I think I speak for every entrepreneur on the planet when I say there’s one question we get a lot. The infamous “So what do you do?” question. It’s also something that we all try to answer to our best ability, depending on who we’re talking to. I vary my “what is it you really do” every time. To some people, I do “cutting-edge marketing PR and branding projects for companies”. To other people, I am “a writer looking into the latest tendencies around influencer marketing and content marketing”. Next year, it will be some other buzzwords and basically what I do stays the same.
Keeping it contemporary
There’s going to be a ton of new people getting into these terms and trying to “coin” them so they can make a big business around it, but in 6 months they need to use the next buzzword in their description or company name, and it goes on and on. It’s just a part of the game. And you can’t help but sit and smile a bit in a laid back sort of way and think to yourself: “Great new word, but that’s what some people have been doing for ages”.
So what is it I really do? We have really busted our chops to explain it over on Toothless Tiger. The image you see on top of this article is the Toothless Tiger Palette, where we’ve really spelled it out and we’re evolving it accordingly.
But here’s what I really do:
I listen a lot. I write that down including my own input and use that on my blog, in my books, in my client projects, and in my 1-on-1 sessions about branding/PR and marketing. There are over 3000 blogs that I follow daily as well as seeing what’s going on, in my network.
I speak about what I’ve heard at events.
I create things and models about it.
And I add those things I’ve heard to my own experience that has been built up for years and years.
I boil that down to “cutting-edge PR, Marketing and Branding for companies”.
So how should you answer the “what do you do” question?
Having a couple of different solutions in your head is a great idea. I base mine on how much they know about my subject already.
If I am at a shipping conference (what on earth would I do there), then I would do “Marketing, PR, and branding for companies”.
If I am at a marketing conference, I would probably do “cutting-edge marketing, PR, and branding with a thumbprint of digital”.
And if I am among the digital marketers, I would be “creating the best projects and writings on the latest tendencies in our field”.
So I think you should be as specific as possible and also as targeted towards the people around you as much as possible.