Laura Perkes Of PR with Perkes: 5 Things You Should Do To Become a Thought Leader In Your Industry
An Interview With Abe Alon
Business owners often hide behind their business or brand profile and slowly fade into the shadows, forcing the attention to be on the products, services or outcomes of working with you, but that’s not what people want. Your customers and clients want to see YOU and get to know YOU, the person who started it all. They want to be able to connect with you, your story and your journey, to make sure that you really are someone they can invest in.
As part of our series about how to become known as a thought leader in your industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Perkes.
Laura Perkes is a PR Strategist, Brand Storyteller and the Founder of PR with Perkes. She’s also the bestselling author of How To Get PR. Laura works with female founders to position them as the go-to authority in their industry, to attract more leads, more clients and more money. She does this through her premium PR Concierge Service, or by teaching them how to do their own PR.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
My career in Public Relations happened by accident. At 17 years old I knew I wanted to go to university and I wanted to study radio journalism. I love meeting new people, having conversations and bonding over music, so becoming a Radio DJ sounded like heaven. Until I visited a university open day and saw what was required of me. Being a Radio DJ isn’t all about speaking to people playing music and having fun, there’s a lot of tech involved, so as soon as I saw that the recording studio was decked out with knobs and buttons from floor to ceiling, I freaked out!
This was further enhanced by the fact that the university lecturer made it very clear that the only way you could make it as a Radio DJ was less about what you knew and more about who you knew. I was 17 years old, I didn’t know anyone!! I hadn’t been an apprentice at a radio station, I didn’t have any experience and I didn’t have a Little Black Book of contacts or well-connected parents.
Both of these things combined meant that my dreams were shattered. I gave up before I even started. However, I was still left with a decision to make — what was I going to study at university?
A conversation with my Mum resulted in me Googling communication degrees, which is when I stumbled across PR. I did some research, it ticked all my boxes and that’s where my career in PR began. I studied between 2001 and 2004 and went straight to work when I graduated in 2004. Over the next nine years I worked for two different London-based PR agencies, before deciding that I no longer wanted to play a part in building someone else’s dream, I wanted to build my own. In 2013 I set up my own PR agency and continue to build the business today.
Can you briefly share with our readers why you are an authority about the topic of thought leadership?
As a PR Strategist and Brand Storyteller, I’ve been working with brands and thought leaders for my entire career to date. I’d also consider myself to be a thought leader as I’ve worked in the PR industry for over 18 years and also have a degree in Public Relations, so I’m well versed in the theoretical side and practical side of PR. Working with clients 121 and also teaching entrepreneurs how to secure their own PR means that I’ve still got boots on the ground and understand the intricacies of the industry.
To me, that’s what a thought leader is; someone who has mastered the art of their chosen subject or career, by continually developing their skills, reacting to the demands of the market and sharing their knowledge and expertise with others.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
I wouldn’t say that there’s one specific interesting thing that has happened to me since I started my career, but lots of lessons along the way. So perhaps the interesting story is to reframe the lessons to see the positives in everything, however small they may be. It’s not always easy to do this, but once you’ve learnt how to spot the positives in everything you become more resilient and find it easier to adapt in times of uncertainty or adversity. I saw a quote on Instagram recently that said: The lesson will keep repeating itself until you learn it. It felt like a slap in the face as it’s so true! As a business owner you’ll never get everything right the first time, and to be honest, you shouldn’t want to as running a business should be fun and experimental. If it’s not, it becomes boring and you don’t take the risks that will help you to grow.
Success shouldn’t ever be a defined moment in time, but a state of flow that increases and decreases when it needs to. Growth is never smooth or plain sailing and it’s very rarely an upwards trajectory. We often have to take a step backwards to propel forwards, but learning that that’s ok is one of the biggest lessons that I’ve learnt in recent years.
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?
When I was working as a Junior Account Executive at the first PR agency I worked at, I was tasked with writing a lot of our client’s press releases. Nearly every time I sent them to my boss to approve, she would shout across the room ‘how many companies is (insert client name)’, to which I’d reply ‘one’. She’d then shout back ‘in which case you need to write (insert client name) is, not are.’ It became a bit of a running joke to be honest, but it sticks in my mind to this very day. Whenever I’m writing content now I have to ask myself if it’s grammatically correct.
The crazy thing is, I see big, international, multi-million dollar businesses making the same mistake in their content, so it seems that the grammar police aren’t as harsh these days!
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define what a ‘Thought Leader’ is? How is a thought leader different from a typical leader? How is a thought leader different from an influencer?
To me, a thought leader is someone who has mastered the art of the industry that they’re in and uses their wisdom to teach others. In the business world we hear the words ‘credible’ and ‘authority’ used to describe someone’s status, but a thought leader is someone who has credibility, authority and mastery.
A thought leader is someone who continues to study and learn and turn their learnings into teachings. It’s someone who has deep knowledge in a subject and years of experience in adapting, learning and growing, as well as life experience. Life teaches us many lessons, many of which we can bring into a business setting. The more you’ve experienced, the more you can teach and help others to avoid those pitfalls.
A thought leader can often spot trends ahead of others and predict what may happen in the future. This level of thought leadership can’t be bought, it has to be experienced.
Can you talk to our readers a bit about the benefits of becoming a thought leader? Why do you think it is worthwhile to invest resources and energy into this?
Becoming a thought leader is earnt, it’s not given. It’s not a job title that you can apply to become, it naturally happens when you’re at a point in your career where you can share your insights to help others without expecting any financial reward. We’ve all seen the exponential growth of the coaching profession, where people excel in one area of business then monetise their knowledge by teaching others to do what that did to become successful, with no thought or regard to whether or not the end user has all the necessary tools to build a business. It often creates a cookie cutter assembly line of people who then all do the same thing with zero point of differentiation.
There’s also a belief that if you shout loud enough you’ll get more attention and therefore you can accelerate business growth and financial success. That may be the case, but just because you shout the loudest, it doesn’t mean that you’re the wisest. It doesn’t mean that you’re the best. It doesn’t automatically help you to become a thought leader, it simply means that you’re very good at shouting about what you do and getting attention.
Let’s talk about business opportunities specifically. Can you share a few examples of how thought leadership can help a business grow or create lucrative opportunities?
When you’re a thought leader you want to inspire and influence as many people as possible in order to help them to learn and grow. The best way of elevating yourself as a thought leader is to maximise opportunities that allow you to spread your message, and your wisdom to a much larger audience.
Tapping into the power and potency of PR will help to cement your role as a thought leader, as you’ll automatically be seen as someone of great influence who is worth listening to. Being featured in the press is one of the biggest accolades you can achieve, as a publication is validating your expertise and trusting that you’re the best person to educate, inform and inspire their audience. This could be with a regular column in an online or print publication, it could be with podcast interviews, or it could include sharing your tips and advice on platforms that are consumed by your ideal clients and customers.
Journalists are always looking to feature new voices and fresh faces. As a thought leader it’s your duty to supply journalists with your expertise, to continue your plight to educate and help others.
When you’re seen in the press you’re seen as trustworthy and it will help you to attract more people into your business. It will also add to your credibility and thought leadership status, which helps to open other doors — whether that’s booking more prominent guests on your podcast, being paid to speak on stage or being offered a book publishing deal.
Ok. Now that we have that behind us, we’d love to hear your thoughts about how to eventually become a thought leader. Can you share 5 strategies that a person should implement to become known as a thought leader in their industry? Please tell us a story or example (ideally from your own experience) for each.
Strategy #1: Stay on topic
It sounds obvious, but too many business owners feel like they have to talk about different topics to maintain relevance, when actually, you want to stick to one or two key messages and become known for talking about those key messages. Once you become known for those topics that’s when you’re taken seriously as a credible expert and can move into thought leader territory.
I worked with a client at the start of the year who declared that she was bored of saying the same thing over and over again in different publications. I understood where she was coming from, but if you want to become known in your industry then you have to keep repeating the same message to build the know-like-trust factor. Once you’ve proved your credentials and audiences can trust you, then you can start to talk about other topics that feed into your main message.
Strategy #2: Seek Opportunities to Share Your Expertise
The role of traditional PR has evolved over the years, so the media landscape now encapsulates all the different channels we have available to us, such as YouTube, ClubHouse, social media, digital media and traditional media. This means that businesses have access to their ideal customers and clients at the touch of a button, 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. If you’re not yet ready to be interviewed on live TV, seek opportunities to be interviewed on podcasts, or on Instagram or LinkedIn as part of their ‘live’ features. You could offer to run a masterclass or training session inside another business owners Facebook Group, Membership or Mastermind. You could even write guest blogs for brands that align with your business. If you share a similar audience then this is a great way of sharing your expertise with them and encouraging them to interact with your business too.
This is a tactic that I use in my business that always delivers new leads and has also resulted in sales and new clients.
It also positions you as an expert, which, over time, will develop into you becoming a thought leader.
Strategy #3: Let People See You
Business owners often hide behind their business or brand profile and slowly fade into the shadows, forcing the attention to be on the products, services or outcomes of working with you, but that’s not what people want. Your customers and clients want to see YOU and get to know YOU, the person who started it all. They want to be able to connect with you, your story and your journey, to make sure that you really are someone they can invest in.
Over the past two years there has been a rise in the popularity of personal brands. The Covid-19 pandemic forced us apart, which left us searching for safety and security in the brands that we’re buying into. Business owners who are just starting out need role models to follow, to feel seen and understood along every step of their journey. You can’t be what you can’t see. That means that YOU need to show up and show your face. People need to be able to see you to be able to believe you.
Start with showing your face on social media, so by the time you’re featured in print or online, or you’re interviewed on TV, you’ll be recognised by more people who feel like they already know you. Your TV appearance will simply add extra credibility to what you do and will place you in thought leader territory.
If we look at Gary V as an example, his face is all over his social media channels, making him recognisable when we see him on TV, in the media or in the artwork that promotes the podcasts he’s been on.
Similarly, if you look at the Instagram account for Virgin you’ll see several posts that include Sir Richard Branson. You’ll see his face and you’ll hear him talk. So while the brand stands on its own two feet, he’s still very much a focus of their IG activity, which further cements him as a thought leader to look up to. Virgin isn’t a personal brand, but he’s bringing the personality into it by showing up in the brand’s content.
Strategy #4: Say What You Mean
When you’re building a brand and looking to attract people into your business it’s easy to believe that you don’t want to rock the boat, but this usually results in bland, vanilla content that looks and sounds the same as everyone else. Stay true to who you are, talk about the things that matter to you and don’t be afraid to share your opinions, because the right people will be attracted to you and the wrong ones will be repelled by you.
Think about what you’re saying and why you’re saying it. Don’t be disruptive for the sake of it, but argue your points fairly, or stand up for the causes or movements that you’re passionate about and believe in. This will increase your likeability as those who resonate with you will agree with what you’re saying and will feel connected to you on a deeper level.
When done correctly, saying what you mean in a constructive way will help you to become a thought leader as you’re not afraid to share your opinions on the things that matter and show that you’ll happily speak your mind.
Strategy #5: Ask for feedback
One of the essential qualities of being a thought leader is the ability to welcome opinions from other people, regardless of whether they agree or disagree with you. By asking a question at the end of a podcast interview, or requesting comments at the end of an online article, you’re inviting your fans and followers to get involved in the conversation and be part of something bigger. Not everyone is going to agree with your beliefs or what you’re saying, but being open to critique, or welcoming differing opinions will help you to stand out as a true leader.
A leader isn’t someone who takes sides. A leader is someone who wants to create a solution to a problem where everyone involved feels heard and leaves the situation happy. A thought leader is no different. A thought leader is someone who stands by their opinion, but isn’t afraid to listen to alternative viewpoints, take them on board and learn from them.
In your opinion, who is an example of someone who has done a fantastic job as a thought leader? Which specific things have impressed you about that person? What lessons can we learn from this person’s approach?
When it comes to thought leaders, the first person who springs to my mind is Gary V. He’s very opinionated and polarising, but he’s always stayed true to his word. He’s always stuck in his lane to help entrepreneurs and business owners to become better and do better.
He’s never been afraid to share his opinion, because he knows it’s rooted in truth. He’s not being disruptive for the sake of being disruptive, but he exploded onto the scene because he was saying the opposite of what others were saying. He was, and still is, a breath of fresh air and has been able to capitalise on that.
I love the fact that he’s always stayed true to himself and stays in his lane. He’s not copying others, he didn’t try every trick or ‘quick win’ under the sun to get to where he is today. He’s mastered his craft and built a solid reputation on strong foundations. He didn’t get to where he is today by taking shortcuts. He did the work, he learned the lessons, then he showed up to share that with others.
I have seen some discussion that the term “thought leader” is trite, overused, and should be avoided. What is your feeling about this?
When anything is overused or taken out of context then it can come across as trite or become another ‘buzz’ word that people use for the sake of it. Being a thought leader is a title that’s earned and a phrase that’s used to describe you and your work, it’s not a role or a position that should be used to define who you are and what you do. Other people may refer to me as a thought leader, but it’s not a moniker that I’d use to describe myself, or when introducing myself to others. I wouldn’t attend a networking event and say ‘Hi, I’m Laura and I’m a thought leader’ because it doesn’t say anything about what I do.
What advice would you give to other leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?
Remember why you started and build a team that shares your vision and mission. Don’t build a business you can’t escape from. Your business shouldn’t rely on you to keep the wheels turning. You should be able to step away knowing that it can run smoothly without you. Delegate to those who can help you to run your business, or help you make it even better than it already is. Recognising your own strengths and sticking to your zone of genius will make a massive difference to your performance and will help you create a healthy company culture.
You shouldn’t be doing everything. Focus on what you do best and delegate the rest.
Constantly analyse and review what’s working and double down on that, and remember to have fun. That’s crucial!
You are a person of enormous 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 wouldn’t say that it’s a movement per se, but it’s definitely a state of being, and that’s to walk your own path, regardless of what other people are telling you to do. You are the master of your own destiny and it’s important to learn what works for you, what lights you up and what brings you joy. Not many people set up their own business to work another job, they set up on their own for much bigger reasons, yet we’re programmed to stick to what we know and it’s hard to break free from those shackles.
As an example, most business owners will still work 9–5 because that’s what we’re taught to do, but I know that these hours don’t suit me in terms of creativity and productivity. I perform at my best in the afternoon, where I can focus on what needs to be achieved and power through it because I’m in a flow state. I can be more productive in four hours with this method of working that I am if I try and sit at my desk for eight hours a day.
I truly believe that we can only learn from doing, yet it takes courage to have faith in yourself and believe that you know what’s best for you. External influences will always be around us, so it’s knowing what you really need to drive your business forward and what’s a shiny object that you’re buying into because of the marketing hype.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
The phrase I’m about to share with you is one that my Mum used on me a few years ago when she was driving me to a pre-op assessment at the hospital. I was getting worked up because there was a strong chance that I’d need to have a blood test as part of my assessment. I’ve had a bad experience previously with having blood taken so I was naturally transported back to that place in time and didn’t want it to be repeated. I was sharing my concerns with my Mum and she said the following to me: You cannot change what you can’t control.
In that very moment I realised that I didn’t have a choice and therefore there was no point in me getting worked up about something that was out of my control. Now, whenever I’m faced with adversity or a difficult situation I pause, take a breath and ask myself how I can create a positive outcome. I look for the path of least resistance and get through what needs to be done.
We can’t always control what happens to us, but we can choose how we react in any given moment. True growth happens in these moments.
We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have lunch or breakfast? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
I recently listened to a fascinating episode of The Diary of a CEO, where Steven Bartlett interviewed Mo Gawdat. I loved Mo’s approach to happiness and the way in which he used science to explain happiness and the correlation between happiness, expectation and perception. So, if I could choose anyone to have lunch or dinner with, it would have to be Mo.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Readers can connect with me on the following social media channels:
www.linkedin.com/in/laura-perkes
www.instagram.com/PRwithPerkes
Thank you so much for your insights. This was very insightful and meaningful.
