I’ve been thinking a lot, the last few days, about marketing. About marketing me, specifically. How does one market themselves? Am I marketing me as myself or me as a product and is there a difference? If it is the same thing…do you assume that everyone is dying to know about you and your life and bombard them with information, using every available technological communication device out there? MySpace, Face book, Twitter, Email, YouTube, etc. etc? Or do you do it the old fashioned way, by getting out there and shaking a few hands. I know it is probably a combination of the two, but how much is too much? When does it become annoying? Do your people really want to know “What Friends star you look like?” or “What are your top 5 breakfast items?” Does anyone really care? Is it just important to stay talked about or in front of people as much as possible? Is publicity and marketing the same thing?
Stars are apparently Twittering these days. Someone is advising them that being out there in any way is good for their careers. Still, do they really have nothing better to do? I mean most of them should be busy with highly interesting and demanding careers, peppered with all of the charities they fight for, high profile dates they are on, and reality shows they are a part of. It seems like they should just be too busy to Twitter us that they are online at Trader Joe’s. And are there actually people who care? Do they care more when Patrick Swayze is on line then they do Aunt Maude, when her status says the same thing? Maybe he has more interesting things in his cart then Maude, but, really aren’t they living the same life at that moment?
If you aren’t pushing a movie or album or book, do you need publicity? Is it cooler to be Pacino and fade into the background when you don’t have something relevant to say? I mean we never read about where he just ate and how his entourage beat up some girl at a club last night. He does his job of promoting his product, when there is an outside product to sell. He doesn’t seem to promote HIM at all. I think that makes him seem more of a star in a way. The shine is still on him, since I don’t know how he likes his latte. I am glad to see him when he is on a press junket, since it’s been months since I saw him last. But, what if you are hardly Pacino? What if you are just a singer in a small market, in an even smaller genre? Can you afford to take this aloof stance? Can you afford to just show up a few days before the gig and say take me or leave me? Or do you have to be way pushier to get an audience? Do you have to be in everyone’s and anyone’s face, hoping against hope they won’t decide to stay in on your big night and watch Lost.
Do I need to stay talked about, whatever it takes? Some people will remark that there is no such thing as bad publicity, that any publicity is good publicity. But what about mindless publicity? Trader Joes, breakfast items…isn’t that just taking up brain cells in your fans? Do they become numb to you and your information, if they see it every day…everywhere…all the time? Will they get sick of me, like they got sick of Lindsey, Brittney and the Obama’s dog? Or am I just SO special, everyone is just dying to know what bathroom scent is my favorite? Will this information get me more people in my show? Or will this info make my real event just as easy to hide and ignore?
Speaking of marketing, if you haven’t done so already, have a look around my site – please, there is plenty of other material here aside from my blog – music, videos, pictures and a listing of my top 5 breakfast items (just kidding)!
