DO THE MATH: P = PERC/PROMO
POPULARITY is governed by PERCEPTION, which is fueled by PROMOTION.
We live in a fascinating time thanks to the internet. EVERYONE, whether you know it or not, is an influencer. How many have been through a conversation that went like this…
“Did you see that movie… it’s really great!”
“Oh yeah, did you see it?”
“Not yet, but I will.”
“Then now do you know its great?”
“Somebody told me”
“Who”
“I don’t remember”
Here’s the twist, we are ALL that “somebody.”
Now let’s look at my PR equation backwards…
PROMOTION: the more you speak about something, the more real and even urgent it gets to others who see it. It prompts them to tell even more people for two reasons – to share some interesting info and second – believe it or not – to validate their opinion based on what they read. By sharing how “great” something is, the speaker is enhancing their social media connection and in some ways even their knowledge.
This creates the PERCEPTION not only that the speaker is a knowledgeable source but that their information is valued thus reliable. What’s that old shampoo commercial … “and they tell two friends and so on, and so on, and so on.”
Now, when enough people are sharing the news that something is great it goes from being one thing to being the needed item, the trending, the hot ticket, the one to see, etc. Thus, you guessed it, it goes from intimate to POPULAR.
Michael Grunwald was an historian on Elizabethan England. According to his historical works, Richard III was a much maligned, but great ruler… with a bad case of Scoliosis.
William Shakespeare painted R3 as a hunchbacked, blood-thirsty monster. So much so that aside from definition Olivier and McKellen versions, a horror movie in the 40s was made with Basil Rathbone playing him as a ghoul with Boris Karloff as his henchman!
Why is this?
By rights, Grunwald, an ACTUAL historian, should be ruling out concept of the King.
But Shakespeare seemed to have a better publicist [wink]
Now let’s take it one more step. Do you NOW think Richard III was an OK guy just got a bad rap, or do you continue thinking the way The Bard told you?
Relatedly, Orson Welles was called a genius by his mother when he was still an infant. He knew… AND we know no other reality.
Proud of your work? Tell the world… get others to do that too.
Watch what happens.
Jay Michaels Global Communications: CHANNEL i 