Candor is the “New PR”

Posted on February 15, 2011 | Tags: , , , ,

Lady Gaga Truthfulness Refreshing

Aaaaaah. The refreshingly sweet sound of candor. In today’s transparent, upload-to-You-Tube-in-Minutes World, candor will be your Best PR.

Take Lady Gaga’s admission to using marijuana when she writes. She could have avoided Anderson Cooper’s question about drugs in her recent 60 Minutes interview. She could have lied. She didn’t. She admitted what she did, while at the same time acknowledging that her only other response to the question would have been to lie: something she won’t do.

Applied on a business level, whether a mission statement, press releases, problem with clients or staff state clearly what you stand for: be authentic.

Manipulation is deeply rooted in Public Relations

Many PRs from the past were masters at deception.

Edward Bernays is considered the father of modern public relations and coined the term in the United States to replace “propaganda,” as that word had gained disrepute.

Bernays’ niece Anna described his philosophy as a sort of “enlightened despotism.”

Bernays wrote of his view in his 1947 essay The Engineering of Consent which he describes the art of manipulating the American people. The central idea is that the public should not be aware of the manipulation taking place. He felt this manipulation was necessary in society, which he regarded as irrational and operating on herd instinct.

Fast forward almost one hundred years and you have what you see today in modern public relations, advertising and marketing: an ongoing battle for your mind using spin.

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Lady Gaga, Groupon and Organic PR

Posted on February 5, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , ,

Organic PR is a term I coined to describe “parlaying your defining positive elements into a strength position. It’s identifying the elements intrinsic to your business or, in the case of an artist or professional, intrinsic to who you are — that resonates with others.”

Stated another way, Organic PR is: What the people you want to do business with say about you. If your organic PR turns off those whose support you, then it can be said to be “poor PR.” Conversely, if it gets them talking positively to others, you have “good PR.”

Good PR is something you can control.

When intelligent promotion is added to organically great PR, the word grows even faster. But a business with organically bad PR may get a momentary boost from some good promotion, but nothing lasting.

A triangle of organic PR elements is common to Lady Gaga, Groupon and other phenomenal succeses I’ve managed or observed. These are:

An Organic Message. Back in the mid 90s I hired a former editor in his sixties named Paul. Every good story, he explained, had to  pass the “Hey Martha” test, which was:

A man and his wife are married for forty years. Each night after work he has the same routine. He eats dinner, puts on his slippers and sits in his easy chair with the evening newspaper. His wife does the same. Once in a while he reads something that piques his interest. That is the only time he and his wife talk. The conversation starts with: “Hey Martha! Listen to this.” He then reads the story aloud.

The “Hey Martha” is your organic message. It takes observing who your market really is and what they respond to about you.

Marketing has a similar concept called the “Unique Selling Proposition” or “USP.” The organic pr message is different because it is who you are and understanding it actually helps you develop your USP. In short, developing a USP is a lot easier when you’ve isolated your Organic PR message.

Lady Gaga’s message “be yourself” sprang from her own self-image of an outcast growing up. She resonated with those who considered themselves “freaks” and other outcasts sensitive to ridicule. That message speaks to a wider segment than just those obviously out of the mainstream, so her organic message continues to spread. Meanwhile, of course her talent is exceptional.

Groupon’s organic message is that of offering local small businesses an opportunity for exposure to a massive number of qualified prospects looking for local deals that these businesses would never otherwise afford to reach.In exchange for the massive amount of exposure and new business, Groupon asks the business to offer a great deal to their subscribers.

In all of these there’s an organic message. Or, as Paul would call it: a “Hey Martha” story.

Connecting to Your Core Market with Authenticity. Don’t expect to get a big bang from generic promotion that doesn’t relate to the prospect and spouts trite messages that everyone else is saying. That’s called zero authenticity — no information go differentiates you.

What if you don’t know who your market is? What if you’re still finding out? By being authentically who you are, you’ll  attract those that are attracted to not only your service, but by who you naturally are.

Authenticity is being who you or your company actually are and not faking something you’re not because you think it’s cool.

Speaking to a core market. Organic PR is what the people you do business with say about you. That’s your core market. Build on that and don’t worry about speaking to everyone. Your sphere will widen if you keep speaking to your core.

What if you don’t know who your core market is? Starting a business often entails interacting with lots of different markets before you find the one that is a better “fit.” Keep your eyes open for it, while staying authentic and knowing your organic message. Deliver a great service, product, performance, etc all while observing who you attract.

Or, work it the other way: who do you feel most comfortable interacting with? Who do you know? What are they asking for?

“Message first — then mechanics” as I’ve said in the past. Meaning … know who you’re talking to and what to say before you invest a lot into direct mail, extensive copywriting, etc.

The Organic PR Triangle is a Journey, Not a Destination.

These elements described above work together as a triangle, with each element comprising a corner. As you better one aspect, you get more insight into the others. Pick one first and work on that and be aware of the other two aspects.

View developing the three aspects of Organic PR as a journey with no final destination. Don’t fret about getting all of these all “right” at one time. That’s a myth.

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