654: Michael Schein - Using Hype Strategies for Good

Jan 20, 2021

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One thing most businesses have in common, especially when it comes to marketing, is they need to get noticed. The attention of followers and potential customers is the key to marketing success. What if you could drastically increase your followers? What if your product or business was at the top of everybody's mind? This recognition would ultimately lead to more sales and business success.

It's actually possible to create legitimate recognition through hype. This is the process of getting more eyeballs on your business by generating and leveraging hype for positive purposes. Hype can be used to create legitimate business success. It can be used to help people. It can also be a catalyst for effecting positive change in your community.

Michael Schein is the author of The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Success Secrets From the World's Greatest Propagandists, Self-Promoters, Cult Leaders, Mischief Makers, and Boundary Breakers. He is here today to talk about how recognition and hype can be used for legitimate business recognition. We get to learn how his book and the idea of hype is the culmination of his life's work. We dive into several of the book's concepts, and Michael breaks it all down along with several real-life examples.

Michael is the CEO of Microfame Media, A marketing agency that turns consultants into celebrities in their chosen niche. He has also facilitated content creation and production for companies like the Medici Group, Magento, LinkedIn, and more. He has a degree from the University of Pennsylvania and got his start at Spin the Bottle Inc., which is the production company behind the VH1 show Pop Up Video. He has wanted to be a writer since he was 5 years old, and he's also a contributor to several major online publications. I'm happy to have him here with us today.

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Michael Schein thank you so much for being here!

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Highlights –

[02:34] Michael is excited about his book coming out. It's the culmination of his life's work. He's wanted to be a writer since he was 5 years old.

[03:52] Recognition and hype are legitimate strategies in business today. A business's biggest challenge is getting eyeballs.

[05:58] Human beings respond emotionally to very different stimuli the same way.

[06:23] Michael defines hype as any activity that creates a large emotional reaction in a large number of people to get them to take an action.

[09:18] It's Michael's goal to help great people doing great things use the strategy of hype.

[11:48] Picking fights and making enemies. Michael was struggling to get visibility. He wrote a column disagreeing with Gary Vaynerchuk. He received a personal response from Gary Vaynerchuk.

[14:32] Positioning his ideas against Gary Vaynerchuk's ideas launched his career.

[17:14] Tribal mentality. The tribal tendency is why creating the us versus them dynamic works so well. We're all tribal about something like an idea or an identity.

[20:22] People often get meaning through their tribal identity.

[21:50] Inverting norms. Not all disruption and publicity is created equal. With inverting norms there is already a conversation or trend happening. You want to ride on the coattails of that by flipping it upside down.

[23:34] An example of inverting norms is when the Rolling Stones became the anti Beatles.

[24:06] Find your mini Oprah's. She makes careers. Find your niche or area and find an Oprah equivalent in that space and partner.

[26:28] People struggle with change. Small steps make it much easier.

[28:39] Are influencers legitimate? Some are really just a new kind of star, but some really do have influence. If the real influencer spread the word about you, you will become noticed.

[31:30] Narrative arc. Everyone thinks of themselves as a protagonist in a drama. If you understand that you aren't the protagonist, but the other people are, and what you are offering is the tool to get them where they want to be.

[35:06] Start small and reframe what you're doing to help other people's lives.

[35:46] Michael tackles the Rapid Round and shares how he calms himself, why you need to find your mini Oprah, and more.

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Host Jeffrey Shaw is a Small Business Consultant, Brand Management Consultant, Business Coach for Entrepreneurs, Keynote Speaker, TEDx Speaker and author of LINGO and The Self Employed Life (May 2021). Supporting self-employed business owners with business and personal development strategies they need to create sustainable success.