When I introduce myself, and people say, “What’s your company name?” I tell them and then always add, “I know super unoriginal, but I promise I’m actually very creative.

A few weeks ago, I was catching up with a client/friend and he asked if I would give a presentation on social media to his students. He's a communications professor at a local college. I happily agreed because I love shaping young minds. The presentation is coming up this week, so I began thinking about what to discuss.

The upcoming appearance brought me back to my college days, which were…20 (!!!) years ago. It’s funny to think that I’m presenting about social media, given that in my college days, the only form of social media I used was AIM (LSugarHigh1014 in the house👋🤦‍♀️). On the contrary, the majority of the students in this communications class have probably only known life with social media.

In this blog post, Lauren tackles writer’s block. Everyone has experienced it at some point, but this post answers the question: how do you get over writer’s block when you don’t even know what direction to go in?

In this blog post, Lauren discusses the reality that we are in a time of deep civil and social unrest. It's impacting our everyday lives, whether we want to admit it or not. So how can you go on with "business as usual" if the world around us is in turmoil?

We are finally into the last few months of 2020, and the world is holding its collective breath, just waiting to see how this year will end.

Doesn’t it feel like people are thinking things will magically change when the clock strikes midnight on December 31, 2020? I wish! Unfortunately, this is not Cinderella and I don’t think we’ll see too much of a change immediately.

If we look at this year and all that has happened—a pandemic, social unrest, a divisive election, killer bees, Tiger King (ok, JK but seriously this year is nuts)—it has deeply impacted our country and our culture. It has changed how we do business, how we interact with people, how we spend time with our family.

The way businesses market their services and communicate with their audience has also changed. So, what does that mean for the future of marketing and communications?

Well, I don’t have a crystal ball (again, I wish!) but I can offer some insight based on what I have seen thus far. I have highlighted my top five predictions for the future of marketing/communications in a post-2020 world. 🔮

This week I complete another trip around the sun. Anytime I celebrate a birthday, a new year, a new journey, I always take a few minutes to reflect.

I like to think about the lessons learned from the closing chapter and identify my goals for the new chapter. Yea, I’m a self-help nerd like that. What can I say? 🤓

This year, for obvious reasons, a lot of my reflection has been around the business. I thought I would divulge a few of the lessons I have learned and the goals I made, as it relates to growing and marketing my business.

My hope is that this exercise will help inspire you in your business, whether you’re turning a new page or simply just looking for encouragement.

So file this one under, they don't teach this in school: marketing/communications during a pandemic.

In fact, this isn't one of those situations that you can even learn on the job. Since, ya know, these are "unprecedented times." (How rich would you be if you had a dollar for every time you read that phrase somewhere?)

Sure, as a communications or marketing professional you learn about communicating during national disasters, tragedies, economic downturns. But, I think the majority of people found themselves in unchartered territory.

Even the most accomplished business owners have yet to experience a pandemic like this.

8 tips for communicating your brand on both the personal and organizational side. Some of these tips are no-brainers, but I think the important takeaway is that they apply to both personal and organizational branding.

Welcome to the official grand opening of Lauren Perna Communications! Thanks for coming by. If we weren’t in a global pandemic, I might have had a real grand opening shindig, complete with cheese platters and cocktails because I love any excuse to throw a party. Just ask my friends and family. Since life looks like a little different these days, you’ll have to settle for this virtual grand opening and a raincheck. Cheers!