Have you Googled yourself lately? It’s probable. Have you Googled yourself today? It’s entirely possible…

The data trends on self-search behavior for monitoring one’s online presence (querying one’s name) suggest that most of us do it, and some do it frequently.

Online self-searching or vanity searching, dubbed ‘ego surfing’ in the 90s by internet expert Sean Carton, describes benign but perhaps narcissistic tendencies that may confirm self-serving biases. Terms like ‘ego-googling’ and ‘auto-googling’ emerged to describe vanity searching behaviors specific to Google, which remains the dominant search engine with a 90% market share!

What was once considered self-aggrandizing search behavior is now lauded as a best practice among search engine marketing strategists.

“What was once considered self-aggrandizing search behavior is now lauded as a best practice among search engine marketing strategists.”

Monitoring one’s online presence is a hallmark of strong digital brand curation and online reputation management. One must know how and what they present online before they can manage and enhance their digital presence.

According to the international market research firm You Gov, nearly three-quarters of adults under 30 were self-searching in 2014. In contrast, less than 40% of adults between 30 and 65 have queried their names, indicating that digital native generations may be more inclined to search for themselves. More importantly, the research firm found that most adults (57% of individuals between 18 and 65) had Googled themselves in 2014, and 50-60% continue to conduct self-searches today. In addition to age, education level and profession influence self-search behavior.

Concerning frequency, You Gov found that as many as 10 percent of adults search their names daily, and 25% search for themselves monthly using Google or another search engine like Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, etc.

Self-searching is valuable for managing image and digital presence; it is not just an indulgence in vanity.

“Self-searching is valuable for managing image and digital presence; it is not just an indulgence in vanity.”

Search engines want you to search for yourself and curate your online presence. This is why they introduced knowledge panels to enhance the online presence of entities (people, places, and things). Google Knowledge Panels, for example, pull data from the Google Knowledge Graph, including IMDb profiles, Wikipedia bios, and Amazon author listings. Once claimed and verified, Google Knowledge Panels can be intensively edited and managed.

Search engines also encourage you to see who is searching for you. In addition to analytic tools like Google Analytics for website traffic monitoring, Google introduced Google Trends to help internet users determine how often others search for their names and miscellaneous entities. Talent reps, including publicists and agents, rely on these search resources to manage their clients’ reputations.

But it’s not just the public figure that benefits from auto-searching; the names of business owners and entrepreneurs are inextricably linked to their professional brands. It is essential to search for yourself before others find you, including your competitors. Just as you might look in the mirror before you leave the house for an important event, you should regularly monitor your online presence.

A Google search for oneself can provide comparisons to competitors or uncover opportunities for collaboration and engagement with stakeholders, including customers, clients, and colleagues. The benefits are immeasurable, and the practice is easy and accessible to anyone with internet access.

By Jordan Schaul

My late friend John Ferriter was an Executive Vice President of the unscripted television division at the William Morris Agency before it merged with Endeavor Talent Agency. He died too young, but not before launching the careers of many people you have heard of. One of the things I learned most from John is that credentials do not matter in the news and entertainment business the way they matter in other industries.

Packaging shows like Keepin’ Up with the Kardashians, Project Runway, and The Biggest Loser, Ferriter helped introduce audiences to reality television and, in some cases, talent who were among the first celebrities to be considered famous for being famous (i.e., famous by association) and famous for nothing. He disrupted legacy media by helping create new entertainment programming without scripts and established TV stars. In doing so, Ferriter was part of a cohort of entertainment executives who changed celebrity culture and what it means to be a celebrity.

By the end of his career, Ferriter had helped make obscure and unknown people famous and renowned, often for no particular skill, talent, or achievement other than losing weight or promoting phenotypes. He also helped celebrities who were already famous for something become more famous (e.g., Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately), Ryan Seacrest (On Air With Ryan Seacrest), and Donny and Marie Osmond (The Donny & Marie Show) by helping to package their respective shows.

As reality TV began to dominate prime-time programming, Ferriter capitalized on this new avenue to fame, working with talent as an agent and later as a producer. Because of his keen understanding of scripted television media and news media audiences he was able to break into new genre with significantly lower budgets and an untapped pool of talent. Here’s an interview I conducted with him for HuffPost, exploring the changing profession of news journalism. At the time of the interview, he was representing Piers Morgan, the host of CNN’s Piers Morgan Live.

Scouting for John, I remember him saying, “No one cares about credentials in Hollywood.” Coming out of the academic world, I had this hangup about the institutionalized culture of higher education; He quickly rid me of it.
I had been indoctrinated by scholars, but he believed I had an eye for talent and media presence. Later, when I expressed concern about my qualifications for writing a treatment for a television show concept, he smirked. He had read treatments from a great many others with far less credentials. Again, I had this impression that every industry operated like academia. They don’t.

I started to think less like Sir David Frederick Attenborough, who holds a graduate degree from the London School of Economics, and more like a Kardashian, with their paucity of credentials. Don’t get me wrong, David Attenborough is an icon in my former field, but his style may not appeal to younger and future generations who seek lots of stimulation and immediate gratification with regard to television media. Perhaps, a science communicator like Neil deGrasse Tyson is more poised to educate and entertain future audiences. Tyson is an example of a highly credentialed and accomplished astrophysicist, but it is his ability to engage general audiences that makes him such a sought after as a media personality.

In a previous post, I quoted Leo Braudy, author of The Frenzy of the Renown: Fame and its History, who said fame has become more about “being than doing.” By being, he meant association-based fame (e.g., Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton), and by doing, he meant achievement-based fame. A happy medium exists and those who embody it like Tyson may survive for many TV seasons. In summary, TV producers are not interested in where talent went to school, but in how talent engage audiences whether they are subject-matter expert or actors.

Since Leo Braudy published The Frenzy of Renown in the mid-80s, fame culture has dramatically changed. In an interview nearly two decades after the USC professor released his seminal book on celebrity, he suggested that fame had become conflated with visibility. “In this climate, the idea that someone might be famous but her face be unfamiliar seems terminally paradoxical. Visibility is fame; being on television validates one’s existence as a movie star, politician, thinker, or swallower of semitropical worms.”

“In this climate, the idea that someone might be famous but her face be unfamiliar seems terminally paradoxical. Visibility is fame; being on television validates one’s existence as a movie star, politician, thinker, or swallower of semitropical worms.” – Leo Braudy

Celebrity was once centered on achievement, but the advent of the internet and social platforms made discerning achievement-based fame from mere exposure almost impossible. For digitally native generations, the conflation has only been deepened.

Equating fame to visibility necessitates a paradigm shift for many entrepreneurs and subject-matter experts regarding how they view themselves and their profession.  It has never been more critical to welcome exposure, put humility aside, and overcome an aversion to publicity.   

In The Social CEO: How Social Media Can Make You A Stronger Leader, Damian Corbet, a PR consultant, describes the growing need for socially engaged leaders who actively connect with stakeholders, including board directors, stockholders, customers, employees, and colleagues.

But social media exposure is not enough. Sharon Marcus, the Dean of Humanities at Columbia University and author of The Drama of Celebrity, chronicled the life of Sarah Bernhardt, the first modern-day celebrity. In an interview about the book, she said, "Today, an Italian rapper can have 3 million Twitter followers and still be someone most people have never heard of. Sarah Bernhardt, by contrast, was a household name around the world even among those who never actually saw her perform.”

"Today, an Italian rapper can have 3 million Twitter followers and still be someone most people have never heard of. Sarah Bernhardt, by contrast, was a household name around the world even among those who never actually saw her perform.” – Sharon Marcus

In a competitive media market, even those uncomfortable in the spotlight or plagued with impostor syndrome must embrace attention and press coverage. Otherwise, they can be lost, if not forgotten.

Performing artists have always required robust audiences. However, experts in law, medicine, and wealth management can be driven to near obscurity even with an impressive scholarly publication record and/or rave reviews from patients, clients, and customers. While expertise fosters recognition, recognition by popular demographics is now an indicator of knowledge and authority.

Pursuing fame for the sake of celebrity may be egocentric, but pursuing fame for reach, recognition, and revenue is smart for business. Search engine optimization has not become a multi-billion-dollar industry for nothing.

High professionals cannot simply become famous for ‘doing’ anymore; they must be receptive to being marketed by others or receptive to marketing themselves. To learn more about how subject-matter experts can embrace fame culture, follow our blog or reach out.

Coming up next……

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Have you ever googled a public figure or celebrity and noticed that your search query generates a unique Search Engine Response Page? A query for a notable figure triggers a graph or entity box known as a Google Knowledge Panel.

Google Knowledge Panels = Google Entity Boxes
Entity boxes consolidate data about notable people.  They improve the Google user experience by making facts about a subject more accessible to the user.  Entity boxes are different than business boxes (Google Business Profiles) because they are generated by search algorithms and not information provided by the business.

Wikipedia, & IMDb, etc. → Google Entity Boxes
Wikipedia is one of the primary sources used to generate entity boxes. Below is a search engine response result for "Michael Jordan", which generated an entity box (on the right).  The box includes images and a snippet of text from his Wikipedia entry.  

If you don't have an entity box populated by Wikipedia, IMDb, The CIA World Factbook, or another biographical source, there are other ways to establish notability and discoverability for the purposes of triggering a knowledge panel to appear in a search for your name. One way is to write a book.  Another is to secure press in the likes of Forbes, USA Today, or local newspapers and magazines. 

Press → Wikipedia, & IMDb, etc. → Google Entity Boxes → Discoverability
Media coverage increases eligibility for inclusion in high-ranking sites like Wikipedia and the generation of an entity box.

Discoverability → Business (More Clients, Book Deals, & TV Shows, etc)Digital publicity not only benefits SEO but it increases business leads and other opportunities, including book deals and opportunities to appear on television programs. 

- Jordan
Schaul PR Group
Los Angles, California

Many people with marketing and communications degrees are unaware of the distinction between marketing and PR and specifically advertising and publicity. I thought I would share this quick primer or refresher.

Publicity 101 (Shortcourse) | SchaulPRGroup.com |

Advertising is a component of marketing whereas publicity is a component of public relations. While the lines have increasingly blurred, advertising is essentially defined as paid promotion of products and services whereas publicity is defined as unpaid promotion with an emphasis on serving influencer brands. 

As a publicist working with celebrities/influencers, and media-trained subject experts, my job is to write, solicit and secure press coverage through traditional broadcast and digital media outlets for the purpose of curating the reputations of clients.  The objective is to promote clients and keep them relevant.

In Hollywood and the entertainment industry at large, a publicist's role is to manage the client's image and represent them as a media liaison under all circumstances.

Publicists often work in conjunction with talent managers and agents. A manager typically develops and curates the career of the client and an agent is tasked with the responsibility of securing work for the client. However, both managers and agents can connect actors directly to casting directors who have provided synopses of treatments or scripts and what roles they are seeking auditions for. These casting breakdowns are posted daily and are accessible to industry professionals.

The talent reps receive a percentage of their client's earnings whereas a publicist receives a monthly retainer. While emerging talent may be represented by both a manager and agent, publicists typically work with more established performing artists.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need any clarification or have questions.nd Newsletters keep people engaged with your brand. Share articles or videos, let people know about new products or promotions or invite them to events.

In the entertainment industry, a publicist's role is to represent a client, manage their image, and serve as a media liaison under any and all circumstances. This can include the promotion of a new role in a film or the release of an album or handling crisis management.

Historically, advance agents and publicists were hired exclusively by established influencers, celebrities, and other public figures. Since the advent of the digital age, infinite media opportunities have become available to emerging artists and athletes as well as subject experts.

In the case of experienced and credentialed subject experts, there is a need for commentary and consultation. Digital media coverage is particularly coveted because it boosts SEO and establishes someone as an authority.

“Digital media coverage is particularly coveted because it boosts SEO and establishes someone as an authority.”

Publicists often work in conjunction with talent managers and agents. A manager typically develops and curates the career of the client and an agent is tasked with the responsibility of securing work for the client. However, both managers and agents can connect actors directly to casting directors for auditions through breakdown services.

The breakdown services list synopses of treatments or scripts associated with available roles. Casting breakdowns are posted daily and accessible exclusively to industry professionals.

As talent reps, managers and agents receive a percentage of their client's earnings whereas a publicist receives a monthly retainer. While emerging talent may be represented by both a manager and agent, publicists typically work with more established performing artists.

The client base for publicists has grown significantly. This is because the internet has changed the media landscape. You don’t need a film or album release to secure publicity; You just need expertise whether it is as a divorce coach or a makeup artist.

“You don’t need a film or album release to secure publicity; You just need expertise whether it is as a divorce coach or a makeup artist.”

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