The Power of PR: Swine Flu Vs. AIDS

The media is very, very powerful. It happens nearly every year. They report on some new development, blow it completely out of proportion, and hundreds of millions of people feed into it.

Just recently, the media has been highly publicizing the newly discovered Swine Flu which supposedly evolved out of Mexico. People are talking about it, twittering about it, canceling their vacations, and even giving their Mexican friends a funny look.

Few, however, are taking note of the fact that a lot of it is just media hype. Consider this: As of May 1st 2009, only 10 people worldwide have died from the Swine Flu, compared to the 30.1 million that will die this year from HIV/AIDS.

Technically, the uproar should be about AIDS. But that's the power of the media; they have the ability to shape peoples' opinions and determine what people should be thinking about.

Entrepreneurs should recognize this, and use this to their advantage. You've now seen first-hand how public relations can draw a huge amount of attention to something. Swine Flu isn't the first. Remember the West Nile Virus, Mad Cow Disease, Anthrax, etc. All of these are issues that many people are aware of because of the media.

Find a way to get the media to focus on your company. Find a way to get people talking about you, and exaggerating how good of business person you are. Make people buzz; make them think that you're the next big thing.

Distribute press releases monthly, and occasionally write and distribute a column pertaining to your industry. Consider a publicity stunt of some sort. Write a book with a controversial title. Publicly challenge a major company or organization.

The point is to give the media something to talk about. The news industry thrives off newsworthy items. So get creative, and look for opportunities to jump on. Be bold and edgy, and most importantly - think big.

Think about it: If your business got just 1% of the media attention that's now focused on Swine Flu, that would be so huge.