The best kind of promotion is when a third-party person says something nice about you

 

From the strategic and enlightening blog of David Henderson - consultant, author, journalist.

The insights he shares apply to so many areas of life!

 

Excerpt:

"Stop marketing and promoting, start listening - We are living and working in a new world influenced by vast choices online, a world of diminished influence for traditional advertising, marketing and promotion. This is the hardest thing for many organizations to grasp - that we must let go of old ways, and listen to the people who matter most to our organizations - customers, clients, buyers, stakeholders, the media - and get into conversations with them. There's an old belief that the best kind of promotion is when a third-party person says something nice about you … and it's never been truer than today. Listening and conversations lead to those who matter most to your organization telling others nice things about you. They become an army of ambassadors who build the best kind of awareness."

Pillars of Leadership in the Internet Era

Posted: 07 Apr 2009 01:13 PM PDT

Among upcoming appearances, it is my pleasure to speak at the Bronze Quill Awards of the Houston IABC on April 30. Here is a piece the Houston IABC chapter requested to post on their blog: 

It used to be that we just had to keep track of journalists as they moved around their industry. Today, we have more formidable challenges to tackle as communicators. Not only are we witnessing seismic changes happening with the mainstream media but we, as communications professionals, face changing styles in how we communicate, on behalf of our organizations, our clients and ourselves.

Every week, if not everyday, we hear of more newspapers failing or struggling to stay alive. Newsrooms are cutting staffs, cutting sections, cutting pages. Papers are trying to find a silver bullet to attract more readers and larger revenue streams online. They are not having much luck so far.

Faced with the reality of changing needs of traditional journalists, a broadcast media that has become more entertainment than news, and today's fast-developing online world of social media, blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, how do we attract attention and communicate accurately, effectively and clearly?

Here are six suggestions for organizational leadership in today's competitive world:

• Advocate change - Learn the styles, trends and new protocols of today's mainstream and online media as it shifts and jockeys to find a niche. Champion change in your own organization. Old habits die hard at many organizations, slowing them from learning new styles and embracing new techniques. While it might be an old habit and more comfortable, for example, to send out a press release, that kind of outreach has become less effective in today's competitive world.
• Embrace storytelling - Learn how to tell what your organization has to say in an appealing story. Storytelling is the singular most powerful technique for any organization or business to attract attention and trigger word of mouth buzz that will ultimately enhance leadership positioning. The media, whether mainstream or online, is always looking for a good story.
• Think plain language - The communications clarity of business and organizations is too often polluted by obfuscated language of industry short-hand or over-worked business school jargon. As a communicator, translate opaque into plain and clear language that everyone will understand.
• Reach out to few to achieve more - Develop working relationships with those individuals - whether journalists, bloggers, analysts or others - who are opinion-leaders in your industry or business sector. Chances are the list of authentic influencers is astonishingly short. Become a valued and trusted resource aside from promoting your own organization. The payoff will be exponential because of enhanced credibility, and the fact that the top thought-leaders in your industry will begin turning to you and your organization to learn more. With regard to the media, the days of blasting out press releases to thousands of people are fast coming to an end for the simple reason that a release sent to everyone is the antithesis of what any journalist wants or needs for a story.
• Stop marketing and promoting, start listening - We are living and working in a new world influenced by vast choices online, a world of diminished influence for traditional advertising, marketing and promotion. This is the hardest thing for many organizations to grasp - that we must let go of old ways, and listen to the people who matter most to our organizations - customers, clients, buyers, stakeholders, the media - and get into conversations with them. There's an old belief that the best kind of promotion is when a third-party person says something nice about you … and it's never been truer than today. Listening and conversations lead to those who matter most to your organization telling others nice things about you. They become an army of ambassadors who build the best kind of awareness.
• Become the credible voice and face of your organization and industry - Look around at today's most respected organizations. In many cases, the top executives have high visibility, and are recognized as leaders - Tony Hsieh of Zappos, John Chambers of Cisco, Richard Branson of Virgin, Steve Jobs of Apple. They define and differentiate the image, integrity and reputation of their organizations through their own consistent openness and transparency as industry leaders, often leaving less outward CEOs to stand in the shadows.

It is not that difficult to achieve organizational leadership to capitalize on all the changes around us. It begins with the discipline of letting go of old habits that often no longer work, and recognizing that if we do not get more savvy as communicators, we might wake up some day to find that our competitors have.

 

Source is here.