I recently saw this post through a link from a high school friend on Facebook.  Although I was simply scanning – not paying a lot of attention to the details of most of the entries – I had to read this one twice.

The first time, I was somewhat dubious of the author’s story.  I mean, John Hughes’ pen pal? C’mon…  When would HE have the time to write a little girl from nowhere? But something kept digging at me.  And after a day of consideration, I decided to go back and read it again.

This was a post from a fan.  Sure.  But her genuine tone and the simplicity of the story built a defense that weighed more than the outrageous idea of a Hollywood powerhouse befriending a kid through hand-written letters.  I realized this post went much further than a fan’s attachment to Hughes. It was a lesson in owning and having conviction in your personal brand, and building a compassionate community around it.

John Hughes built that community around his identification and cultivation of the mundane – teen life in the suburbs.  And his commitment to his pen pal (his constituency) drove his decisions through his entire career – right up to his decision to leave the industry. (read the post, it’s powerful)

So, what’s my connection?

For me, Hughes meant a connection to the “real” world.  I’d finally found verification and vindication that my “awkward years” weren’t actually so awkward.

Sure, my voice would go from basso profondo to soprano in a single syllable.  And I couldn’t look at a girl below the neck without my palms sweating and needing to rush to the bathroom. But through his unique connection to our generation (only 10-years removed himself), Hughes made it all acceptable, if not expected.

So in 1984, when I walked into the halls of Herbert Hoover High School, I fully expected Anthony Michael Hall and the geek squad to welcome me at the urinals.  And I also knew to expect that ass, James Spader, to be lurking ’round every corner (why did he always play a slime ball?).  It was life for teens in the ’80s and made it okay.

John Hughes wrote A LOT of movies.  Most of them were from the perspective of a teen struggling with self-assurance and social fears.  He wrote about the trials kids went through to gain acceptance and maintain sanity at a time that seemed so simply insane. And he built the confidence of a generation with trust, compassion, relevance and, of course, humor.  He even threw in some tears.  Because what is adolescence without a tear or two.

Most of all, and illustrated by Alison Byrne Fields’ post (Twitter @abfdc), Hughes believed in his brand enough to let the fans (Allison, me and others) identify themselves as his characters.  His brand was something to cherish, not for Hollywood, not even for himself, but for us.

And on a final note, in 1986 I took a young lady to a movie called “The Breakfast Club.” Nervously and somewhat sweaty, I sat next to her wondering if she even liked me – let alone enough to touch elbows across the theater seats or put my arm around her!  And then, uber-clean, muscular, cool-as-hell Emelio Estevez walked onto the screen with the name “Andy” embroidered on his letter jacket.  His character’s name was Andrew Clark.

Thanks John…  for so much.

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark (not the one from The Breakfast Club)
The Brand Chef

You can follow Allison’s Twitter accout at @abfdc.

Are you successful in social media campaigning? Look around you.  Is there anyone else with you?  Is there anyone even near you?

Okay…  I say that somewhat figuratively.  But think about it.  Are you TELLING others about your business, your industry, politics, dreams, fears, or aspirations?

Or are you TALKING with them about theirs?

If you look around and seem to be virtually alone, maybe you’re taking the wrong approach to the campaign.

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ustream, Flickr, along with the endless number of other social media platforms out there are for precisely one impetus.  Like a campaign, your intention is to build community.  And I’m not talking about tipping the polls with sheer numbers. Who cares that you have 10,000 followers on Twitter?  How many of those 10,000 actually engage in your community – “Youville?” If you want to be President of “Youville,” you’re going to need to campaign, recruit, coerce, engage, and ultimately communicate and relate with those that would be your constituents.

TALKING = SOCIAL MEDIA:
There are those I see that do it pretty darn well. I call them “Thought-leaders” in their industries.  They’re engaging and relevant to their communities.  They campaign their positions with intellect and verve. And we’re all eager to follow along, to learn, to re-tweet, re-post and lap up the droppings just to be involved.  They accept suggestions and conversations about their thoughts.  They teach.  They learn.

TELLING = NOT-SO SOCIAL MEDIA:
Then there are those that “campaign.”  They soapbox. They rabble-rouse and conjecture; like planning some sort of coup – pushing information out with such ferocity that they miss the engagement side of social media. They forget the community side of social media.  They forget their constituents.

Ultimately they lose the campaign for “Youville.” And then they complain that social media is worthless for their “business model” or their “industry” – a waste of time.

I say they’re just not Presidential. It’s a fact.  Not everyone can be president.

So, from one of those “Thought-Leaders,” Mack Collier, I’d like to reiterate what makes “Social Media” social.  If you’re not doing a majority (if not ALL) of these things…  You may need to get out of the race. (you can read the full text of Mack’s post here)

1 – Promote other people. All it does is make others more likely to promote you, and want to interact with you.

2 – Watch your language. I don’t mean what you say, but HOW you say it. How you interact with others greatly determines if and how they will respond.

3 – Show people that you value their opinions. … From my experience, the room is ALWAYS smarter than I am, so anything I can do to encourage interaction with everyone else, means I am going to learn something.

4 – Show people that you care. … there’s a lot of people I follow that I rarely, if ever, tweet with. But … One thing I do is if I see someone I rarely tweet with mention that they got a new job, or a new car, or got married, etc, I will send them a quick tweet congratulating them. Doesn’t take 5 secs, but it quickly let’s them know that I’m watching and care enough to congratulate them.

5 – Say ‘thank you’ early and often. It matters. This isn’t rocket science, it’s social media.

Campaigns should be run similarly.  Create connections to your community and grow it with value and trust, not volume and thrust!

What do you think?  Do you have more tips for winning the “Youville” elections?  I’d love to carry on the conversation.

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
–The Brand Chef