Be Well

Today I want to analyze my newfound favorite influencer, Mik Zazon, on how she uses public relations. I love Zazon because she cares about fitness and health, but she’s not worried about having a perfectly “sculpted” figure like society says we should (she used to be, which led to many eating disorders that she is extremely open about). She’s normal and downright beautiful, and she wants all of her followers to see themselves that way, too. As you probably know, not all who work out regularly and eat healthy look like they’ve been chiseled from marble, and Zazon is a breath of fresh air. She’s seriously amazing — do yourself a favor and check out her Instagram here.

Her Brand

Normalize Normal Bodies

Mik Zazon’s mantra

Zazon knows how to make a brand for herself. She’s got the whole satisfying aesthetic look thing down on her Instagram, which is surprisingly important these days (maybe for nothing more than looking like you have it all together, but whatever). She’s also got a nice look to her website.

More importantly, Zazon’s mantra — #normalizenormalbodies — is part of every post and video that she makes. She never strays from that mantra, and repeats it so often that even though I am a new follower of hers, I will remember it for a long time. Perhaps that’s partly because it resonates so much with me, but she definitely deserves credit for how dedicated she is to that mantra.

Transparency and honesty is key to Zazon’s brand, and I believe that is a big part of the reason why she’s become so influential. Society is tired of being lied to, which makes transparency — in my opinion — the best PR tactic out there. A quick look at her social, and you’ll see how transparent she truly is. She has posted about asking photographers to keep from photoshopping her photos (probably mostly a personal thing, but hey, there’s that mantra coming into play again). She speaks out about her eating disorder, in detail. She gives advice, but regularly reminds readers that she makes the same mistakes, too. The list goes on, really.

her Response to crises

Recently, Zazon made a post on Instagram that had a little bit of backlash. She has taken it down since, so you won’t be able to find it and I really can’t remember what it said. However, I do remember her responses.

The first thing that she did was respond to many of the angry people who commented on the post, trying to explain what she meant in the post while also responding to their concerns. She was kind in her comments, but more importantly, she was willing to admit that she had said some things wrong and apologized.

Later that day, she posted a video on her Instagram story further explaining herself and trying to clear the air behind the post.

When that didn’t calm the angry people, she posted on her story that she would be taking the post down. She briefly noted that it had been a hard day, and that she thought it would be best for everyone to remove it entirely.

While this was a small crisis, it was interesting to watch how Zazon handled it. For an influencer, I think she did the right thing. She tried to talk through it with her audience, through personalized comments and a video to everyone. She wasn’t rude. And, while most people would take down the post quietly, Zazon made an announcement that she was doing so and why before going through with it. This is important to keeping up with her transparency.

---

Basically, Mik Zazon is great in so many areas, but conducting her own PR is one of them — and she may not even know it!

While I may not be starting my blog out on a positive note with this particular evaluation, I’m excited to discuss a foreign subject for me: politicians. And, if you read my bio, you know that “wellness” to me includes mental health, which will be discussed here in the saddening topic of suicide.

This month a study was released that researched the effects of minimum wage rates on suicide. According to this New York Times article, the study concluded that a $1 increase in minimum wage corresponded with a 3.5 to 6 percent decrease in suicide rates.

Wow. Seems crazy, right? Nothing has been proven, but the study seems pretty legit. And, it has sparked the already-prevalent discussion that federal minimum wage is too low.

While the study is super interesting (you can find the full report here), I want to unpack a couple responses from politicians that have come out of this — from a PR lens, of course!

The popular Bernie Sanders, senator of Vermont, tweeted “Raising the minimum wage by $1 could’ve prevented thousands of suicides a year. We will end the 40-year assault on the working class and the suffering it has caused for our people. Every job in America must pay a living wage of at least $15 an hour,” in response to an article by CNN on the study.

How does this effect Bernie’s image? Well, first we can state the obvious: it follows his liberal political agenda. He’s been pro raise-minimum-wage for a while now. In responding to this, he’s making the majority of his followers happy with this statement. And, of course, is getting a ton of backlash from the other political agenda in the comments under his post.

It makes him look educated on what’s going on in the world, which is definitely something a politician should be doing.

He sounds confident and determined.

Notice how he does not write, “an estimated thousands of suicides a year”? Because it really is just an estimate. But — and Bernie knows this — it’s more jarring to initially read his tweet and think, “1,000 lives? Really?! That’s terrible!” then to be interrupted by the word “estimate”. You may or may not consider that a little white lie, but it’s super common.

Bernie didn’t just write this out quickly and send it off to the world. He was strategic here.

One last interesting tidbit: the absence of a response from Bernie regarding the study would most likely raise questions from his tried-and-true followers. That is something that most people/organizations don’t have to deal with.

Another response came from the spokesman for Senator Mike Lee, who is conservative and has spoken out against raising minimum wage.

Lee’s spokesman, Conn Carroll, told the Washington Post that they had read the study differently: “Our reading was that the state minimum wage over the federal minimum wage is correlated with less suicide,” he said. “By this logic, if we raised the federal minimum wage while keeping state minimum wages constant, suicide would go up! Or, we could really reduce suicide by eliminating the federal minimum wage entirely thus creating a huge gap between state minimum wages and the federal one. These seem nonsenical.”

The article also notes that he refused to comment any more on the study.

This is a much different approach than Bernie Sanders. What is it doing for Lee and Carroll? The most obvious answer is that this statement follows their political agenda. There’s more to it, though.

Mike Lee didn’t actually comment on the situation himself. This shows a level of importance on the issue between the two politicians. Bernie went out of his way to comment on the issue; Lee had someone else do it.

The statement makes it sound like they have thoroughly read and analyzed the study, which is good. Like I said, it’s important to sound educated!

Additionally, Carroll does a couple things here that — while definitely not uncommon in the political world — may foster a negative image. First of all, he highlights that he does not agree with the conclusion of the researchers. Then, he refuses to answer more comments on the subject. Basically, they don’t believe the study nor do they want to talk about it.

Not only that, but the tone of the response sounds very flippant, which is not how people generally want to sound when discussing suicide.

However, if that is the image that Lee and Carroll are hoping to convey to the public, then they are deploying their PR skills to do so effectively.

---

After all this analyzing, can you see how important just one comment can be to the image of a person or organization? Through phrasing, word choice, and tone, one social media post or comment can say a whoooole lot — perhaps much more than you meant to say.

Alright, here goes nothing…

As an introductory post, I want to spend some time explaining why I chose this topic of ‘wellness’ and what exactly I plan on covering within that realm.

Why wellness?
I have gained an interest in mental health/fitness/nutrition during my time in college. The transition to dorm life during freshman year was rough for me, and I fell into a dark place. Fortunately, my brother had bought me a few personal training sessions at the university gym as a birthday present that year, and it was extremely beneficial for me — mentally, physically, nutritionally.

That was where it all began.

I wanted — no, needed — to feel better. I went on to receive my personal trainer certification through ACE in 2019, which landed me a job as a physical therapy aide. Although I am not pursuing a job in the health field (I’m terrible at science), I am fascinated by the wellness world.

What do you mean by wellness?
Mental health. Physical health. A dash of nutrition.

What will you be discussing?
This is not a page focused on giving advice; rather, it will be using my knowledge of these things (along with the help of other sources) to look at wellness through a public relations ‘lens’.

This means that I will be focusing on the ‘who’ and ‘why’ in society that talks about wellness and/or teaches it. I will be looking at wellness through the eyes of the public, and also through the eyes of the corporations. I will unpack why wellness has become so much more impactful in the last decade (especially on social media platforms!) and the image that has been made for it. I mean, some people have become extremely famous influencers just by merely discussing these topics. How? Why?

What’s your purpose here?
I plan to use this blog to learn more about the wellness world, teach someone else (hopefully you!) about something valuable, and hone my skills by looking at topics like a public relations specialist.

How much experience do you have?
Well, I’m only 20. So, not as much as a lot of other people. However, I’ve learned a LOT the last three years.

As a physical therapy aide, I help patients with exercise programs.

Although I have not yet had a client, my personal trainer certification taught me a plethora of information about the body and exercise. Not only did I read the 700 page book, but I also took a prep course at my school that added another layer to my learning.

I have experienced depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and other mental health related issues. I have seen counselors and doctors. I have had many friends who struggle with their mental health. I have read articles and books about it.

I have been regularly working out for three years now, from having a personal trainer to creating my own workouts to purchasing an online workout routine.

I have friends who are paleo, vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian, keto, etc. Personally, I don’t have any specific diet restrictions, but I have learned so much from those who do. My diet? Eat healthy, but still enjoy life. I have tried counting calories, worrying about my macros, and meal-prepping.

I know a bit about wellness, but I can’t wait to look at it in a new & different way. If you were hoping to find some solid advice, I may not be the site for you. However, I can point you towards some great advice-driven wellness blogs! Click on the word below based on the advice you were looking for.
Nutrition
Fitness
Mental health