It takes a lifetime to build a reputation, but only a minute to destroy it.  This axiom is amplified every day in the world of instant communication.

I heard a discussion on NPR last Friday that should cause anyone interested in Social Media to reflect on its use.  The maelstrom of information and ‘expert’ opinions out there casts doubt on their voracity, and drives people to seek the opinions of friends and others they trust.

Motion picture promoters spend months and millions carefully crafting their campaigns.  They rely on the buzz they generate to translate into good box office results – even if their movie is a bit of a stinker.  They hope the receipts are in before word get out.

Enter Twitter.

Today’s hip moviegoer starts tweeting minutes after the opening credits.  By the time the movie is over, hundred if not thousands of opinions are scattered about to followers everywhere.

Sorry Sacha.  But I guess Bruno stinks.  Because business dropped 40% between Friday and Saturday night.

So yeah, properly done, your message will probably get out.  Guess it better be a good message.

“That’s the way it is”

I was too young to remember Walter Cronkite in his heyday.  At the time of his signature television reports of the JFK assassination, Vietnam, Apollo 11, and Watergate, among others, I wasn’t yet 10.

But that doesn’t prevent me from knowing and understanding his primary legacy – truth, trust, consistency, and character.  He wasn’t called “Uncle Walter” or named the most trusted man in America without good reason.

Although those of us in the marketing business are often charged with helping to shape public perception – Walter Cronkite stood for ensuring that the basis of our perceptions was reality.

Posted by: Steve Banis