I have been a huge Dale Carnegie fan since I took the course back in 2004. His principles have impacted my life both professionally and personally, and I am a firm believer that they are just as relevant today as ever before. When it comes to creating compelling content, this Dale Carnegie Principle should be read aloud before we ever hit the ‘publish’ button:
A few years ago, our team had a chance to put this principle into action. We were working on behalf of some Dale Carnegie Franchises and decided to create a March Madness Bracket with all 30 of Dale Carnegie’s Human Relations Principles. And in true March Madness style, we gave people the opportunity to choose their favorite principle, and then we narrowed down the field until a champion was crowned.
The comments, likes, and shares for these series of posts went through the roof. We struck engagement gold by finding a balance between what people were interested in and creatively connecting it back to the Dale Carnegie brand.
Actions I want you to take:
  • List some common topics, interests, hobbies, etc. that are of interest to your audience:
  • How can you creatively connect your brand to these topics?
  • What are the common ‘water cooler’ topics that will be common among conversations over the next few weeks/months? Examples might be Spring, spring break, March Madness, holidays, the Olympics.
  • How can you creatively connect your brand to these topics?
  • Look at your last few weeks of content. Is it about you or them? Make an effort to follow Mr. Carnegie’s Principle by making it more about them!
‘Hey, Corey, which DC Principle won?!?!’ Glad you asked – it was Principle #5, Smile.
Have a great rest of the week!