Marketing and PR approaches must evolve to align with new consumer expectations and shifting digital norms, explains best-selling author David Meerman Scott. The lines between marketing and PR have blurred in the online realm, says Scott, and those working in both fields have a shared common mission: to drive consumer action by creating great content. In the 8th edition of The New Rules of Marketing & PR, Scott offers comprehensive guidance for those hoping to keep pace amid massive technological change, designed to help you harness the power of everything, including podcasting and AI.
The old marketing and PR rules are obsolete – today, content creation is crucial.
Before the digital age, organizations relied on buying expensive advertising slots to win consumers’ valuable attention. Today, organizations that rely on traditional advertising formats will fail to win customers. Traditional advertising attempts to gain mass market appeal, demanding attention by interrupting people with one-way messaging that focuses on selling a product. But people today don’t want to be bombarded with ads that feel like ads, nor do they give them their attention or place their trust in companies using such manipulative formats.
Forget many of the old norms of PR: Gone are the days of only sending out press releases with third-party quotes and depending on the media to gain exposure. Instead, align your efforts with shifting consumer behaviors and expectations. Stop focusing exclusively on the mainstream, for example, working to serve more niche or underserved demographics instead. Approach your audience with information when they need it – rather than bombarding them when they don’t want to be disturbed. People don’t like spin...
David Meerman Scott is a best-selling author, marketing speaker and strategist who has written 12 books, including Fanocracy: Turning Fans into Customers and Customers into Fans.
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