Be Seen.
Prosper.

How New Age PR Agency Was Born -
An Interview With The CEO

As a successful business owner in other industry arenas, what got you into public relations? 

Public Relations is about getting the right message to the right people at the right time to elevate them in their industry or role. It became necessary to figure out how to best do that about six-seven years ago when I had significant financial success but was wary of the implications of public promotion.

Up to that time, I had put a lot of effort into growing my various businesses but did so without being in the spotlight. I was concerned that being visible in the public eye would result in unwanted random lawsuits. This perspective persisted for a time because of the hype associated with social media promotion. My attitude changed when I saw people make money via Instagram and other forums that didn't necessarily have a reason to be famous or significant services or products that would normally make them money.

I also became connected to individuals generating revenue from shares of apps and social media, so social media promotion and digital marketing became interesting to me as potential sources of income. You could call it a happy accident.

What made you get involved with PR in the first place?

Public relations became a passion because I realized I had a personal, significant story to tell the world that might inspire and help others. For example, I came from nothing; my parents were immigrants, very low-income but hard-working people that barely spoke English. Five of us shared a one-bedroom apartment in Newark New Jersey, and from those humble beginnings, I was able to become financially independent.

I decided to give back to people, show them through my example how to grow their brand, and demonstrate my journey to excel with my self-promotion. Through trial and error, I was able to figure out the best way to market myself. Thanks to my values and principles, such as setting the bar very high, living the best life possible, and marking a decision and committing to it to achieve successful outcomes and eventually great success. I never looked to make excuses; I was not comparing myself to others. Rather than keep this system to myself, I wanted to inspire people to do the same as I did and go for it. Getting into the public relations business was the vehicle I used to help them and also help myself.

How did I do it? I created several social media accounts, including on Instagram, and noticed the amount of activity on the platform and that people wanted more content from me. I also noticed that anyone significantly accomplished is verified on platforms like Twitter and Instagram. I pursued established NYC PR firms but got scammed a few times. I found out that, generally speaking, my money was being wasted on these third-party services. I think scams abound because the more appealing something is to the public; the more people get fooled into unwise investments.

I also noticed that certain PR firms in NYC and around the world, specialized in online Verification. It's a big thing to be Verified; such a status on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter is a badge of integrity, credibility, and notoriety. Real estate businesses and similar industries that rely on notable, credible individual professionals are examples of those who most benefit from gaining public trust. Non-verified people often are ignored, overlooked, and assumed to be less trustworthy than their verified competition. In short, Verification legitimizes individuals seeking accreditation.

Given your firsthand experience with (other) PR firms, what makes New Age PR Agency different from the rest? 

When I was a customer, the PR firms I hired in New York City, were not delivering what they promised. Even a larger firm with a great salesperson - that said all the right things, provided all the right templates and was extremely well organized - assigned me to a young, highly inexperienced PR professional that could not deliver results. It was the biggest nightmare, given the investment of time and money. After spending days following up and paying them significantly, I never heard back from the company. When I tried to do the same work, I hired them more myself; I received more responses than the firm I hired! I realized that this firm and others are guessing and don't have the capabilities, knowledge, skills, and experience to get results.

A good friend who already received Verification told me I should get on Wikipedia to increase my chances of becoming Instagram verified. None of the other PR firms ever told me that. Information such as that simple fact is vital when growing your online status. After several very frustrating months, I gave up on other firms. There was engagement by those firms on a day-to-day basis, no activity by that firm except if I was micro-managing them, and still, we had many repetitive conversations. The experience most have with PR firms is that their money is taken, and they don't see any results, even after many months. 

Conversely, at New Age Public Relations Agency in NYC, we work very hard to get results, and as part of our very strong company mission, we always accomplish what we promise to do. For example, with me as their client, the other firm I fired took three months to produce a single article. Our typical turnaround is days, not weeks or months. We action what we receive from our clients and turn it around quickly.  Now that we have been in the PR Arena for a while and have gained extensive knowledge, we are expanding our wings and handling PR for clients around the globe.

Some larger "established" PR firms require large clients and long-term commitments. We look at what we can do for our clients without much red tape, taking their time, etc. However, we are actively building their IG content and delivering 1-2 articles published monthly. We have deeply experienced people who engage our clients, not folks that are brand new to the industry. We learned and continue to learn from the worlds-best to be the best NYC PR firm there is. Those other firms have a lot of overhead to support, which drives their extreme inefficiency.

Why would an individual or organization need PR services?

PR services are most often required to grow and maintain your brand. A personal digital brand is how you specifically are perceived through the data that represents you on the Internet. Post-pandemic, the Internet is how people find, connect, and communicate with you online. Your digital brand is the basis for your public reputation and is very often the first thing people see and explore to discover who you are. Not having a personal brand online is not an option in today's world; it is required if you wish to be found, get your message out, and succeed with your business, practice, or role. Building your brand is also about exploring, growing, and celebrating your many achievements. The truth is people become more interested and are more likely to reach out to and retain those they perceive to be more accomplished. 

With PR services, it's about getting the right help to become noticed, controlling the message and the public's impression of you, and generating new business. If you look at any global brand of distinction, they are everywhere. They are on many channels, including high-quality, respected platforms, newspapers, social media, mainstream media, magazines, and the like. A good PR firm helps you control the narrative of what you wish to communicate to the public about you or your organization. Many of the larger PR firms are comprised of former journalists, so proficient writing and great written promotion is industry standard. You must reach your audience with great written, video, and audio content if you want to make money or communicate your message effectively.

How have you and your team been able to impact the lives of your various clients positively?

We love to take on clients with experience with other PR firms by doing what we promise. We get them verified, increase their social media status, and demonstrate our commitment and integrity through day-to-day work to promote our clients. They see top-line growth and revenue results over time, often within the first six months to a year of working with us. 

 

We are very reflective concerning "are we doing enough for our clients?" because we eliminate the wasteful red tape and stay focused on what's most important to deliver what our clients want and our commitments to them. They get engagement with their audience, increased social media revenue, increased advertising strengthened reputation. We under-promise and over-deliver. Any firm, for example, that says they can deliver overnight results with Verification is not telling the truth. We are straightforward with our clients, and they love us. Whatever is in our agreement with our client, they will get it.

Do you get many apprehensive clients because of prior dealings with other PR agencies?

Yes, we do. See above. A lot of PR agencies have disenfranchised our clients. Our favorite kind of client recovers from a bad dealing because they are so thankful and happy after having a bad experience. There are so many scammers and poor-performing PR firms out there that when they work with us, see the level of respect we treat them with, and see the results we deliver to them, they are delighted.

 

One thing we pride ourselves on is how proactive we are as well as our responsiveness. When I was a client and was ignored and had to follow up all the time to push the firm I hired to act, I decided this kind of thing would be the exact opposite with my firm. As a result, clients tend to stay with us for a long time. Instead of decreasing their investment, they add services over time until we become their main or sole provider of public relations services, especially digital marketing. We have a great passion for what we do because of how tied the firm is to my personal journey, which resulted in lasting success. I want to share that success with my clients and become part of theirs. 

Any advice to entrepreneurs who need exposure for themselves, their businesses, or both?

First, you must create accounts such as Twitter, Youtube, and, most importantly, an Instagram profile. Then you need to feed them useful, meaningful, entertaining, and interesting content and maintain them. Even more importantly, you need to engage your audience regularly. If you are following business professionals or other entrepreneurs in similar lines of work, take the time to interact with them online, like their posts, and provide meaningful commentary back. Your personal and business brand are highly interconnected; instead of being afraid to use them, be diligent and careful but go for it.

  

If your followers comment on your sites, reward their effort and respond intelligently. If you or your company receives an unfavorable response, be respectful online, and your other positive followers and fans will notice. How you consistently post and respond improves your content quality, increases engagement, and improves your number and followers. 

What New Age services are used most often and why?

Digital Marketing - specifically Instagram growth and engagement - is tremendously beneficial for our clients; it is our specialty. For individuals of distinction, the first thing high-quality publications will look for is the content and number of followers of a person. Twitter is something journalists are looking for content for whom they write. LinkedIn is more for people looking for jobs. Strong Instagram accounts do not require a Twitter following or content.