What motivatation do PRs and marketers need?

What motivates you?

It’s a seemingly simple question, but it’s one that I’ve been mulling over ever since it was posed to me.

Is it pride in my work? Or praise, perhaps? Maybe it’s the satisfaction that comes with knowing that I’ve really achieved something today – something that was worth working exceptionally hard for.

As a freelance copywriter, I could plough through a project and churn out copy that is sub-standard simply because I am being paid by the word. In theory, the quicker I write those words, the quicker I get paid. Professional integrity and pride in my product stop me though and always have me reviewing the copy long after it’s been written. Is it time consuming? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

When I worked in the PR industry, the highlight of my day would be seeing a piece of coverage in one of my client’s key titles that I knew they would be delighted with. It was never about adding an impressive cutting to my book or boasting about column inches, it was simply about knowing that the client would be happy. It might sound corny but it’s absolutely true.

In my online marketing role, there was a genuine buzz about the office when a client’s website hit page one on Google or shot up the rankings for a highly competitive search term. It gave everyone a little lift.

These are the environments that I thrive in. Everyone enjoys success but it’s important to remember that most people will quantify that success very differently. A pay rise or a title change will always give you a boost but don’t forget about all of the small and seemingly insiginifant triumphs in between. Those are the things that really make the world go (merrily) round.

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Is it a good idea to stay friends with old clients and colleagues?

Yesterday was officially my last day working for Coast Digital. After spending just under a year with the online marketing agency and learning far more than I ever could have imagined about SEO, PPC, analytics, online usability testing, website design and build, I’m now looking forward to returning to work on some offline marketing projects – while retaining a healthy dose of online, too.

It’s always a difficult decision to leave an agency – particularly a small one. Not only do you leave behind the colleagues that you’ve spent days on end with, but it also means saying goodbye to the clients that you’ve worked alongside and who you will have, inevitably, learnt an awful lot from along the way.

I had the pleasure of catching up with some colleagues and friends from my first agency, Berkeley PR, last week and I’m so glad that I took the time to visit them. While many things have remained the same there, it was an absolute delight to hear about the new projects that are now occupying their days, their latest success stories and exciting changes in their personal lives too.

Now that we have Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN and a whole host of other networking tools at our disposal, keeping in touch with old colleagues has never been so easy. I don’t think that anyone should leave an agency on bad terms if it’s at all avoidable. After all, those colleagues and clients will have contributed an immeasuable amount to your professional achievements and development. Whether you choose to stay connected to your managers, your trainees, your suppliers or your clients, each one of those connections has played a huge role in the kind of employee that you are now and may determine the direction that your career takes in the future.

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