John Maxwell once said that “we live in a culture that rewards image- often over integrity. We promote people who appear to have their act together, and encourage others to do the same”. With this in mind, it makes sense that you might be tempted to err on the side of caution when it comes to content marketing and PR by only sharing your achievements or highlight reel. However, contrary to the cultural beliefs alluded to by Maxwell, research shows that when leaders at the top of their game are transparent and vulnerable by “revealing that [they] aren’t perfect, it makes [them] more relatable” and therefore more likeable. This is known as the pratfall effect and is especially important in business because, as the old adage says, people will only do business with people that they know, like and trust.
Since PR (or Public Relations) is, by definition, action that leaders can take to promote “goodwill between [themselves] and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc,” the pratfall effect is clearly something that you will want to harness. So how can you do this? Well, as in my most recent Black Ballad article, you should create posts that:
#1 Share your mistakes
They say “experience is the greatest teacher;” so share some of the mistakes that you made in your journey to becoming the leader that you are today and how you overcame them. Not only does this allow you to use the pratfall effect to your advantage, it shows those coming up behind you what NOT to do- saving them time and heartache in the process. Not only is this a great way to promote the effectiveness of your strategy, service or product, it’s also a great way to show your audience that you understand their pain points because you were once them. This will also serve as inspirational and motivational content for them.
#2 Share your limiting beliefs (past and present)
You can pull the curtain back even further on your mistakes by revealing the limiting beliefs or myths that you bought into leading up to them. You can then share what you did to move passed them. If these are things that you still struggle with, you can share content marketing posts about:
What you are currently doing
Progress reports
The lessons that you have learned in your journey to overcoming them so far
#3 Share your struggles
Sometimes struggles are not internal, like limiting belief systems, they are external, like circumstances. Do you have circumstances outside of your control that you refused to let stop you in the past or are currently refusing to? Whether it’s single parenthood, a disability, racism, sexism, mental health issues or anything in between, share it! As they say, “representation matters”. Not only will such posts make you more relatable- they will help others see that if you can achieve despite them, they can do it too.