We recently connected with Dwayna Williams and have shared our conversation below.

Dwayna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Right before launching TGND Consulting in 2016, I discovered I was pregnant with my first child. At the same time, I learned that I had been accepted into my Master’s program at Georgia State University. As a soon-to-be mom, a busy grad student, and an unfulfilled employee, I was constantly overwhelmed. Knowing that this pressure was unhealthy for the baby and me, I prayed, promised to walk by faith, and told God I would always listen. Keeping my promise to God and myself, I took the plunge into entrepreneurship.

TGND’s mission is to cultivate a community of moms who have dreams beyond their at-home roles to be seen, voices to be heard, and define their identity beyond motherhood. As mompreneurs, society often paints the picture that we can’t have a healthy work-life balance, even though statistics show that we significantly impact the U.S. economy. That’s why we are the example and shouting from the mountaintops that women have dreams and ambitions beyond motherhood. Yes, we bear children, but we also run empires, and we should never be looked at as less than others. Our vision is to help thousands of mompreneurs create magical brands through publicity, brand image strategy & style guides.

Dwayna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I co-founded TGND Consulting, a full-service PR agency, to help new voices in the lifestyle industry stand out from the competition. As a “millennial mompreneur,” I find joy in empowering other millennial moms to pursue their dreams through entrepreneurship. I have extensive experience amplifying the public presence of change-makers, purpose-driven entrepreneurs, and subject matter experts. I am constantly seeking new and innovative ways to promote buzz-worthy ideas.

Creating brand awareness and building relationships have always been a passion of mine. At a young age, I dipped my toe in PR while participating in recruitment events with the Boys and Girls Club in Newark, New Jersey. I later went to North Carolina Central to earn a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Broadcast Media and Georgia State University, where I earned a master’s degree in marketing and a certificate in brand management. I have spent the early years of her career working in corporate settings and diving into freelancing before leaping and starting our firm.

Influenced by my growing list of mentors and champions throughout my career, I firmly believe that “we rise by lifting others.” This has been a driving force in my journey and inspires me to give back to my community by providing pro bono work on passion projects and volunteering to give back to those less fortunate.

TGND Consulting® is a PR agency providing public relations, brand imaging, and strategy to moms with lifestyle brands in the Atlanta and Charlotte areas. With a passion for building a brand’s image through publicity, digital platforms, and style guides, these twins are taking over the PR industry.

TGND Consulting® builds magical brands through publicity, digital platforms, and style guides. We offer the best of both worlds: our track record of passionate and persistent pitching, creative and engaging brand image strategizing, and innovative influencer and talent outreach planning. Our expertise lies in creating —brand awareness and exposure coupled with traditional PR to support mompreneurs with lifestyle brands. The problems we solve for our clients are simple; We help mompreneurs and women with lifestyle brands rediscover their identity and be seen in new spaces.

How we work – Passion meets planning, real connections, authentic stories, strategy + vision, and data-driven reports. Passion and hustle only get you so far. It would help if you had a plan for your brand. You need to know how to make the right connections, where to show up, what to say when you get there, and feel confident in your appearance in all forms of media. Understanding what makes you stand out is the first step to creating authentic stories that build real connections with your target audience. Together we define your brand’s messaging and the best ways to share it with the world. Knowing who to talk to, what to say, and where to find them is the core of strategic planning. We immerse ourselves in your brand’s world to create customized strategies that will lead to success. How do we know if a strategy is working? We measure and monitor it! We provide detailed reports that analyze customer engagement so that we can adjust your strategic plan to emphasize what’s working and improve on what’s not.

Services we provide – Public Relations: Take your brand and thought leadership to new heights by aligning your image with your desired goals of being seen in the media. Our offerings include image consulting, media relations, community relations, launch & PR events, and influencer outreach & marketing. We also provide – Brand imaging & strategy, which helps cultivate a stellar brand image through image development, one-on-one brand strategy sessions, and implementation. Services we provide in this area are PR & brand architect strategy sessions, VIP days, photoshoot & event wardrobe styling, marketing collateral, and digital content creation.

Our principals are accessible, reliable, and responsible. Whether we are needed for a strategy call on short notice or a quick email reply, we are always available & responsive to our clients. To keep our brands “fresh” in the eyes of the media, we continually evolve our pitch and brand image strategies. We build on tactics that produce results and consistently approach media with new angles, innovative ideas, and seasonal trends (aligning brands with timely & relevant topics).

We view ourselves as an extension of our client’s businesses or brands. As members of their team, we become involved not just in the PR aspect of the business but understanding how the brand image and public relations serve a deeper function of strengthening sales, driving marketing goals, and company growth. We have the resources, contacts, and experience of a larger agency with a boutique firm’s personalized service and affordable rates.

We consult moms and women with lifestyle brands to elevate their brand presence, discover their brand identity, and establish them as thought leaders in their industry.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Ironically, my cofounder is my twin sister. We met in the womb a very LONG time ago. Donna and I have always been creative. As children, we grew up in East Orange, New Jersey, and were active both in and after school. I can vividly remember us as cheerleaders, singers, and dancers. We even produced and starred in a video production that aired on our local school T.V. station. We loved and still love the arts. Outside of being creative kids, we also enjoyed advocating for our peers and helping to create awareness around their stories. We did this through various events with the Boys and Girls Club, among other organizations. We were skilled at identifying our peers’ needs and assisting them in getting the required help or sharing their stories through the right channels. As present-day publicists and brand image architects, we do the same on a larger scale. It’s humbling to look back and see that there was always a connection between what came naturally to us back then and what we’re doing now. Our journey has not always been easy; we’ve experienced imposter syndrome, mommy guilt, uncertainty, and so much more throughout the years. Thankfully, we now understand how to show up authentically and confidently in business truly.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

We have used social media, specifically Instagram, to create awareness and brand exposure. Just 20ish years ago, the art of PR looked very different. Back then, getting airtime on the radio or TV and having your story printed in magazines and newspapers meant mama you made it! During that era, social media was in its infancy; no one knew what a podcast was, blogs were personal, and having a YouTube presence wasn’t even a thing! PR at that time was creating offline visibility to build brand awareness.

Now fast forward to today. Not only do we still target radio, TV, and print magazines (not so much newspapers), but the rise of the internet has given brands even more ways to earn media coverage. Known as the “digital age,” this era has shifted PR into being all about publicists using digital techniques to earn media coverage and brands using the internet to tell their stories. With easy access to social media, podcasts, blogs, and YouTube, the game’s name today is using online visibility to build brand awareness.

We use a plethora of digital strategies to create visibility and build brand awareness through social. And while we know these strategies like the back of our hands, we’ll be the first to tell you: The client plays a role in helping the publicist secure media coverage. For media outlets to deem a brand newsworthy, it must first stand out online. This is how to use social media:

To Keep Our Reputation On Point

One thing about our generation is we will Google anything and anybody. Journalists do the same. When you work with TGND Consulting and we begin to pitch your brand story to media outlets, please believe that your name will appear in the writer’s Google search. Before they agree to cover your story, they’ll want to be sure you’re legit and have a good online reputation. Covering the story of a brand with no online presence or a bad online presence is a no-no. To keep yours on point, have a website, amazing branding, tasteful content across your platforms, and a stellar brand story.

To Tell Our Story

Remember that you have access to millions of people at your fingertips with social media. Why not use it to share the parts of your story that you know your audience will resonate with? While being covered by the media is golden, we’d never advise you to sit on your story and wait for coverage. Show journalists that you have a story to tell, and position yourself as newsworthy before they do. When you consistently share your brand story online, it makes it that much easier to earn media coverage. Use social media as a storytelling outlet.

To Share Social Proof

The best form of PR will always be word of mouth. When people willingly hype your brand and promote your products, other people are more inclined to buy. People tend to trust other people’s words, journalists included. If a journalist sees that you’re already being talked about, they’re more inclined to want to talk about you too. This is why reviews and testimonials are so important. If you have them, share them as much as possible on all platforms. They help position you as being newsworthy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tgndconsulting.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tgndconsulting/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TGNDConsulting
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwaynawilliams/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTJ4fXlM1v14CLLNS0uFgpw/featured

Image Credits
Max Res Photography