“There is no such thing as bad publicity”. It’s a saying we’ve all heard, and it’s been attributed to multiple people. It’s easy to understand the reasoning behind it: if people are talking about you, it means they’re noticing you. But it is fair to say that most of us would disagree if we stop and think for a moment. If you’re running a business, you want people talking about you. There are several caveats to this, but perhaps the most important is that it does matter why they are talking about you.
It’s worth thinking about one of the caveats to that caveat, though. If we can imagine a line being drawn, and on one side of it there is “Being Talked About (Good)” and on the other side is “Being Talked About (Bad), then that suggests that there are cases where getting attention for the sake of attention gets close to the line without going over it – and if you can work within the line, you can get publicity that is beneficial for your business by being good at grabbing attention.
Finding that sweet spot is something any nascent business should be keen to do. So what might be useful is to speak about some things you can do to get attention, and then evaluate whether they’re on the Good or Bad Side of the line; the Dos and the Don’ts.
DO: Be Topical With Your Social Media Marketing
Social media is extremely trend-driven. If you’re a frequent user of the main social media sites, you’ve probably done that thing where you pick up your phone to check your timeline, see people talking about a news story, and then have to work backwards to piece together what they are talking about. Some 30% of people say that social media is their main way of getting news. While they’re there, they are also prone to share their opinions.
There’s nothing like a topical story to get conversation going, and if you have a command of the language of social media then it’s something you can harness for your business. Using your branded social media accounts to join the conversation can mean you get reposted, people comment on your content, and you grow the attention of your business. Done correctly, you can harness events to get eyes on your accounts, and use that to your benefit.
DON’T: Be Crass With How You Do It
It shouldn’t need to be explained that there are right and wrong times and right and wrong ways to use social media for publicity. If the news story involves death or injury, that is the wrong time. If the story is in any way based around the jeopardy of someone’s well-being, stay clear. Social media has a way of removing people’s filters, but before you engage on a topic, imagine you are doing it through a loudhailer in the room where the story is developing.
Even giving direct examples of how topical social media could be crass feels crass itself. So while topical use of social media can be on the Good side of the line, there are many ways in which the way you engage with topical stories can be on the Bad side. An eye for topical stories, along with a sense of sensitivity, should be your guide for this kind of marketing. As a final caveat to this, engaging with political stories and the way you do it is entirely up to you. Bear in mind that being partisan can sink you with around half of your potential market – and if you’re OK with that, then it can boost you with the other half.
DO: Get Your Brand In The Media
There are other types of media than social, of course, and even though fewer people than ever read a newspaper, “legacy media” can still be a powerful way to grab attention. The news cycle is ruthless these days, and journalists are perpetually chasing stories. It will never be a bad idea to try and grab some column inches or airtime with positive or inspirational gestures. Funding a local initiative for the betterment of your town, city or district can bring cameras, and if you’ve made plans for banner printing in readiness for this, it can help. Nobody can deny that good is being done at the same time as getting attention.
There are other decent ways to get your brand some coverage. Sponsoring a local sports team or event is often beneficial because people identify strongly with sports and freely give their attention. Be available for comment when news cameras and journalists are looking at stories that affect your business; if you become a trusted voice on issues, this can have ongoing benefits. Try not to talk over the story, and leave people to reflect on your generosity and fairness.
DON’T: Overdo it
Let’s take a specific example here: If you’ve paid any attention to the annual procession of individuals seeking to climb Everest, you’ll know that things have changed since the mountain was first conquered in 1953. To this date, more than 6,500 people have now summited the famous peak. That’s not a lot, considering how many people there are in the world. But it’s enough to make it not news. People used to fly their national flag when they reached the top; now, they tend to brandish their corporate logo. Should you do that (or better still, get someone else to do it)?
No, you shouldn’t. You may be thinking “What could be more eye-catching than my logo at the peak of the world’s tallest mountain?”. In truth, a lot of things could be. It’s been done before, there’s nothing unique about it, and in terms of risk/reward the balance is not in your favour. People still die in the effort to climb Everest every year. Increasingly there are warnings not to attempt it, because the mere attempt is considered unethical. And for climbing Everest, you can substitute climbing any mountain or embarking on any form of high-publicity extreme tourism. More and more people are calling out such missions for the dangerous folly they are; it’s best to pass up the idea.
DO: Surprise people
The most successful marketing campaigns are the ones that get talked about by enough people that they become a story in themselves. This is the whole concept behind viral marketing. Countless people shared the “Red House” commercial for a single-store furniture retailer in the early 2010s, assuming it was an example of the awkward, stilted cable TV advertisements that get attention because they’re so bad or clumsy. It turned out that it was a spot designed by (now huge stars) Rhett and Link that was intended to get exactly that attention – and as a result, the Red House became a big story.
If your marketing taps into something that makes people want to share it, it can gain attention far beyond what has been spent on it. Innovation is a huge element of viral marketing. Sharing an inspirational story can garner someone’s attention for as long as they are watching the video. Tickling people’s funny bones, or making them share a clip on their social media saying “Have you seen this?”, can keep them talking about it for years.
DON’T: Shock people
There’s a definite dividing line between surprise and shock value. Shock even has its place in publicity campaigns, but the chances are that your business isn’t in that place. If you’re looking to raise awareness of human rights abuses or social issues such as addiction, a shock can be immensely valuable. If you’re looking to raise awareness of novelty socks, it’s using a sledgehammer to crack a nut and people will think less of you for it. That’s before you even mention the fact that people can spot a cynical attempt to go viral and never take kindly to it.
Avoid tasteless campaigns. There was a time when using twisted humour might have been beneficial in marketing, but this is 2024 and we’ve all seen things in the news or on our social media timelines that we wish we hadn’t. People are hardened to shock and these days, it’s more beneficial to make them feel something different: curiosity, affection or relief are much more powerful in a marketing campaign than spine-tingling terror.
Attention is fundamental to marketing; it’s good when you have it. At least, it’s bad when you don’t. It’s just important to remember that not all forms of attention are equal, and there is certainly such a thing as bad publicity. In the aim to get more eyes on your business, it is vital that you bear this in mind, and that when you are treading that fine line between good and bad publicity, you never step over it. If you can master the task of consistently getting eyes on your brand without tarnishing it in the process, then you can make a positive impact on your bottom line.
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