PERSONAL PR AS A REASON TO IMPROVE ONESELF

           Why a businessman's public image is systematic work that he must do himself

           "Make me interesting!" This was my initial impulse to a young team of social media marketers during our first meeting. I held back, and I did the right thing.

           Over time, I realized that personal appeal cannot be outsourced, even if you have a lot of money and can hire the best specialists. Marketers and PR professionals can shape your appeal, publish it at the right time and in the right place. But they cannot write or speak for you about what can really be interesting for your audience.

           I don't know about you, but I can tell from the first reading whether a Facebook post was written or at least dictated by the businessman himself, or if it was written by a PR specialist. In the first case, it may be ungrammatical but deep. In the second, it's beautiful but shallow, boring, primitive, and clichéd.

           A team of media experts can create the perfect personal brand development strategy for the owner, but they lack the experience and perspective of the creator who built a major industrial business. Their ups and downs, mistakes and lessons, disappointment in partners, fear of not paying employees, the weight of responsibility, and the adrenaline from significant risk. All of that is the owner's story, something only they can share. The task of media professionals is to extract valuable experience from the owner and help them share it effectively with the audience.

           Publicity is daily work that, unlike managing a factory, can't be delegated to others. The owner who decides to take this path must be prepared for the fact that they've taken on a new, unfamiliar job without leave and weekends. What exactly needs to be done?

           1. Define the project's goal: "Why am I doing this?"

           There are no right or wrong goals. Everyone has their own; the key is to have them. Whether it's recognition, security, commerce, visibility, or a combination of goals, the important thing is that goals determine communication topics and allow you to evaluate its effectiveness. Without the last one, it's difficult for the businessman to move forward because we're accustomed to evaluating interim results and adjusting the course.

           2.Formulate your topics and categorize them.

           If you have goals, determining topics is easy. Media specialists can help sort them out. The most rewarding topics to start with are those within your expertise: management and/or industry. Then, delve into hobbies, insights, philosophy, relationships, reactions to political or economic events. What problems can arise with this? People often feel self-conscious and undervalue their achievements. You meet with a team of marketers, and they ask you to talk about yourself, but you don't know what to say. You say, "I built a factory..." and they respond, "You built a factory? Wow!" Young people round their eyes in amazement. Sound familiar? Business is a path we've walked step by step, and after many years, we no longer see anything exceptional in it. It's a daily routine, nothing more.

           Stop discounting your achievements and realize that your experience is valuable and unique. Revealing your expert topics will quickly give you enthusiasm. This means that your content, whether in text or video form, will no longer be bland and dull, at a minimum. Audiences like what is genuine and free. My expert topic is an owner's exit from day-to-day operations. I don't quote management textbooks or the texts of leadership training I've completed. I exclusively share my experience, how I left, and where I arrived. I don't embellish – I talk about both the good and the bad. Real experience, though not without its challenges, is always more attractive and useful than a refined tale.

           3. Don't limit yourself to just one topic.

           Ukrainian businessmen are multifaceted personalities. It's not all about work! We travel, learn, reflect, meditate, raise children, engage in biking, diving, mountaineering, swim across the Bosphorus, think about happiness, and much more. Isn't there something to talk about? Try different topics – you never know which one will resonate. One of my teachers, a famous coach, never prepared a presentation plan. He stepped onto the stage, used a few lines and questions to indicate the audience's mood and interests, and then developed the topic that engaged the people.

           4. Select channels and communication formats with the audience.

           Most of today's influencers, including business figures, don't limit themselves to Facebook posts or articles in the media. Instagram, YouTube, and, in some cases, TikTok have become essential platforms for a "not-so-young" blogger. Video content is unavoidable. Audiences want to see and hear their heroes, feel their expressions. Offline events are not just an effective means of communication but also an excellent opportunity to receive quality feedback and sense the audience's mood. There are two possible reactions: applause or people absorbed in their phones. The audience's reaction is the most honest and objective evaluation of you and your topic.

           5. Getting yourself in order and get rid of your fears.

           This is perhaps the most challenging phase. According to my team of marketers, many people start public activity, but only a third survive the pressure and move forward. What pressure are they talking about? Publicity is the most powerful exit from the comfort zone.

           Firstly, people often experience a fear of public speaking. The fear of being in front of a camera has the same nature. This is not a deficiency; it's an inherent instinctive fear. It should not be suppressed but worked on. In a pack of animals, you can stand in front of the pack only in two cases: if you are being rewarded or if you are being punished. Rewards are rare; usually, it's punishment. This fear is deeply ingrained. Techniques and methods to deal with it constitute an entire science. The most effective way to overcome this fear is to speak on stage and talk on camera as much as possible.

           Secondly, to engage the audience, you need to look and sound decent at the very least. There are very talented individuals who, when they speak, make you yawn even if they are discussing an interesting and relevant topic. It's not about the topic; it's about charisma, or rather, its absence. Charisma is a subtle quality that combines style, the sound of your voice, body language, posture, and much more."Charismatic people aren't born; they become charismatic." I saw it myself during one of my leadership program sessions. What image comes to people's minds when they hear your name? Names like Dali, Hitler, Castro, Stalin, and Che Guevara immediately evoke a specific image. These individuals had a distinct style they stuck to, recognizable elements in their image, and a unique way of speaking.

           Forming and enhancing your overall image is a daily effort. You might think, "I don't care!" This approach will harm only you. It shows a lack of respect for your audience. The audience will sense this and respond accordingly. I won't name names, but among today's Ukrainian influencers, there are people who are hardly recognizable. Over the course of several years of public activity, they have changed beyond recognition in terms of their speaking manner, demeanor, knowledge of foreign languages, and the absence of profanity in their speech. These remarkable transformations lead to the thought that "Publicity refines a person!"

           Thirdly, if you've started, you need to be fully committed. What I've noticed is that many business people don't understand that public activity is as serious as meetings, planning sessions, lunches with partners, and creditors. Such things shouldn't be done at your convenience. If you're already writing posts, do it on a schedule. Columns should be written regularly, and video content should be categorized and posted on specific days. Public speaking engagements should be scheduled on your calendar, just like work meetings. Otherwise, it's just indulgence. But we're serious people not accustomed to indulgence, right? To be honest, it was easier for me to solve production problems, conduct strategic sessions at any level, work 20 hours in a workshop and establish a process than to record a three-minute video with the front camera.

           I recommend to my fellow business colleagues to "try public activity" at least once. Not necessarily for external reasons, but for internal ones. From the start, you speak and write about what's currently on your mind, not just what you are knowledgeable about. Speaking to the public is an excellent way to find out what is truly bothering you and determine your current challenges.