Have a Burning Business Question? Ask Our PR Expert: Lindsey Groepper. She is looking to take your questions PR, brand messaging, marketing and advertising.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Communicating your vision to the world is never easy. It has to be succinct, different and on target. It also has to be refined to fit your specific audience -- be it investors, customers or potential partners. And while entrepreneurs think telling the "who," "what," "when," "where" and "why" of a company is easy, this PR notion couldn't be further from the truth.
"PR is still thought of as meaning 'press release,'" says Lindsey Groepper, the president of PR firm BLASTmedia. "PR is not a magic pill, and sending a fluffy press release to media with whom you do not have a relationship will rarely yield any results."
Fortunately, this month Groepper is giving Entrepreneur readers a helping hand. As an experienced veteran in PR, branding and marketing, she knows a thing or two about the world of business communication.
Over the past decade at BLASTmedia Groepper has worked with both small and big companies including Adidas, Philips, Long John Silver's and Zeiss. Not only has she helped shape their messaging to fit the needs of their audience but also provided support in the areas of new product launch strategy, thought leadership and media relations.
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Groepper is also the principal at STATWAX, BLASTmedia's digital-advertising division, where she assists in bringing new business to the agency and works with the operations team on efficiency and profitability.
If she wasn't busy enough, Groepper has an active role at BLASTmedia Ventures, the company's investment arm that provides funds and marketing guidance to technology startups. The portfolio ranges from wearables to big data, including SteadyServ Technologies – the first data-as-a-service company for the draft beer industry, which has raised more than $10 million since its 2013 start.
Prior to her current roles, Groepper worked at Fleishman-Hillard Chicago in the consumer-marketing practice group where she lead public relations strategy and national media placement for major brands including Nike, Gatorade, Abbott Laboratories and Quaker Oats.
While her background is focused in the PR, marketing and branding areas, Groepper has helped her own businesses grow and overcome challenges including scaling, inspiring staff and operations.
When she isn't working, she remains involved in the entrepreneurial and business world. Her agency also serves a sponsor to local startup competitions, networking events and awards programs. She is also a contributor to various news outlets and is a speaker at marketing-industry events.
Because of her background and involvement in the community, Groepper received the "40 Under 40" award in 2013 from the University of Georgia Alumni Association.
Related: Here is How to Position Your Product as a Premium Brand
As you can see, she is extremely knowledgeable about PR and marketing and excited about helping entrepreneurs, including our readers.
"Sometimes passion can get in the way of reality, acting as noise-cancelling headphones for others' advice and preventing companies from taking the logical next step," Groepper says. "I want to help entrepreneurs focus on creating a clear message of what they are offering, to who, and why, building a strong foundation before hitting the market."
We are honored to have Groepper as our expert for the month of March. She can speak on a number of topics including PR, brand messaging, marketing and advertising. Also, because she has been part of companies that have scaled, she knows a thing or two about hiring, motivating employees and creating an inspringi workplace.
Got a question you would like answered? Submit your questions by tweeting us, using the hashtag #ENTexpert. One topic will be selected by the editors of Entrepreneur and addressed by Groepper in a weekly writeup.
