Peter Shankman
ENTREPRENEUR, FOUNDER OF HARO, SHANKMINDS, FASTER THAN NORMAL AND MORE!

PETER'S BIO

Called “a public relations all­star who knows everything about new media and then some,” Peter Shankman is a spectacular example of what happens when you merge the power of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with a desire to improve the world. A bestselling author, entrepreneur, and speaker, Peter is recognized worldwide for radically new ways of thinking about the Customer Economy, Entrepreneurship, Social Media, PR, marketing, advertising. And ADD/ADHD. Peter is best known for founding Help A Reporter Out, (HARO) which in under a year became the de­facto standard for thousands of journalists looking for sources on deadline, offering them more than 200,000 sources around the world looking to be quoted in the media. HARO is currently the largest free source repository in the world, sending out over 1,500 queries from worldwide media each week. HARO’s tagline, “Everyone is an Expert at Something”, proves over and over again to be true, as thousands of new members join at helpareporter.com each week.
 
In June of 2010, less than two years after Peter started HARO in his apartment, it was acquired by Vocus, Inc. Peter is the founder of ShankMinds: Breakthrough, an online entrepreneurial community, with members in more­than ten countries. Peter also hosts an award­winning podcast on ADD and ADHD, Faster Than Normal, which is helping to turn the conversation around ADHD from curse to gift, by interviewing successful people who have made ADHD their secret superpower.
 
Peter’s Customer Economy and Corporate clients have included American Express, Sprint, The US Department of Defense, INCOMM, Starwood Hotels, United Airlines, Royal Bank of Canada, Snapple Beverage Group, Saudi Aramco, Foley Hoag, LLP, NASA, Haworth, Walt Disney World, Abercrombie and Kent, The Ad Council, Discovery Networks, New Frontier Media, Napster, Juno, Dream Catcher Destinations Club, Harrah’s Hotels, and many, many others. 
 
Peter is the author of four books: Zombie Loyalists: Using Great Service to Create Rabid Fans (Palgrave/Macmillan, 2015,) Nice Companies Finish First: Why Cutthroat Management is Over, and Collaboration is in (Palgrave/Macmillan, 2013,) Customer Service: New Rules for a Social Media World (Que Biz­Tech 2010,) and Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work­­And Why Your Company Needs Them (Wiley and Sons, 2006,) and and is a frequent keynote speaker and workshop presenter at conferences and tradeshows worldwide, including South By Southwest, TEDx, Affiliate Summit, BlogWorld, TBEX, The Public Relations Society of America, CTIA, CTAM, CES, PMA, OMMA, Mobile Marketing Asia, and the Direct Marketing Association.
 
Born and raised in New York City, Peter still resides there with his beautiful wife and daughter, and cats NASA and Leeloo, all of whom consistently deny his repeated requests to relinquish the couch. In the few hours of spare time Peter has per month he’s completed 22 marathons, seven Olympic distance triathlons, four half­Ironman triathlons, and one full Ironman Triathlon. He’s also a “B” licensed skydiver with over 400 jumps. In 2011, Peter authored a tweet that was voted as one of the Top Ten Tweets of the year by Twitter, out of more than 160,000,000,000 tweets sent.

SESSION:  WE ARE ALL BRAND HUSTLE KINGS AND QUEENS

Here’s a shocking wake up call for you: You’re already a brand advocate for at least twenty brands, and you don’t even know it. How? They’re the brands you’re using every single day! No, I’m not talking about Apple sending you a new iPhone. I’m talking about how you use a specific protein powder each morning as you stumble, half-awake, towards the gym. “But I’m not a fitness guru with a 28-pack,” you scream! You know what? Neither am I - Looking at me, you’re not thinking “He’s an Ironman,” but rather, “He’s sat on his couch with popcorn and watched the movie “Ironman” - Yet fitness brands from top professional bicycle makers to swimming and running apparel and exercise tech companies have retained me to help promote their name - Why? It’s all how you present yourself. If you’ve built any kind of following from your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, mailing list, or other social outlet, and brands aren’t paying you for the exposure you can give them, you’re missing out.
 
You’ll learn:
- Why “real” beats “followers” every single time: In other words, why the smartest and most successful brands know that your “numbers” are bullshit
- Why you need to think differently to connect with a brand that matters
- The power of saying "no."
“If they close the front door, go through the back, if they close the back door, go through the window:” The secrets to connecting with the brand decision-maker who will “get you”
If you can’t beat em, change the entire ballgame 
- How to change the thinking of the brands with whom you want to connect
- Most importantly: The four rules for remembering that first and foremost, it’s always about connecting, respecting, and valuing your audience - Without them, you’re nothing.