We were lucky to catch up with Shakeema Bouyer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shakeema, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I originally launched my agency in 2012, it was originally named The Queen’s English PR – a play on the Kings English vernacular. I later rebranded in 2017 to Mattie Clay Branding & Public Relations. The new name was more meaningful to me as it created a portion of a legacy for my grandparents that had raised me since the age of 9 after my parents divorced. Mattie was my grandmothers first name and Clay was my grandfathers middle name. I believe that I have characteristics of each of them that have helped me to be successful in life and career. My grandfather had an entrepreneurial spirit and loved to write. My grandmother was an educator but she was also very quiet and loved being of service to others. It meant a lot to me that they were able to see the rebranded agency and my efforts to continue to be successful in business with their names attached to my brand.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Of course! I am a native of Columbia, SC and graduated from The College of Charleston in December 2000 with a BA in Media Communications. While at CofC I had quite a few opportunities that prepared for me for a career in media with my initial plan to be an investigative report. However, it was my Spring/Summer internship that really introduced me to Public Relations and how I would still be closely involved in the industry. I worked with a local integrated public relations/marketing firm and was assigned a campaign for a nonprofit organization called Christmas in July. The organization completed household repairs and renovations for the elderly in some of the rural areas of the low country. The experience allowed me to see how I could be more impactful with getting relevant stories to the media, engaging businesses for support (sponsorships) as well as coordinating with other organizations to be apart of the on site projects. Fast Forward about 10 years later and I had relocated to Charlotte, NC and hadn’t really done much my degree since college. I had tried to get back into becoming a journalist but it didn’t pan out. My Pastor, at the time, had asked me to write a press release for a giveback that he completed for members of the church. We had never talked about background so he had no idea that formal training in media relations. For the next two or so years, I completed a few PR tasks for our church as well as his personal brand as a gospel singer.

In September 2012, I decided that I could use my skills and other contacts that I had developed over the last few years to help others through my own agency. I launched The Queen’s English PR with a focus on community and nonprofit organizations. Over the years, I started shifting more towards beauty and lifestyle clients will still supporting some cause/nonprofit based events. In April 2017, I did a complete rebrand to Mattie Clay Branding & Public Relations. Under the “new agency”, we are more focused on Digital PR, brand strategy, content planning, digital resources for entrepreneurs and creating Media Assets. I’ve continued to be blessed with opportunities to work with brands and organizations across the United States.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Yes, a significant part of my rebrand was a pivot in how my agency would offer solutions to business owners. This was in part, due to changes in personal life, such as having a young child and a husband with a not so flexible work schedule. Most people think of publicists as never “being off” and always having to present for events, interviews or photoshoots .. the list could go on. While I loved being present for those things, my personal life didn’t always allow for the availability that I previously had when I started my agency. So for me, a big change was focusing more in the Digital PR space versus Traditional PR. What does that mean? Well, traditional PR requires more a presence for television, radio and print outlets that may require an onset photoshoot. Digital PR focuses on outlets and platforms that are online and don’t require physical presence. I can still login and be in the background for a client interview. I can still get interviews completed for magazines, blogs and digital appearances such as live streams or pre-recorded podcasts.

That is not to say that Traditional PR strategy is not apart of what we do, it is just no longer a large focus. When we pitch a client, we look for brands and businesses that would benefit more from digital strategy.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I receive a significant number of clients through referrals from individuals that I have met over the years from networking events, sharing our agency results as well as from other publicists that do not have the current availability or do not work in a certain industry. One of my most recent clients, met me while I was working an event for a past client over five years ago. She told me that she made up in her mind then that she wanted to work with me and kept watching me from “afar” until she was at a place where she would benefit from the services we offer. As business owners, it’s important to network, be a positive representation of yourself and your brand and show your results because you really never know who is watching.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mattieclaybpr.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/mattieclaybpr
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/mattieclaybpr
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/mattieclaybpr
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/mattieclaybpr

Image Credits
Profile: Amber Thompson – Golden Jewel Media