Kristin Marquet is the Creative Director of the New York-based, award-winning PR and branding firm, Marquet-Media.com. She oversees the day-to-day operations of the agency as well as directs all client accounts and projects. In 2017, she launched the emerging spinoff media company, FemFounder.co that helps creative female entrepreneurs plan, launch, and scale their businesses. FemFounder is a one-stop resource for everything on entrepreneurship, digital marketing, PR, and social media marketing reaching millions of readers every year. Passionate about learning, Kristin has advanced studies in data and marketing analytics. She has attended MIT, Boston University, and New York University and holds degrees in literature and marketing/public relations. She has contributed to Forbes.com, Inc.com, HuffingtonPost.com, Entrepreneur.com, and NYDailyNews.com.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us.
How has your agency adjusted to the new normal?
It’s been an interesting journey with everyone on our team working from home since mid-March. In the early stages of the pandemic, we all thought it was going to be a few weeks but now that it’s late August–almost September, we don’t plan on going back to in-person offices anytime soon—at least not until early next year. We want everyone to feel comfortable going back to the office.
What has been the most effective way of acquiring and retaining new clients in the age of COVID?
Since all of our networking and marketing is now done digitally, we’ve been able to acquire and maintain a full pipeline of clients throughout the rest of the year.
To build our thought leadership and create brand awareness to stay top of mind in clients’ minds, attract new ones, and help entrepreneurs with limited budgets get media coverage, I’ve recently released my third book, From Nameless to Notable: How to Gain Influence, Establish Authority, and Reach Expert Status in Your Niche or Industry–The Ultimate Guide to Generating Media Coverage for Your Startup and Leveraging It to Increase Website Traffic, Email Subscribers, and Sales. It’s the ultimate guide to teaching entrepreneurs how to get publicity for their businesses free.
Since the pandemic has started, we’ve also increased our content production on FemFounder.co and started interviewing high profile entrepreneurs on their successes and failures in business. It’s been a great resource for our readers.
Tell us more about your latest book.
From Nameless to Notable is the complete guide that teaches entrepreneurs—whether they’re new or established—how to brand their businesses on social media, secure media coverage in outlets like Forbes.com, Inc.com, and Entrepreneur.com for their businesses, and how to leverage that media coverage to generate even more exposure. It’s a complete PR and social media branding handbook for any stage entrepreneur. For entrepreneurs who need more help beyond the book but can’t afford to hire a PR firm, we’ve also launched the From Nameless to Notable course.
What changes have you seen in the industry since COVID hit?
Interestingly enough, I’ve noticed a lot of my peers and colleagues say they’ve had clients reduce their monthly budgets or pause their contracts due to COVID. It’s been tough for some of the agencies out there. But there are still agencies (those with focused niches like ours) that are doing well despite the pandemic.
What do you think is going to be the future of the PR agency industry?
I think we’re going to see many publicists and agency owners continue working from home for the foreseeable future, unless an owner or senior PR professional has a client meeting and has to go to the office to meet with them in person.