The key take away from Ragan Social Media for PR and Corporate Communications conference in Las Vegas last week was loud and crystal clear: “There’s no shortcut for the holy grail of PR: Success can not be hunted, it must be a consequence.”
Most of us are all connected. And always. We can express ourselves in many ways. And get as many impressions as we want. There are an overflow of tools, solutions and abilities. We can follow thousands of people, from all over the world. We can easily build huge networks, and be members of hundreds of groups, forums, clubs, communities. And the super users do. And rest of us do so, partly. Businesses are no exceptions. We’re creating thousands of pieces of content, curating another thousands and share everything we do generously and in public. Not only on demand but automatically. We just listen to a song, and it will automatically be shared. We just going to that place, and people will know by default. Quite often, it’s transparent, it’s authentic and it’s in real time.
It’s the purification of the communication. We just act, and anyone will know that we are. It’s like the truth. The final proof of the truth, like the wide famous french philosopher René Descartes, found out after years of pondering; “I think, therefore I am”?
People found out, that if we don’t express ourselves, we are nobodies. And businesses are no exceptions. For them, like for everyone else – we’re living in a attention economy. If they can’t hear you – yell louder. And louder. But – no – this is old school. And it’s been old school since… I can’t even remember. I have some doubts whether it ever been an option? Yes, once upon a time – the broad cast mass communication seemed to work out. That was during the laid back passive era of media consumption. And probably a short term solution.
Much of the wisdom contained in the PR and communications industry had gathered during the Ragan Social Media for PR and Corporate Communications conference in Las Vegas. There were thought leaders like Brian Solis, Chris Brogan, Shel Holtz, and many many smart and experienced PR and social media managers from well-recognized companies around the world.
Brian Solis said in his lecture:
“Social Media is different than other media channels before it. Here it’s about relationships, recognition, engagement, value, and help.”
He was talking about the “3F’s” which means you should look beyond just: “friends, fans and followers to find meaningful metrics”.
And he mentioned one quote from some Cisco hot shot (whose name I’v forgotten):
“The purpose of these stories isn’t to showcase Cisco or our technology, but to create compelling content in the topical areas that we care about. We are creating this content in the hopes that our audience shares it and becomes more educated on the topics that are important to Cisco and to our customers.”
They really care. But the sum of all the speeches made me rather to think about the necessity that it all has to start with love and passion for what you do. And in this matter I have to refer to Robin Sharma and a quote from Viktor Frankl:
“The secret of happiness is simple: find out what you really love doing and devote all your energy to do it. If you study the happiest, healthiest and most satisfied people in the world you will notice that they all have found their passion and then spent every day to exercise just that. And such a calling is almost always a chore to serve others in one way or another. When you focus your mental energy and effort into something that you really love, the flow of wealth into your life, and all your desires are met with ease and elegance. Your passion must somehow enhance or serve others. Viktor Frankl expressed it so well: Success and happiness can not be hunted, it must be a consequence.”
For me, that was one of the key take aways from the conference, and I guess that’s one of the holy grails for PR in general, and not least one of the holy grails for life. Live it!
I’m really looking forward the 2012 International Social Media and PR Summit in Amsterdam the 11-12th of April.
See you there.
