In the disabilities community, “People-First” language rules.
Before I started my company ten years ago, I was Public Relations director for a statewide nonprofit in New Jersey. We advocated for people with disabilities, like mental retardation, epilepsy and autism.
Please go back and re-read this last sentence. Notice the phrase “advocated for people with disabilities.” I didn’t say advocated for disabled people because I quickly learned on Day One of my PR job, it’s always “People-First language.”
So it’s a boy with autism, not an autistic boy. It’s a woman with epilepsy, not an epileptic woman. They are people first. Disability or challenge is second. After a few days of writing press releases, pitches and articles, this became second nature. It still is.
The “People-First” Mentality in Social Media & Business
This mindset applies to Social Media and business. For our purposes, don’t worry about what’s “politically correct.” This approach is right because it’s based on your integrity and values.
It’s called branding yourself by putting the needs of your prospects, clients and community first. Forget your own quota, cash flow and bills. Forget selling something to someone. ”People-First” is is about genuinely building and nurturing relationships, with the innate understanding and faith that all else will follow. You will be taken care of.
The “People-First” approach in business means that you:
- Share value and useful information first; keywords in your blog titles and headlines for SEO purposes are second.
- Post links that bring relevant articles, videos and resources to others first and forget about links that bring people to pages to so you can sell webinars, coaching and books.
- Tweet something and leave out the “Please RT” phrase. When people see value or like something, I trust they would be generous enough to share it with others without your encouragement. Care about sharing your knowledge for the sake of helping and not being self-serving.
- Write your website content, letters and marketing material with a focus on the value and results you bring to people; your experience and background follows.
- Pitch a news story or draft a press release to convey a compelling message that impacts the public instead of focusing on selling your book, products or services.
- Write tipsheets, articles and blog posts with the sole intention of helping people work through their challenges and be successful. Forget counting the hours, days or Tweets until the benefits come to you. Help people because you know in your heart it’s the right thing to do.
Abundance will be yours when you put others first. Give it a try. “People-First” wins every time.
(Photo Credit: DST121)
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