TJ Walker and Curtis McCoy argue philosophy majors should learn marketing by doing: run cheap experiments like $2/day ads and multiple side projects in college. McCoy stresses repurposing content across platforms and posting consistently, while avoiding trends that clash with your brand.
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I want my doctor, my surgeon, to be a graduate of a medical school. If I'm being tried for murder, I want my lawyer to be a member of the bar and to have passed law school. Advertising and PR are different, I have found. With very few exceptions, people who are professors in advertising and PR are typically the least successful, least knowledgeable in those fields. And as Curtis mentioned, it changes so quickly. My advice to you would be major in something that doesn't. Major in statistics, major in philosophy so you can recognize BS when you see it. And then in your side time when everyone else is off drinking beer or playing pickleball. Spend time actually creating a product and then advertise it and promote it. Create an online course on successful ways college kids can ace test. Create a course on that and spend $2 a day advertising. You'll learn a lot. Try to get publicity for it in your own college newspaper. You'll learn a lot. Start a new business every month in college and if all of them but one fail, you're a success. Even if they all fail, you're still going to know so much more about advertising and PR because you can, you can experiment in a million ways where the only cost is your time. Your time is better off doing that than taking a course on pr, I believe. And I've been, you know, I'm sure you've been asked, Curtis, I've been asked to get give guest lectures at PR departments around the country. And I'm not saying there's no value, but these are things you can learn better today by actually creating a product and doing. There's no gatekeepers. When I was starting, you couldn't just create a product. It was too difficult. And I, you know, I spent my time in colleges, you know, washing wish windows during the summer because you couldn't just create an online course. Anyway, Yousef, I hope you find that useful. Curtis, we really appreciate your time today. Those of you listening or just tuning in, we've, we've linked to all of Curtis's websites, his social media. Check out his news-wire.com his magazine. You may want to connect with it or follow him on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, threads. You know, I'm on threads. I never go to it. At what point when you're experimenting with something, do you try it long enough and say it's not even worth me continuing? I haven't made that decision about threads yet, but I haven't thought about it. And something tells me if I really go in and look at my interactions, I may Think why am I bothering to have my team post on threads? So kind of an aside there, but I would just, just occurred to me when I saw that you post on.
Threads and I do on threads, but I'm posting similar stuff repurposing content. You talked about cutting up these videos into other things that repurposed on their platforms. It takes almost nothing. I post on 10 platforms. You know, anytime I'm creating content. Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, the coup app in India. I mean all kinds of different. I, if you, if you're on Coup search, I'm the number two ranked guy underneath of the Prime Minister. But again I, I have never got a single lead, never got, never made any money, but never even got a lead off of being the second highest ranked guy on the, on the app. But if it's something where you've got the time or you've got the team that's doing it, keep posting and then, and then just figure out how to maybe re. Re tune that up a little bit. Threads does longer form. You can, you can post some longer form descriptions and stuff on there. So I'm still trying to figure out threads myself but I'm going to keep posting on there until they shut it down or don't because if it, if it does blow up, they change the algorithm, something blows up later and that takes off. Now if you've been posting on there for years and years and you're on and you're, you have the credibility established already, you're gonna be the guy that blows up. So spend the time and, and just keep putting it in or have your, have your team do it. And if there's a, if it's something you're managing yourself and you really don't resonate it with it, there's a good chance that your target audience is not going to resonate with that platform either. So for example, you're, you're a, you're a coach trying to get on TikTok and do the, do the stupid dances to, to get viewers. Your potential client is probably not on TikTok watching those type of videos. And if they see you, that's just going to cut your credibility. Figure out how to do what's best for your audience on each of the platforms.
And, and I, I assiduously avoid dancing on TikTok for that very reason. And Curtis McCoy, thank you so much for being our guest today. We appreciate it. Take care.
