SOCIALISM, TRUSTING PR BRANDS & SOCIAL MEDIA
Yesterday, I spoke with a group of 40 MBA students visiting from France who came to my office. As we spoke about job opportunities in the new market, the similarities between the new financial realities of the U.S. and the socialist system of France became readily apparent, as Newsweek in fact recently noted. While I don’t usually blog on politics, I can’t resist the opportunity to refer to this brilliant letter on how the current political system is adversely affecting entrepreneurs, which has been making the rounds on the Internet and which a number of entrepreneur clients have forwarded to me. I absolutely agree with the sentiments of it, and I think we are living in tremendously unique financial times.
As I remarked a few months ago in The Atlanta Journal Constitution, the era of trust in the U.S. simply doesn’t exist these days. As the era of lies and liars emerges – Bernie Madoff, Bear Sterns, A-Rod – brands that can manage to communicate authentically can win in a major way. I believe marketing in the short term is best done on a personal basis with niche marketing or hand-to-hand combat. Targeted strategic communications and PR plans will win a lot better in the short term. It’s a sniper rather than a machine gun (and yes, this economy remains a war).
It’s remarkable that things are so bad these days in the newspaper business that shares in the New York Times Co. on Friday slumped to a low of $3.99, less than the price of the Sunday paper.
While many people often speak about the value of social media, there are also dangers that we must be aware of. A competitor recently “friended” me on facebook, and then contacted nearly all of my friends in an attempt to send them information on his agency. Similarly, LinkedIn and other networks are dreams come true for recruiters, competitors and the like. So be careful with your public contacts. Risks and reward should both be considered when participating in new social media platforms.
Ronn Torossian
February 17th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
So true what you say about the dangers of the social media relm. I had the same thing happen when a competitor contacted my facebook contacts. Bottom line is “imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.” If someone can’t make it on their own and build their own brand than they will never truly be a competitor. Actions like that speak volumes about that persons integrity and business ethics however it is best to use the safeguards that such applications as facebook and linkedin have to limit a persons access to your contacts.
Best of luck to you Ronn, I have been reading your blog for sometime now and always find it motivational and inspiring.
February 19th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Dear Ronn,
I feel that you hit the nail on the head, so to say, by calling our current times an “the era of lies and liars emerges.” It seems like this trend is everywhere. It is disappointing that basic core values are so easily lost. Personally, I wonder if people find a lie so easy to use because they can not “see” it or its inevitable damages.
Best,
Amber Gristak
Supervising Editor
Jewish Voice
March 18th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Dear Ronn,
I liked the article and found it to be very interesting. I found this definition of public relations and I thought you might like it too.
Public relations is the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organization with the public interest, and plans and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.
Sincerely yours,
Jana