For the love of sports. I really do love them. It was my first career love, too. I had no desire more than to want to provide public relations support for a professional sports team. God led me elsewhere, but I’ve been able to experience the best of both worlds. And quite frankly, this is where He fearfully and wonderfully made me to be. So, I’m pretty good with the current outcome and what the future will hold.
I digress – back to sports. Last week after the Super Bowl, Nick Foles, MVP and champ (who was QB2 and helped to lead his team to that big, fat trophy and being the kings of the football world), was asked about his journey, and I loved his response [reposted from NBC Sports]:
“I think the big thing is don’t be afraid to fail,” Foles said. “I think in our society today, Instagram, Twitter, it’s a highlight reel. It’s all the good things. And then when you look at it, when you think like, wow, when you have a rough day, ‘My life’s not as good as that,’ (you think) you’re failing.
“Failure is a part of life. It’s a part of building character and growing. Without failure, who would you be? I wouldn’t be up here if I hadn’t fallen thousands of times. Made mistakes.
“We all are human, we all have weaknesses, and I think throughout this, (it’s been important) to be able to share that and be transparent. I know when I listen to people speak and they share their weaknesses, I’m listening. Because (it) resonates.
“So I’m not perfect. I’m not Superman. I might be in the NFL, I might have just won a Super Bowl, but, hey, we still have daily struggles, I still have daily struggles. And that’s where my faith comes in, that’s where my family comes in.”
I had a few takeaways from it:
- This dude gets it. He seems to be pretty great at life. I’ll just leave it at that.
The other two takeaways are more from my PR purview:
- Social media IS a highlight reel. In public relations, as my biz partner likes to often say, “we get you dressed for the dance.” PR helps to develop and enhance a positive image of the company being served. It’s not to say we won’t fail – and sometimes, we have to face those failures, but we want to overcome those failures to show the victories; to show the good of what our clients have to offer.
Branding within those posts through social media is important. We love showing the best of what our guys and gals have to offer, and we love making it visually appealing. In a world that is chaotic and easily distractible, creating a consistent, engaging brand makes the client pop – helps them to stand out amongst all the clutter. You have to think about what gets interaction and engagement when posting. A few easy tips – color, consistency, clarity. Use those three Cs and people will notice a difference in the way you present yourself. In the same breath, remember to be real. It’s not always touchdowns and 55-yard field goals that go straight through the uprights. It’s incomplete passes, blocked field goals, and hundreds of yards of penalties, too. When you post, be real. Be authentic. I’m not saying you have to post your P&L statement if you have a bad month to show your accounts payable or spill every catastrophe about how your coffee was cold and you’re having a bad hair day – and it’s “the worst day ever,” but show teachable moments – ones that you’ve learned from and they may help others to learn, too.
- Remember that highlight reel statement when you’re looking at social media. Again, it IS a highlight reel. No one’s life is perfect. No one wins Super Bowls every day. No one’s makeup is always perfect. No one always has the perfect date, the perfect spouse, the perfect day. But I’ll remind you – you can always look at the bright side, too. I’m not telling you life is a wreck. I’m telling you social media is and should be a combination of pristine presentations of your highlight reel and teachable, real, authentic moments.
Have fun creating your brand – whether you’re doing it for your own person or you’re doing it for a client because you work in the industry. And one more time – in the same breath, don’t be afraid to show the less-than-perfect moments behind the curtain. Share your authenticity. Real begets reel. Cheers to your highlight reel!
– TS
