Some say we’re out of the recession. But if you consider the number of people you know “in transition,” I’ll argue we’re still in a period of forced change.
Cue inspirational quote:
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity while an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” – Winston Churchill.
Forced change can be a good thing or a bad thing…it all depends on your outlook. I’m not going to turn this into a rallying cry. There are plenty of those out there already – from classic to irreverent to misunderstood. But I am going to suggest that doing more of the same isn’t going to get us anywhere.
The Worm Has Turned
It became clear to me how bad things have gotten when media outlets started pitching me. This actually started happening some time ago. But the stream of media-issued news releases has increased significantly over the last 12 months. The scary part?! They’re now promoting single episodes of specific programs. What are the odds that mainstream media are going to get a ratings boost around a specific episode by issuing news releases to bloggers?
Add to this the proliferation of spam into every other electronic nook and cranny I have access to and it looks like, anecdotally at least, that people seem to think that more is more when times are tough. Some are relying more on email marketing because it’s "cost-effective." Others are getting onto social media sites and using them as a broadcast channel.
Action is required. So is speed. But without strategy it’s all futile, turning into white noise.
Rally Caps?
The challenge is to push ourselves creatively and try something new. And herein lay the traps.
When looking for a job right out of school they tell us to stand out. In the same breath they quickly warn people not to send your resume on a pizza box or send one shoe with the note: “I’ve got one foot in the door so I would like an interview with your company.” You don’t want to be a water cooler trophy for people to point at and laugh.
So how do you show someone you’re urgent and intense, but not desperate? How do you stand out for the right reasons?
Start with your instincts. Just don’t start with what worked yesterday. And remember that more of the same stuff is just desperate. In times like this, we need better stuff.
I'm a firm believer in "If we do what we've always done, we'll get what we've always got." I see daily the over-use of social media: Blogging 12 times on the same subject to generate more hits, promoting individual episodes to the point where their tweets start looking more and more like spam, littering friend’s wall’s with comments containing internal links. I say no more! As an emerging protégé on the PR scene, I hope to be bringing fresh ideas to the industry, not just beating a dead horse into the ground, which I see being the near and tragic demise of Facebook. God gave us child-like creativity, people! Make a mud pie and USE IT!!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE this blog. Your last two posts have been great--very inspiring at a time when we need it most. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteSo true that traditional PR has now all of a sudden 'discovered' bloggers who usually don't respond to old-fashioned (translate - LONG) pitches and releases. However, I do have one friend who got an interview by sending the HR director a box of chocolates with a note that said "If you think this is sweet, wait til you meet me."
ReplyDeleteBoth you and Mr. Churchill hit the nail on the head here. If you have the proper outlook, you can do a lot of good. You can affect the people around you and take advantages of the opportunities brought on by a forced change.
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