I’m Sabrina and I think I’m f*cking Lady Gaga. In reality, I work in Fashion PR.
Fashion PR is an interesting thing, many people don’t really know what it is. I’m often asked if part of my job is to take pictures of my daily outfits and network at parties. Those are a small part of what I do but they are by no means required. Simply put, it’s my job to make people aware of the brands I represent through various vehicles and outlets. That is where I have to be strategic; in both what outlets I use and who I want to deliver these messages. The brands I currently work with are all high end American lines and are only known in the Canadian market by niche groups. The goal is to bring them to the high end Canadian market through both press and sales.
Most PR people – in any field – are not generally liked by the people they’re reaching out to. Mainly, because they’re annoying and don’t know the meaning of CONTEXT. They fire off generic pitch emails and expect to get a cookie. That’s probably not going to happen, not even on a slow day. I, on the other hand, make it a point to actually create a relationship with these people. Not only because it’s beneficial but also because most of them I genuinely like and respect. I engage with them because I’m actually interested in their opinions. Most of the ‘pitching’ I do is not even on purpose, it’s just through conversation. I don’t push anything and I’m not fake with them. And, trust me, writers, press and bloggers can smell fake from a mile away.
Back to my point on context; context really is everything, you have to know who you’re reaching out to, who your audience is and what the f*ck they even care about. Do they give a sh*t about what you’re saying to them? If not, why are you approaching them? Spend that time finding someone who does care. This can be a trial and error process but with all the info people put out on Twitter, Facebook, personal blogs, etc., it isn’t hard to figure out what someone cares about and what they don’t. I don’t ever want to interrupt what people are interested in, but rather be what they’re interested in.
Also, being on social media really is a job requirement. You need to know what’s going on in your industry. Take the time to follow the right people and get to know them, don’t be afraid to tweet them-most of the time they’ll engage back. Social media is also useful for putting your message out there. Whether you have 150 of 15, 000 followers, they’re following you because they want to hear what you have to say. They want your opinion so give it to them. Again, this is not a push but rather, a conversation.
Ultimately, public relations, whether it’s in fashion or what have you, is a very methodical and personal process. One thing I know for sure is that you have to be comfortable being who you are and know that some people will like you and some won’t. You need a thick skin. It’s a lot of work and not as glamorous as people may think – but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to look good doing it.
By Sabrina Tricarico
PR Executive at Kelly Claman Co. & Brand Director at Revolution Riche
— If you’d like to ask her more questions on PR, getting into PR, or simply need fashion advice, email her at sabrina@houseofsabrina.com or connect with her via Twitter @HouseOfSabrina.
Nice read, loved it