The Art of Engagement As Explained By One Of The Masters
I ain't lookin' to compete with you
Beat or cheat or mistreat you
Simplify you, classify you
Deny, defy or crucify you
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you.
Bob Dylan, of course.
Donnie is, in fact, one of the most famous people in the ad agency business. He had his own killer agency for many years. Then he went on to host a great interview show on Bravo. Now, apparently, he has a sitcom on the USA network.
Donnie is one of those fast talking American Hucksters, but a lot of the advertising he has done over the years has been awesome.
This episode of the Late Show was from the Friday before the Superbowl and Stephen Colbert was asking Donnie about what makes a commercial great and worth spending several million bucks to show people.
His answer, not surprisingly, was that it was its humanity. According to Donnie, and I completely agree, If you can communicate your selling message in the context of a human story, it will not only be memorable and effective, it will have a very long life span.
If this sounds familiar, it’s probably because you have been reading some of my posts over the past year about what makes for engaging content here on beBee or anyplace else you choose to blog.
Digital marketers use this as their mantra and have been since they started trying to get people to spend money on social media marketing. Some of these people like to make it sound like storytelling is something they invented, but anybody with two brain cells to rub together knows that’s bullshit.
The storytelling some of us, (not all by a long shot), do here is really nothing more than an extension of the storytelling that we were raised on pretty much everywhere…in ads, in TV shows, movies and books and through personal conversations.
Authenticity Is The Ultimate Expression Of Humanity In Communication
Me
The humanity that makes for great communication is what a lot of us refer to as authenticity. And I actually think authenticity is a better word, because it allows the context to be widened.
This is especially true if you are trying to tell a story with something technical or instructional in it, and it doesn’t really lend itself to a strictly ‘human’ narrative.
Peeps I know like Phil Friedman, Renée 🐝 Cormier, Renée 🐝 Cormier, Jeff Strickland and Don 🐝 Kerr to name but a few, do this especially well.
It could even be argued that this post is a good example because I’m basically writing about writing. But wait…there is a human element here and it’s very personal.
In Donnie’s interview he showed a Volkswagon SuperBowl commercial from a couple of years ago, (before Volkswagon stepped in the deep doo doo).
I felt a very human emotion when I saw this commercial. A couple, in fact.
One was delight, because it’s a very charming spot.
And two was something else . Because when I saw that commercial on the SuperBowl, I remember very distinctly flying into a quiet fit of jealousy, wishing more than anything in that moment, that I had done that spot.
Creative people do this once in a while. It’s the highest form of compliment that can be paid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n6hf3adNqk
(Note: There might be a commercial before the actual VW spot)
This commercial tells you all you need to know about authenticity in communication. Sadly, a lot of good creative people come up with concepts like this, but are not blessed with clients who have the balls to go for it.
Reveal Yourself. Chant It Before You Start Writing
I write a lot about not being afraid to reveal yourself in your writing.
I do this because, well, a lot of people have told me they are leery about it. They don’t think their lives are interesting enough. Or they are shy. Or they are uber private. Or they feel they will embarrass themselves somehow.
Sorry, but all of these are lame-ass cop-outs. If you want to engage people, and this year has been declared The Year of Engagement by just about every guru who matters, then you really need to get over yourself.
Showcasing your expertise in the half-assed way that many so called 'blogging experts' tell you you should is bullshit too. Tell your story. People prefer to do business with people they like and trust. And the way that you get there is by revealing who you really are.
It’s not rocket science and only an idiot would give you a hard time about it. And who cares what idiots think anyway?
So that’s my advice for anybody who wants to get more engagement from their blogging.
There’s no reason why you should trust me, except of course, if you have come this far in this post, I’ve already engaged you, and I rest my case.
If your business has reached the point where talking to an experienced communication professional would be the preferred option to banging your head against the wall or whatever, lets talk.
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