Catch up. Become a FAN of Performance Social Media and start to Make Sense of Social Media/Internet Marketing
Forget the OLD Rules of PR.
Read below for David Meerman Scott’s NEW RULES for Marketing AND PR:
1) Marketing is MORE than ads.
2) PR is MORE than mainstream media.
3) YOU are what you Publish.
4) People want AUTHENTICITY, not Spam.
5) Participation NOT propaganda.
6) “Interruption” be GONE; instead: Content when people want it.
7) Focus on Long Tail, not Mass Audience.
8) Forget TV and maximize online presence.
9) Forget awards, forcus on winning business.
10) Public is back in PUBLIC Relations.
11) Content drives Action.
12) All sorts of social media platforms communicate directly with buyers.
13) On the Web: Marketing and PR are ONE.
You can read David Meerman Scott’s blog posts at WebInkNow.com.
Next post: Here are the Old Rules . . . for your consideration, or . . . for disposal 🙂
As the end of school approaches, I now fully understand the New Rules of Marketing and PR by DMS. I must admit, on the first day of class, I was a little skeptical about the idea of social media but now I fully understand how fundamental it is in today’s world. Social media is everywhere and it is imperative that you see the profound impact it is having on life as we know it.
Like rule two states, “You are what you publish” and I could not agree more. People believe that if they simply make their Facebook or Twitter account private that it truly is. However, as we have learned, this idea is farfetched from the truth. You are what you publish and if people want to see your “private accounts” they will. After all, anything that you post on the Internet will be found one way or another.
Also, I could not agree more with rule four which states, “People want authenticity, not spam.” Personally, I want to feel like the marketer, or whoever is trying to get me to buy their product, is speaking to me in a genuine, sincere voice and deeply cares about my interests. I could elaborate more on this, but I believe Robert Scoble best summed up in his “Private Note to PR People” blog.
Thank you for posting this and allowing me to finally understand how these New Rules apply. 🙂
I have to be completely honest, I was very skeptical about the whole social media thing in the beginning of class but I now realize how important it is and will be in the future. Things really started to make sense after Les Ross came in and talked to us about the power of social media. And like you say in class all the time, we are on the forefront of it all and it is actually very exciting. In fact, I have a business that I am going to start after graduation that is directly inspired from this class…Thanks!
Nice. I added and became a fan of the group.^_^
I would share my opinion about focusing on the rule 3)You are what you Publish.
Since more availability of social media, anybody can be publisher. This is both good and bad: It is good for people to be able to write freely about a variety of topics. Sharing personal ideas is very valuable. It is actually good for our brain, especially for building long term memory.
However, we are now taking responsibility for what we say. For example, when people are in debate and arguing about a topic, the debate sometimes heats up and people may be hurt.
The past several years, I have been kicking myself for taking a long break from college, but after taking this course I realized that I am graduating at the best time! There are so many new things going on, that I would have missed out on had I graduated earlier.
It is crucial for companies to apply these new rules, but what company, after learning the new rules, wouldn’t want to apply them. Communicating with buyers is a dream come true!! Many companies have failed because they have missed the mark. The list provides everything a company needs to be successful.
I have to say rule 8 is especially important!!
I cannot agree more with rule number four, People want AUTHENTICITY, not Spam. Recently a close friend of ours who is a photographer in New England started her website as she set out on her own to start her photography business.
While she has a wide range of experience from working at the newspaper in Providence to shooting many summer weddings on Cape Cod she was very interested in becoming visible on a popular wedding planning website.
In discussion my fiancé gave her a great piece of advice, “Let it happen, when people love you the will let others know.” As a frequent user of this site, my fiancé understands that users rely mainly on word of mouth. If you do not have a genuine story and you are just posting Spam you have near zero chance of generating any business.
So get out there and make a story for yourself. If it is authentic people will talk about it. Thanks David.
Thomas, have you ever heard the old cliche, “Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater”? That expression was the first thing that came to mind when I read your comment. In other words, when you are “cleaning up,” make certain that you don’t throw out EVERYTHING.
So I thought I’d reexamine those OLD RULES and comment on each:
OLD RULES
1. The only way to get ink was through the media.
OF COURSE, WITH SOCIAL MEDIA, WE ARE PUBLISHERS AND DO NOT REQUIRE MAINSTREAM MEDIA.
2. Companies communicated to journalists via press releases.
COMPANIES CAN NOW COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY WITH BUYERS THRU PLATFORMS LIKE TWITTER AND FACEBOOK, ETC.
3. Nobody saw the actual press release except a handful of reporters and editors.
JUST NOT TRUE ANYMORE 🙂
4. Companies had to have significant news before they were allowed to write a press release.
DAVID MEERMAN SCOTT HAS TOLD US THAT THE MORE WE COMMUNICATE WITH OUR BUYERS, THE BETTER RELATIONSHIPS WE WILL BUILD — AND THAT MEANS SHARING LOTS OF NEWSWORTHY ITEMS, NOT SIMPLY “SIGNIFICANT NEWS.”
5. Jargon was okay because the journalists all understood it.
JARGON IS NOT OK ANYMORE.
6. You weren’t supposed to send a release unless it included quotes from third parties, such as customers, analysts, and experts.
NOW THESE “THIRD PARTY” QUOTES EASILY GET “AIRED” VIA TWEETS AND BLOGS.
7. The only way buyers would learn about the press release content was if the media wrote a story about it. OF COURSE WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO PUBLISH YOUR RELEASES ON YOUR WEBSITE AND ALSO DISTRIBUTE VIA FREE AS WELL AS FEE-BASED WIRE SERVICES, YOU NO LONGER NEED TO RELY ON MAINSTREAM MEDIA EXPOSURE.
8. The only way to measure the effectiveness of press releases was through “clip books,” which noted each time the media deigned to pick up a company’s release. MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS — OR ROI — HAS A HOST OF NEW TOOLS INCLUDING GOOGLE ANALYTICS AND COMMENTS USING YOUR BRAND NAME THAT CAN EASILY BE PICKED UP THROUGH SEARCH.
9. PR and marketing were separate disciplines run by different people with separate goals, strategies, and measurement techniques.
IT SEEMS SAFE TO CONCLUDE THAT MARKETING IS GOING TO HAVE TO BE ALL ABOUT GETTING A BRAND’S REPUTATION AND MESSAGES OUT TO VARIOUS PUBLICS — AND THAT IS WHAT PUBLIC RELATIONS HAS ALWAYS BEEN PRIMARILY ABOUT.
Old rules for PR are still useful in business world. Some of old rules maybe need to change, but i think all of the old rules need to be kept as well.
“8. Forget T.V and maximize online presence”
So has Social media diminished the effectiveness of T.V advertising?
On an electronics vendor’s site, a customer once rated a video card very badly. The representative of the manufacturer posted a comment with an already completed “support ticket” to attend to the customer’s needs. Something like this cannot be done on T.V however, why do firms continue to advertise on T.V?
I love lists and I love your list even more. I think you can also add: people also want sincerity on top of authenticity because the best way to get people on your side is to be sincere, open, and honest, showing that you truly care about their well being. Cheers.
Communication between sellers and buyers becomes more personal in today’s business world. Although print advertisements and TV commercials still have impact, using social media for Marketing and PR has become the norm.
While I like spam (the real food), I can agree with authenticity.
This list captures everything that has been happening in the business, specifically the marketing world. If only more of the old school companies would catch on. With the younger generations preparing to take over, these companies will have to evolve sooner or later. If they can survive the recession that is.