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How do you get yourself heard above the noise. The New Rules of Marketing & PR has been successful for many reasons, but here's a big one: Instead of focusing on numbers (e.g., how many people are on your email list, tips and tricks for improving your Web site's SEO or getting your press release into as many hands as possible), David knows that content is still king. This theme is found in one of his favorite mantras: You must earn the attention of the public.I like that word, "earn." It implies honesty and integrity. This isn't just work, it's hard work. And it's telling that the term "social media" didn't even make it into the first edition, which was published less than three years ago, in June 2007. And you will earn their attention. When David was writing the book in 2006, Facebook was still only for those with an.edu email address and Twitter had barely caused a ripple.So, it's an indicator of just how fast social media has become the 800-pound gorilla in marketing and PR that the newly-released second edition prominently features "social media" in the revised subtitle, "How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases, Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly."Yet, the main message of the book hasn't changed.
Over the course of a successful career in corporate marketing and public relations, David saw that the traditional practices that had long been used in these two disciplines were being discarded for a new set of rules, and he saw this long before many of his fellow practitioners were convinced. How do you get people to watch your show more than once. This is knowing what your prospective customers are interested in, addressing their needs and interests, and putting yours on ice. This is being a journalist and a thought leader. Address their interests, not yours. But it sounds kind of like work, doesn't it. No, that's not a fair criticism, for he fully understands how useful SEO can be in helping your customers find you and your site. Every marketing professional - in fact, every entrepreneur - needs to memorize that mantra.
And that's quite important, given all the noise and distractions out there.Yet, it's all about having engaging content, and there's not much use in driving traffic to your site if there's nothing there to engage your visitors.So, focus on your customers. Based on what he saw happening, three years ago David wrote what became a phenomenally successful book, The New Rules of Marketing & PR.In a field that sees countless new titles on a continual basis, this work was the bestselling public relations book on Amazon for nearly two years, has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and has been translated into 24 languages. And therein lies the beauty of it.
It means that you need to focus on creating authentic, compelling content that will: 1) appeal to your prospective clients and customers, 2) provide them with something of value, and 3) keep them coming back for more.In our unbelievably busy, fragmented and distracted world, that's not easy to do. ] Thanks, David, for reminding all of us that as much as the universe of marketing and PR has changed, the fundamentals of good marketing remain the same - we've just got a few new tools to use.[ Edited from the original post on [.].
There are some legitimate leaders in our brave new world of marketing and PR, and I'm able to say with confidence that David Meerman Scott is one of the few. His sine qua non of online content is that it must be customer-focused and compelling. This is the opposite of spending your time figuring out how to game Google.Does this mean that David is not a believer in the importance of SEO.
Scott does not say that traditional marketing no longer works; he just says it is getting more costly and less effective every day. Once you start creating content you can spread the word through social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. With regard to website design, Scott recommends that you start by profiling buyer personas -- a more personal way of orienting strategists and creatives than the traditional demographic statistics. For those who cannot afford to boil the sea with traditional marketing, this online world is an attractive alternative. After a successful career in PR, Scott created a blog, gave away 250,000 ebooks, and mailed advance copies of his printed books to prominent bloggers. The old way of launching a book would have been exclusively through sales, press releases, advertising and a book tour. Without taking sides, Scott describes how the Obama campaign secured an email list of 13 million people, reached 5 million Facebook friends, generated PR by announcing VP Biden through Twitter, and raised $640 million from 3 million online donors.My personal experience is that used properly, online marketing can be much more effective than traditional marketing. Personas can be expressed through lifestyle descriptors, imaginary dialogs, and pictorial collages.
Scott opens by saying, "Your buyers (and the media that covers your company) want to know what specific problems your product solves, and they want proof that it works -- in plain language. What are their motivations. Your marketing and PR is meant to be the beginning of a relationship with buyers and to drive action (such as generating sales leads), which requires a focus on buyer problems." The chapter goes on to pillory world class business jargon and innovative gobbledygook. Content can arrive through blogs, PDF white papers and ebooks, polls, research studies, cartoons, graphs and charts, games, contests, video, wikis, emails, text messages, forums, podcasts and slideshows. It also takes time and patience to succeed. Scott compares the Internet to a city, where Craigslist has a bulletin board at the entrance to the corner store, eBay is holding a garage sale, and Amazon is full of customers who want to share their buying experiences. Early on Scott describes how the old ways are becoming increasingly inefficient, ineffective, and often insulting.Scott's essential message is that you can now bypass the traditional marketing channels and reach out directly to customers, provided you have a worthwhile offering and message.
Once the personas are complete, Scott suggests focusing on content strategy first, then technology and design. to many-to-many. Central to this strategy is providing useful content that earns back-links to your website from other respected websites. It also helps to post comments on other blogger's posts, which you can find through Technorati or Google Blog Search.
There is specific advice on the Internet sales cycle, Social Media Marketing, blogging, video and podcast production, news releases, media rooms, press outreach, and search engine optimization. These four communication modalities combined with the ability to bypass land-based distribution channels and transact commerce online represents a sea change in marketing.Scott recommends that contemporary marketers think like a publisher. to one-to-one. You have to learn your way around this new world.Success in this "online city" is measured through buzz, search engine rankings and direct response.
He goes on to say content is not only King, it is also the Pope.The book also describes a vivid metaphor for the Internet and Social Media. What content will compel them to purchase what I have to offer." -- says Scott. A pressroom can also be helpful. "Publishers consider all the following questions: Who are my readers. Spam and adult entertainment gird the underbelly of the city. These necessary changes in marketing approach are the result of the Internet's expansion of communication channels from one-to-many.
Social media participants hold forth in cocktail parties and pubs all across the city. Each chapter provides a good overview.The book is peppered with examples of people and companies who have succeeded using the New Rules. Success requires knowledge, imagination, experimentation, and the right technical skills. It is a good read.Chapters 13-21 delve into the nuts and bolts of making your strategy work. And any campaign needs to be backed by the traditional marketing concepts of segmentation, positioning, branding and communication strategy.Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works (Interactive Technologies) to many-to-one.
To succeed with a content strategy you need an editorial plan that keeps content fresh. The challenge is that online marketing is neither easy nor free. I recommend this text to anyone who wants to become a better web marketer.The New Rules became a best seller through online marketing. I like this balanced perspective.A central case study for effective use of The New Rules of Marketing and PR is the political campaign of Barrack Obama. To do this, you must philosophically move from monologue to dialog and from propaganda to participation. How do I reach them. This need for back-links is a direct result of Google's PageRank indexing algorithm, which ranks search results largely by relevant and authoritative back-links.Useful content is central to Scott's strategy, because content attracts links from other sites, and content provides value to visitors.
On launch day your site should be organized and written from the buyers' perspective and not feel like an online brochure.Chapter 12 on writing for the web is one of the best. How can I entertain them and inform them at the same time. "Before the Web came along, there were only three ways to get noticed: buy expensive advertising, beg the mainstream media to tell your story for you, or hire a huge sales staff to bug people one at a time about your products." -- says David Meerman Scott in the introduction to "The New Rules of Marketing and PR." This book is an excellent overview of web marketing principles. What are the problems I can help them solve. Scott also suggests having widgets on your site for Delicious and Digg because these tags lead to back-links.
I highly recommend it to both experienced pros and beginners in the Marketing and PR field, as well as small business owners and professionals interested in promoting themselves online. For me, this book was great because unlike many other books on the subject, it was a how to guide, not just a general overview. For most the book he refers to real life examples of business owners and marketing/PR execs who have successfully used the tools he discusses for promotion. This is one book I will be keeping on my shelf after school is over. This is one of a few books we read for a PR class I'm taking and I was extremely impressed by it. David Meerman Scott is extremely knowledgeable on the subject but he injects just enough of his own opinion and experience. He talks each tool in a simple way that beginners will understand, but he offers enough real world examples and tips to make it a good reference guide for experienced pros.
Brilliant, Helpfull, Inspiring. I await my free signed copies of your 4 books.Tony Shimkin @dmscott A Great Read.A fund of information organized as only DM Scott could. A must read for anyone that knows and does not know the ins and outs of Social Networking.
This is a must read, and a must have for your professional book collection. I bought this on a whim (and after reading the great reviews) and have ended up using in multiple of my professional development classes. This book is an invaluable resource for the marketing and PR professionals in today's practice. It provides real life examples and strategies to implement into your own company and industry. David Meerman Scott knows his stuff, and is approachable for questions and feedback on variuous subjects in the book.
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