What can you learn from holiday favorites?
Whether it be reliving a Whoville holiday by watching The Grinch or making Grandma’s secret pie with family, traditions around the holidays vary from person to person. One family may enjoy cutting down a Christmas tree and sipping hot homemade cider while another looks forward to decorating their house so brightly that it can be seen from space. The point is, holiday traditions are unique, annual and memorable, but above all, they are a constant anchor to the holiday experiences that we each enjoy. Public relations, social media and marketing professionals can also enjoy these traditions by applying lessons that American holiday customs can teach us. In this blog post, we introduce three things that can be derived from holiday icons and applied to the successful execution of public relations, social media or marketing campaigns.
They are:
1. Just like the Grinch in Whoville, prepare for positives, negatives, supporters and nay-sayers: Whether it be on social media or in the general eye of the media, be prepared that there may be individuals or parties of people who don’t support or agree with your service, product or brand. Arm yourself with a plan of action and keep your customer service high. A negative commentary doesn’t always mean that your brand is being tarnished, but understand the importance of how you recover and how you handle the criticism. Remember, everyone in Whoville was scared and hated the Grinch, but in the end, he saved Christmas in Whoville!
2. Be like Rudolph and be willing to try something new: It is no secret that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was unfamiliar and unpopular, but in the end, he turned out to be one of the greatest assets to serve the package delivery goals of Santa himself. When creating your own plans for your public relations or marketing campaigns, don’t be afraid to think outside of the box. The times are constantly changing and the various resources available are drastically different from those that existed twenty years ago. If you are used to sending press releases in a traditional way, try working with media wire services. If you are only utilizing snail mail for newsletters, try experimenting with email marketing; and if you are using cold call media pitching, try using media database services like Cision. The point is, do NOT fear change! Be open to the idea that even though it is different, it does not negate the possibility that it could be a beneficial addition just as Rudolph was to Santa.
3. Keep a keen eye to detail just like Santa: This is pretty simple, Santa has a list and guess what? He is checking it twice! Santa has an attention to detail that is second to none. Keep this mindset when you are creating your own lists, more specifically, media lists. When drafting media lists for public relations outreach efforts, double check that your contacts are relevant and useful BEFORE pitching. This concept could also be applied to social media or general marketing in terms of determining demographics and target audiences.
We understand that we do not actually live in Whoville and that Rudolph may not actually lead the sleigh that Santa uses to deliver our gifts each year, but these holiday characters have much more to teach us than the importance of love and friendship at the holidays. In fact, everything can teach us a little something about public relations, social media or marketing if we allow it.
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Photo Credit: Sarah_Ackerman