2018 – Lessons from the Founding Fathers for Social Media and Personal Branding- July 4th Independence Day

I first wrote this blog 8 years ago it is still relevant today.  Several areas have been updated and I have added some new perspectives.

The world has changed since the first version of this blog.  Our economy is booming, we survived the most memorable presidential election of my lifetime and

technology continues to advance at a rapid pace.   Today Americans have more ways to market and communicate than ever before.  With smartphone technology in our hands we have enormous power to broadcast our messages and engage with others. I call smartphones, PMD’s Personal marketing Devices they can also be seen as your own personal broadcast center.  Live video broadcasting offers tremendous opportunities for business people to capture and share their content, their experiences and their stories.   This has also become very easy to do and the quality is getting better and better every month.   Imagine what it would have been like if we could have captured live and broadcasted the debates held in Philadelphia as the Founding Fathers discussed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

I continue to see the failure of individuals to leverage technology to grow their brands and businesses.  If Benjamin Franklin were alive today, instead of the printing press he would be using WordPress,  Facebook and YouTube to share his stories, political opinions and scientific knowledge.  He was a printer remember and he knew the power and importance of content.

Content today, be it video or the written word is still critical for branding, marketing and attracting attention. 

While more are adopting social media and video to tell their stories and market themselves,  many are not seizing the opportunity.  If you are not creating content, getting your message out, you are falling far behind your competitors.  In some cases so far behind that, you will never catch up. cause they are overwhelmed with time pressures and lack of understanding of the power that they have.

When we discuss independence and Independence Day there is no better time to look optimistically to the future.   Our nation is experiencing unprecedented growth and we are seeing amazing innovation.

It’s time for business people with the American Entrepreneurial Spirit from across the nation to take charge of their destiny and bring their brands and messages to target audiences.   Use the marketing tools that are free and in the palm of your hand.   It has never been easier to create a business or develop a marketable idea.   Use the tools that are provided to you for little or no cost to create content, tell your story, inspire others and bring to the market your talents, products or services.   You have the freedom to do it, now is the time to take your shot.

As we look back at the lessons of our Founding Fathers below, consider what they would do today.  I believe that they would be regularly leveraging social media, blogs and video to get their message to the masses. They would engage in conversations and share their vision for the future.  They would be making connections, building relationships and beating their competition.   They would create large numbers of followers and they would become influencers.  They would use this influence to inspire and lead.

The pursuit of happiness today lies in our hands both literally and figuratively.  Use marketing technology as a vehicle for achieving success and your American dream.

First Published 2010 

Today we celebrate Independence Day, July 4.   Beyond the fireworks and BBQs, we all should think about the great nation that we have the pleasure to be part of, and the many people who gave up their lives to give us the freedoms we enjoy.

Exactly 234 years ago, a group of brave, brilliant and industrious individuals met in a steamy Philadelphia room and agreed to do something that had never been done before—start a revolution.  The risks were great; the price that was paid was high in terms of lives lost, lives destroyed and money, but in the end the reward was unmatched in human history.  The American Revolution gave us a country where freedom is sacred.

Today despite a challenging economy (remember this was written in 2010) we have the freedom to express ourselves and pursue our business as well as our personal dreams.  For many the dream is being an entrepreneur or a small business owner or simply pursuing a career in a chosen profession or industry.  Having this choice is an integral part of our national character and a driver of the entrepreneurial spirit.  While entrepreneurs and small businesses are under attack from many directions, the American entrepreneurial spirit lives on. (2018 update – the economic climate and environment for businesses on a national level and in many states have changed. Companies small and large are hiring at a robust rate and as a matter of fact there are more jobs available than qualified people to fill them.  Companies are giving bonuses and GDP has steadily grown each month for the past year and a half.   The attacks on businesses and harsh regulation are both on the decline.)

The information age has brought with it new media vehicles which are allowing individuals to voice their opinions, develop creative ideas and start new businesses.  Like the Minutemen of Lexington and Concord, individuals can stand up, and take control of their own destinies like never before.  Like the “shot heard around the world” that started the American Revolution a simple Facebook post or Tweet can literally be seen around the world just in seconds.

Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Adams, Hancock and the other Founding Fathers all understood the importance of individuality and expression.  They were passionate individuals with a mission, and the creativity and drive to achieve their goal – a free and independent nation.   They risked their lives and some paid with them to achieve this goal.

While the Founding Fathers did not have social media vehicles and platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Youtube, Flickr and Instagram I am sure that they would have taken advantage of them as mediums for communicating with contacts, public, friends and others interested in “the cause.”  Social networking and marketing did not exist, but these individuals knew the importance of publicity, having a personal brand, word of mouth marketing, networking, effective writing, publishing and public speaking. Do these skills and approaches sound familiar?  These techniques and others are the same that individuals need to capitalize on today to build their own personal brands, the foundation for a success in life, in business and in any community.

Did Franklin and Madison have a Blog?  Not exactly, however, they did have a printing press.  They were able to create a buzz using well-written content, printed books, flyers and newspapers. Papers and printed materials were circulated in pubs and homes across the 13 colonies and beyond.  People held discussion sessions and analyzed the information they were provided.  They debated and came up with their own comments and then shared materials with others who they thought would be sympathetic to their dreams of an independent democratic nation.

Today’s social media and personal branding gurus like Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee),  Dan Dchawbel (@DanSchawbel),  Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki), Peter Shankman (@skydiver), Seth Godin and others are taking similar approaches as the Founding Fathers.  The Founding Fathers published articles and spoke to small and large groups to educate, motivate and inspire individuals to become part of a movement that included the individual but also was much larger than any single person.

Let’s look at some of our Founding Fathers and how they relate to personal branding and communications.  There is much we that can learn from them and ways we can apply these lessons to social media marketing and personal branding efforts today.

George Washington – Founding Father and First President of the United States of America.  Washington is also

known for his leadership abilities, speaking skills, political savvy and ability to stand out from the crowd.  Although he did not sign the Declaration of Independence his leadership of the Continental Army made him a front-runner to lead the country after the war.

During the Revolutionary War era, it took weeks or months to get information or important messages out to thousands of people, or just one letter from one colony to another.  Handwritten copies of the Declaration of Independence were circulated by hand around the 13 Colonies and read in front of groups gathered in pubs and in front of churches and other community buildings.

Today we can disseminate messages and blog articles in seconds using social media sites and digital communications.  The speed of distribution may have changed but the goals of communicating ideas messages and attracting attention remain the same.

We can learn from George Washington an important lesson, humility.  When offered the opportunity to become king of the new nation, he turned it down.  He also turned down the opportunity to run for a third term as president; instead, he retired.  In today’s world full of online and offline self-promoters and overexposed celebrities seeking the limelight, humility is a trait that seems to be in short supply.  We could all benefit from more people following Washington’s example of humility and grace.

Thomas Jefferson – Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, agonized for weeks to find the right language and consulted with other Founding Fathers to craft this historic document.   We learn from this example that writing passionately and choosing the right words is important.  On Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other writing quality has certainly suffered. Today it remains true that quality writing and compelling content will attract followers, and poor and uninteresting content will drive them away.

In our fast-paced mobile technology society, we are constantly on the move. A telling example of this is that on average there are more than 3,000 Tweets being placed every second.  Jefferson’s quote: No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing,” is apropos for today.  Many people are always “doing,” (communicating).  However, how much doing is actually wasting time? How much time is being spent on social media marketing with no measured results? Social media marketing programs must be planned and have goals. Without goals or a plan, the “doing” is nothing more than wasting time.

John Hancock – We know the name and we know the signature, he was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence and did so in large and bold script.   John Hancock knew the importance of standing out, making a statement and doing something different.  My favorite quote from Hancock is: “The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and to influence their actions.” This statement is especially true today. To be successful in business relationships and trust need to be built.  To influence people to act, purchase products or services, information and proof of abilities need to be conveyed to the target audience.  Be bold, but also have objectives and consider how relationships are being forged.

Benjamin Franklin – Frequently clients ask what should be said or what information should be put out on social media streams?  This quote from Benjamin Franklin answers the question perfectly: Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing about.”

Benjamin Franklin was truly an original and individual who understood celebrity and personal branding.  His exploits, scientific experiments and inventions as well as his larger than life personality made him a celebrity in France before he arrived to solicit their support for the “cause.”

We have much to learn from Franklin but for now, his grasp on being relevant and authentic can be our take away.  If something interesting or newsworthy is done write about it, don’t just write something for the sake or writing something.

John Quincy Adams – Are you a leader or do you aspire to be one in business, politics or in another field? If your answer is yes then this quote from John Quincy Adams is most appropriate: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” To be a leader you need to be relevant and interesting.  Self-promotion and self-serving actions will not attract the right attention or inspire others.  Remember that being successful is not what inspires; what motivates and inspires others are the stories and examples of overcoming challenges and hardships to become successful.

There is much we can learn from studying our Founding Fathers.  From humility to creating relevant content, their lessons can be applied to many facets of business and life today.

Every day of the year we should celebrate the precious gift of freedom we have been given.  We continue to enjoy this freedom because of the sacrifices of those who came before us and those who fight for us today in foreign lands and on other fronts.  We can honor them by embracing the American entrepreneurial spirit and following the examples set by our Founding Fathers.

Celebrate the 4^th of July, celebrate freedom, liberty and certainly pursue happiness.

All comments welcome.

wjcorbett@corbettpr.com