We're called spin doctors, flacks, turd polishers...a copywriter friend once referred to me as a lie merchant (I replied by calling him a comma jockey). The Bad Pitch blog was created to help dampen the loud examples that seem to punctuate our industry and reinforce the above half jokes.
Has any of this changed in "an age of transparency?" We still have folks astroturfing and trying to game the system. But I'd like to think that trends like cause marketing and transparency are having a longer term impact on an individual's ethics and professional standards.
Does that make me Pollyanna? Maybe. But let's look in the mirror and see if things are more black and white these days or just as gray as ever.
Word Choice: Do you sex up your LinkedIn profile unnecessarily? What about your resume? I'm always reminded of the college student who's resume noted that she waited tables. I was glad she did. Some feel unrelated work experience can harm instead of help. In this specific case, it showed me she had a great work ethic.
Word Choice: Do you sex up your LinkedIn profile unnecessarily? What about your resume? I'm always reminded of the college student who's resume noted that she waited tables. I was glad she did. Some feel unrelated work experience can harm instead of help. In this specific case, it showed me she had a great work ethic.
How did I know? She also had her GPA on her resume. She was helping to fund her education. Anything above and beyond a GPA and a job can instantly make someone a multi-tasker as far as I'm concerned.
But she, or someone reviewing her resume, didn't share my opinion. She listed her role as "Customer Service Engineer" instead of waitress. She also noted she excelled at "suggestive selling." Is that even legal outside the state of Nevada?
If the world is truly more transparent, Hemingway is even more important as an example of the power of simplicity when it comes to word choice and effective writing. I'm not shying away from my Thesarus. And I understand the power of search engine optimization. But we should always be pushing ourselves when it comes to writing and word choice. Always.
Execution: One thing I'll always remember from SXSWi this year are QR codes. It was a sea of QR/Barcode pr0n in Austin. QR codes have their place. Pushing to bonus content has utility, an element of surprise/discovery and can be a smart add to communications.
But I sometimes want to start the Bad QR Code blog for anyone that merely swaps out their URL for a QR code. My point being: are we unnecessarily sexing up the execution of our work too?
If the world is truly more transparent, Hemingway is even more important as an example of the power of simplicity when it comes to word choice and effective writing. I'm not shying away from my Thesarus. And I understand the power of search engine optimization. But we should always be pushing ourselves when it comes to writing and word choice. Always.
Execution: One thing I'll always remember from SXSWi this year are QR codes. It was a sea of QR/Barcode pr0n in Austin. QR codes have their place. Pushing to bonus content has utility, an element of surprise/discovery and can be a smart add to communications.
But I sometimes want to start the Bad QR Code blog for anyone that merely swaps out their URL for a QR code. My point being: are we unnecessarily sexing up the execution of our work too?
QR codes have their place. Most, if not all, of the shiny new has its place. A QR code can even replace your resume...assuming you're also someone with mobile or related skills.
But I think transparency can be extended to our work. Sometimes more is just more. If you build a sound strategy and execute well on that strategy, you don't always need to "turn it up to 11."
Transparent: Simple & Straightforward, Not Invisible
Is this all preachy? It's not meant to be. I'm reminding myself as much as I'm serving this up to you for consideration. But I've been thinking about how concepts like transparency are aligning with topics like office design -- open space, easily reconfigured, more flexible, fewer doors. And maybe even sharing/publishing -- publish the idea to, amongst other things, forward concepts with others and improve your ideas in the proces.
Transparency can help inspire a smart simplicity around what we do and how we do it.
We talk about concepts like transparency a lot. We understand them. We apply them in our counsel. Sometimes I think there's merit in extending them well beyond our professional lives.
Maybe this is too deep for a late Friday afternoon. But let me know what you think.
Beware the Ides of McGinley uploaded by prblog
But I think transparency can be extended to our work. Sometimes more is just more. If you build a sound strategy and execute well on that strategy, you don't always need to "turn it up to 11."
Transparent: Simple & Straightforward, Not Invisible
Is this all preachy? It's not meant to be. I'm reminding myself as much as I'm serving this up to you for consideration. But I've been thinking about how concepts like transparency are aligning with topics like office design -- open space, easily reconfigured, more flexible, fewer doors. And maybe even sharing/publishing -- publish the idea to, amongst other things, forward concepts with others and improve your ideas in the proces.
Transparency can help inspire a smart simplicity around what we do and how we do it.
We talk about concepts like transparency a lot. We understand them. We apply them in our counsel. Sometimes I think there's merit in extending them well beyond our professional lives.
Maybe this is too deep for a late Friday afternoon. But let me know what you think.
Beware the Ides of McGinley uploaded by prblog
Kevin, this hammer a good point home about not just creating QR-Codes to be trendy and have one, but actually use them as an effective marketing strategy!
ReplyDeleteI found this to be a good look at how savvy marketers and corporations who know what they're doing, are using QR Codes to grow leads and business, right up under all of our noses.
I hope it helps someone!
http://inexpensivemarketingsolutions.com/QR-Codes/
This post was an interesting read. I like that you encouraged readers to be transparent as well as gave a real-life example of the power of transparency. As a PR student, these are very helpful tips and it's good to know that future employers will appreciate transparency on resumes and social media profiles. Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteKevin, the notion that cause marketing and transparency are having a longer term impact on an individuals' ethics and professional standards is spot on. And taken a step further, businesses of any kind using cause marketing find out very quickly how transparent the marketing message is they're trying to spread. KFC anyone?
ReplyDeleteQuite refreshing and not a bit preachy. In an era where layers and layers of bureaucracy and accounting tricks hide the health of the Wall St. companies which most profoundly affect the U.S. and therefore World Economies, promoting transparency and open-ness to the digital universe may be our best hope.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you're being a Pollyanna about people and corporations being more transparent. I think given the speed at which news travels these days through Social Media and mobile devices, companies HAVE to be more transparent or someone will expose them.
ReplyDeleteI am currently a PR student from Kent State University, and one of the biggest lessons we’re taught is the importance of transparency. We learn from case studies about companies posing as “regular people.” The Walmart travelers were a great example. When the “travelers” turned out to be professionals blogging and not a nice couple traveling around the company, the story spread like crazy through the Social Media world making Walmart look like fools. I think the faster information spreads, the more important it is for companies to keep it truthful and open.
I agree with your idea that honesty and transparency will open more doors in the long run. The problem with sexing up resumes and overselling yourself is that the person on the other end has seen it all before and can likely spot your 'creative embellishments' a million miles away.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of a great line from a great move, Glengarry Glen Ross. When a nervous coworker asks Al Pacino's character what he should tell the cops, Pacino replies "The truth, George. Always tell them the truth. It's the easiest thing to remember."
It’s refreshing to hear that work experience other than public relations is appropriate on a resume. I have several years of customer service experience in the retail industry which I think is essential for my resume. With that said, I don’t think I would ever title myself as a “Customer Service Retail Engineer” – although it would be quite funny.
ReplyDelete