From 101 reasons to stop writing
I had the pleasure of hearing Barry Mike speak this week during my monthly IABC luncheon. Virtually everything he discussed was relevant to my line of work, and anyone who has a job in PR, marketing, IMC, social media — or any ther profession having to do with communication. Of all his pearls of wisdom, one really stuck with me. He said, “People need meaning. Everything communicates.”
How dead on is that statement? Clients and publics like to be in the loop, information is everything. Our days are filled with questions and searching for answers. “How’s the stock doing? Why is she wearing that? What is he NOT saying? You KNOW what they’re up to (wink, wink)!”
As a professional we should encourage our clients or organizations to tell their side of the story, as regular people, we should do the same. Some might disagree, maybe they don’t want to stick their neck out, or would rather the issue just went away — but the truth of the matter is, if you don’t tell your side of the story, somebody else will.
Look at Tiger Woods and Mark McGwire — hate to pick on those two — but they were mum on their issues for so long that the media, mistresses and Jose Canseco’s of the world told their story for them. I’m not saying one source is more credible than the other, but how much would it have meant to their brand AND their publics if they’d just spoke sooner.
Sometimes not saying anything is really saying a whole mouthful. In this day of social media, online news and the need for instant gratification, it’s almost impossible to control a message, but at least we can still speak our piece. If we don’t, someone else will, and they’ll probably mean it.
What do you think?
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