NICOLE BALIN
BALLIN PR
Nicole Balin is the founder of Ballin PR, a boutique luxury lifestyle PR and branding agency in San Francisco. From strategy to execution, Ballin PR works with top interior designers and creatives, assisting them navigate the fast-paced, shifting media landscape.
Ballin PR works with a distinguished and diverse group of professionals, including the Grammy Award-winning musician and TV personality Big Freedia, Charles Cunniffe Architects (CCA), Christian Douglas Design, interior designer Jon de la Cruz, and eco-lux fashion brand Erica Tanov.
5 Tips for Getting the Most from a PR & Marketing Firm
1.
GET PHOTO READY.
Photos are everything for designers, PERIOD. Do you have projects (partial or whole homes) that are professionally photographed? Do you have current headshots? Impeccable photos of great work are essential for a PR person to pitch for success.
2.
STORY. STORY. STORY.
Can you communicate how you are different from the competition? Your story, ie how do you approach your work, your firm’s guiding ethos, etc–are key to standing out.
3.
MAKE A TOP 5 LIST.
Clients ask to be in magazines, but when I ask which outlet, 9/10 times, they say AD. You don’t need to consume media day and night (that’s our job), but it’s helpful to be familiar with the current magazine landscape (so much has changed in the last decade!). For instance, unless you’ve designed a home for Beyoncè lately or for the founder of Instagram, AD is going to be a difficult win. The good news is, there are other (with triple the readership) options, including AD.COM that will publish your work. Make a list of outlets that you think your potential clients are reading, and/or magazines you love and would like to see your work in.
4.
GET SOCIAL.
It might seem obvious, but many firms still are not active on Social Media. Part of the benefit of having an account (a robust one, even better) is to have another channel to extend the brand. But today, in the PR world, when an editor gets a pitch, they will go right to your Instagram. The more followers you have to cross promote with their brand, the more likely you will publish the project.
5.
THINK INTERGALACTICALLY.
Modern marketing is like the constellation of planets: Your various marketing tactics—email, social media, PR—are your planets. They orbit around the sun, which is your website. Is your site as current, elevated and as beautiful as your work?
