Ep 052 – Tracy Goodheart, The PR Accelerator – Standing Out in the Crowd

Featuring: Tracy Goodheart, The PR Accelerator

In this episode, I got to talk to Tracy Goodheart from The PR Accelerator about her journey from being a journalist to helping individuals and brands attract sustained media attention without a publicist. She discusses the evolution of social media and its impact on journalism, emphasizing the importance of earned media over social media for brand credibility. Tracy also highlights the value of creating a messaging system and leveraging ghostwriting to elevate thought leadership within agencies. She advises agency owners to seek external validation and shares her insights on standout strategies in the marketplace.

Key Takeaways

• Earned media is more valuable than social media for brand credibility. • Creating a messaging system can help streamline communication and ensure consistency. • Ghostwriting can elevate thought leadership within agencies and humanize senior leadership. • Seeking external validation can boost self-confidence and protect against workplace bullying.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background 03:16 The Evolution of Social Media and Journalism 06:46 Leveraging Social Media and Earned Media 09:21 Creating a Messaging System 10:59 Ghostwriting and Thought Leadership 13:30 The Impact of Ghostwriting on Agency Culture 20:36 Random Rapid-Fire Questions 24:06 Invaluable Business Advice

Tracy Samantha Goodheart is the founder of The PR Accelerator, a different kind of PR company. Simply put, she helps individuals and brands nail their messaging and attract positive, sustained media attention without a publicist. She also teaches marketing globally for the University of Chicago and has advised more than 75 brands on their marketing and communications.

A journalist by training, Tracy has 15 years of media experience working in every type of newsroom. She began her career as a reporter at TIME Magazine, where she covered the rise of Facebook and developed new methods for reporting breaking news. She also created a blog network for the Chicago Tribune, led global social media strategy for Crain Communications – the publisher of titles like Ad Age, InvestmentNews, and Modern Healthcare – and has trained hundreds of working journalists how to find original story ideas. Tracy has also been a frequent TV commentator and taught graduate journalism school.

A Chicago native, she now lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where she and her husband are renovating a historic general store and starting a lavender farm.

Contact Tracy through her website or on LinkedIn.