We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kevin Wilkerson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kevin, thanks for joining us today. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?

When one has a business where you can work from anywhere – as I do – then you take “working vacations.” I am used to working from the road so it’s easy for me. I began my career as a newspaper sports journalist and was pretty much born with a laptop in my hands. When I transitioned into public relations, a lot of clients required travel. I have worked on airplanes, hotel rooms, media centers and press boxes at football and baseball stadiums. Today, because I publish a website, PubClub.com, all vacations are used for content research.

These experiences have made me disciplined enough to do what’s needed for work while also being able to enjoy where I am at the time. And I take full advantage of it. That being said, I do recommend that everyone put away the laptop and cell phone on occasion to recharge. I once had a boss tell me to forget about work during one of my vacations because, in his words, “we will cover for you when you’re gone and the work will be here when you get back.”

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a communications specialist. I began my career as a sports journalist on daily newspapers and has served as a correspondent for the Associated Press and UPI, as well as contributing articles for magazines. After moving from the Savannah News-Press to Los Angeles, I transitioned into the field of public relations. Suddenly, I was on the other side of the media fence, pitching stories to the press rather than being asked to cover them.

Because of my inside knowledge of working in a newsroom, I know exactly when to call reporters, editors and TV producers – they don’t work 9-to-5 hours, something a lot of PR people don’t understand – and how to talk with them. Somehow, they sense that I am one of them and that really helps me to make the pitch and get coverage for clients. Now, as publisher of a lifestyle website, PubClub.com, I am back on the reporter’s side, tho I hop back over that fence whenever I get a PR project.

I provide, on a freelance contractor basis, public relations services (writing and distributing press releases, creating media lists, provide media training, etc.) as well as take on writing assignments. Additionally, I publish several articles a week on PubClub.com., which was one of the first websites ever on the Internet. I am very proud that I was a leader and not a follower with regards to the Internet. I consider that a career achievement. In PR, I pride myself on building long-term media relationships – many journalists have become friends – and scoring the “everyday” hits for clients. Oh, yes, I do swing for the fences and have hit some things out of the park, most notably getting on the Today Show and having a full-length feature in Sports Illustrated, but it’s the day-to-day successes that have defined my career.

My family heritage led me into these career fields. My father was a newspaper journalist and a naturally gifted writer. He spent most of his career as the Public Information Officer for the Tennessee Valley Authority, where he launched a quarterly magazine and a monthly newsletter. He taught me a lot and sent me to a top college for journalism, the University of Alabama

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Having a prominent social media presence is vital to nearly every business today. It is time consuming because there are so many of them it’s hard to know where to put the majority of your focus. My advice is to be on all of them, evaluate which one(s) provide the most benefit and concentrate on it (or them). But don’t ignore the others because things can change in an instant and one that was not popular may suddenly be the “in” one.

With a website, the social media apps are a must. I was one of the first people on Twitter and am now exploring the “new” Twitters, Post and Threads. I get more views on TikTok than Instagram (which I keep hearing is fading but it’s still there and strong) and am a member of several relevant Facebook groups. I also use the live function of Facebook to broadcast from events and even co-host and co-produce a podcast on Facebook called PubClub LIVE! I have been publishing on YouTube for years but now it’s hard to get attention because everyone is now doing the same. I am hearing that YouTube Shorts is gaining popularity but so far, it’s hit or miss for me.

With social media – and with any part of a business, really – you can’t just do it every now and then and hope to succeed. You have to be consistent. Either hire a dedicated social media person or develop a weekly plan for posts and stick to it, week after week.

Any advice for managing a team?

My advice on managing a team and maintaining high moral is simple: treat those under you like people. A great example of this is with the promotional team I hire for my website. When we are at an event, I make sure they have water, are not on their feet the whole time and, if we’re at a place for a significant length of time, I get them food and drinks. They appreciate it and it results in tremendous loyalty they have for me and PubClub.com.

Here is more advice I have on this topic:

• Think about who helped you along the way and what they did that was good or bad. Don’t ask those under you to do something you would not do yourself or have not done yourself.

• Listen to the people on your team.. They may have an idea for how to do something better or have a productive thought on a project. Never act like you’re the smartest guy in the room.

• Encourage your team by providing positive feedback. If someone does something well – no matter how small – I’ll say “excellent” or, if it’s really good, “outstanding.” I said this to an account coordinator one time and she beamed to everyone else on the team that “hey, I got an outstanding!” She and the others were then motivated to try and always get an “outstanding” from from me. I didn’t give them away often, either, so it is special. And that’s another tip.

• I have had – and have heard about – overly demanding and abusive bosses. I can tell you from personal experience and from talking with others that this management style erodes any motivation from your team. What they are motivated to do instead is to get the heck out of there as quickly as possible and find a new job.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.pubclub.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pubclub/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pubclub
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-wilkerson-3711555/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/pubclub
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/pubclub
• Tiktok: tiktok.com/@pubclub.com
• Podcast PubClub LIVE: https://www.facebook.com/pubclublive