By Anna McDermott, Content Creator

Drew McLellan, Agency Management InstituteNancy Marshall spoke to Drew McLellan, who owns and runs the Agency Management Institute (AMI), which serves 250+ small to mid-sized agencies (advertising, digital, marketing, media and PR), as well as managing his own agency, the McLellan Marketing Group, on her fourth episode of The PR Maven podcast. They discussed ways social media has changed their industries so much in such a short amount of time. Drew is a big believer in sharing what you know to help others, so it seems fitting to share some tips about social media for younger business people or entrepreneurs today.

Social Media Isn’t Forgiving

People who have grown up using Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms may not think about the brand they are building with their social media use as much as those who were already adults (and employees or business owners) when social media took off. Each post or Tweet can live online forever. Future bosses may look up what you’ve posted and make a judgement about your character — they can evaluate your personal brand online.

Drew described social media as being on a huge stage in front of an unknown audience – you don’t know who they are and what you do on that stage won’t help you get a job if you’re not careful. He said that people should be mindful that everything is now public. With Facebook Live, you could be recorded without even knowing it and that makes your actions carry that much more weight.

You are the manager of your personal brand. If you treat it with the respect it deserves, it can serve you well.

Social Media IS for Giving

Gone are the days when your secret recipe to success should be kept in the dark and only doled out to those who pay you for it. If you offer value in communication on social media, you will create relationships that lead to a successful business. Help others by sharing what you know. If you build trust, you are strengthening your brand, as well.

It’s also hard to brand your business if you talk about nothing other than yourself online. Think about that guy at the networking event who only talked about himself… Just like in real life, online you need to engage with people. Like their posts, comment on them, ask questions. Show the world you’re listening.

Drew said that in today’s world, anyone can build a thought-leadership position with social media and that you can build an amazing business by helping others. If your online brand demonstrates that you are focused exclusively on yourself, it will be difficult to convince people that’s not the case.


The PR Maven® Podcast is presented by Marshall Communications, creator of The Marshall Plan® strategic process. The Marshall Plan is a fully customized document using our 65 proprietary steps and leads to a playbook for your success. If you think your business or organization would be a candidate for a Marshall Plan®, you can take our Marshall Plan quiz to find out.