JMPR Communication

Archive for September, 2009

I admire passion.  I think passion is everything.  Those with passion and drive can make anything happen.

I admire the way@JenMitch started JMPR Communication, deciding it was time to branch out and “start her own thing”.  I am grateful that I am now a part of her dream because watching someone with so much passion put heart and desire to work, it’s truly something to behold.  I know there are others out there just like @JenMitch – in many different fields of work.  For the last month or so, I have been listening and watching as another individual I find quite interesting shows how passionate he is about his product.

Perhaps you have heard of Tucker Max?

For some, the name Tucker Max will illicit a cringe. For others, it will bring about a wry smile.  Tucker Max is a self-admitted crude, rude, womanizing, lewd individual.  His stories are true, and yet somehow he is almost likable.

One thing is for certain.  No matter what the public thinks, Tucker Max believes in himself, and his “brand.”  His brand, is his persona- the “character” of himself in the 2006 book, and soon to be released movie, “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell.” (IHTSBIH)

Tucker Max believes his movie is a product that the general public will enjoy. Unlike highly promoted and anticipated blockbuster movies, Tucker Max is putting HIS money where his mouth is.  (The very same money he earned in book sales.) The book IHTSBIH has been on the NY Times Bestseller list for three straight years, and continues to hold strong.  The movie IHTSBIH is set to be released this Friday, September 23, 2009.  I am not promoting the content of this movie, though personally I find @tuckermax quite hilarious, but I am promoting the process he has gone through to make this movie a reality.

Leveraging the money he made from book sales to promote the movie is a gutsy move. To me, this is the epitome of passion.  Passion is something that many will search their entire lives for; the desire to find a purpose in one’s life.

Tucker has to work on a budget that was far less than ANY other motion picture release.  He hand selected the lead character that is playing him, and he talks about the struggles of getting the actor to truly bring out the “persona” of Tucker Max here:

Tucker also blogs about how the movie will be released here.

Tucker has a total budget totaling around 1/8 of the budget the movie “The Hangover” had.  Tucker will be releasing this movie on 125 screens the first week.  Then the second week it will be 300 screens.  If after two weeks, the movie is popular enough, he will then be able to release it on the 2,000 screens nationwide.  However, if it doesn’t generate enough revenue the first two weeks, Tucker Max will be left holding the bag.  How many individuals nowadays take the leap of putting themselves out there on a venture?  It’s rare, and it’s to be admired.

@TuckerMax has spent the last 30 days on tour for his new movie screening it for free in 30 different cities.  This is old school public relations folks, getting out there and meeting people and promoting your product.  Don’t get me wrong, @tuckermax is on Twitter, he’s on Facebook, and he is doing social media promotion for his movie. But he is also out there banging on doors to get people to check out his movie.  Honestly, he probably doesn’t even need to do this, but he truly loves his product (himself), and promoting it to his fans.  He could be a really good actor, but I doubt it given his attitude about pretty much everything.

Given what Tucker Max is risking, it’s hard not to root for a guy who is willing to lay it all on the line because he believes in himself and his product.  I think what he is doing is fantastic, and quite remarkable.  I may not see eye to eye with some of the things he has done (even if they are quite hilarious). But I am rooting for Tucker Max and the movie version of I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell.

Will you see this movie? What do you think about Tucker’s promotion methods?

One of my first posts was about the importance of relevancy when Tweeting.  (Ironically, this was exactly a year ago.) While I had previously used Twitter on behalf of my then-employer, I relativity new to Twitter on a personal level.

As you know, Twitter is not about the numbers.  Twitter is about building relationships with relevant people.  I found that when I started, finding people, listening and generating conversations via @replies was the best way to connect.  But Twitter has grown in leaps and bounds in the last year (1,444%!) and the way I tweet today reflects that growth.

Twitter: Build Relationships. Image: MichielGaas

Broadcasting or Information Sharing Platform?

It is my opinion that Tweeting via your Twitter-stream to your followers is a very effective means of broadcasting both your own messages and messages that inspire you. A year ago, few were talking about Twitter as a broadcasting platform.  Twitter was strictly seen as an information-sharing/collaboration platform.

But over the past year, as the number of valuable tweets increase in volume, how much of what you say really gets read and/or digested by those in your network?

The truth is, people are probably missing your tweets.  But if you build a solid network of related people, even a few eyeballs per tweet can provide immense value.

I made the decision last month to engage with Twitter in a different way in order to continue to utilize it as an information sharing/collaboration platform with a focus on building relationships.  Today I use Twitter as follows:

1. I use TweetDeck to group important conversations so I never miss a beat.
2. I am very careful with who I follow, focusing on those who most closely relate to my business.
3. I broadcast messages through the Twitter-feed, on a limited basis.
4. I re-tweet articles/blog posts/interesting opinions on my stream each week.
5. I make a concerted effort to engage more people in conversation.
6. MOST IMPORTANTLY: I have joined a few niche Twitter groups specifically related to my business.  Because I follow relevant people, I was able to find these groups through my regular Twitter stream by following hashtags such as #solopr and #prstudchat.  By adding these hashtags to my TweetDeck search, I never miss a chat.  This is a great way to learn from others!

So, is Twitter a Broadcast or Information Sharing Platform?

Both, and more.

As Twitter continues it’s growth spurt, try new tactics to determine the best way for you to build meaningful relationships and share your thoughts with others.  I use Twitter as a broadcasting platform, a venue to share information, a place to learn best practices, and most importantly, a forum to build relationships with like-minded individuals.

How do you use Twitter?

I find it ironic that yesterday@CongJoeWilson (Joe Wilson) shouted “You Lie!” to Obama during his congressional address.  After all, Joe Wilson is active on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flicker and more.  You would think that this guy would understand- what you say in Congress lives on the Internet, no?

Within minutes of Mr. Wilson shouting at the president last night, my Twitter-stream began filling up with requests to call Joe Wilson and tell him what you think. I was seeing phone numbers before Obama’s speech was over.  Not only was the news fast, but it provided something a network news team never would: personal contact information.

Check this out:

Joe Wilson Trends on Twitter

I have to say, I was surprised.  I expected people to be angry.  I expected people to trash him.  I even expected people to refer to him by Twitter-name.  But distributing his phone number and cell phone number (and later his fax number)? WOW. “Joe Wilson” is still the number one trending topic on Twitter as of 4:00 pm the next day.

I shouldn’t be surprised.  When we as people get upset about anything nowadays, we shout it to the rooftops, and we post post post as much as we can.  We want everyone to know we are upset!  Most want to both vent and protect others from their misfortune.

And in this case, people even stepped in and altered the message telling folks to call Mr. Wilson to show their support.  That’s a lot of phone calls between the angry and pleased, don’t you think?  (And I hear the phone lines were all busy last night.)

Joe Wilson put out an apology on YouTube today wherein he acknowledges that his outburst was wrong and that he apologized to President Obama immediately after his speech.  Mr. Wilson then goes on to ask for a donation to support his stance on the Health care option.  I don’t know about all of you, but I am tired of these YouTube apologies that aren’t REALLY apologies.  (See Chris Brown.)

All this to say:

In 2009, everything you say and do in real life could easily show up on the Internet.  Think before you speak, and be prepared to apologize and/or defend your actions.

If you communicate on behalf of a corporation remmeber, bad things may be said about your company, but it’s how you respond that matters.

Oh, and if you set out to apologize- actually apologize.

As many of you know, my daughter started kindergarten today.  It strikes me: There are a few things those of us in business can learn from the act of going to kindergarten for the first time.

What can you learn from your kids? Image by: Jennifer Mitchell, JMPR Communication

1. Being scared when starting something new is normal.  It’s how you react to your fears that matters most.
2. Making new friends is always important.
3. It’s nice to be nice.
4. Listen to your teachers (mentors).  There is always room to learn something new.
5. Always be prepared.  Bring supplies even if not required.

For those of you with kids in school, what lessons have they learned that could cross-apply to your business?