People

Dancing Personas

Garth Beyer

Personas are built, not bred.

Marketers establish their buyers’ persona to give them direction on how to communicate.

Kids establish their everything is silly and cute persona to get out of spilling the cup of juice you gave them in the pool.

I’ve established this persona of allowing myself to be vulnerable so it makes it easier to ship something each day.

Personas are incredibly interesting because they are ever-changing, always dancing. We, as marketers and as people, have the ability to influence the persona of others, but we’re also forced to update our persona when it doesn’t work anymore.

Leaving direct mail on the doorway handles of people’s homes used to work for a construction business. It fit their buyer’s persona…until it didn’t. Same with the kid and his juice. Silly and cute only works for so long. And it will be interesting to see if being vulnerable ever stops working for me. (I assume it will once it becomes constantly expected.)

While no persona lasts forever, we have a say in the longevity of it for ourselves and others.

I have a young friend who you would think is an old man by how much he aches, complains, and doesn’t care what comes out of his mouth. Not to mention how slow he drives. Since his friends (including myself) always call him a geezer and point out all the things that make him an old man, he continues to fill the shoes of that persona.

Michael and I chatted about this phenomena on our podcast (episode 9) when discussing why people become referees. Since recognizing my influence, I’ve started pointing out all the things that make my friend young and I holler at those who feed his old man persona.

Personas are simply a new name for category, and humans are naturally categorical in thinking, in acting, in deciding to buy product X or product Z, but they don’t often realize it.

Being the best you, making a positive impact on others, and crafting the greatest marketing message is almost all rooted in your understanding of the personas of those you’re engaging with as well as yourself.

 

Stay Positive & Now You Know, Leverage It

It’s Going Down

Garth Beyer

The number of people you need to give you permission is going down.

The number of people you need to start something remarkable is going down.

The number of people you need to sell to is going down.

The number of people you need holding you up is going down.

The number of people you need (period) is going down.

Your chance of using the “there’s just not enough support/manpower/clients/etc,.” is running out, it’s coming to a close, it’s going down.

As such, it might be time to do things your way. Miraculously when you walk out on the edge thinking you’re at it alone, you’ll realize how wrong you are.

It’s the good kind of wrong, though, unlike the wrong of thinking you need more people.

 

Stay Positive & Sometimes What Launches A Company Into Success IS Less People

Match Making (Pitches, PR, And Relationship Principles)

Garth Beyer

Connection

I wish I could say I failed to research people before I met them and I lost out on an opportunity because of it, but it’s not true. I may have missed pieces of information about a person that, hindsight 20/20, I could have used in conversation with them (like telling Seth Godin I’ve seen a photo of his action figure riding a pink angry unicorn), but typically I’m able to bring up two points in every conversation.

1) Something they’ve done that I admire

2) Something of theirs that we can both connect on

These two points are essential to match making with journalists, PR teams and clients, as well as someone you’re going to have coffee with.

When you’re applying to an agency or any job, you do your research on the company: their history, their clients, their goals… anything and everything you can find online or in their brochures (are brochures still a thing?).

Why would you treat a journalist you’re pitching to, a client you want to do business with, a friend of a friend you’re meeting for the first time with any differently?

You don’t.

A journalist will be more likely to cover your story if you start by acknowledging a piece they have written (check box #1) and how you two both love the book she referenced in that story (check box #2).

Not only do you establish a connection with the person, you add credibility to yourself, you show you care because you wouldn’t take the time to research and prepare if you didn’t, and you build trust with that (now) special someone.

The twist is the two check box process works to your advantage in another unique way. It shows you whether or not you want to work and connect with this reporter, that agency, or this guy’s friend.

If they’ve created nothing remarkable and you can’t find a node to connect on, are they a person you want to be investing in?

 

Stay Positive & 7 Billion People In This World, You’ve Got The Right To Be Picky

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What I Want

What I Want

Garth Beyer

About two and a half years ago I wrote a very short list of things I want. I open up the document containing the list every month or so, usually when I’m cleaning out my DropBox.

At the bottom of the short list, I have a motto. It’s more moving to me than the list of things I want…

Stop thinking about what you want. Think about how you want to feel.

Instead of looking for what will make you happy, focus on what you’re good at.

Rather than planning to get ahead, find a way to help others.

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Stay Positive & People Over Platforms, People Over Things

 

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

Mind The Gap, Fill The Void

Mind The Gap, Fill The Void

Garth Beyer

Mind The Gap, Fill The Void

Remarkable ideas are made by finding a void and filling it, finding a unique problem and solving it, finding a neglected world view and creating a new way to promote it.

Everything you think is remarkable wasn’t, at one point, thought about by a large number of people, but those who thought about it, thought a lot about it.

Remarkable ideas are built on the foundation of one thing and of a few people.

What chasm are you filling? Who are you connecting? What void are you populating?

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Forget What Makes Your Idea Remarkable

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Innovators Are People Watchers

Innovators Are People Watchers

Garth Beyer

People Watching Innovator

Most products and services – the remarkable ones anyway – get thought up because someone wanted a solution for a problem they noticed. They saw someone consistently fail at using a product. They watched a couple complain about the service they received.

Note-worthy innovators are people watchers. They research without intention, without hoping to find a problem they can create a solution for. It just happens upon them.

Sure, great ideas are often sought out intentionally, but so often it is a case of seeing something that irks you, then thinking “I can do this better.” Netflix, Airbnb, Ben & Jerrys, Culvers, are all examples of disruptive innovators.

If I took the time to view every current Kickstarter campaign, I’m sure I would see a flood of people who want to create something because they saw a problem people were having.

General observers, researchers, and people watchers. They are the innovators of this century.

 

Stay Positive & Remember To Carry A Notebook With You When You Watch

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