Thought Leadership—The Burbank Group, LLC

“For more on this topic, check out our website at www…”

How many times have you heard someone on a cable broadcast, Sunday talk show, or even pop culture exposé direct you to yet another resource for the “full story?” The format and mode of delivering newsy information is becoming more interactive, while the depth of real time content is rapidly shrinking. Now, (annoying) scrolling infobars gracing the bottom of TV screens (i.e.: MSNBC newscasts) seem almost robust.

Enter the “text” messages—these blurbs not only reveal secrets among friends and “under the radar” levity to business team members during long meetings, but have somehow morphed into amazing, enticing tools for delivering the message. Today, long established journalists, cultural icons like Larry King, and even presidential campaigns offer breaking news updates on a 24/7 basis. Clearly, the mode of communicating has caught up with that of the communicator.

So, how do you factor this new messaging into your public relations scheme? Glad you asked! It is likely that you are not going to be texting your customer base—but, even if you are, the art of the text message is not unlike the skill required for a technique that is a little more “old school.” If you think about it, the text message is actually just a modern twist on an age old message delivery tool known as the SOUND BITE.

In a succinct number of well-chosen words, authoritative speakers use sound bites as a way of consolidating the essence or central point of any interview or commentary. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms* defines a sound bite as either: (1) [a] short, striking, quotable statement well suited to a television news program, or (2) [a] brief, simplistic, memorable, identifiable statement focused at your target market. Therefore, what gets recorded becomes the definition and summary of the entire speech, discussion, or other presentation.

Making its grand arrival in the late seventies/early eighties, this slang term has continued to be the goal of politicians, business executives, and other newsmakers who are seeking broadcast and print top billing. A perfect sound bite can be your best evangelist. Why? A few powerhouse words are more likely to be reprinted and repeated than is a stream of content. After enough play, sound bites become a part of our colloquial lexicon and gain a life of their own. You quote sound bites every day. Ever uttered, “Houston, we have a problem,” before?

Basically, whether you send a text message or play it old school with a strategically placed sound bite in an interview, the main point that all Thought Leaders should remember is this: keep it short, clear, interesting, and memorable.

* The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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