New Beginnings

This weekend, one of my sisters and I took my mother to Savannah, GA to celebrate her birthday. While there, we went to the art studio of William Kwamena-Poh. There I purchased a limited edition of his work "Ties That Bind." I told the artist I wanted to commemorate my new business and he suggested another one of his pieces, "New Beginnings." He told us it was called that because the woman is tying her head scarf and you cannot tell where is the beginning and where is the end.

Today marks an important milestone in V. Evans Communications' short history. It was one year ago that I was laid off from my job as a news producer. I had only been at the station a little more than a year, and knew from day two that it was not a good fit, however I was bound by a two-year contract and felt trapped in a miserable company with a job that seemed to be moving backwards instead of forwards. I had the least seniority out of all the producers, and therefore the first to go. My now-former-boss said "If there's anything you need from us, just let us know." I replied, "Well, actually... Can I take some of these empty boxes so I can move to Boston?" He was surprised to say the least, but helped me cart out about a dozen boxes to my car.

A number of other people were let go from my station over the course of the month. However, I was the only one who saw this as a positive opportunity. It wasn't the end, but a new beginning. While I loved TV news, I always knew I wanted to get into public relations. But being in the midst of a recession, finding a job proved difficult.

I always had dreams of starting my own business, but as it is all too often in our lives, things get pushed back, put on the back burner. "I don't have enough money saved up." "What if I fail?" All sorts of questions and doubts pop up and keep us from fulfilling our true desires. That's exactly what kept happening to me. I kept saying "Five more years..."

Then one night I went out to dinner with some friends from high school, two of whom recently went in to business together. One of them casually mentioned how they needed to work on public relations and marketing for Adara Spa. I told them I could help them. Then came the realization that I could do this on my own and make it my own business. Thus V. Evans Communications was born.

Had my time as a news producer not have come to an abrupt end, then I probably would have never started my own business. Now I know, no matter what, I can make it. I always knew I had the skills to do this, but the fear of failure always loomed.

Less than six months later, we have clients in Boston, New York, Nashville and Atlanta and many more cities across the country. So far we've worked with clients in the beauty industry, politics, education, real estate and non-profits. And this is just the beginning.

The Politics of Social Media

It's Election Day. Let's all think back to a year ago with the historic election of Barack Obama to the office of President of the United States. It was historic, not just because he was the first African-American, first Hawaiian, first time a family with young kids were in the White House since John F. Kennedy, etc., etc. It was also historic because it was the first time social media and social networking sites were used in campaigning. David Plouffe, mastermind of the Obama campaign, effectively used Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube to reach a whole new group of voters. Ones who were often missed by the old standard telephone polls, and therefore are not considered "likely voters."

While the Obama campaign promised to bring "Change" to America, it most certainly brought about a "Change" to the internet and the way people use social media.

Prior to Obama's campaign, I probably only heard a mention of Twitter once, maybe twice. But I definitely had not thought about it being a mass-marketing tool. Nowdays, (I know, I'm talking like that was the 18th century!) if a political campaign does NOT use social media, in my eyes, it is a flawed campaign. Even using the basics like Tweeting out when you're having a rally or creating a fan page and listing your issues there ups your visibility to voters who might not really know your name or know what you're really about.

Just this past Sunday, I went to a very small networking event, probably no more than ten people showed up. But a candidate running for the mayor of Boston happened to stop by. While a newspaper and two TV stations somehow found out he was going to be there, that's probably not where this candidate's campaign benefited from the most. He probably got the most out of one of the attendees at the event who had his ultra-portable video camera. The attendee asked the candidate if he could do a quick interview. That voter then posted it to his blog, notified his friends via Facebook that he had this interview, and then his friends told their friends and so on and so forth. The result: the candidate instantly accessed a large number of people who probably would not have heard him speak or had not given it a second thought, except for the fact that their friend told them to check the video out.
Since the Obama election, I have seen the number of politicians with Facebook and Twitter profiles increase significantly. Some of them use them effectively, others not so much. Some are very active, Tweeting out events, reminders, issues, etc. Others it seems only have these pages so they can appear as though they are "hip," and "in the loop," but they don't maximize the power of social media.

Things are definitely changing in America and across the globe. The world is getting smaller because we are more connected. Politicians who understand that and use social media the right way win. And not just on Election Day.

Welcome to V. Evans Communications' Blog

Good afternoon!

I started my own Public Relations business in June of 2009. My specialty is in social media and exploring what can be done with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other new platforms. But I also do traditional PR, like press releases, press kits, etc. V. Evans Communications is located in Boston, but I do work nationwide. Check back here to see my latest updates and to find out how you can better publicize your product, service or organization.