Increase your Reach Across Platforms

I am not one to push my religion on other people but my Washington DC church home (@CapCityChurchDC) is amazingly progressive. One sermon that I often revisit came from the Executive Pastor, @HarrisonWilder, on October 06, 2013. The sermon entitled ‘Great Faith. Little Faith.’ spoke about reach, and ways to increase your reach across platforms and through  people.

My interpretation of the points he made related back to my journey as a professional and publicist. I have the bold face words highlighted on the wall in my office just to help me when I get off track. Many times I revisit my notes when I am dismayed with a client or am just in need of a reminder of what it takes to be on top.

• Become a good listener, people will tell you what you need and where they are. Listening comes in handy not just when speaking with clients but also with their publics. Proper response to complaints, feedback and compliments are key factors in maintaining and retaining good reach with public.

• You must seek to effect one life at a time, make your message personal. A message that appears to be custom tailored  is more likely to get a response than those that are mass produced. Sometimes expanding your reach can come from just touching a few, remember not everything has to be grassroots.

• Get intentional, develop a concise message that gets your point across. Once you get the attention of a public they do not want to be spammed or overloaded with information. Have your message make sense, as if you were to explain it to your Grandma!

• Get prayerful, as you develop and finalize your plan, literally talk about it outloud. Once you have created the steps that will get you to the finish line have faith that it’ll happen. Most importantly on your journey to the finish line you cannot forget to be thankful for the progress that has been made with each bit of movement.

• Take small steps, when you take too much on, you will just drown yourself. Don’t go for the home run right off the bat, mistakes are less likely to be made when you take your time, within reason, to ensure it gets done correctly.

• Utilize community, although as publicist we want to be able to do it all no person is superman/woman. You cannot be afraid to ask for help and utilize the resources around you when you are unsure

• Be patient, change takes time and good things come to those who wait. I cannot think of one brand that went from inception to household name overnight, know that you must create and follow a process..

• Believe that people are hungry to live in their own purpose. This is key in choosing and keeping the right clients, if you are working harder than the client is working themselves there is something wrong. If a client doesn’t believe in themselves or their product what are we working for?

The points that he gave not only help increase your reach but help you become a better influencer or game changer. I believe that these are important to remember on this journey to go from being extra ordinary to extraordinary.