PR and Marketing in a Sustainable World

I have a new favorite book:  "The New Rules of Marketing and PR" by David Meerman Scott.

Here's a quote:

"Instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars per month on a media relations program that tries to convince a handful of reporters at select magazines, newspapers, and TV stations to cover us, we should be targeting the plugged-in bloggers, online news sites, micro-publications, public speakers, analysts, and consultants that reach the targeted audiences that are looking for what we have to offer.  Better yet, we no longer even need to wait for someone with a media voice to write about us at all.  With social media, we communicate directly with our audience, bypassing the media filter completely.  We have the power to create our own media brand in the niche of our own choosing.  It's about being found on Google and Yahoo! and vertical sites and RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds.  Instead of writing press releases only when we have "big news" - releases that reach only a handful of journalists - we should be writing releases that highlight our expert ideas and stories, and we should be distributing them so that our buyers can find them on the news search engines and vertical content sites."

Can I get an AMEN?  Agreed, agreed, agreed.

As Scott states, we are in a different world when we market our business, our services, and our products. 

If you decided right now that you want to purchase a new coffee machine, what would you do?  Raise your hand if you'd do a google search of "best coffee machines"?  Or would you wait until the Sunday paper came out, thumb through the pages for a snazzy advert for small appliances?  Better yet, would you hope that a flashy TV ad would come on and direct you to a store?  I doubt it.

We get the information we need from the vast and rich knowledge available on the Internet.  Through interactive websites, search engines, blogs, news sites and e-zines. 

So, why are we still stuck with this idea that a PR campaign is not complete without a clip book filled with copies of media bits?  How many trees have to die before we recognize that print advertisement is probably in the final stages before it's full transformation to online platforms?

Sustainable PR and marketing is the New Marketing.  Green campaigns are social media campaigns.  It is not presenting a clip book to your client to show you've done your job, but presenting your client with the attention of targeted BUYING customers.  As a business owner, would you rather have ten newspaper clippings about your company or ten times as many buying customers on your phone?

One last quote from my new favorite book, the New Rules of Marketing and PR

Marketing is more than just advertising

PR is for more than just a mainstream media audience

You are what you publish

People want authenticity, not spin

People want participation, not propaganda

Instead of causing one-way interruption, marketing is about delivering content at just the precise moment your audience needs it.

Marketers must shift their thinking from mainstream marketing to the masses to a strategy of reaching vast numbers of underserved audiences via the Web.

PR is not about your boss seeing your company on TV.  It's about your buyers seeing your company on the Web.

Marketing is not about your agency winning awards.  It's about your organization winning business.

The Internet has made public relations public again, after years of almost exclusive focus on media.

Companies must drive people into the purchasing process with great online content.

Blogs, online video, e-books, news releases, and other forms of online content let organizations communicate directly with buyers in a form they appreciate.

On the Web, the lines between marketing and PR have blurred.

If you own your own company or are in a position to market your company, this book is required reading.  I'm definitely incorporating these ideas into my marketing plan and into the plans I create and execute for my clients.  Thankfully, Greener By Design Consulting's team has always seen the extreme benefit of social media management and the power of the Web.  It's assuring to know that we are not alone and, quite possibly, absolutely correct!

When you read the book, it will either excite you or terrify you.  Be cautioned, though.  If you find the content too terrifying, or you are unconvinced, chances are you may fall flatly into the "left behind" category.  Re-read with an open mind and remember that the Web isn't going away.  It will continue to grow and change, grow and change.  Will you grow and change with it?

Thanks to David Meerman Scott.  Be sure to visit his website and follow his blogs:  http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/

Happy Marketing!