Social Media Will Not Save You
October 10, 2009
I would be remiss if I did not share one of the best presentations (all done without powerpoint or a mic, BTW) of the year. On Thursday, I attended a local event co-sponsored by our own RAMA and PRSA (public relations and marketing, to be exact) at which Peter Shankman (of HARO) spoke to a room of about 200 local people. Local is a relative term - I saw at least one person from out of town.
Peter admits to being ADD -but, he was quick to note that his condition is much worse, "Me," he said, "I have ADOS - that's, Attention Deficit - ohlook, shiny thing!" Quite the joker. But, his fast-paced talk proved him right - he spoke non-stop for almost an hour, and shared some gems that will stay with me, forever. Gems I will share with you.
Here's what I took away that I think is so valuable - "Don't get behind a brand," he said. "Get behind a concept."
"Everything is personal," he said. "Everything you put online is part of your personal brand." That means, not only website content, blog posts, and white papers, but also tweets, Facebook updates, interviews, and anything anyone writes about you. We have become a society of "micro-journalists" - and we are held accountable only by understanding that everything we do is part of our personal brand. If you have "bad stuff" out there, create the good stuff to rise to the surface. Never be afraid to say you messed up. Apologize.
Donna DeClemente, a writer here on Lip-sticking, did an overview of Peter's 4 Basic Rulse of Common Sense and I invite you to hop over to her blog to read them. (had to grab this pic - it shows how dedicated Peter is to -his brand)
In closing, he recommended, no, he admonished us to "make your customers addicts." Be unique, be relevant, create something that is not easily copied.
And, short is better. Write short, to the point, focused, relevant, engaging content. (the teachers/professors in the room just about cheered like schoolgirls) I'm going to have to work on that one. As you see, this is probably already too long.
So, are you ready? Are you ready to admit social media will not save you? Are you ready to differentiate? Are you ready to stop relying on social media and save yourself? I am.
Hi Yvonne;
This is something I really need to work on - the focus of my business. I tend to be too much of a do-everything kind of gal.
I really appreciate your comment from Peter, "Don't get behind a brand," he said. "Get behind a concept." I need to work on my own concept.
(And I didn't think your post was too long - but then, again, I tend to write long posts so that's what I like to read.)
Posted by: Julie | October 12, 2009 at 01:14 PM
Hey Yvonne, I'm glad to read your post on Peter Shankman's presentation. You highlighted some of Peter's great one-liners that I referred to. We're both trying to stay brief in our posts as he recommends, so between the two of them I think we got it covered.
Posted by: Donna DeClemente | October 11, 2009 at 12:59 PM