I recently shared this post on LinkedIn and it drew quite a response so I decided to post it here with a little more information as it relates to promotion and publicity.

THIS IS THE ORIGINAL POST

The other day someone I know fairly well asked if I could offer some tips on how to get exposure for a conference being held at their church. I suggested they create a flyer and then submit it to the radio and television stations in the area with a letter or note asking them to post it on their community calendar, along with their contact information. Shortly afterwards, I received an email from someone else (I don’t know) who is also connected to the church asking me to help her get on some local stations to talk about the event.

Here is my response:

I have forwarded the announcement you gave me to my contacts at the TV stations in Durham and Chapel Hill.

If you are looking to get on a radio station to talk about the event, my advice is you contact them directly. Some stations will want to charge you for the airtime but there may be some that would have you come in to talk. WRJD in Durham might offer an opportunity to come in and talk about the conference.

I am assuming this was not quite the response she was looking for because she did not follow up to acknowledge the email or to simply say “thank you” for the information. I am also assuming she wanted me to contact my fellow media contacts on her behalf and set her up with interviews. That is part of a media service I normally charge for, but as a courtesy I did give her a nugget to follow through on.

Saying thank you just takes a moment.

It seems as thought we now live in an age where social graces and common courtesies no longer exist. Blame it on social media since we can hide behind a computer. But even in social media, a simple “thank you” on a retweet or LinkedIn comment to your post can go a long way in establishing and building relationships with others.

According to a study conducted by social psychologists at Gonzaga University and the University of South Wales, Australia, “ a simple thank you leads people to view you as a warmer human being and, consequently, to be more interested in socially engaging with you and continuing to get to know you to build a relationship with you.”

It doesn’t matter how busy OR how important you think you are, it’s common courtesy to thank people no matter how small the thing they did appears to you.

END OF ORIGINAL POST….

Any of us who receives a sincere “thank you” knows and appreciates what it means.  Also it takes very little effort to drop a thank you email note if you’re too lazy to send a personalized card.  When you fail to acknowledge someone’s kindness for trying to help you, you should not expect they will be willing to help you again.  And you could end up with some negatively publicity.