Fabrics Of Our PR Society And Economic Culture

Fabrics Of Our PR Society And Economic Culture

Garth Beyer

I had lunch with a Madison PR pro today, and she mentioned how awesome Madison’s PR industry is. No surprise there other than in her reasoning.

Madison Public Relations

In the past if you worked at one agency and wanted to switch to another (a competitor!), you often didn’t for fear of burning bridges, being viewed as a traitor or you didn’t want to lose the friends you made because people at agency A just don’t get close with people at agency B.

But now – and I argue it’s not just Madison – there is no burning of bridges. In fact, there’s little competition. Where there was once disdain, there is now complete respect for one another. Agency B is happy to have people come work from Agency A or C or D or E…

This, of course, isn’t just the way the PR industry has shaped up to be; it’s how the world of work and art is. We are living in a time where success is leveraged by gigs, resources, remarkable work, and constantly changing – but always consistently occurring – partnerships and projects.

Agency A won’t survive if it refuses to connect with those at agency C, and vice versa. Survival may be met by an individual, but success is met by a team, a community.

Our culture – not just the PR culture – is based on innovation, inspiration and connections between people (and agencies).

The wellness of our economy is dependent on the value people like you and me and PR pros and mechanics and Etsy owners create.

It’s easy to become absorbed by the work of the industrial revolution. It’s much more difficult (but ultimately more rewarding) to absorb ourselves in the people around us. At least, we must, if we wish to succeed in business.

This isn’t just a revolution in the PR industry, it’s a revolution in every industry. I’m just happy to see the Madison PR agencies recognize this. Just one more reason to love it here.

 

Stay Positive & People Are Everything

Garth Beyer. Who Is That?

Garth Beyer. Who Is That?

Garth Beyer

I often take for granted you know who I am. You get an idea of what goes through my head on my blog and even on my about page, but there’s more to it.

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Name is Garth Everett Beyer. I work in the public relations and marketing industry. My big belief is I want people to know they can do remarkable work. On GarthBox I teach people how to connect with others to leverage their work, to do the work that matters, and to, quite simply, happily create art. I teach confidence and risk-taking and professional/personal development.

The work I’ve done has spanned from sales to HR to leadership to business strategy to marketing. I’ve failed plenty of times, but I’ve learned enough from others’ failures that I seem to be doing alright on my own as a freelancer.

I have a girlfriend who grounds me. Nothing irks me more than entrepreneurs who are in relationships that they let crumble after starting a business. In the future, I want to help new business owners to make sure their relationships stay strong.

Outside the realm of marketing I am big into three things: ice hockey, craft beer, and exercise. Hockey is the sport I wish my parents would have forced me into when I was younger. I have found beer brewers to be the nicest people in the world. Tony Horton inspired me to get active and I’ve done a handful of other workouts regimes since. (Currently doing Body Beast and the Tim Ferriss diet.)

My mom was a personal trainer for awhile, so I’ve got that knowledge from her. And both parents have shown me how possible it is to have a job and a money-making hobby at the same time. I currently work full-time for the state of Wisconsin as a Grant’s Specialist (fancy way of saying I give money to kids to go to college) while I do freelance work.

I believe in the saying “to each, their own.” I’m fascinated by spiritual concepts and different belief systems, but at the end of the day I follow one religion: the Garth Religion.

I love to read fiction, but I rarely do because I love to read non-fiction marketing-type books more. But I will never pass up a chance to read some Kurt Vonnegut or Tom Robbins.

I always answer the question of what is your favorite X, Y or Z with the most recent movies, music, food, etc,. I enjoyed.

I firmly believe that everything always works out so I don’t worry about much. I’m pretty weird and people tend to laugh at the things that unintentionally come out of my mouth. I’m terrible at manufacturing humor. I never say “hate,” and I try to connect with someone new everyday.

This is who I am. At least at the time of writing this.

 

Stay Positive & Pleasure To Meet You, And You Are?

Questions Marketers Need To Be Asking

Garth Beyer

How do you feel about it…?

What do you think…?

Do you think it would be better if…?

What’s something crazy you would suggest…?

What do you think is a better way to do it…?

Where do we start…?

What do you think the real problem is…?

What’s your biggest concern…?

Why is it being done like that…?

What do you like most about…?

 

Stay Positive & What Questions Are You Asking?

You Are Not Your Target

Garth Beyer

One of the largest setbacks I’ve seen marketers face is they believe they are their own target market. They treat their audience the way they would want to be treated. But…

The social media sites you use might not be the ones where people want to follow you on.

What makes you laugh and share and give, may not make others do the same.

Marketers have to remove themselves from their target audience. After all, if you’re part of the audience, who will the rest of the followers see as the face behind the product or business? Who will they go after for advice?

Rest assured, you don’t have to be part of the audience to form a bond. In fact, relationships are often stronger between marketer and consumer than consumer and consumer.

Your audience needs a storyteller, not a story-relayer.

 

Stay Positive & Be The Marketer, Not The Marketed-To

4 Steps To Success (Wisdom From Cambodian Monks)

4 Steps To Success (Wisdom From Cambodian Monks)

Garth Beyer

Steve Jobs Meditation

While in Cambodia at the POP House (meditation resort) a handful of monks taught me a lot about buddhism, life, and success. After a 20 minute meditation session, one monk began to tell us the four steps to success in life. Now I’m sharing them with you.

1) Affection – Show affection to your friends, to your enemies, to strangers. Find ways to show your love of people, of plants, of the world, of life. Care, not only about others, but your self as well.

2) Try – The likelihood of success is connected to the amount of experience you have. The more you try, the more successful you will be. Not only try things you’ve never tried before, but try things you don’t think you could overcome, don’t think you’ll complete, don’t think will change you. Just try.

3) Comment (on yourself) – You are your own judge of whether something worked or didn’t. You must evaluate your actions to confirm what you’ve done has moved you in the direction you want.  Criticism is pointless, especially when given to others. The monks were firm about concerning yourself only with yourself.

4) Experiment – Put things together that you’ve never imagined combining. Try new designs, interfaces, systems, plans, diets. Success is often the result of experimentations, not well-thought out intentions

Bonus: Be like Steve Jobs. Every monk that taught had told me about Steve Jobs and how he followed these four steps. And he meditated often if you didn’t know.

 

Stay Positive & Your Time Is Limited

5 Don’ts Of Business Success

5 Don’ts Of Business Success

Garth Beyer

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1) Don’t ask a group of people to do something you won’t ask your friend to do. Make better surveys. Target the right tribes. Create evaluations people get something from.

2) Don’t think the conversations others have are the ones you want to have. Not everyone cares about what you care about.

3) Don’t start with the product then come up with a story for it. If you don’t have a story to start from, then go out and experience more.

4) Don’t stand in front of your product. Get behind it, engage in the conversation that’s happening, be part of the avant-garde users.

5) Don’t put the spotlight on those who dislike you, your business or your product. Instead, put and keep the spotlight on your best customers.

 

Stay Positive & Simple, But Easily Forgotten

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