Candor is the “New PR”
Posted on February 15, 2011 | Tags: Lady Gaga, online pr, Personal Branding, pr, public relations
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: Groupon, Lady Gaga, Organic PR Triangle, Personal Branding, pr, public relations, Reputation Management
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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PR Lessons From Rap Artist 50 Cent
Posted on December 11, 2009 | Tags: 50 cent, fifty cent, pr, public relations
This article by Robert Greene — who spent time with rap artist 50 Cent, helping him to write his book — conveys the coveted keys to success in gaining public support for any product, service or idea.
As 50 Cent so clearly demonstrates in this article, these secrets get harder to implement the more successful you are.
Whether politicians, professionals or business owners, these are the keys to achieving and maintaining success.
So, as this New Year is upon us, review these key points and see how you can use them in your own marketing and PR strategy for 2010. Thanks to www.copyblogger.com for posting the article.
Four Things 50 Cent Can Teach You About Connecting With Your Audience
By Robert Greene
I spent most of 2007 hanging out with Curtis Jackson, better known as Fifty Cent. Together we wrote a bestselling book about hustling, fearlessness, and power.
I’d like to share a couple of insights that arose from that collaboration.
After the remarkable success of his first two commercial albums, Fifty Cent stood on top of the music world. But his very success was starting to corrode his musical ability.
His sense of connection, so vital on the streets, was fading in this new environment he now inhabited.
He was surrounded by flatterers who wanted to be in his entourage, managers and industry people who saw only dollar signs in him. His main interactions were with people in the corporate world or other stars.
At the same time, he could no longer hang out on the streets or get firsthand looks at the trends that were just starting up.
All of this meant that Fifty was flying blind with his music, not really sure if it would connect anymore with his audience. Other stars didn’t seem to mind this; in fact, they enjoyed living in this kind of celebrity bubble. They were afraid of coming back down to earth. Fifty felt the opposite, but there seemed to be no way out.
Know your environment from the inside out.
Most people think first of what they want to express or make, then find the audience for their idea. You must work the opposite angle, thinking first of the public. You need to keep your focus on their changing needs, the trends that are washing through them. Beginning with their demand, you create the appropriate supply. Do not be afraid of people’s criticisms—without such feedback your work will be too personal and delusional. You must maintain as close a relationship to your environment as possible, getting an inside “feel” for what is happening around you. Never lose touch with your base.
~ The 50th Law
An experiment in reconnection.
In early 2007, Fifty decided to start up his own website. He thought of it as a way to market his music and merchandise directly to the public, without the screen of his record label, which was proving quite inept in adapting to the Internet age.
First, he decided to experiment. As he prepared to launch a G-Unit record in the summer of 2008, he leaked one of the songs on to the website on a Friday night, then the next day he refreshed the Comments page every few minutes and tracked the members’ response to it.
After several hundred comments it was clear that the verdict was negative. The song was too soft. They wanted and expected something harder from a G-Unit record.
Taking their criticisms to heart, he shelved the song and soon released another, creating the hard sound they had demanded. This time the response was overwhelmingly positive.
He put up the latest single from his arch-enemy The Game, hoping to read the negative comments of his fans. To his surprise, many of them liked the song. He engaged in an online debate with them about this and had his eyes opened about changes in people’s tastes and why they had perhaps grown distant from his music. It forced him to rethink his own direction.
Creating a radical connection
To draw more people to his site, Fifty decided to break down the distance in both directions. He posted blogs on personal subjects, and then responded to his fans’ comments. They could feel they had complete access to him.
Using the advances in technology, he took this further, having his team film him on their cell phones wherever he went; these images were then streamed live on the website. Made dramatic by Fifty’s flair for confrontation, membership grew by leaps and bounds.
As it evolved, the website came to strangely resemble the world of hustling that Fifty had created for himself on the streets of southside Queens. He could produce testers (trial songs) for his fans, who were like drug fiends, constantly hungry for new product from Fifty; and he could get instant feedback on their quality. He could develop a feel for what they were looking for and how he could manipulate their demand.
He had moved from the outside to the inside and the hustling game came alive once more, this time on a global scale.
Four keys to the fearless approach
The public is never wrong. When people don’t respond to what you do, they’re telling you something loud and clear. You’re just not listening.
~ Fifty Cent
Fifty’s approach isn’t just for pop culture icons. His insights into rebuilding connection are universal.
Most of us live in a society of apparent abundance and ease. We lack a sense of urgency to connect to other people. In such a melting pot as the modern world, with people’s tastes changing at a faster pace than ever before, our success depends on our ability to move outside of ourselves and connect to other social networks.
At all cost, you need to continually force yourself outward. You must reach a point where losing this connection to your environment makes you feel uncomfortable, even vulnerable.
The following are four strategies you can use to bring yourself closer to this ideal.
1. Crush all distance
In this day and age, to reach people you must have access to their inner lives — their frustrations, aspirations, resentments.
To do so, you must crush as much distance as possible between you and your audience.
You enter their spirit and absorb it from within. Their way of looking at things becomes yours. And when you recreate it in some form of work, it has life. What shocks and excites you will then have the same effect on them.
This requires a degree of fearlessness and open spirit. You are not afraid to have your whole personality shaped by these intense interactions. You assume a radical equality with the public, giving voice to people’s ideas and desires.
What you produce will naturally connect in a deep way.
2. Open informal channels of criticism and feedback
When Eleanor Roosevelt entered the White House as First Lady in 1933, it was with much trepidation. Denied an official position within the administration, she decided to work to create informal channels to the public, on her own.
She traveled all over the country — to inner cities and remote rural towns — listening to people’s complaints and needs. She brought many of these people back to meet the president and give him firsthand impressions of the effects of the New Deal.
She opened a column in The Woman’s Home Companion, in which she let her audience know, “I want you to write me.” She would use her column as a kind of discussion forum with the American public, encouraging people to share their criticisms.
Within six months she had received over 300,000 letters, and with her staff she worked to answer every last one of them.
She began to see a pattern from the bottom up — a growing disenchantment with the New Deal. Every day, she left a memo in her husband’s basket, reminding him of these criticisms and the need to be more responsive. And slowly, she began to have an influence on his policy, pushing him leftward. All of this took tremendous courage for she was continually ridiculed for her activist approach, long before any First Lady had ever thought of such a role.
As Eleanor understood, any kind of group tends to close itself off from the outside world. From within this bubble, people delude themselves into thinking they have insight into how their audience or public feels — they read the papers, various reports, the poll numbers, etc.
But all of this information tends to be flat and highly filtered. It is much different when you interact directly with the public, hear in the flesh their criticisms and feedback. You create a back-and-forth dynamic in which their ideas, involvement and energy can be harnessed for your purposes.
3. Reconnect with your base
We see it again and again.
A person has success when they are younger because they have deep ties with a social group. Then slowly they lose this connection.
In his own way, the famous black activist Malcolm X struggled with this problem. He had spent his youth as a savvy street hustler, ending up in prison on drug charges. Out of prison he became a highly visible spokesperson for Nation of Islam, channeling his emotions into powerful speeches that gave voice to those who lived deep in the ghettos of America.
As he became more and more famous, he made an effort to inoculate himself from the psychic distance experienced by other successful leaders in the black community.
He increased his interactions with street hustlers and agitators, the kind of people from the lower depths that most leaders would scrupulously avoid. He made himself spend more time with those who had suffered recent injustices, soaking up their experiences and sense of outrage.
I knew that the ghetto people knew that I never left the ghetto in spirit, and I never left it physically any more than I had to. I had a ghetto instinct; for instance, I could feel if tension was beyond normal in a ghetto audience. And I could speak and understand the ghetto’s language.
~ Malcolm XThe goal in connecting to the public is not to please everyone, to spread yourself out to the widest possible audience. You have a base of power — a group of people, small or large, who identify with you. Keep your associations with it alive, intense and present.
Return to your origins — the source of all inspiration and power.
4. Create the social mirror
Instead of turning inward, consider people’s coolness to your idea and their criticisms as a kind of mirror that they are holding up to you. Your ego cannot protect you — the mirror does not lie. You use it to correct your appearance and avoid ridicule.
The opinions of other people serve a similar function. You view your work inside your mind, encrusted with all kinds of desires and fears. Through their criticisms you can get closer to this objective version and gradually improve what you do.
When your work does not communicate with others, consider it your own fault. You did not make your ideas clear enough, you failed to connect with your audience emotionally. This will spare you any bitterness or anger that might come from people’s critiques. You are simply perfecting your work through the social mirror.
About the Author: Robert Greene is the bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power (two million copies sold) and The 33 Strategies of War. His collaboration with Fifty Cent, The 50th Law, spent five weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Check out Robert’s blog at http://www.powerseductionandwar.com/
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PR at its Worst
Posted on April 16, 2009 | Tags: pr, public relations
There’s a dark side to PR that no one talks about. And probably, you’re the victim of it every day and don’t even know it. But I believe there’s a lesson here to learn about the power of PR, even when used to manipulate.
I remember as a teenage student moving to Boston and witnessing the skill of a playing-card sleight of hand expert in Boston Garden. For a few dollars you’d play the game of selecting a card and guessing which hand it wound up in after it moved back and forth before your eyes. At a speed faster than the eye could track, what was there one moment was gone the next. What I thought I saw was only an illusion.
In the world of politics, this technique is used to sway populations into believing one set of ideas represents another. It’s PR at its worst.
Take the recent example of the National Tea Party that took place last night at hundreds of venues around the country. In downtown St Louis thousands of people gathered to protest the tax burden being created by the proposed federal budget.
Days before the event, a report was issued by the Department of Homeland Security warning of a growing movement of “right wing extremists.” A footnote attached to the report defined “right wing extremists” to include “groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority or groups and individuals dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.”
In other words, anyone who understands that the Constitution calls for a limited federal government that doesn’t usurp state authority or someone exercising their right of freedom of speech is a possible “extremist.”
Without ever referring to the group, this report set in place a chain reaction to discredit the Tea Party movement. It was intepreted on major news outlets and in the end, the uninvolved viewer or reader swallowing their daily news prescription without question, would associate the Tea Party rally with extremists.
In actuality, attendees at the Tea Party in St Louis spanned every ethnic and generation. There were men and women in professional attire, grandparents dressed in button down sweaters and a youngsters in jeans. There were Whites, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics and Middle-Easterners. As we navigated the crowd, people smiled at one another. These were people you’d find living next door, working at your bank or servicing your lawn.
This was mid-America. Now redefined as “right wing extremists” if one is to use the definition in the DHS report of a group “dedicated to a single issue.” In this case, the issue is tax reform.
This technique to discredit favors no political party. Pitting one group against another is old enough to read about in history books. Its outcome, of course, is to allow power brokers to exercise their agenda while the masses fight each other. Similar tactics were used under the Bush Administration to quell those in protest of the Iraq War by casting anti-war sympathies as unpatriotic. Conservative media icons took the bait and passed the message far and wide. And even what is referred to as “the liberal media establishment” went along. Today, liberal media personalities slander those not in favor of government debt and largesse as out of touch radicals or poor losers. Under Ronald Reagan, these ideals were considered patriotic. Today, they’re “extreme.”
PR tools used at the top of the food chain manipulate press, leaders and populations. Define the strategy, create the messages, publish the messages, ally opinion leaders and repeat the message in as many ways and on as many channels as necessary to change behavior.
The Right does it to the Left and the Left to the Right. Just the other night I watched a conservative talk show host represent his own interpretation of a national news story as fact. The same occurred watching a liberal talk show host do the same. I stopped watching both of them.
It was interesting to note that the one local St Louis network news channel I saw last night carried no coverage of the Tea Party event. Thousands of people peacefully demonstrated on tax day but their lead stories were of a small fire and the flow of traffic at the post office.
Does the “Budget Rolls-Royce” Need a Little PR Help?
Posted on March 24, 2009 | Tags: pr, public relations
Some press are reporting Rolls-Royce’s new smaller, less expensive model is the company’s response to the world-wide recession, even calling it the “Recession Rolls.” The facts are that current economic circumstances have nothing to do with the development of the 200EX.
Rolls-Royce has been working on the smaller, less expensive model for the last few years and announced in 2006 that it would be released in 2010. The car will sell for around $250,000, about $100,000 less than its standard model. Its designer predicted the car would be purchased by those who owned the larger model but preferred to also drive a smaller one, comparing the ownership to having a tuxedo and a business suit.
Since tracking media consumption by ultra high net-worth individuals is difficult, the brand’s PR firm has engaged non-traditional advertising and customer events for its strategy. Fine, but when a company like Rolls-Royce releases a brand new model at the Geneva car show, the PR needs to ensure major press like the Wall Street Journal
Baby Rolls
The poor coverage probably won’t affect sales to that market. But hey, why not have Rolls-Royce PR coverage?
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Is Your Website Killing Your Sales?
Posted on January 6, 2009 | Tags: pr, public relations
Using PR tools like positioning and being real to your intended customer is part of ensuring all that effort and money spent to drive traffic isn’t wasted on a site that’s turning away would-be customers.
Per actual survey 75% of web users are making judgments about your organization’s credibility based on your website alone. This is so much easier to see in a brick and mortar business. A furniture store that has inventory set out randomly with no predesigned flow for you to walk and no intended ambiance won’t convey credibility, even if the quality of their furniture compares with Ethan Allen. Today’s website now have the same demanded of them.
The excellent book Web Design for ROI tells much more of the story.
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PRs and Litigators Have a Lot In Common
Posted on December 29, 2008 | Tags: pr, public relations
I sat quietly at a function recently listening to young man who, by his recent admission to law school, apparently felt qualified to argue with anyone at the dinner table about subjects in which he had no expertise. His parents were of substantial wealth and this apparently contributed to his own estimation of the importance of his opinions.
It made me realize that public relations and litigation have a lot in common. That is, they’re not about bullying people into agreeing with you. You only really succeed if you can persuade someone to see things differently,
In PR, our end result is to present our client correctly to the target audience. We want our client’s position to be favorable and to be accepted, while being accurate.
And, like a litigator whose competence is judged on whether he won the case, good PR work, thoroughly prepared and presented, is rewarded by the audience accepting the message.
Like a litigation attorney, the PR has to gather the facts and present them so they are persuasive and understandable.
Honing your analytical skills takes a bit of practice. I grew up with debate as part of every dinnertime meal. My father was a litigator and he bred four attorneys. I learned that intelligent debate is not a use of force. It’s respectful, informed and persuasive. Denzel Washington’s movie on the subject is a must-see classic display of courteous debate you just don’t see anymore.
My dad would throw out a topic for discussion. If you chose to engage, you were forced to substantiate your opinion with fact and the source of the fact. My dad always chose to assume the position of the other side, presenting facts to make his case. From this activity, I learned a valuable lesson that has helped me get coverage for my clients:
Don’t represent your opinion as fact. Be prepared to substantiate your conclusions. Do not present generalities, such as “everybody knows” to back up your conclusions. And don’t become so emotional about your position that you can’t see the other side. There’s always another side. And …. always know your subject before challenging another.
To do otherwise is something I call “sloppy thinking.” It depends on bullying or some position of authority to get another to comply. And even when they do comply, you’ve not really won them over.
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Is Your PR Responsible For Everything Said About You?
Posted on December 18, 2008 | Tags: online pr, online public relations, pr, public relations, Reputation Management
It’s one thing when your client makes a fool of herself in front of the camera. If you agree with your client’s statement or behavior, then back her up all the way and repair any misunderstanding afterward with the media. If you think your client’s a fool, then you have no business representing her.
But when a PR is just plain careless or lazy, they’re inept.
A blogger in a niche industry asked my opinion of a situation.
He had requested an interview with a high profile person in the niche industry that he blogs about. The “celeb” had referred his request to her publicist. The publicist told him her client was too busy to interview with him and blew him off.
He wrote something about the celeb anyway … a little humorous banter about a tournament she was playing in.
He learned indirectly that the publicist is quite angry with him, although she has not contacted him.
In this internet age in particular, a PR representing any type of celebrity must be pro-active in managing what’s said. After all, that’s what you’re hired for. If you’re not managing the media contacts on behalf of your client and you don’t like what’s said about your client, then you better raise the bar on your performance.
As far as I’m concerned, this publicist displayed poor manners. If someone is influential enough for the publicist to be concerned with what they write, then nurture the relationship on behalf of your client. If you mistakenly mishandle a media person or blogger in your industry, then amend the blunder with good old fashioned honest communication.
The same holds true, in my estimation, of John McCain’s PR person who cancelled his interview in October with David Letterman. That was a flap of major proportion. Anyone who watches Letterman (as a PR in this position should), would have known the liability of canceling a scheduled interview with him in favor of another. Big mistake. It wasn’t McCain’s place to fix that PR kerfluffle with Letterman … it was the PRs job. And they messed it up pretty badly.
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What Makes an Expert an Expert?
Posted on December 16, 2008 | Tags: online pr, online public relations, pr, public relations
Coaching and “Mastermind Groups” are all the rage.
Marketing gurus tout “build a list by being an expert.”
That’s fine, IF you happen to have some very valuable expertise.
If someone doesn’t really have anything valuable in an industry to contribute, why should I listen to that person? Won’t that person have to be dishonest to some degree to their customers about their expertise?
I commonly see limited experience being packaged and sold in courses, tapes and coaching.
I’ll give you an example. There’s a speaker on PR who appears at some of the marketing events I attend. He’s an incredible speaker and salesman. He sells a course on “do-it-yourself PR.”
What qualifies him to sell a course on the subject? Many years ago he had a huge success getting media coverage for himself.
Having gotten media coverage for over five hundred different types of subjects, experts and corporations, I’m impressed with how he has packaged his expertise and credentials. Truly impressed.
But I know enough to know that getting PR for yourself … even national attention … doesn’t qualify you to write the definitive manual on it that “anyone can use …” yadayadayayda.
Lesson? Examine the actual track record of whoever is selling you something.
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Is Your Message Clear and Definite?
Posted on December 15, 2008 | Tags: pr, public relations
Here’s a flash answer question for you if you watched the presidential debates: What clear and definite position did each candidate relay on how his economic plan would change due to the financial debacle that occurred in the middle of the campaign?
Moderators put the question to both candidates. Neither had a clear and definite answer.
Congressman Ron Paul’s position on every issue he is asked is clear and definite. You know exactly where he stands and what he would do on any issue on any given day.
How does this principle translate into marketing and PR? Out of hundreds of clients we booked as guests on talk radio stations around the country, one stands heads above the rest for getting people to pick up the phone, credit card in hand and order his product. How does he do this?
He has a clear message: The 10 Foods You Must Never Eat. Stay away from these foods. They’ll make you unhealthy. End of story. These 10 foods are are all bad. Stay away. It works.
At The End of Your Appearance, Interview, Blog Post, White Paper, Ebook, the only point that will be remembered is the one that was clear and definite.
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