UF Professor, Author and Entrepreneur: Lisa Buyer

Name: Lisa Buyer

Born: Chicago, IL

Teaches: Social Media Management

Lisa Buyer is a entrepreneur, yogi, professor and author. She recently launched a 3rd edition of her book, Social PR Secrets, that examines how to successfully navigate the world of public relations and media, good and bad. Buyer’s namaste approach to life has allowed her to take on  the most difficult of tasks while remaining creative.

Her Campus: Approximately how many students do you teach, and how is it teaching back a school you got your degree from?

Lisa Buyer: “Per semester I teach about 180 students, but this semester is by far the largest group I’ve had. The class is 100% online, so each summer I go back to Gainesville and record the lectures in a classroom. It’s the type of class you can’t move ahead in, we go week by week. I’m incredibly humbled and honored to be back at UF; I don’t think I would’ve come back if it was any other school. I’ve feel like I’ve come full circle, it’s rewarding.”

HC: You just launched the 3rd edition of your book, Social PR Secrets,and Guy Kawasaki wrote the foreword for it. What was that process like and that acknowledgment from such a major person in the technology industry?

LB: “I am so honored by this. It’s one of those things that you just have to go for. I was a little nervous at first because it took him about a month to respond but when he did, it was pleasantly surprising, to have someone want to contribute to my work. Just go for it, you never know what will come of anything if you don’t ask.”

HC: Your book is not only used at UF but other universities. What can students,  Digital marketing professionals, PR professionals and social media managers get from your work?

LB: “Social PR Secrets shows you how to use social and search to get more publicity and exposure whether it’s cultivating a relationship with a journalist via Twitter or using Facebook or Pinterest to tell your story direct to your audience.”

HC: When you launched The Buyer Group, a company consulting ‘clients on how to optimize, socialize and publicize online public relations campaign’, in 2006, how did you adapt to the changing technology world?

LB: “The Buyer Group began as a way to optimize the language for digital marketing for clients who were also trying to adapt to the changing landscape of public relations and marketing. We started out trying new things to help my clients and it turned into me learning how to adapt this to public relations and make it even more valuable and measurable.”

HC: Social media and having the most relevant information is a part of not only a college student’s daily life but professionals as well, what advice do you have for students wanting to expand their brand through social media?

LB: “I always tell my students really focus on their personal brand because that’s going to expand their professional opportunities. With social media, you’re really optimizing the potential for getting exposure and getting visibility for what you want to be known for versus if you don’t focus on your social media from a personal branding standpoint. Professionals may not even know about you or they can develop their own impressions based on other things they’ve seen that you’ve uploaded haphazardly, then all of a sudden you’re known for things you don’t want to be known for. It may be all fun and games until you graduate and you didn’t take the time to tell your own story. If you don’t pay attention to the quality of pictures or messaging that you’re putting out there people are just going to create their own story for you.”

HC: You already started your next book called Digital PR Secrets and it talks about creating space, balancing our digital lives to be happier and more productive – how do you do this personally?

LB: “It’s definitely not easy. I have to be very disciplined and one of the key things is planning out a personal schedule, but making sure you’re not scheduled out. You have to have time for yourself each day; weather it’s going to the gym, taking a yoga class, taking a break at lunch and not just running to the next thing. Just taking a step back to restore and rejuvenate because that’s going to make you better the next day. If you don’t start doing this in college by the time you’re in your late 20s and 30s you’re going to have serious health problems. My favorite chapter is How to Namaste Sane in Social Media – it talks about work/life balance as a social media professional.”

Photos Courtesy of: Lisa Buyer

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