The book is organized into three parts. Part I is a rigorous overview of how the web has changed the rules of marketing and PR. Part II introduces and provides details about each of the various media. Part III contains detailed how-to information and an action plan to help you put the new rules to work for your organization.
While I think this sequence is the most logical way to present these ideas, there's no reason why you shouldn't flip from chapter to chapter in any order that you please. Unlike a mystery novel, you won't get lost in the story if you skip around. And I certainly don't want to waste your time. As I was writing, I found myself wishing that I could send you from one chapter to another chapter with hyperlinks, like on a blog. Alas, a printed book doesn't allow that, so instead I have included more old-fashioned references where I suggest you skip ahead or go back for review on specific topics.
When I mention people and organizations, I frequently mention their Twitter IDs, which are preceded by the “@” sign. So if I were to reference my name and Twitter ID, you'd see it like this: David Meerman Scott @dmscott. That way, you quickly learn more about that person or organization by checking them out on Twitter.
You'll notice that I write in a familiar and casual tone, rather than the more formal and stilted voice of many business books. That's because I'm using my “blog voice” to share the new rules with you. It's how I like to write, and I believe it also makes things easier for you, the reader.
When I use the words company and organization throughout this book, I'm including all types of organizations and individuals. Feel free to mentally insert nonprofit, government agency, political candidate, church, school, sports team, legal firm, or other entity in place of company and organization. Similarly, when I use the word buyers, I also mean subscribers, voters, volunteers, applicants, and donors, because the new rules work for reaching all these groups. Are you a leader of a nonprofit organization that needs to increase donations? The new rules apply to you as much as to a corporation. Ditto for political campaigns looking for votes, schools that want to increase applicants, consultants hunting for business, and churches seeking new members.
This book will show you the new rules and how to apply them. For the people all over the world interacting on the web, the old rules of marketing and PR just don't work. Today, all kinds of organizations communicate directly with their buyers online. According to the International Telecommunications Union,2 an agency of the United Nations, in 2016 the Internet was used by 3.9 billion people, about half of the world's population. Even more remarkably, there were 6.8 billion mobile subscriptions – that's 96 cell phone subscriptions for every 100 people in the world, a greater percentage of people than have access to a toothbrush. So it's no surprise that, in order to reach the individuals who would be interested in their organizations, smart marketers everywhere have altered the way they think about marketing and PR.
The most exciting aspect of the book is that, throughout these pages, I have the honor of showcasing some of the best examples of building successful programs on the web. There are more than 50 profiles throughout the book, many of them in the marketers' own words from my interviews with them. These profiles bring the concepts to life. You'll learn from people at Fortune 500 companies and at businesses with just a handful of employees. These companies make products ranging from racing bicycles to jet helicopters and from computer software to men's hair accessories. Some of the organizations are well known to the public, while others are famous only in their own market niches. I profile nonprofit organizations, political advocacy groups, and an inner city school district. I tell the stories of independent consultants, churches, rock bands, and lawyers, all of whom successfully use the web to reach their target audiences. I can't thank enough the people who shared their time with me, on the phone and in person. I'm sure you'll agree that they are the stars of the book. My favorite part is that many of them are people who read earlier editions and shared their success with me. How cool is that? You can read this edition and be equipped to create programs that could grow your business and lead you to achievements that might inform readers of future editions!
As you read the stories of successful marketers, remember that you will learn from them even if they come from a very different market, industry, or type of organization than your own. Nonprofits can learn from the experiences of corporations. Consultants will gain insights from the successes of rock bands. In fact, I'm absolutely convinced that you will learn more by emulating successful ideas from outside your industry than by copying what your nearest competitor is doing. Remember, the best thing about new rules is that your competitors probably don't know about them yet.
Thank you for your interest in the new rules. I hope that you too will be successful in implementing these strategies and that your life will be made better as a result.
I
HOW THE WEB HAS CHANGED THE RULES OF MARKETING AND PR
1
THE OLD RULES OF MARKETING AND PR ARE INEFFECTIVE IN AN ONLINE WORLD
As I write this, I am considering buying a new car. As it is for billions of other global consumers, the web is my primary source of information when I consider a purchase. So I sat down at the computer and began poking around.
Figuring they were the natural place to begin my research, I started with some major automaker sites. That was a big mistake. I was assaulted on the homepages with a barrage of TV-style broadcast advertising. And most of the one-way messages focused on price. For example, at the end of 2016 at Ford,3 the all-capital-letters headline screamed, “YEAR END EVENT FINAL DAYS. UP to $1,500 TOTAL CASH.” Dodge4 announced a similar offer: “BIG FINISH 2016. GET 20 % OFF MSRP.” Other manufacturers touted similar flashy offers.
I'm not planning to buy a car in the next 100 hours, thank you. I may not even buy one within 100 days! I'm just kicking the virtual tires. These sites and most others assume that I'm ready to buy a car right now. But I actually just wanted to learn something. Sure, I got graphics and animation, TV commercials, pretty pictures, and low financing offers on these sites, but little else.
I looked around for some personality on these sites and didn't find much, because the automaker websites portray their organizations as nameless, faceless corporations. In fact, the sites I looked at are so similar that they're effectively interchangeable. At each site, I felt as if I was being marketed to with a string of messages that had been developed in a lab or via focus groups. It just didn't feel authentic. If I wanted to see car TV ads, I would have flipped on the TV. I was struck with the odd feeling that all large automakers' sites were designed and built by the same Madison Avenue ad guy. These sites were advertising to me, not building a relationship with me. They were luring me in with one-way messages, not educating me about the companies' products. Guess what? When I arrive at a site, you don't need to grab my attention; you already have it!
Automakers have become addicted to the crack cocaine of marketing: big-budget TV commercials and other offline advertising. Everywhere I turn, I see automobile ads that make me think, “This has got to be really freakin' expensive.” The television commercials, the “sponsored by” stuff, the sales “events,” and other high-ticket Madison Avenue marketing might make you feel good, but is it effective?
These days, when people are thinking of buying a car (or any other product or service), they usually go to the web first. Even my 80-year-old mother does it! When people come to you online, they are not looking for TV commercials. They are looking for information to help them make a decision.
Here's the good news: I did find some terrific places on the web to learn about cars. Unfortunately, the places where I got authentic content and where I became