by Marty Coleman | May 2, 2013 | George Carlin, Public Relations - 2013 |
Here we are fluttering into day #3 of Public Relations week.
Media Whore
I get a lot of publicity. I am in the newspaper and on TV much more often than makes sense. Even when I am not trying to get publicity I tend to get it. People are always saying to me, ‘Marty, don’t forget us little people when you become famous!’ They usually say this when I get interviewed on TV about something. My response has recently been, ‘haha…I have been ‘almost famous’ for decades now, don’t expect me to get really famous any time soon.’
Bad Caterpillar
Why is that? Well, the truth is I am better at being a butterfly than I am at being a caterpillar. It’s not that I don’t work. I work really hard at my various jobs as artist, photographer, designer, speaker and running coach. I work equally hard at my principles of love, encouragement, forgiveness, critical thinking, and intellectual integrity. But there is more to working than just working hard. It’s about working smart and focused, with repetition and habit. It’s about timing the work with the public relations, meaning integrating the two with diligence, consistency and follow-through.
That is where I am not all that good. I am still working on it.
Two in One
So remember, this is not about being angry at some dandy that gets publicity due to good public relations while you toil away in obscurity. Why? Because you and the dandy are one. You are the caterpillar AND the butterfly of your own destiny. Maybe you are the opposite of me, maybe you are a really good caterpillar but shy away from the bright lights that the butterfly lives in. If you believe in something, if you believe what you offer is good and valuable for the world, then it’s time to start your work on that area you aren’t very good at. It’s time to put on the sunglasses and get out in the butterfly sunshine or perhaps it’s time to take off the shades, draw the curtains and work in the caterpillar shadows. Whichever it is, it’s time to do it.
_______________
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by George Carlin
_______________
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Marty Coleman | May 1, 2013 | Public Relations - 2013 |
I smell day #2 of “Public Relations’ week here at The Napkin!
PR Karma
Public relations is beholden to Karma it seems. It’s not that every person gets found out, but if you are in the public eye long enough, who you really are will find its way out of the shadows. That can be a good thing, as yesterday’s commentary illustrated, but it can be a bad thing too. What makes it good or bad? Whether the person exposed is a skunk or not.
Parts Exposed
Think of examples just in the past few years; a Congressman exposed (in more way than one), a Sorority President revealed, an actor self-destructing. All had their lives destroyed by the publicity they served up themselves.
The Two Ifs
Are they ruined for life? Maybe, it’s not certain. What will make the difference in their futures? The answer is in two ifs. First, if they can transform from Skunk to something better. Second, if people believe they have transformed and will invest in them once again. If those two ifs are fulfilled they can overcome.
Focus
If you are in the same boat, as I have been more than a few times in my life, focus on #1, the self-transformation, and don’t worry about convincing others. Just work on yourself, create the new you you want to be (yes, it can be done) and then, and only then, go out and say, ‘Here I am, give me another chance.’
________________
Drawing and Commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, 1809-1865
________________
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Marty Coleman | Apr 30, 2013 | Public Relations - 2013 |
Later this week I am going to a Social Media, Blogging and Branding Conference in Bentonville, Arkansas called SoFabCon. It’s close by, is partially led by a very cool dude, Ted Rubin of Collective Bias, and promises to enlighten me about all sorts of things. Plus I get to go buy crazy socks for the parties they have. It’s a rule.
I thought I would investigate the idea of Public Relations over the week since that is so intertwined with the subjects of the conference.
Her Hidden World
I have a friend and client in Australia, Natalie Tucker of Defined Image, who recently wrote an FB post about getting 2,000 likes on her Personal Stylist business page. That is a big milestone for her. She credited me with helping her do that by listening to her very traumatic, personal, private and revealing life story, one that would not fit in most PR firm’s bio of their client.
Her World Exposed
After I heard the story I told her that while her first instinct was to hide that story away (that it wouldn’t be good public relations in other words) I thought that telling the story to the world would be a huge moment for her and her business. It would turn her from this perfect woman in a perfect marriage with perfect kids, somewhat unrelatable in her public relations perfection, into a real and relatable woman with an incredibly powerful story of how she got where she is today.
She agreed and found the courage to tell the story. That was 1 year ago when she had 100+ followers. A year later and she has 2,000 followers and her business has grown by leaps and bounds. The story being told to the world was the turning point. She is an incredibly hard and dedicated worker, no story can replace that. But it was the entry point for so many to know and love her and give her a chance to prove what she can do for them.
True PR
What does that story say about your own PR? It says you let your PR, whether DIY or through a company, be the best version of you, but you make sure that best you is real, authentic, genuine and true. It says your Public Relations efforts should include who you really are. That way you don’t have to try to remember what false mask you are suppose to wear. You just wear yourself as best you can be.
_____________________
Drawing and Commentary by Marty Coleman. I also designed Natalie’s website. Check it out.
Quote by the Doris Fleming, mother of Peggy Fleming, the 1968 Olympic gold medal figure skater. She told it to her daughter after she won so she wouldn’t be fooled into thinking she was something she was not. She also won 3 world titles and 5 national titles.
Peggy Fleming, Gold – USA; Gabriele Seyfert, Silver – East Germany; Hana Maskova, Bronze – Czechoslovakia
_________________
Like this:
Like Loading...
