Effective Networking Begins With a Strategy

by Frank L. Williams Many of my friends consider me to be a prolific networker. While I do feel I’ve developed a strong network of professional relationships over the years, it was not always so. When I was in my late 20s, I was hired for a sales job because the sales manager – who…

Read More

Demonstrating Your Expertise

by Frank L. Williams We all prefer to do business with people who are knowledgeable in their fields. If you need a heart surgeon, you want one who has experience and a proven track record of successfully performing the type of surgery you require. If your car isn’t running properly, you want a mechanic who…

Read More

Lessons Learned from 20 Years in Business

by Frank L. Williams I have a hard time believing that Pioneer Strategies is celebrating 20 years in business this August. On the one hand, it seems like I just started the firm, but on the other hand, it’s hard for me to remember doing anything else. Anyone who has been in business for more…

Read More

Don’t Confuse Them with the Facts

by Frank L. Williams We’ve probably all heard the saying, “don’t confuse them with the facts.” When I Googled the phrase while writing this article, I found another article entitled “My Mind Is Made Up. Don’t Confuse Me with the Facts.” In his timeless classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie said…

Read More

Paint Your Own Barn

by Frank L. Williams Over the course of my career, I’ve seen far too many organizations allow a reactive mindset and slow response time to hamper their public relations efforts. One organization (we’ll call it Company One) was subjected to a barrage of criticism from other organizations that were affected by one of Company One’s…

Read More

Owned Media: Don’t Put All of Your Eggs in a Basket Controlled by Someone Else

by Frank L. Williams When I first entered the public relations profession shortly after college, we typically heard about two types of media: earned media and paid media. Thanks to technology-driven changes, social media and owned media have become increasingly prevalent communication tools in recent years. Paid media refers to tools such as traditional advertising…

Read More

Is the Written Word Becoming a Lost Art?

by Frank L. Williams When I was a college student at N.C. State University in the early 1990s, communication professor after communication professor emphasized that writing was the most important skill for an aspiring public relations professional to develop. I was fortunate that writing had always been one of my strong suits, and I’ve worked…

Read More

2021 is Coming, and Not Soon Enough!

by Frank L. Williams It’s safe to say that 2020 has not been the year we hoped or expected. This year has thrown a bevy of curveballs at us, with the biggest of them being COVID-19. I’ve spoken with some who are excited that 2020 will soon come to an end, while others are concerned…

Read More

The “R” in RPIE

by Frank Williams During the course of my public relations training, I’ve studied a four-step process dubbed “RPIE.” The four steps are: R = Research P = Planning I = Implementation E = Evaluation. The research phase is intended to ensure that a client or organization builds its campaign based upon valid assumptions and informed…

Read More