Get a Life! - #Commlife

As a Communications consultant for my company No Exit Productions, I once had the opportunity to work on a campaign with Clemons Law Firm. It was a local Greenville, NC law firm that was lead by a dynamic young attorney - Tyrell Clemons. He explained to me the his vision and want he wanted to accomplish with his campaign, I took notes. When framing the venture I had somewhat of an epiphany. He never spoke about going viral, getting visitors to his website or even making money. I realized that popularity wasn’t his goal - what he wanted was community influence.

In the fast-paced world of government communications, understanding the distinction between influence and popularity isn't just academic—it's essential to your mission’s success. While both concepts involve reaching audiences, they operate on fundamentally different principles and produce vastly different outcomes. As communications professionals tasked with shaping public opinion and driving meaningful engagement, we must recognize these differences and strategically pursue influence over fleeting popularity.

1. Substance Over Spectacle: The Foundation of Lasting Impact

Popularity is fleeting—a temporary phenomenon not rooted in solid belief systems. Think about viral moments on the web: a catchy dance challenge, a trending hashtag, or a meme that dominates social media for days before vanishing into the vastness of digital obscurity. These popular phenomena generate impressive metrics—likes, shares, retweets—but they rarely translate into sustained engagement or behavioral change.

In contrast, influence is substantive and enduring. Consider how government messaging around homelessness has evolved. Over time, there has been a shift from narratives that blamed individuals or romanticized the “hobo” lifestyle toward messaging that highlights systemic causes of homelessness, such as economic inequality, housing shortages, and policy failures. This more anti-stigmatic approach has been shaped by changing economic conditions, shifts in policy, and the growing visibility of diverse homeless populations. While older, more punitive or blame-oriented narratives still persist in some circles, the newer focus on systemic issues is influencing public perception, informing policy decisions, and promoting more compassionate responses to homelessness. This change targets the root of the problem and transforms ideas about homelessness to be more...you guessed it - influential.

2. Trends Versus Ideology: What Drives Engagement

Popularity feeds on trends and shallow entertainment —what captures attention today may be forgotten tomorrow. The news cycle exemplifies this perfectly. A political scandal might dominate headlines for weeks, generating enormous public interest and social media engagement. Yet once the spectacle fades, so does the public's attention, leaving little lasting impact on policy or civic engagement.

influence, however, is rooted in ideology and belief systems. Consider how governmental messaging around environmental protection has evolved. On the web, we observe this in platform evolution. Social networks rise and fall based on popularity—remember MySpace?—but platforms that build influence through core values and user empowerment like Google’s search engine maintain relevance across technological shifts. Their influence stems from proximity and ideological commitment, not algorithmic manipulation of trending content. Although, one can say it is slowly losing users to Ai search engines, Google turned itself into a verb in the English diaspora. I think it has at least another decade.

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3. Superficial Engagement vs. Deep Investment

Popularity doesn't connect with deep emotional investment. You might download a popular app because everyone's talking about it, try it briefly, and delete it when the next trend emerges. Your engagement is transactional and shallow. In news media, clickbait headlines generate popular articles with impressive traffic numbers, but readers often feel manipulated rather than informed, leading to declining trust in media institutions.

Influence is personal and warrants long-term or significant investment. When government communications achieve true influence, citizens don't just consume information—they act on it, advocate for it, and integrate it into their decision-making. Consider how governmental messaging around civic participation influences voter registration drives, community organizing, and grassroots advocacy. People invest time, energy, and resources because they believe in the underlying principles.

The Sound Strategy: Choose Influence

As government communications professionals, we face constant pressure to chase popularity metrics—viral posts, trending topics, impressive reach numbers. These metrics are seductive because they're immediate and quantifiable. But as communicators, we must strategically pursue influence instead.

Influence caters to the future viability of your organization. It builds trust that withstands political transitions, budget cuts, and public skepticism. It creates constituencies who advocate for your mission even when you're not in the room. Most importantly, influence provides steady growth toward your mission and vision, creating compounding returns on communication investments.

The Clemons Law Firm is still successful today. Not because of my campaign but, because Attorney Clemons sought the longevity approach, and aligned his existence in the community with local values that represented the core of his clients. He showed that popularity may boost your numbers today, but influence builds your legacy tomorrow.

As stewards of public communication, our responsibility extends beyond quarterly metrics to generational impact. By prioritizing influence over popularity, we ensure that our organizations don't just survive the news cycle—they shape the future.

Thomas Y. Lynch

Clemons Law Firm Commercial

Clemons Law Firm Commercial Produced by Thomas Y. Lynch (2014)