With the kickoff of CBS TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother’s final season on Netflix, the show’s final laughs are having a lasting effect on fans. Following the show’s popularity, many books and articles have popped up filled with the “rules” and social codes that How I Met Your Mother portrays. The cast of characters have a lot to share with the world. Here are several lessons from the show that we can apply to public relations.
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The Three Days Rule
The “Three Days Rule” has to do with waiting three days before calling a woman who gives you her phone number. While in the show, main character Ted breaks this rule, it can still give us a valuable lesson on patience and etiquette. When sending pitches or inquiries to the media, it is smart to give them a buffer period of roughly three days before responding to follow-up. This gives the media time to receive and take in your message, but doesn’t leave them enough time to forget about your inquiry.
“New is Always better”
Coined by character Barney Stinson, “new is always better” is a great lesson for public relations. When creating content that you want readers to be interested in and engage with, it is good to jump on a new trend of idea instead of an older one. Choosing and creating new content helps keep your brand top-of-mind.
The Lemon Law
The Lemon Law is a rule stating that when dating, both parties have 5 minutes to decide if they are interested and will continue the date once meeting. According to Barney Stinson, this law is designed so that neither party wastes their time with a fruitless date. The Lemon Law can teach us about public relations because it shows us that first impressions are very important. For example, when sending emails or other information to the media, always use correct grammar, punctuation and style. It is also important to give your most important information early on in the communication in case you lose their interest.
While entertaining, How I Met Your Mother can teach us a lot of lessons about life and social interactions. Do you watch How I Met Your Mother? What other applications for public relations can you think of from the show?
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