Staying in Your Lane with Katy Boos

you want to listen to this episode, where we talk with Katy Boos, CEO and Founder of Remix Communications. Katy founded Remix Communications because she’s passionate about creating impactful thought leadership programs for her clients. Brainstorming compelling topics and narratives, Katy helps bring ideas to life on stage at top industry events and in written content for clients such as Adobe, Meta, Stitch Fix and several successful start-ups and growth companies.

 

Get in touch with Katy Boos online:

LinkedIn

Instagram: @remix_comms

Twitter: @kgboos

 

Transcript

Michelle Kane (00:02):

Thank you for joining another episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves. And we're so excited today because we have a guest. We love guest days. Today we have Katie Bus. Katie is the CEO and Founder of Remix Communications. She founded Remix Communications because she's passionate about creating impactful thought leadership programs for her clients. That includes brainstorming compelling topics and narratives. Katie helps bring ideas to life on stage, at top, industry events, and in written content for clients such as Adobe Meta Stitch Fix, not too shabby, and several successful startups and growth companies. Before Remix, Katie co-founded a successful Silicon Valley marketing and PR firm earlier. She managed PR programs at Apple for media and entertainment, mobile products and QuickTime. Katie lives in Los Angeles, and she was selected for the advisory committee of South by Southwest. Served as a TEDx speaker, curator and coach volunteers. When do you have time to volunteer at all? Seated in a barn horse rescue, which is awesome, and has been a board member for the Peninsula Humane Society and the Working Wonders Children's Museum. And with all of that, we are so grateful to welcome you today to That Solo Life. Katie? Yes.

Katy Boos (01:29):

Oh, thank you ladies. . I'm so excited to be here.

Michelle Kane (01:34):

This is incredible. Yes. So we'll start off, I mean, just tell us a little bit about your client work and, and really where you specialize, because the title of this episode is Stay in Your Lane. And, and we mean that in the most positive of ways because that's the way you can be most impactful. Right?

Katy Boos (01:52):

Yeah, I love that. I love Stay in Your Lane. I have this sort of traditional PR background as you mentioned, Michelle, in your nice intro. And, you know, after years and years of doing PR programs, traditional media relations, that sort of thing, I really found this love for thought leadership and speaking programs and really helping executives get out there and get their messages out there. Sowhen I had the chance to spin off from my last agency and specialize, I really wanted that focus of thought leadership. And so that's been the focus for Remix Communications. We are definitely niche. There's not a lot of us out there who do exactly what we do, but it's worked out really well. I, I think it's something that, you know, it gives us that real specialty. People know what we do and they can come to us foryou know, for those services.

Michelle Kane (02:55):

Definitely. Definitely. And you know, we're, we're still in post pandemic world, right? Even though Covid is still around. But I know a lot of us in our event planning, we've had challenges of attendance and things like that. What, are the some of the biggest trends you are seeing happening with events and conferences these days?

Katy Boos (03:15):

You know, it's, it's changing, right? Kind of as you said, we, you know, everything was gang busters 2019, 2020. The brakes went on big time and clients were trying to figure out what should we do. Virtual events obviously became a huge deal. I will say a lot of us sort of got tired of them. We don't all want to sit in our chair watching events. So when things sort of started to come back slowly, 2021, 2022, we started to see this nice uptick. I'm coming off a month of being at a couple different eventsin person. And I will tell you, I think a huge thing right now is that people are so excited to be around each other. There's just such energy and enthusiasm, the connections that you make in person, there's nothing like it. You know, it's sort of like you need to be there.

(04:15):

Yes, you can get some of the content online. Definitely that's great if you can't travel, you knowabroad, for example, for Web Summit or whatever. But being there in person, it's those chance meetups if you're waiting for coffee or, you know, one of the writers that we work with regularly sat next to me at an event in Seattle, and we happened to be the two people who, who weren't on our phones at that moment. And we struck up a conversation and I realized, this one's a really talented writer, and now we've worked together. I think it's going on six years. So it's that kind of thing where it's just you know, that networking. So I would say in-person events, definitely that's a huge trend. People wanna be there. I will also say, and maybe this is a result of us being locked down and being on Zoom so much, but sessions are shorter.

(05:11):

Typically. They need to be livelier. They need to have, do not show up with a bunch of PowerPoint bullets and think outside the box as far as like the presentation. And by shorter, by the way, you might still have an hour slot, but it could be 30 minutes of your session, 30 minutes of a Q&A. And that's something I'm really seeing, you know, just getting back from, you know, a pretty major event where people are just lined up with questions. They want to talk to the speaker. So it's great to deliver information, but it's really great to interact with the audience as well. That was and

Karen Swim, APR (05:49):

You just answered a question that I had of what are the expectations now? Cause you talk about this excitement of events and you just answered that Yeah. And as you described that, you know, the change, the shift in kind of what the audience is expecting from the content. Are you finding that organizers are looking for something different or very specific now that we're in this era of having been exposed to virtual events and, and the, and those still being, you know, an option mm-hmm. , is there something specific that they look for now that they didn't prior to the pandemic?

Katy Boos (06:29):

It's a good question. I think this would be true before the pandemic, but maybe more so just that, that content needs to be super engaging. You know, more use of video. Again, more Q&A, more just visual presentations than anything. I'll also say, if you can have a provocative topic andfocus for your session, all the better. Can you be a little bitoff what everyone else is saying, you know like if it, this is imaginary, but like, if somebody stood up right now and said, chat GPT is not useful, you know, we're, we're all seeing it's pretty useful in, in some regards. So would that be interesting enough? Yeah. I mean, maybe that's something people want to listen to, so it's kind of taking that opposing view. And then I would also say, you know, bringing in partners, that's something we do a ton of. We will partner our client with other companies who maybe aren't our client, but we think they've got a good message to make this amazing session and delivered on a silver platter to the organizer. So really, you know, thinking about what would be most engaging for the audience. And again, all of those things were true before the pandemic, but now I think it's even more true. Shorter attention spans. We want good content.

Michelle Kane (08:01):

Yeah. And I think too, people are more selective with how they spend their time. Some intentionally, some I think without really realizing it, because our rhythms have changed, our, our priorities have changed. A lot of us are, you know, now that things are back up and running, it's everyone's busieryou know, in in a way that it's not just busy work, but they're, they're busy, they're working in their businesses and they really mm-hmm. , it has to be something special to take that time away. But I, I also love that you brought up the serendipity of those chance meetings. I, you know, it's, it's funny, even in my day-to-day, so often, some of the best conversations and the best Intel happens in the parking lot conversations, .

Katy Boos (08:45):

Oh my gosh, yes. It's so true. It's so true. I just, you know, I was just, I had a client speaking at South by Southwest, and after the session I went up and was talking to two of the audience members. Guess what, they're both new business prospects right now. I mean, that was not my intent. It was . It was just, Hey, what did you think of the workshop? What did you think of this session? And obviously they're there and I can say, oh, and by the way, I, I placed this, I, you know, yeah, I did this workshop . So it was sort of like the best proof in the pudding right there. So it was great. Oh,

Michelle Kane (09:22):

That's incredible. I love it.

Karen Swim, APR (09:25):

Tell us, you know, you, you are, you really function in the executive thought leadership lane and you love it there, you live there. Tell us about some of the best practices that our audience can adapt to get their speakers booked for engagements.

Katy Boos (09:49):

Yeah, I think the number one thing is understand that event that you are targeting intimately. Go to the website, look at past agendas, who spoke there before. Are you proposing a product manager and they only have C level speakers, you know, don't do that. So , I think that's, that's number one. And that's, you know, as all of us, you know, under the umbrella of PR practitioners, that's what we should be doing anyway, right? If you're pitching the New York Times, you want to know that you're going to the right reporter and you have something that they would be interested in, something they maybe have covered or covered around that area. It's no different with speaking. You need to have something that's valuable to the conference organizer. I think a mistake that a lot of people makeand maybe all of us when we first started in our careers, is we go online and we fill out the apply to speak form. And, you know, that's not to say, you know, we still do that. Absolutely. But if you're just kind of plugging in information without really tailoring it, without really understanding the event, that's a miss. And you will, nine times out of 10 not get chosen. You may luck out and, and get to a smaller event. But I think that's number one is really understanding the event, the topics, level of speakersthat sort of thing. So I, I think that's probably the, the first place to start.

Michelle Kane (11:30):

Excellent. And then on the other side of it, how do you best prepare your clients for these engagements?

Katy Boos (11:38):

Yeah, we like to load them up with, here's the event, here's everything you need to know. We give them, you know, even here's where you check in. For some major events, we'll let them know about, other complimentary sessions they might want to attend. We get them, you know, Hey, you gotta get your hotel cause it's gonna sell out, you know, in this area. So it's really all of those logistical details that kind of gets into the tactics, but making sure they're all teed up. It hands on making sure that they have a chance to do kind of a tech run through. And that can be, honestly, that can be 15 minutes before the session. Sometimes you can't get in the room until then, but just making sure that they have a backup. Do they have their laptop? Do they have a thumb drive?

(12:31):

Do they have the presentation with a conference organizer? All of that. And then, you know, sort of backing up a step at a higher level, some of our clients want speaker training and we do offer that. That's something that can be as simple as, Hey, I just want to run this by someone and do a brush up for an hour. Great, we can do that. It could be we want to practice on stage, we want to plan the blocking. I want to know that when I make this point, I'm at this point in the stage and what hand gesture should I use when that sort of thing. So it could really vary, but I do, I think speaker training can be super valuable to people. And then, you know, just beyond that, making sure that people understand the event they're going to. Andyou know, again, what's the focus? Who will be in the audience that's super important. What's the demographics of this event? And speak to them, make sure it's you know, if it's an audience of students, don't talk about, oh, you're a, y mid-career change, you know, midlife career change, you, you would be missing the mark. So just understanding that I think is important. Making sure speakers understand that.

Karen Swim, APR (13:52):

I love that. Yeah, that's great advice too in about the speaker training because I think so many people can benefit from that. Even if you speak and you're a great speaker, it never, that coaching and then blocking is really useful, particularly if it's, you know, a keynote or, you know, if it's going to be like a workshop in a room, you're probably okay with not doing the blocking because the room is not going to vary that much from what you might be accustomed to. But I I love that. That's great advice. A lot of our solos may be working withexecutives that are fantastic speakers. They're engaging, they've got a great topic, they have all of the things that would make them wow an audience, but they don't have a book. They don't work for a company that maybe everybody knows. How do we get those speakers booked?

Katy Boos (14:48):

Yeah, it comes down to really being scrappy and we're no different. You know, I will be the first to say, if I go to an event and say, have I have a VP at Adobe who wants to get on stage, what do you think? That's a lot easier than, you know, I have this startup over here in this sort of niche area. And it's much harder. That's when wefor example, right now we're pairing a CEO of a growth company. We're trying to get him at a very, very top event. It's probably the number one event for his space. We're pairing him with a woman who is an expert in this field, and she's nationally known and she's willing to do it. So we went out, we, spoke with her and of course the event's like, Ooh, hey, wow, yeah, we'd love to have her.

(15:46):

And I'm like, and it's a package deal. , you know, it's, it's a twofer here, but you know, you just, you just kinda have to get scrappy and Yeah. You know, and put people together. And that's, and that's where, you know, again, like looking at other companies that might be complimentary, maybe you put together a killer panel you know and also, you know, I think sometimes people get too narrowly focused on my company is, you know, an AI, whatever, right? And they're like, we, our topic needs to be AI. What if your topic is, you are the first unicorn in this space. How did you get your funding? How did you grow? How did you make a career change? Why did you start this business? You know, there's so many ways to get in there. And that's what we love to do is like when we first get a client, we will meet with them.

(16:42):

We have what we call story mining sessions. So we're talking with them, we're like trying to get out what's the really interesting angle here? It's great you have this like AI product, that's awesome, but what's the other, what are the other things that will make you stand out, make you unique and make you of interest to an event? So I think that's really important. So just, yeah, those things. Who can you partner with? Can you put together a really compelling panel? All of it goes back to, let's tee this up for the conference organizers. Let's put it on a silver platter and go, here you go.

Karen Swim, APR (17:17):

I love that you talked about clients and their tunnel vision. I'm sure that got a, a nod of agreement from everyone in our audience because my goodness, sometimes it's so hard to get them outside of their head and, and enable them to see the bigger picture, which is why they have us, right? Because we're creative and we're thinking more broadly. So thank you for reassuring all of us that we're not the only one that, you know, deals with this issue. It is universal in our field of getting clients to see the color that we see instead of just seeing in black and white. And I feel like I have these conversations daily sometimes from the mundane to the extremely frustrating

Michelle Kane (18:06):

,

Karen Swim, APR (18:07):

Which describes my morning

Katy Boos (18:09):

. Oh, no,

Michelle Kane (18:12):

No, but it's, it's so true. It's in those story mining moments, right? The things that they think are boring and you think, whoa, wait. Yeah, that's a possibility. So true. What I do it all the time every day. Well, yes, exactly. .

Karen Swim, APR (18:26):

Yeah.

Katy Boos (18:27):

It's funny, you know, one of our clientswho I won't name, but we, when we first started working with them, the feedback we were getting from conference organizers was, okay, they spoke last year or two years ago, five years ago, and all they did was get on stage and do a sales pitch. And I was like, I can assure you that will not happen. That is not what we're doing. And as a matter of fact, my guidance to clients is, I would say you get one mention, so you can be like, oh, you know, and in, in this case, this is how we would at, our company handle this issue. You get one mention, and then really, I feel like the value is your name, your affiliation, you're being splashed all over their promotions, you know? And it's that credibility that you get beyond that.

(19:17):

And this is why we love content too. Take advantage of the fact that you are speaking at these events. Do a blog post about it, do social posts about it, you know, just milk it for all it's worth because, you know, it's great if you have those people in the room, but sometimes, sometimes it's 50 people, you know, and is it worth it for you to travel, do this presentation, prep, all of the work that goes into it to reach 50 people? Maybe if they're your absolute targets, but how can you go beyond that? And that's what we're always looking at. We want to reach 5,000 people. And so that's where content comes in, the complimentary side of things.

Karen Swim, APR (20:04):

I love that. Yeah. And so people may be wondering, like, why, why are you guys subtitling this or titling this staying in your lane with Katie Boos ? Well, there's a reason for that and it's becauseKatie, it's something that you said when we first talked to you and it resonated with Michelle and myself, and I'm sure it'll resonate with our audience because it's about finding what you're really, really good at and doubling down on it. So tell us about your lane and how you found it and why you're staying in it, .

Katy Boos (20:42):

Yeah, it's so funny because I think as PR practitioners, we are always asked to do so much, right? If you think about the role of a PR person is so broad, which honestly is why I love it. If I had to do the same thing every day, you know, day in and day out, I would not be a happy person. So I love the variety of clients, I love the variety of work. However, if you really want to be a specialist, you know, having that niche is a great way to go. And that's, that's sort of where it was just one of those light bulb moments, maybe, I don't know, 10 or 12 years ago. And it was like, you know, I really love working with events and I love working with event organizers. AndI love coming up with ideas and sessions and getting people on stage and, and it just snowballed from there.

(21:34):

It's sort of like one of those things, like if you find something you're good at, it just kind of keeps going, right? Because there's success in that. And that's, sort of where we were withthe thought leadership space. So media relations I have always liked, but I haven't loved. And so that's where I was like, you know what, there are people who love that and that's why we love to partner with people who love to do that, you know? And it's also why, you know, flip side, it's really interesting. We were brought in by a pretty major PR agency to do their speaking program for their clients. And they were like, yes, we can do this, but we love having people who live and breathe it day in and day out. And so it's just that wonderful sort of marriage of let's all focus on the things that we love, we're good at, we're specialists. And I do think that's a trend in PR right? People are are like, and, and business in general. People are nicheing down. And I think that's, it's interesting. And, and I think we can all be more successful doing that. So I'll stay in my lane. I won't get into media relations, but , I'm happy to partner with people who love that .

Michelle Kane (22:51):

And, and I think that's how so many of our solos find success, right? We partner with each other, we're always looking to collaborate and it just helps everyone.

Katy Boos (23:02):

Yeah.

Karen Swim, APR (23:02):

Yeah, it does for sure.

Katy Boos (23:04):

A collaboration's the best.

Karen Swim, APR (23:06):

This is so good. Katie and I, you know, as I said to you at the top of this, I am sure that we are going to have you on again, have you in front of our audience because you are an expert and you know, I may just have you on the channel to talk about your volunteer work at one point because its so interesting. And we have, you know, I am an animal lover and we have so many animal lovers in our group that would love to hear about what you do there too. Thank you so much for hanging out with Michelle and I today. We

Michelle Kane (23:41):

Absolutely. Yeah. What's the best way to reach you, Katie? Website or LinkedIn or

Katy Boos (23:50):

Linkedin is great or feel free to email me too, katie at Remix communications.com. Excellent. Either way or our website Remix Communications.

Michelle Kane (24:00):

Fantastic. Well, everyone who's listening today, we, well, we don't hope we know you've got something out of this today, but we're grateful for your time with us. And until next time, thanks for listening on That Solo Life.