Authenticity is being who you or your company actually are and not faking something you’re not because you think it’s cool. It’s a concept many of my clients found helpful, particularly experts and authors who were nervous about going on the air or having their ideas challenged. Being authentic is finding a comfortable, natural place from which to speak which, if challenged, doesn’t rattle you.

If you’re authentic, it’s an easy step to create “Organic PR,” a concept I use to describe “parlaying your defining positive elements into a strength position. It’s identifying the elements intrinsic to your business or, in the case of an artist or professional, intrinsic to who you are — that resonates with others.”

Stated another way, Organic PR is: What the people you want to do business with say about you. If your organic PR turns off those whose support you, then it can be said to be “poor PR.” Conversely, if it gets them talking positively to others, you have “good PR.”

Good PR is something you can control.

When intelligent promotion is added to organically great PR, the word grows even faster. But a business with organically bad PR may get a momentary boost from some good promotion, but nothing lasting.

A triangle of organic PR elements is common to Lady Gaga, Groupon and other phenomenal successes. These are:

An Organic Message. Back in the mid 90s I hired a former editor in his sixties named Paul. He switched to being a PR man after leaving the news business and relayed his secret to getting top notch national print coverage for his clients. Every good story, Paul explained, had to  pass the “Hey Martha” scenario, which was this:

A man and his wife are married for forty years. Each night after work he eats dinner, puts on his slippers and sits in his easy chair with the evening newspaper. His wife does the same. Once in a while he reads something that piques his interest. The conversation starts with: “Hey Martha! Listen to this.” He then reads the story aloud. This is the only time they speak to each other.

The “Hey Martha” is your organic message. It takes observing who your market really is and what they respond to about you.

Marketing has a similar concept called the “Unique Selling Proposition” or “USP.” The organic pr message is different because it is who you are and understanding it actually helps you develop your USP. Developing a USP is a lot easier when you’ve isolated your Organic PR message.

Lady Gaga’s message “be yourself” sprang from her own experience growing up. She resonated with those who were ridiculed for being “freaks” and were outcasts because they weren’t like others. That message speaks to a wide segment, so her organic message continues to spread. Meanwhile, of course her talent is exceptional.

Groupon’s organic message is that of offering local small business an opportunity for exposure that they could not otherwise afford. The tradeoff is the business offers a “deal” to Groupon’s list. The business is not incurring out of pocket marketing costs which do not guarantee any return. It’s a win-win.

Federal Express was the first company to introduce what was an outrageous proposition at the time: overnight delivery.

Google was the first to introduce truly relevant search results. They changed the user experience. In 1998 other search engines returned results based on a site’s keyword density. Google’s algorithm was based on Page Rank, which measured a site’s relevancy by its backlinks. Hence, searchers found what they wanted faster.

In all of these there’s an organic message. Or, as Paul would call it: a “Hey Martha” story.

Connecting to Your Core Market with Authenticity. Don’t expect to get a big bang from generic promotion that doesn’t relate to the prospect and shouts trite messages that everyone else is saying. That’s called zero authenticity — no information to differentiate you.

What if you don’t know who your market is? What if you’re still finding out? By being authentically who you are, you’ll  attract those that are attracted to not only your service, but by who you naturally are.

Speaking to a core market. Organic PR is what the people you do business with say about you. That’s your core market. Build on that and don’t worry about speaking to everyone. Your sphere will widen if you keep speaking to your core.

What if you don’t know who your core market is? Starting a business often entails interacting with lots of different markets before you find the one that is a better “fit.” Keep your eyes open for it, while staying authentic and knowing your organic message. Deliver a great service, product, performance, etc all while observing who you attract.

Or, work it the other way: who do you feel most comfortable interacting with? Who do you know? What are they asking for?

“Message first — then mechanics” as I’ve said in the past. Meaning … know who you’re talking to and what to say before you invest a lot into direct mail, extensive copywriting, etc.

The Organic PR Triangle is a Journey, Not a Destination.

These elements described above work together as a triangle, with each element comprising a corner. As you better one aspect, you get more insight into the others. Pick one first and work on that and be aware of the other two aspects.

View developing the three aspects of Organic PR as a journey with no final destination. Don’t fret about getting all of these all “right” at one time. That’s a myth.