The Power of Personal Branding: Katie Lundy Of Inspire PR Group On How Publicists Shape Influential Leaders
An Interview With Chad Silverstein
Don’t just talk AT your audience and self-promote — listen and engage in a meaningful way. We all know those folks who like to post pictures of their speaking engagements or the awards they win. While that is all fine and good to a point, it’s important to know that listening and responding to share thoughtful insights will be much more effective in building a personal brand. I recommend the 70/30 rule — 70 percent social listening and commenting and 30 percent pushing out content.
In today’s digital-first world, personal branding has emerged as a cornerstone of professional success and influence. Behind many of the most recognized leaders and personalities stands a strategic partnership with skilled publicists who craft and convey their stories, values, and visions to the world. I had the pleasure of interviewing Katie Lundy, VP of Inspire PR Group.
With more than 20 years of experience, Katie Lundy is a seasoned communications professional specializing in media strategy, project management, media and personal branding coaching, crisis communications and video production.
As a former TV journalist, Katie is passionate about storytelling and enjoys building trusted relationships with the clients she serves. She especially enjoys coaching executives to help them enhance their presentation, personal branding and on-camera skills.
Thank you for joining us. To start, could you share your “origin story” with our readers? How did you begin your journey, and what challenges did you face in the early days?
I first became familiar with the concept of personal branding through my role as a TV journalist in small- to medium- sized markets. It was an important part of my role to be highly engaged in the community and I found that I greatly enjoyed attending public events, emceeing fundraisers, speaking to groups interested in journalism careers and more. It also was important to have a presence on social media to engage with our viewing audience, share my stories and having a pulse on community happenings that could generate news. I spent the first 10 years of my career in the public eye, albeit local, but it gave me an early appreciation for the importance of community engagement and establishing a positive personal brand that establishes trust with viewers.
As I moved beyond my journalism career into PR, I found my TV foundation tremendously helpful as I was used to networking and meeting new people and putting my authentic self out there. I bring that expertise to the executives I coach today and help them see that it is only by entering the arena (“Thank you Brené Brown”) that we can truly establish ourselves as trusted leaders in our industries, build meaningful connections, and grow successful careers and businesses.
Can you share a transformative moment or campaign in your career where you significantly altered the personal brand of a leader, and what was the impact of that change?
I recall a few years ago when I was conducting a personal branding training with a local leadership organization. I had one participant in particular, a chamber leader, who truly took note of the guidance and jumped into action to build his personal brand following the session. We talked about the importance of marrying your personal and professional skillsets and passions to formulate your brand and he shared his commitment to being a dedicated husband and father. It truly bothered him when he attended events and saw mothers doing 95 percent of the work caring for children and he vowed that he would be an involved, active father to his future children (he now has two kids).
He channeled this passion into creating a podcast called the Dadass Podcast, which quickly grew in popularity and was voted Podcast of the Year in central Ohio in 2021. The Dadass Podcast covers parenting, family and adulthood and features lively discussions, dad jokes and cocktails. I was happy to have the opportunity to partner with this budding influencer to feature my client, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants and how Budd Dairy Food Hall was an ideal place for a date night, highlighting their strong beverage program as part of the parenting conversation.
The podcast quickly became a springboard into even more meaningful work, and it wasn’t long before the 501C3 Dadvocate was born. He began working with community leaders to champion a fundraising effort to put changing tables into men’s bathrooms around Columbus. While his success is certainly due to his own hard work and dedication, it brings a smile to my face to know this endeavor was born out of our time together during the personal branding training.
How do you navigate the balance between a leader’s authentic self and the public persona you craft for them in their branding strategy?
As we know, not every leader is an outspoken extravert. Some are certainly more introverted and avoid the limelight, and they can find it intimidating to put themselves out there and share their expertise. It’s important when providing guidance to leaders to incorporate their authentic personalities into the plan. For example, they may prefer not to seek awards or would opt to speak to smaller groups of industry peers they are already familiar with. Perhaps they feel more comfortable contributing written articles such as guest columns or letters to the editor vs. public speaking. For this type of introverted leader, I would opt to avoid video and focus more on blogs and LinkedIn articles. It’s about finding the balance that works for them, while still helping them achieve their personal branding goals.
What are the most common misconceptions leaders have about personal branding, and how do you address these in your work?
The most common misconception I hear is that leaders can feel overwhelmed and think they need to be everywhere and do everything — that is simply not the case. We are all busy professionals, and it can be hard to carve out the time needed to be intentional with your personal brand. I recommend selecting just a few tasks to start and incorporating them into your weekly schedule. Starting small is better than not starting at all. Plan to check and engage on LinkedIn or X twice a week. Comment on your peers’ posts and offer your insights on industry happenings and trends. Draft a quick LinkedIn article and provide your thoughts on the subject.
Make it part of your regular meetings to share industry trends or thoughts with your communications team that can be developed into blog content or a guest column in a local paper or trade publication. Pick one or two speaking engagements per year that are meaningful to your work and where you can bring value. You don’t have to be out on the speaking circuit every week. Take small bites and pretty soon it will become second nature.
In a crisis situation, what steps do you take to protect or rehabilitate the personal brand of a leader?
It depends if they are the ones at the center of the crisis vs. their company or organization. For a leader in crisis, there is an art to an apology. There are many CEOs who don’t survive a disastrous or inauthentic apology. See, for example, Lululemon’s former CEO Chip Wilson who made disparaging remarks about customers’ bodies and then only later apologized to employees for the impact– never to the consumers he offended.
An apology must be crafted with values at the center. It must take ownership and a strong commitment to do better. It must not point the finger or blame others and it must not be filled with excuses. Leaders also need to avoid empty words and ensure strong follow-through with meaningful action and then, later, communicate what action was taken.
Rehabilitation of a personal brand can take time but when values are engaged and intentional action is taken, leaders may be able to rebound.
Could you list and briefly explain “5 Things You Need to Know to Shape a Personal Brand” based on your experiences and insights? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1. Take stock of your personal brand characteristics. In order to build a personal brand, you must first have the ability to self-reflect and evaluate your brand attributes. What makes you unique? What do you know more about than the average person? Do you deliver an unusual benefit to your community, industry or peer group? When I first joined the Inspire team, I had years of video experience from my reporter days, and I was passionate about visual storytelling. I remember asking my boss if I could start offering social media video services to clients and she agreed. Today, we have strengthened our in-house video capabilities and have hired others with a similar skillet to provide this valuable service to clients.
2. It must be authentically you. You cannot tout yourself as an inspirational leader or visionary if you are not well liked by your team and are not already respected on some level in your industry. When Ellen DeGeneres “the queen of nice” was discovered that she was, perhaps, not so nice to work for, she lost her show and has never fully recovered from the damage done to her personal brand.
3. Identify the right communications channels and have a consistent content plan/schedule. You don’t have to be all things to all people and, likewise, you don’t have to be everywhere all the time. Identify the platforms where your audience most often engages and focus your efforts on those channels. For example, if you are trying to reach Gen Z and Millennials, perhaps sharing your insights via TikTok is the ideal fit. If you are working to reach Gen X and Boomers, Facebook and LinkedIn may be your best bet. Allocate 30 minutes on your calendar a few times a week and keep the content coming. A one and done post won’t be enough to make a difference. Your engagement should be ongoing and consistent.
4. Don’t just talk AT your audience and self-promote — listen and engage in a meaningful way. We all know those folks who like to post pictures of their speaking engagements or the awards they win. While that is all fine and good to a point, it’s important to know that listening and responding to share thoughtful insights will be much more effective in building a personal brand. I recommend the 70/30 rule — 70 percent social listening and commenting and 30 percent pushing out content.
5. Look for any opportunity to be visible. It’s the old adage “see and be seen.” It’s hard to have a personal brand when no one knows who you are, what you do or what you stand for. What boards or volunteer opportunities are you a part of? Make it something you truly care about and not just a resume builder. What networking events do you enjoy and are most valuable for you to attend? What speaking opportunities would be most meaningful and impactful? Think through your target audience and go where they are.
Looking forward, how do you see the role of technology and social media evolving in the way publicists shape and manage the personal brands of leaders?
I worry about the use of AI when it comes to personal branding and thought leadership. You can’t be a thought leader without having a thought worth sharing. While AI can be a valuable brainstorming and ideation tool that can save time, we risk losing the human experience element that breeds true authentic connection. I would recommend avoiding use of AI to support personal branding efforts.
When it comes to social media, I believe the use of video is key today and will be even more so in the future. There are amazing thought leaders who are skilled at using YouTube and TikTok to share their expertise with others and you can target your message through the use of appropriate hashtags.
How can our readers follow your work?
Visit InspirePRGroup.com Insights | Inspire PR Group or follow me at (25) Katie Lundy | LinkedIn
Thank you for offering such valuable insights into the power of personal branding. We wish you continued success in all of your work.
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein is a seasoned entrepreneur and Thought Leader with over 25 years of business experience. He has founded, operated, and exited multiple companies and now builds into a handful of high impact CEOs. Chad has launched multiple online communities, including a recent leadership development platform, and also serves as a strategic advisor for Authority Magazine’s thought-leader incubator program.
To learn more and connect with Chad visit: chadsilverstein.io
The Power of Personal Branding: Katie Lundy Of Inspire PR Group On How Publicists Shape Influential… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.