most famous quote on this subject but I’ve always liked Gloria Vanderbilt’s take the best, “I always believed that one woman’s success can only help another woman’s success.” I truly believe this.

And men, don’t stop reading now. This dialogue is almost more important for you than it is for the women reading this today.

In my role working with clients at every level of the corporate ladder and managing internal relationships across a female dominated firm, I have to be incredibly cognizant of the behavior around me and the performance I exude. Here are a few tactics I recommend we all consider when working with our team members to build a supportive and cohesive environment in our workplace:

1) Fully commit to the understanding that your colleagues’ achievements can assist in your long-term success. I have personally experienced or watched colleagues worry about the success of a partner or colleague to the detriment of their own efforts. It shouldn’t work that way. You can always learn from your friends, colleagues and family members and being able to see success in action will only help you in achieving your own goals.

2) Don’t just say you support women—put in the work to back it up. There are many instances in which women in leadership preach about their interest in seeing other female leaders, or promote their organization’s efforts in hiring female employees. However, when it comes time to share opportunities or work with other females on their individual success, it turns into a game involving egos and a lack of interest in moving the ball forward on a larger scale. Voicing your commitment to DEI is not enough. Implement support at every step of leadership.

3) Use your time and energy in building up the next generation. I have heard, and admittedly been part of, conversations about the work ethic of the next generation and the differences in what we’ve seen in generations before us. Without teaching and spending time with these young people and displaying the work ethic and professional behaviors we expect, we are effectively setting them up to fail. Help them understand the importance of work-life balance while reminding them the importance of deadlines.

With the ongoing growth of women leaders from Lou Kennedy at Nephron Pharmaceuticals to Vice President Kamala Harris, women are the future of business and politics. We can do the job just like men, if not better, with high heels on and a dinner to cook for two kids and a spouse at home. If we all work together to achieve each other’s successes, our potential is great but our accomplishments will be greater.

5 1/2 Simple Tips Before Doing an On-Camera Interview

The local news reporter did not draw your name out of a hat, or the fishbowl they used to pick the names of “tributes” in The Hunger Games movie. And while the thought of doing a television interview may make you feel like you’re about to enter a dystopian nightmare, remember you were called because of your expertise. Or, your PR team pitched the story. Either way you are the expert, so own it!

Before you walk into the television studio or hop on a virtual call to do an interview, here are some tips:

1) Know your message.

Traditionally, a journalist is not going to share a list of questions with you in advance of the interview, but if you stop to think about it, you should have a good idea of what he or she is going to focus on. Write down potential questions before the broadcast and jot down responses.

If your business or organization has any vulnerabilities, consider how you will respond to those questions too, just in case. The goal is to never be caught off guard.

2) Prepare

Read the responses you have written aloud. When you hear your answers, you may find that they are too wordy. Writing down possible Q&A ahead of time and rehearsing the answers presents the perfect opportunity to cut out excess language and develop pithy responses. While preparation is key, don’t rehearse your answers to the point that you sound like you are reading Shakespeare. You want to come across as knowledgeable and authentic, not like actor Kenneth Branagh’s, Henry V.

3) Don’t feel pressure to fill the silence

The reporter asks a question. You deliver a smart and memorable soundbite and you are ready to move on to question number two, but the reporter remains silent for what feels like an eternity. This is where people tend to get into trouble. Five to ten seconds of silence during an interview can feel much longer, so instead of owning the silence, people start trying to fill the space, often with rambling mumbo jumbo. Don’t fall into this trap. Just breath, and the reporter will respond by the time you exhale.

4) Dress Smartly

A television interview is not the time to try out your new neon green button down or micro-mini. Okay, you would never do that, but you get the idea. If you are doing a studio interview, look professional. Wear colors that pop on-camera and avoid busy patterns altogether. Ladies should not cake on extra make-up or drape themselves in jewelry. You are doing the interview in order to deliver a message. Don’t let the message get lost because people are distracted by your bling.

5) Remember to listen…and smile.

Sometimes people are so prepared and geared-up to answer the questions they’ve rehearsed, they fail to listen to the journalist. When that happens they miss opportunities to show some personality and engage in a conversation with the reporter. Even worse, the interviewee may not respond to a reporter’s question and come off as pompous or disengaged.

Finally, remember to smile! Smiling makes you look comfortable and confident and draws in viewers. Some might say, “I can’t smile when there is a somber story,” The truth is, your face tends to look flat on a television screen. When you sit expressionless during a television interview you come across as uncaring or indifferent. Leaning into an interview with a pleasant expression can make you seem more human and give you a sense of authority.

Seasoned communications professionals take the time to brush up on media training regularly. If you want to practice your on-camera skills or prepare for a big speech or presentation, contact our team of communications pros!

In this day and age, if you want your company to reach its maximum potential, a concerted effort must be made to use social media. But it goes deeper than just posting a few sentences every day. Successful brands are frequently discussed and part of the conversation, even when they aren’t directly involved. This impacts brand awareness and creates visibility for your company, which can have a positive impact on your bottom line. So, where do you start? Here are a few tips on how to use social media to increase brand awareness.

First, choose the right platform(s) for your audience. Once you do that, you’ll know exactly who you’re talking to. From there, deliver engaging content and encourage your audience to share it. The more people you get to share what you’ve posted, the more chances you have of growing your audience, which will allow you to make a greater impact and be a part of the larger conversation.

Next, connect with influencers and other brands that are like-minded and share your vision. This is a great way to tap into their followers while building a social media campaign that speaks to your audience as well. At its core, social media is about building a community, so retweeting, sharing, liking and commenting increase overall engagement. Customers and followers love being mentioned on social media, so feel free to include them in the same post as their favorite influencer.

And finally, invest in promoted posts and advertising. Social media is not what it used to be, with some platforms changing their algorithms weekly. Facebook, Instagram and others limit the reach of posts to your audience, leading to plummeted engagement across brands and accounts. In order to combat this, you should make sure your company invests in promoted posts and advertising via posts and stories. And remember authenticity is key – ads that come across as organic perform best and lead to more conversions.

When a crisis hits there is no time to spare. If you do not have a crisis and risk management plan in place, there is even less time to discuss what steps need to be taken and how to handle the issues at hand. But if you plan in advance, when a crisis does hit (and it most likely will) you can confidently handle the situation and keep everything under control.

At NPS+ we offer an array of services including crisis management. We provide a written Risk and Crisis Management Plan that includes:

• Crisis management guidelines principles
• Crisis response steps
• Crisis management plan implementation, capabilities and maintenance
• Identification of key company risk and how to handle

Each client is going to have different needs when it comes to crisis preparation, so NPS+ can create a customized crisis plan catered to your needs. A construction firm may need to focus more on training employees who could potentially be hurt on the job. An international manufacturing company may focus on supply chain issues. A school may need to focus on teacher relations or student athletics. Having an organizational rollout of the crisis response program will provide a guidebook for leadership, employees, and even board members and stakeholders to follow in a time of need.

NPS+ offers onsite crisis and risk training with a full day of “real life” scenarios.  Practice answering questions from media, stakeholders, parents, etc. so you don’t get caught off guard speaking off the cuff in a moment of panic. Our team of former journalists and communications professionals will set your company up for success. Prepping beforehand keeps your company on the offense and not the defense.

Don’t let a lack of preparation for a crisis BECOME your crisis.

Corporate Advocacy or CSR efforts should be tied to the company’s bottom line to ensure effective and meaningful engagement that supports all stakeholders involved. It’s not widely accepted that a company’s CSR efforts or their support of societal issues should be tied to their bottom line. But ultimately it should. Good corporate advocacy should be directly tied to advancing an organization’s mission and vision or else it might not be meaningful.

Corporate advocacy looks very different today than it did 10 or even five years ago. Today, it’s about being impactful and taking action. The 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer (2021 Edelman Trust Barometer | Edelman) reported that out NGOs, government, media, and business – business was seen as the most trusted institution, and 86 percent of respondents agree that CEOS should lead on societal issues.  Consumers want companies to be active corporate citizens and those brands that do it right can build a strong and loyal brand following.

Here are three tips to creating a corporate advocacy program that will build brand loyalists:

• Be Authentic. Identify organizations and issues to support that mean something to you and the mission of your company.
• Leverage Community Partners: You don’t have to do it alone or be the smartest person in the room. Identify partners that are aligned with your cause and efforts to help move the needle on the issue.
• Engage Your Employees: Your employees have bought into your mission and culture and should be aligned with your community efforts. Having a visible presence (not just financial) on your cause is extremely important. You don’t want to be seen as just throwing money at an issue. Added bonus, it will help with employee retention efforts too!

Reporters these days are busy, and their inboxes are overflowing. I should know: I recently joined NP Strategy after years of covering South Carolina politics at The Post and Courier, the state’s largest newspaper.

As a result, rising above the deluge of press releases, internal discussions and general junk with a new story idea requires tact, relationship-building — and, of course, sometimes a bit of luck.

Here are a few tips to boost your odds:

• Know what they cover. Ideally, you should be a regular, longtime reader of the reporter’s work, so you already know not just their beat but which specific topics within their beat interest them most. If you’re reaching out to someone you’re less familiar with, take the time to fully research their approach first.
• Introduce yourself, ideally in person. Reporters are generally less likely to screen your calls or glaze over your emails if they can put a face to the name and have an existing (positive) relationship with you. Try to find time to grab coffee with them, and don’t make that initial meeting immediately transactional.

• Prioritize and limit pitches. Just because you’ve now built up some goodwill with a reporter does not mean that it’s infinite. Do not start flooding them with every story idea of dubious news value or they will start lumping you in with every other inbox clutterer they routinely ignore.

• Drop the jargon and meaningless clichés. The reporter is going to have to write their story in normal human English that an average reader could understand. Make it easier on them by explaining it in those terms from the outset.

• When possible, pitch well in advance. Most reporters are not sitting around waiting for your call or email. They already have a lot on their plate and will only drop everything for major breaking news. If the pitch has a deadline, approach them as early as possible so they can plan to get to it later.
• Consider the bigger picture. If the pitch doesn’t rise to the level of a standalone article, could it fit as one piece of a broader trend story?

• Do not lie. The simplest and most important rule. Spin to your heart’s content, but a full fabrication will irrevocably ruin your reputation.

• Turn to experts for help. The team at NP Strategy already knows the media landscape in the Carolinas and beyond. Reach out for guidance instead of plunging into unfamiliar waters.

In 2012, I left a thriving career in Washington, DC to move back to my native state of South Carolina. Apart from family and friends, a driving factor in my decision to move back to South Carolina was my desire to be able to make an impact in my community.

Looking back, it’s hard to believe that Columbia has been my home for nearly a decade. When I first moved to Columbia, I had a handful of personal relationships, but very few professional relationships. Nevertheless, I was determined to hit the ground running and get involved.

I quickly sought out individuals and organizations I aligned with to see how I could be engaged in the community outside of my job. My involvement with local organizations allowed me to not only build my network in Columbia but also strengthen my skill sets. One organization gave me public speaking opportunities while another organization helped me learn patience as I aided an elementary student with reading. Each experience helping me grow as an individual, both personally and professionally.

Due to my steady commitment to one organization, in particular, I’m proud to share that I am chairing the Board of Directors of the Columbia Chamber this year. The Chamber matches my personal interests of wanting to make a difference for my community while also complimenting my professional interest in helping businesses succeed. As I look back on my decision to move back to South Carolina to try to make a difference, I’m beyond grateful for the friends and mentors who have encouraged and guided me along the way allowing me the opportunity to serve in this capacity.

So, my plea to you is to get involved in your local community! Some people choose to get involved through elected office, while others give back through their churches. Whatever your outlet, get in the arena and you will realize you get way more out of it than you give.

Here are a few things to consider when deciding whether to engage:

• Are you passionate about the organization?
• Can you commit time to the organization?
• What talent or attribute could you bring to the organization?

My friends in development have taught me that giving back is not just about providing financial resources, it’s more about sharing your time and your talent. I hope you will join me in giving back to your community!