The Measurement Standard: Blog Edition

Put On Your Iron Man Suit With "Attack of the Customers"

 Attack of the Customers, Why Critics Assault Brands Online and How to Avoid becoming a Victim, by Paul Gillin with Greg Gianforte
Book Review by Katie Paine

This is a book every CEO should read before he or she finishes his or her cup of coffee tomorrow morning. It is a riveting guide on how to avoid becoming the next brand or corporation to land on the front page of the Wall Street Journal because of a customer crisis.

In many ways it is the perfect sequel to Bob Garfield’s “Can’t Buy Me Like.” (See my recent review here.) In it Garfield states: "Established trust goes a long way to cushioning brands from bonehead decisions and even scandal. But a cushion is not the same as body armor."  

Attack of the Customers is the literary equivalent of donning your Iron Man suit.

A New Manifesto For Today's Social Media – "Can't Buy Me Like" by Bob Garfield and Doug Levy

Book review by Katie Delahaye Paine

Bob Garfield and Doug Levy’s new book, You Can't Buy Me Like: How Authentic Customer Connections Drive Superior Results, will be to this generation of marketers what the Cluetrain Manifesto was to the marketers of 1999. When Cluetrain came out, Mark Zuckerberg was still in high school just down the street from me, but the book foretold the impact that social connectivity would have on marketing. I was lucky enough to hear one of its authors, David Weinberger, give an unforgettable speech. He told the crowd, “There is no market for your message.” I’ll never forget that deer-in-the-headlights look with which most of the marketers in the room responded.

Nate Silver's "The Signal and the Noise" will Resonate, Teach, and Inspire (book review)

The literary equivalent of sex on the beach in the moonlight with your soulmate.

by Katie Delahaye Paine

Okay, I’ll admit it, I have a wicked crush on Nate Silver. (And, for all you automated sentiment analysis tools out there, that is a positive statement. I just happen to hail from New Hampshire, where the stuff we love is "wicked good.") Not only is he brilliant and a wonderful writer, he’s made data geeks like me cool.

The 11-Book Back-To-School Reading List for Measurement Mavens

by Katie Delahaye Paine

Here's a short list of the best references and reading on public relations measurement and social media measurement. I was going to tell you to read these books before going back to school, but that much summertime homework is excessive, even for you over-achieving measurement mavens.

So start with the first two...

Measure what Matters by Katie Delahaye Paine. J -- Not just because I need the royalty checks, but because it will give you all the basics to start measuring right. Read several reviews here.

The Influentials: One American in Ten Tells the Other Nine How to Vote, Where to Eat, and What to Buy by Jon Berry and Ed Keller. Learn about how and what really influences behavior. It’s a wonderful data-driven analysis of who influences what.

Now make sure you have these next two invaluable references somewhere close at hand. You don't have to read them, but you will have to refer to them from time to time...

A Practitioner's Guide to Public Relations Research, Measurement and Evaluation by Don W. Stacks and David Michaelson.

Primer of Public Relations Research by Don W. Stacks. The first edition of this book remains the dog-eared bible that I keep next to my desk. See my review here.

If you are socially inclined, then you'll want to read this sequel, of sorts, to The Influentials:

The Face-to-Face Book: Why Real Relationships Rule in a Digital Marketplace by Ed Keller and Brad Fay. See my recent review here.

And finally, here are six classics, or soon-to-be classics, on social media, in case you haven’t read them already:

The Cluetrain Manifesto, by Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger.

Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers, by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel. Read my review here.

Optimize: How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO, Social Media, and Content Marketing by Lee Odden. (See my recent review here.)

YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day by Greg Jarboe.

The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M.R. Covey. See my review here.

Twitterville: How businesses can thrive in the new global neighborhoods. by Shel Israel. See my review here.

 ###

Katie Delahaye Paine is CEO of KDPaine & Partners, a Salience Insight company, part of News Group International. KDP&P delivers custom research to measure brand image, public relationships, and engagement. Katie Paine is a dynamic and experienced speaker on public relations and social media measurement. Click here for the schedule of Katie’s upcoming speaking engagements. Katie and Beth Kanter are authors of the book “Measuring the Networked Nonprofit,” to be published this year by Wiley.

The Measurement Standard is a publication of KDPaine & Partners, a company that delivers custom research to measure brand image, public relationships, and engagement. Katie Paine, CEO of KDPaine & Partners, will be glad to talk with you about measurement for your organization.

 KDPaine & Partners' Facebook Page.

4 Books on Social Media and Public Relations Measurement for Your Summer Reading

Ed Keller and Brad Fay’s The Face-to-Face Book
Free Press, 2012, 304 pages 

Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind's Talk, Inc.
Harvard Business Review Press, 2012, 256 pages

Lee Odden’s Optimize
Wiley, 2012, 243 pages

Tim Coombs and Sherry Holladay's Handbook of Crisis Communication
Wiley-Blackwell, 2012, 766 pages

Book Reviews by Katie Delahaye Paine

Growing up in Durham, New Hampshire, some of my favorite memories were of grinding my way through my summer reading list in the 1730's barn that my father rehabbed into a house. There was a classic “fainting couch” in the hall and, before we replaced the metal roof, a good rainstorm would produce a nearly deafening patter.

My fantasy this year was to sit on a beach somewhere catching up on my reading. But, since it's been pouring for several days, I just couldn't resist this stack of great new books on social media measurement and public relations measurement.

The Face-to-Face Book

For the socially inclined, a must read is Ed Keller and Brad Fay’s The Face-to-Face Book. My first take was that it was a truly scathing indictment of the current marketing mentality that says that social media is all you need to focus on. Based on their own research coupled with numerous other studies, Fay and Keller outline beautifully why In Real Life (IRL) conversations are still the most important kind.

Let’s start with a reminder that 90% of conversations still happen off line.  I of course love their take on influencers – as in their chapter on “Klout is not Clout.” Their data shows that word of mouth from real life influencers (as opposed to what I would call the Fauxfluencers that are identified by Klout) generate eight times more word of mouth than the average American. They give some great examples of how success has come to marketers (including Miller/Coors, Fiskars, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia) who have closely integrate IRL word of mouth with social and other tactics.  Some other highlights:

• Advertising works because of conversations, social and otherwise.
• Word of mouth still drives sales far more than any other marketing tactic.
• You need to be “remark-able” -- in other words, you need to have something that is worth talking about.
• Emotions are far more contagious in real life than they are online.
• Community growth, including social communities, is from real people doing real things.
• You need to use real marketing data, not just Twitter, if you want to know what is going on.
• Marketers who think that customers want to connect with the brand are mistaken. People want to connect with other people.

Keller and Fay apply this approach not just to the simple act of selling something, but also to managing reputation, crisis communications, internal communications, and essentially every problem a communicator might encounter. I started a list of quotable quotes from the book, and then gave up and realized there was just too much good stuff to quote. Just go read it.

Talk, Inc.

For those more interested in internal communications, Talk, Inc. by Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind should top your list. Talk, Inc. takes many of the same concepts that Keller and Fay discuss in The Face-to-Face Book, but applies them to reinventing internal organizational communications. Their premise is the old command and control structure will no longer work (not that it ever really did). They cite four basic principles that drive successful internal communications today:

1. Intimacy:  Leaders need to reduce the distance, both physical as well as institutional, that traditional CEOs have put between them and their employees.
2. Interactivity: One-way communications will no longer cut it. Successful leaders today understand that corporate communications is a two-way street, and therefore they provide multiple channels for dialog.
3. Inclusion: Employees aren’t just asked for their response, but rather are invited to create their own content through which the company can tell its story.
4. Intentionality: Communications should always be in line with corporate goals, objectives, and strategies. Successful companies don’t just encourage employees to talk, they ensure that the conversation converges in a way that that communicates a single vision and drives business value.

For anyone involved in advising or implementing internal communications, this book is full of great advice.

Optimize

I’ve been looking forward to reading Lee Odden’s Optimize since I first heard of it. Odden is one of the early trailblazers in social media and his TopRank blog is always a leading voice in the community. (And of course I’m always fond of someone who names me one of the top 25 women who rock social media.)
As always, Odden does not disappoint. This book is for social media managers what The Joy of Cooking is for anyone who cooks: A treasure trove of good advice, with a solid dose of practical how-to instructions, topped of with a lovely dusting of inspiration. Odden’s premise is that businesses will win today by integrating SEO, social media, and content marketing. While to many of you that might evoke a giant “duh,” it’s one thing to say that it needs to happen, it’s a very different one to give you all the tools, tricks, and techniques to make it happen within your own organization. Which Odden does very well here. I am particularly grateful for the way he breaks out his advice for small business vs. enterprise.

Just as The Joy of Cooking never left my kitchen counter when I was learning how to cook, as the new Chief Marketing Officer for News Group International, this is one bible that will never be far from my side.

Handbook of Crisis Communications

For all you who have asked me for advice on how to handle a crisis, I now have an answer. Read Tim Coombs and Sherry Holladay's Handbook of Crisis Communication. It’s a bit heavy for beach reading but if you are academically inclined, this is the mother-lode of crisis research conducted by an assortment of luminaries. The range and variety of this compilation of papers by a stunning list of scholars is stellar. If you’re just looking for advice on a specific problem, you can find well-researched case studies on everything from the Virginia Tech shootings to the BP Oil Spill, to FEMA, and Denny's. And, yes, for the socially inclined there are a number of papers on the application of social media in a crisis. It covers international crises as well as domestic, practice as well as theory, and even includes some historical perspective on crisis communications as well as a look forward to the future.

 ###

(Talk, Inc. photo by Natalie Castellino)

Katie Delahaye Paine is CEO of KDPaine & Partners, a company that delivers custom research to measure brand image, public relationships, and engagement. Katie Paine is a dynamic and experienced speaker on public relations and social media measurement. Click here for the schedule of Katie’s upcoming speaking engagements. Katie and Beth Kanter are authors of the book “Measuring the Networked Nonprofit,” to be published this year by Wiley.

The Measurement Standard is a publication of KDPaine & Partners, a company that delivers custom research to measure brand image, public relationships, and engagement. Katie Paine, CEO of KDPaine & Partners, will be glad to talk with you about measurement for your organization.

 KDPaine & Partners' Facebook Page.

Measure What Matters is “A tremendously good book: it’s a treasure. An absolute doozy of a read.”

Here’s another rave review for Measure What Matters, Katie Paine’s new book on public relations measurement and social media measurement. Reviewer Bob LaDrew over at For Immediate Release has a great many very nice things to say about Measure What Matters, including:

[Measure What Matters is] the best written, best argued book on social media measurement that I have read... A tremendously good book… it’s a treasure. AN ABSOLUTE DOOZY OF A READ. Makes great points… incredibly accessible and incredibly useful. I can’t recommend it strongly enough… The book is a joy to read for a language nerd.

Listen to the whole podcast here. To read excerpts from the book, visit the Measure What Matters blog. And you can click right here to order Measure What Matters right now at Amazon.

###

-- Bill Paarlberg, editor, Measure What Matters and The Measurement Standard

 

The Measurement Standard Summer Reading List

5 measurement books you could, sure, take to the beach.

O.K., we don't really expect you to take these measurement books along next time you head to the beach. But just think how smart and dedicated you would look leaving the office with your towel, umbrella, and one of these books on social media measurement under your arm. Don't forget the sunscreen.

 

 1. A great place to start your social media strategy is Stephen D. Rappaport’s, Listen First!: Turning Social Media Conversations into Business Advantage. It’s a detailed workbook of how to begin listening to your customers, how to manage a social media listening program, and how to use the research correctly. Read a review by Neil Glassman here.

 

2. Your next step up the measurement ladder is Katie Delahaye Paine’s Measure What Matters: Online Tools For Understanding Customers, Social Media, Engagement, and Key Relationships. (Yes, Katie Paine is the publisher of this newsletter.) It takes you from first steps all the way through how-to-measure procedures for each of your audiences and projects. If you’re a seasoned pro, it’s your all-purpose reference: As Lee Odden says, “This is a measurement bible for the social media and public relations savvy professionals of the world.”

 3. Philip Sheldrake’s The Business of Influence: Reframing Marketing and PR for the Digital Age is definitely not for the newcomer to social media. It does start with a great overview of where we are, but then quickly gets into the nitty-gritty of defining and mapping the influencers that are important to your strategy. Says Katie Delahaye Paine: “The Business of Influence should be found, dog-eared and jam-packed with marks in the margins, on every successful CMO's desk.”

 

4.  If you’re in the b2b space, Social Marketing to the Business Customer: Listen to Your B2B Market, Generate Major Account Leads, and Build Client Relationships by Paul Gillin and Eric Schwartzman is an great read. It removes the “This doesn’t apply to me” excuse beautifully. Chris Brogan says,“Finally, the book I was too lazy to write. Gillin and Schwartzman have broken open the code to how to approach B2B marketing with social media.”

 

5. Finally, for anyone in marketing or media, or if you’re teaching it, you must read Timothy Wu’s The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires. Every new communications medium or technology begins with an idea, an entrepreneur, and an explosion of free exchange of this technology. But, sooner or later, it is taken over and monopolized by a single person or company—too frequently with the collusion of the US government. See our review here.

###

Katie Delahaye Paine is CEO of KDPaine & Partners, a company that delivers custom research to measure brand image, public relationships, and engagement. Katie Paine is a dynamic and experienced speaker on public relations and social media measurement. Click here for the schedule of Katie’s upcoming speaking engagements.

5 Social Media ROI & Measurement Books

Lee Odden has posted brief reviews of 5 books he recommends: “5 Social Media ROI & Measurement Books to Grow Your Social Business”:

• Social Media ROI: Managing and Measuring Social Media Efforts in Your Organization by Olivier Blanchard
• Social Media Metrics: How to Measure and Optimize Your Marketing Investment by Jim Sterne
• Measure What Matters: Online Tools For Understanding Customers, Social Media, Engagement, and Key Relationships by Katie Delahaye Paine. Buy it now at Amazon.
• Web Analytics 2.0: The Art of Online Accountability and Science of Customer Centricity by Avinash Kaushkik
• Mining the Social Web: Analyzing Data from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Other Social Media Sites by Matthew A. Russell

For more reviews of measurement-related books, click here to look through dozens of reviews by Katie Paine.

###

Tim Wu’s “The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires”

The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires
by Tim Yu. Published by Knopf, 2010
ISBN 9780307269935
Buy The Master Switch now at Amazon. 

Book Review by Katie Delahaye Paine

“History shows a typical progression of information technologies: from somebody’s hobby to somebody’s industry; from jury-rigged contraption to slick production marvel; from a freely accessible channel to one strictly controlled by a single corporation or cartel—from open to closed system.”
-- Tim Wu, The Master Switch

This review is a long—and long overdue—Thank You letter to my famous Aunt Shiela, who sent me The Master Switch shortly after last Christmas. Sheila Daly White (as the rest of the world knows her) is one of the smartest and coolest women I’ve ever known. My aunt has graced the pages of Life magazine—not once but twice. Remember that famous ad that encouraged women to “Discover the Secret of Oil of Olay?” That was her tagline. And you’ve heard her sexy voice on many Chanel ads, too.

So I knew Tim Wu’s The Master Switch would be something special. Like Aunt Shiela and the rest of my family, I’m a total media junky. I watch a presidential debate on MSNBC with NPR on the radio and Twitter at my fingertips. On top of that I’m a history major.

The Master Switch is my idea of nirvana.

The rise and fall of media empires: the Cycle

The Master Switch is a fascinating history of the rise and fall of media empires. Tim Wu (a professor of law at Columbia Law School) explains his concept of the Cycle: Every new communications medium or technology begins with an idea, an entrepreneur, and an explosion of free exchange of this technology. But, sooner or later, it is taken over and monopolized by a single person or company—too frequently with the collusion of the US government. (Spoiler alert: the FCC plays a large supporting role in this tale.)

Wu’s premise isn’t new. Josh Meyerowitz took that concept all the way back to the Gutenberg Bible in his fascinating article Power, Pleasure, Patterns: Intersecting Narratives of Media Influence (Journal of Communication, 2008). Meyrowitz focuses on the impact this pattern has had on the news that we consume. But Wu takes it to a whole new level, tracing the history of the men (yes, they were mostly men) who shaped our country with their ideas and passions. He recounts the history of the telephone and the radio, the surprisingly murky world of Hollywood, and the pre-cable days of television.

It isn’t a pretty story. This is anything but your typical dry text book. According to Wu, the arc of our media history is populated by megalomaniacs, drunks, and fierce competitors.

Will the Cycle continue?

His Cycle concept becomes intensely relevant today. With the advent of a free and open cable system, the breakup of AT&T, and the rise of the Internet, the old monopolies have collapsed and censorship has largely disappeared. We have entered a new era of uncertainty, confusion, and doubt. New dangers loom in the near monopolies of Google, Apple, and Facebook. Will the Cycle continue? Or will it break under the weight of Twitter and the inherent freedom of total access to information?

The Master Switch is a paean to net neutrality, and to what Wu calls “The Separation Principles.” These express his belief that we need to separate those who develop information from those who own the network infrastructure and from those that control or produce the devices we use to access it. Most of all, Wu believes that the government must not interfere. 

“Thank You!” Aunt Shiela, for bringing this fascinating tale to my doorstep.

###

Katie Delahaye Paine is CEO of KDPaine & Partners, a company that delivers custom research to measure brand image, public relationships, and engagement. Katie Paine is a dynamic and experienced speaker on public relations and social media measurement. Click here for the schedule of Katie’s upcoming speaking engagements.

Guy Kawasaki’s New Book Will Enchant You

Enchantment, The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions
by Guy Kawasaki, Portfolio Hardcover, 260 pps. 
Buy Enchantment now at Amazon.com.

 

Book review by Katie Delahaye Paine

 (four out of five stars)

Warm and Fuzzy Content Warning: Guy Kawasaki’s new book Enchantment may contain language that is not appropriate for Martians and data geeks. So for all the Gibbs and Abbys out there who think that excessive focus on the warm and fuzzy is just too creepy, get over it. (I know that most of the readers of this blog secretly watch NCIS marathons.) This book is well worth reading.

You’ll learn something—I promise. I’ve been quoting it for days, and already I’m incorporating its principles into my speeches, conversations, memos, and meetings.

From the book’s Introduction:

“I define enchantment as the process of delighting people with a product, service, organization, or idea. The outcome of enchantment is voluntary and long-lasting support that is mutually beneficial.” 

The basic premise of Guy’s book is that we all want to be as “enchanting” as Apple. And before you gag at the notion of enchantment applied to a company, remember that Guy, as a former Apple executive, knows just a little bit about how Apple became the iconic company it is today.

But here’s where the numbers come in. Apple has gone from being considered a washout, to becoming one of the most valuable brands in the world. Who else gets away with charging list price for everything?? So tell me that there isn’t some good hard dollars and cents behind being enchanting.

In this book Guy does a great job of mixing up what enchantment really means with great practical advice on how to get there. The short version is: To be enchanting you need to be both likable and trustworthy. Note that I say that you have to be these things, not just appear to be them. So his advice should resonate in the social media sphere, at least. 

Rather than the usual discussion about how to manipulate opinion to achieve success, the first few chapters clearly differentiate between corporate promotion and the people who make great companies happen.

And he goes into some good detail about how to put all this advice to practical use. From how to make Powerpoints enchanting (hard to believe, but I’ve seen them) to how to dress for enchantment success. And yes, for many people, this level of detail will border on the annoying. But, be honest: Couldn’t we all use a bit of a brush up on our presentation skills? 

I particularly like the chapters on using enchantment in both push and pull technologies. And I appreciate the fact that he dedicates an entire chapter to enchanting employees – a topic too often overlooked.

He even deals with how to enchant your boss and how to resist enchantment, but I found those areas to be a bit of a stretch. (But, given that I haven’t had a boss in 25 years, what do I know?)

Bottom Line: It’s a fast read, and a useful one. Four out of five stars.

Katie Delahaye Paine is CEO of KDPaine & Partners, a company that delivers custom research to measure brand image, public relationships, and engagement. Katie Paine is a dynamic and experienced speaker on public relations and social media measurement. Click here for the schedule of Katie’s upcoming speaking engagements.

Reviews of Three New Books on Public Relations Measurement

• Consumer.ology
  The Market Research Myth, the Truth about Consumers and the Psychology of Shopping.
  by Philip Graves
• Primer of Public Relations Research, Second Edition
  by Don W. Stacks, PhD
• Corporate Reputation and The News Media
  Agenda-setting Within Business News Coverage in Developed, Emerging, and Frontier Markets.
  edited by Craig E. Carroll, Routledge

Book Reviews by Katie Delahaye Paine

Consumer.ology
The Market Research Myth, the Truth about Consumers, and the Psychology of Shopping.
by Philip Graves, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2010, 216 pps.
ISBN 978-1-85788-550-7.
Buy it now at Amazon.com.

“In the past 50 years market research has really become an unhelpful distraction to business.”

Based on that quote I should hate this book and so should most of my research colleagues. Philip Grave’s basic premise is that market research lies. In just 216 pages Graves discredits most of the consumer market research that has ever been done and eviscerates my colleagues for lack of rigor in how they ask questions.

Your Holiday Gift Guide to Measurement Books

Books on measurement will make great gifts for all the public relations and research types on your list. Here are the books Katie Paine has reviewed over the past year. Click on the links to read the complete reviews.
 

Social Media Metrics
How to Measure and Optimize Your Marketing Investment
by Jim Sterne, foreword by David Meerman Scott, Wiley, 2010, 272 pps.  
ISBN 978-0-470-58378-4
Buy Social Media Metrics from Wiley now.

Jim Sterne has written by far the most comprehensive book yet on how to measure social media, and he’s written it in a delightful, easy-to-read, conversational tone that has you grinning frequently and occasionally LOL. Social Media Metrics covers virtually every metric ever discussed and most of the tools to measure them. If you want to jump into social media measurement, this is the book for you. Read the full review here.

 Primer of Public Relations Research, Second Edition
by Don W. Stacks, PhD, Guilford Press, 2010, 367 pps. 
ISBN 159385-595-8
Buy Primer of Public Relations Research now at Amazon.com.

The first edition of his Primer of Public Relations Research remains the dog-eared bible that I keep next to my desk. After ten years it was time for an update and Dr. Stacks has done a great job of reorganizing, revamping, and upgrading this classic. You will find this book valuable whether you’re studying PR in college, just starting off on your career, or have been doing PR for a decade or more. If you are looking to implement a PR research program of any sort, start here. Click here to read the full review.
 

Two New Must-Read Books on Social Media

Measurement Books Reviewed

Jim Sterne's Social Media Metrics is easy to read and covers virtually every social media metric.

Shiv Singh's Social Media Marketing for Dummies is a great primer for people who want to do social media right.

Summary: If you’re trying to navigate into the world of social media, start with Shiv Singh's book. If you’re trying to measure the effectiveness of those efforts, Jim Sterne's is the better bet.

Book Reviews by Katie Delahaye Paine

Social Media Metrics: How to Measure and Optimize Your Marketing Investment
by Jim Sterne, Foreword by David Meerman Scott, ISBN 978-0-470-58378-4, Wiley, 2010, $24.95.
Buy Social Media Metrics from Wiley now.

Jim Sterne has written by far the most comprehensive book yet on how to measure social media, and he’s written it in a delightful, easy-to-read, conversational tone that has you grinning frequently and occasionally LOL. Social Media Metrics covers virtually every metric ever discussed, and most of the tools to measure them.

He starts with setting measurable goals and then moves on to identifying reach, sentiment, influence, and all those other concepts that are on everyone’s lips these days. Sterne gives solid practical advice including websites, tools, and sources for virtually every metric that he recommends.

Anyone using, or contemplating using, automated sentiment analysis must read his chapter on the topic. It is brutal, honest, and very revealing. Stern also answers the oft-asked question: "How do I convince my colleagues to measure social media?" And, lest you think this is only for the newbies, Sterne includes some seriously thought-provoking discussion on the future of social media metrics.

Now, to be honest, Jim and I agree on almost everything, and he quotes me frequently throughout the book, so it’s hardly surprising that I love it.

But the book does have a flaw. It is the same problem that most people associate with social media: It’s a torrent of information. I came away from it knowing a whole lot more about how to measure social media, but feeling a bit overwhelmed and wanting to go to a Caribbean island named “Measurenotland.” But, given the economic and psychological conditions of most businesses these days, you’ll want to read this book now!

Social Media Marketing for Dummies 
by Shiv Singh, ISBN 978-0-470-28934-1, Wiley, 2009, paperback, $24.99.
Buy Social Media Marketing for Dummies from Wiley now.

I love the “...for Dummies” series and dove into this book with high expectations. When I see “Learn to measure the results of your efforts!” on the cover of a book, how can I not open it, salivating with anticipation?

This book is a great primer for people wanting to understand how to do social media right. Singh calls his approach Social Influence Marketing and his recommendations are spot on.

He walks the reader carefully through the minefield of social media, with good solid advice at almost every step of the way. Great, well-thought-out stuff on planning, communicating, reaching out to, and involving customers and employees in your social media efforts.

Where I really have a problem is with Singh's measurement recommendations. He’s very big on measuring activity, like Facebook fans, and Twitter followers, and very weak on tying those activities to any business goals. He does acknowledge that it is important to marry your activity metrics to marketing and business objectives, but leaves the reader in the lurch as to how to actually accomplish this. 

He also accepts automated sentiment analysis as a given, wholeheartedly endorsing specific vendors with no acknowledgement of the weaknesses inherent in the systems he discusses. Nor does he give any indication of the costs of these systems, which could certainly be far beyond most dummies' budgets.

One other caution: Many of the numbers are out of date. So you might want to update his facts and figures before you use the numbers he quotes in your presentation to upper management. This is the essential problem of printed text in a fast-evolving world. His figures for Facebook for example, are off by some 35 million visitors (and will be even more so by the time you read this).

(In the interest of transparency, I have my own measurement book, Measuring Public Relationships: The Data-Driven Communicator's Guide to Success, on the marker, and a second edition due out later this year. And I’m quoted a lot in Jim Sterne's book. --KDP)

Twitterville

Book Review

How businesses can thrive in the new global neighborhoods.

By Shel Israel
ISBN 9781 59184 2790-8
Published by Penguin
Buy the book now at Amazon.com.

Book review by Katie Delahaye Paine

If you are one of those people who think the word "Twitter" is silly and the entire concept a fad, you should read Twitterville.

If you have signed up for Twitter, but aren't quite sure what the fuss is all about, you should read Twitterville.

If you've been told to "get onto Twitter" and aren't sure why, you should read Twitterville.

If you've been on Twitter for years, and spend more than an hour a day exchanging 140-character anecdotes with your friends, you should read Twitterville.

In other words, everyone needs to read this book! Whether you're a newbie or an expert, an individual practitioner, or a big corporate executive. You need to know what's between its covers.

In the interest of transparency, I've known the author Shel Israel for more than two decades and consider him a dear friend. The book is dedicated to my former editor Charlie O'Brien. So I'm hardly impartial. But that having been said, this is a really important book that is coming along at the perfect time.

Shel Israel and Katie Paine have spotted Twitterville.

You see, Twitter isn't just another form of social media, it's a new way of communicating. Kind of like texting, but public. Kind of like blogging, but easier. Kind of like talking on the telephone, but more efficient.

People have wondered what's Twitter's ROI, and Shel's response (and now mine) is, "What's the ROI of putting on your pants?" At some point, back in the 1920s, someone was probably asking, "What's the ROI of this new-fangled thing called a 'telephone?'" And, somewhere along the line, they stopped asking. If you have been asking about the ROI of Twitter, then read Twitterville. And you'll stop asking.

Shel is first and foremost a storyteller. And in 300 pages he can tell a lot of stories. He tells the story of Twitter, how it was founded, and how it grew. But he also tells wonderful stories of the almost miraculous way that Twitter has changed lives, corporations, and how people do business.

He organizes it much the way we think of communications. There's public communications, organizational communications, personal communications, etc., and he has a story or two to tell you in each category. He doesn't preach, but rather tells his stories and leaves the conclusions up to you.

He offers advice in much the same way my favorite uncle, writer and humorist Phil Paine, would offer me advice: A pearl of wisdom, cloaked in good writing and much humor, that I could accept graciously or reject. Either way, the wisdom remains with you.

Twitterville is an easy read, but it goes deep enough into the material so by the end you totally understand what the fuss is all about.

Your Guide to Survival in the World of the Social Web

Putting the Public Back in Public Relations
How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR
by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge
ISBN-13 978-0-13-715069-4
Published by FT Press

Reviewed by Katie Delahaye Paine

I'm a big believer in the "Meant To Be" factor, a.k.a. synchronicity, and the law of getting what you need when you need it. If ever an industry needed a book, it's the public relations industry, and it's this book. (See The Paine of Measurement, also in this issue.) Read more about the book at Brian Solis' PR 2.0 blog.

Solis and Breakenridge begin by laying out all the problems with PR in the new age of social media, and they explain why the old rules no longer work. They make some great arguments as to why the reputation of PR is in serious trouble and why there's some question as to whether it will survive as a profession at all.

But beyond that gloom and doom is where Putting the Public Back in Public Relations really shines. It's the GPS that PR people need to guide them out of the weeds and wilderness.

This book tells you how to build relationships, not just accumulate eyeballs. It talks about how to do blogging right and how to "release" news into this new environment. It covers video news releases, corporate blogging, and how to participate in social networks.

Best of all, it provides some great "rules for engagement" for the PR people who are confused by all this new media. These rules will be invaluable to anyone trying to navigate their way through the social media maze. They include:

• How to target people in social media,
• Rules for breaking news,
• 10 principles for ethical contact, and
• 9 rules of engagement.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am quoted in the chapter on measurement. I strongly agree with Solis and Breakenridge's recommendations on how to measure social media, and I can't help but congratulate them for devoting 20 pages to metrics. It's good that they also get into the whole web analytics discussion. Knowledge of this tricky field is a requirement for PR people in the new world, but too often overlooked or avoided.

So, for anyone just taking the plunge into the world of the social web and PR, this is the lifesaver you need to survive.

A Book for Times of Distrust

Book Review

How to build and rebuild trust.

The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey, 2006, Free Press, 384 pps.
Buy it now at Amazon.com.

Review by Katie Delahaye Paine

I'm always a little skeptical of a book with "Red-hot Relevant!" on the cover. But this one is actually just that relevant. If the collapse of the banking system is a result of failure of trust (and many people think so; see here, and here, and here), then this book is indeed highly relevant to our times.

What makes it particularly germane is that it doesn't just talk about the effects of lack of trust, but also gives some pretty good advice on how to rebuild trust. (AIG are you listening?)

The premise of the book is that heightened trust makes people and organizations more productive and more efficient. (This, by the way, is supported by lots of research. See, for instance, this paper by Fussell and Hazleton on the connection between social capital and transaction costs.)

Covey's "speed of trust" is the idea that if you trust someone, then it is easier to work with them; you are less likely to require complicated contracts, lots of lawyers, and lengthy negotiation. Low levels of trust yield more lawsuits, more politicking, and more negative behaviors. High levels of trust mean people get things done faster and spend less time covering their butts.

The most important point he makes is that trust is not some mushy, soft quality that can't be measured. It's a hard number and easily quantifiable. (Needless to say we agree with him there.)

The Trust Tax

Covey says that lack of trust results in a "trust tax" on organizations. He cites examples of the actual costs and dividends that organizations have experienced.

He suggests that organizations with virtually nonexistent trust pay an 80% tax in micromanagement, militant stakeholders, and redundant hierarchies. Organizations with very low trust pay a 60% tax, with costs mounting for unhappy employees, unhealthy work environments, intense politics, and time wasted defending positions and decisions. Even at a fairly common low trust level, characterized by lots of CYA and hidden agendas, organizations pay a 40% tax.

Covey suggests that organizations with high levels of trust receive dividends: high levels of collaboration and partnering, effortless communications, and fully aligned systems and structures.

Trust and Personal Credibility

Covey outlines four core elements of personal credibility that are crucial to improving your trust levels:

1. Integrity: Are you congruent?

2. Intent: What's your agenda?

3. Capabilities: Are you relevant?

4. Results: What's your track record?

He then suggests 13 behaviors that can raise your trust levels. These behaviors can be applied to organizations as well as individuals:

1. Talk straight

2. Demonstrate respect

3. Create transparency

4. Right wrongs

5. Show loyalty

6. Deliver results

7. Get better

8. Confront reality

9. Clarify expectations

10. Practice accountability

11. Listen first

12. Keep commitments

13. Extend trust

Marketers and organizational types will want to pay particular attention to what he calls the third, fourth, and fifth waves of stakeholder trust. The third wave is organizational trust, the alignment of an organization's actions with its word. The fourth wave is market trust, which is essentially the trust component of your reputation. And finally there is societal trust, the principle of contribution, which manifests itself in good community actions.

And, AIG, if you're listening, there's a great chapter at the end on how to rebuild trust once it's gone. But this chapter is not just about AIG and the banks. Our difficult economic times mean that more and more companies are losing trust by laying off workers, and disappointing customers and stakeholders. As a result, the need to rebuild trust is becoming a core competency for us all.

David Moore's "The Opinion Makers" Will Make You Think Twice Before You Believe the Latest Polls

Book Review

Don't Believe the Hype

The Opinion Makers, by David Moore, Beacon Press, Boston, hardcover, 196 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0807042328. Buy it at Amazon.com.

Book Review by Katie Delahaye Paine

The Opinion Makers is one of those books that changes your entire view of the world. Seriously. Once you read it, you'll define your life in BTOM (Before The Opinion Makers) and ATOM (After The Opinion Makers).

• BTOM, you probably are worried or thrilled to see McCain's numbers go up while Obama's are going down. ATOM, you won't know what to think.
• BTOM, you probably believe what the newscasters are saying about the general public's perceptions of Sara Palin. ATOM, you'll realize you haven't a clue what people think.
• BTOM, you probably believe that most people want offshore drilling in the US. ATOM you'll believe it's all campaign hype.

David Moore -- author, pollster and former Gallup insider -- lays out an incredibly compelling case as to why you shouldn't believe any of the polls you read about in the media.

In the interest of transparency, David Moore is a fellow Granite Stater. He's been to my house, he was my hero after he wrote How to Steal an Election, and he works for the Carsey Institute which is doing some of the coolest research into rural America. So I'm a fan, and when I heard him on The Diane Rehm Show the other day, I was intrigued by the premise of his new book. But I wasn't prepared for a life changing experience.

TOM is one of those books that gets under your skin. You'll find yourself thinking about it when you listen to the news or read a paper, and your friends will soon get annoyed when you cite Moore's research and poke holes in all their political arguments.

Moore's major premise is that because most polls don't ascertain whether people have made up their minds before they ask the respondents how they feel about an issue or a candidate, they are essentially making a leap of faith that the people they are talking to will vote two months from now. The problem, he argues, is that the media companies that are paying for the polls, don't think it makes news to talk about the fact that 80% of the population is still undecided.

Most important, he argues, is that most polls do not take into account the average respondent's lack of knowledge about whatever subject it is that they're being asked about. In many of the cases he cites the level of understanding is very low, so the impact of how the poll is worded is incredibly important, and frequently skews the results.

Moore's most compelling arguments come from the comparison he makes between the results of different polls. He compares results from the leading polls -- Pew Harris, CBS /NY Times, CNN/Gallup, Roper -- and comes up with 20+ point differences, depending on how questions are asked, and what words are actually used in the poll.

In the wake of the complete failure of most polls to accurately predict voter habits in the 2008 election cycle, there have been many questions about the validity of polls. Moore addresses many of these, including:

• Cell phone usage: By the end of 2009, 40% of the US population will fall into the cell-phone-only category.
• Falling response rates, down from 80% in George Gallup's day to 20% or less today.
• The accuracy of on-line polling, which Moore calls "a dubious alternative."

Polling: A Major Threat to Democracy

Moore's most intriguing discussion is on the impact that these flawed polls are having on our democratic society. When George Gallup, Moore's former employer, first perfected the notion of polling as a way of gauging public opinion, he saw his work as a fundamentally positive contribution to democracy. Today, Moore argues, Gallup's legacy is one of the biggest threats to democracy that our society faces.

Given how easy it is to manipulate poll results, and the conflicting interests and agendas of those sponsoring the research, to draw valid conclusions about how Americans feel about an issue based on current polling methodology is an enormous mistake, says Moore. The problem is that, increasingly, politicians are doing exactly that. A shift in public opinion frequently dictates a political flip-flop or at the very least influences the way a particular politician will vote. Polls also strongly influence the wording and nature of legislation that gets introduced.

The truly scary concept is that those votes and legislation, which ultimately impact every American, are based on enormously flawed and shaky data that most researchers would not accept as valid. Unfortunately, it seems, every media outlet and politician are all too willing to accept it as gospel.

Summer Reading: Five Public Relations-Related Books Reviewed

Your Measurement Reading List

• Personality Not Included by Rohit Bhargava
  "...a very fun read, and one that every CEO can learn from and enjoy."

• Manage the Media (Don't Let the Media Manage You) by William Holstein
  "...short and easily digestible, but full of great stories and good advice."

• Stirring It Up, How to Make Money and Save the World by Gary Hirshberg
  "...the whole book is a really delightful tale of small over big, good over evil, and authenticity over traditional marketing."

• Stop the Presses, The Crisis and Litigation PR Desk Reference by Richard Levick and Larry Smith
  "...it belongs in your reference library."

• 7 Steps to Publicize Just about Anything by David Carrieres
  "...I hate this book."

Book reviews by Katie Delahaye Paine

Okay, so it's vacation time, and I imagine most of you are probably stretched out on a beach blanket with the latest from Janet Evanovich, Catherine Coulter or Stephen King. Or maybe you are fighting the glare to peer into your BlackBerries and Kindles. Just in case you want to brush up on your measurement and media skills this summer, we've put together a list of measurement-related (well, pretty much) books that are relatively vacation-friendly. Don't forget the suntan lotion...

Personality Not Included
by Rohit Bhargava
McGraw Hill, 2008, ISBN-13: 978-0-07-154521-1
(book site here)

The short answer:

(5 out of 5)

This is a very fun read, and one that every CEO can learn from and enjoy. I'm not sure that the average PR person can take Bhargava's advice and sell it to the board, but it's full of wonderful examples of how companies can and should insert personality into their communications strategy.

The principle is simple enough: Companies with personality survive and thrive. Companies that don't have a personality -- or that have lost it along the way (Starbucks are you listening?) -- fail. And, in this day and age of user generated media, it's more important than ever to have a personality.

Bhargava's advice is to find the personalities within your organizations and let them have at it: blog, speak, lecture or what have you. And if you don't have personalities within your organization, go out there into the blogosphere and find them. Make your company personality out of spokespeople that you draw from the fans and enthusiasts of your brand or your product or what you have to say. He's also very wise in telling people that they have to attune their antenna to find these moments of personality.

The best part is his tips on how to be authentic:

• Define a credible heritage
• Demonstrate passion and belief
• Foster individuals instead of people
• Have motives beyond profit

 

Another book I really like is...

Manage the Media
(Don't Let the Media Manage You)
by William Holstein
Harvard Business Press, ISBN 13: 978-1-4221-2148-1
(on Amazon.com)

The short answer:

(4 out of 5)

Written by veteran business reporter William Holstein, Manage The Media is an excellent companion to Personality Not Included, because it's specifically targeted to CEOs and includes many of the same themes: Be real, don't try to fake it, don't try to dodge and hide, be authentic and as transparent and honest as possible. It's full of great examples of how not to deal with the media, and includes some good analysis of went wrong in many well-known crises.

The best part is Holstein's emphasis on incorporating communications into corporate strategy. The chapters Embracing New Media and Creating Organizations That Communicate were my personal favorites. This is a book you can read in an afternoon at the beach. It's short and easily digestible, but full of great stories and good advice.

 

Stirring It Up,
How to Make Money and Save the World
by Gary Hirshberg
Hyperion, ISBN 13: 978-1-4013-0344-0
(book site here)

The short answer:

(4 out of 5)

Gary Hirshberg sprinkles some truly inspired marketing and PR ideas throughout Stirring It Up. Besides saving the planet, its message -- like the two books above -- is that being who you are and having a personality is key to success. The whole book is a really delightful tale of small over big, good over evil, and authenticity over traditional marketing. If you just want the great ideas, then read Chapter 4.

Hirshberg puts it brilliantly when he says, "No matter how far we ship our yogurt, whether three miles or three thousand, it's the last eighteen inches -- the distance between the yogurt cup and the consumer's mouth -- that makes all the difference... We are a spoon-to-mouth brand and we expand our customer base largely by making an emotional connection with those who sample our product... We use every interaction to strength the pact we've made."

In a brilliant analogy, he calls advertising "the fertilizer of conventional business," likening the spraying of ad messages to what happens in non-organic farm fields. Both treatments are repetitive and wasteful applications that cost more and more money, and yield less and less. This book is written the way Gary talks, with humor, passion and a clear unambiguous style that makes it perfect summer reading.

Here's the 2nd edition of...

Stop the Presses,
The Crisis and Litigation PR Desk Reference
by Richard Levick and Larry Smith
Watershed Press ISBN 13: 978-0-9759985-2-6
(book site here)

(2 out of 5)

If you know nothing about crises or PR or the media, this is a great place to start. If nothing else, it belongs in your reference library. The big addition to the second edition is a chapter on blogs. It's a very good synopsis of the implications of social media on crisis communications, and offers some good advice.

And finally we have a book that you can leave on the shelf...

7 Steps to Publicize Just About Anything
by David Carriere
Gliterati, ISBN 13: 978-0-9793384 7 2
(at Amazon.com)

The short answer:

(1 out of 5)

I don't like David Carriere's 7 Steps to Publicize Just About Anything. In fact, I hate this book.

Consider this sentence: "Neither the immediate impact of a publicity campaign or the long-term consequences of its success are actually quantifiable." His measurement advice is to -- get this -- generate "informal and unscientific discussions around your own kitchen table." ARRGGHH! That's how millions of companies have wasted billions of marketing dollars: by listening to the loudest mouths and the biggest egos at the table.

He devotes several pages to clipping services, suggesting that you go through all of the articles and select the best quotes, and then bind them in book form. Right: Cut down a forest to create a big meaningless thud factor, to which no one will pay any attention to anyway. Makes perfect sense to me.

As for the rest of the book, well, there is nothing wrong with it, just very little that's new. It's mostly basic advice we've heard before: use targeted pitches to key reporters, tailor your pitch to the needs of reporters, create a timeline and a calendar, send out a press release.

Okay, to be fair, if you've never done a launch before there are some good tips in here. And there's a nice compilation of terms and tools. But the fact that he lists "email blasts" as a recommended tactic makes me nuts. He does include a paragraph or two on blogs, social media releases and the like. But it is all very 1999, and reflects a traditional command-and-control mentality. It's thinking like this that will ensure that PR people continue to be undervalued, underappreciated, underpaid, and dismissed as fluff. Thank you very much Mr. Carriere.

Wilson and Ogden Author a Wonderful Book on How to Do PR Right

Book Review:
Strategic Communications Planning For Effective Public Relations and Marketing, 5th Edition

by Laurie J. Wilson and Joseph D. Ogden
Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 2008, 284pp
Buy it at Barnes&Noble

Review by Katie Delahaye Paine

A new PR/Communications/Marketing book shows up in my mailbox every other week. If I know the author, I might actually open it up and read it. If not, the first thing I do is see if there's even a mention of measurement anywhere in the text. If not, it goes right into the donations bin at the Durham Public Library.

When Strategic Communications Planning arrived this week I immediately conducted the measurement test. With my usual skeptical and biased perspective I turned to Chapter 10, "Effective Communications Measurement and Evaluation." The first thing I read was a page on measuring social media -- which I apparently authored. Not only does it promote my basic rules of measurement, it offers up "Katie Paine's Nine Immutable Laws for Measuring Social Media."

Flattery gets you everywhere, of course, so I was hooked. I went back to the beginning and read the entire book. It's great. I suggest that this book be required reading, not just in every PR class on the planet, but in most PR firms as well. I know anyone in my organization that even dreams of speaking to a client will have to read this book first. It's a wonderful overview of how to do PR right.

The core premise is that public relations is all about building and maintaining relationships. (Blatant self-promotion warning.) In many ways, this book is the prequel to my own book, Measuring Public Relationships. If you want proof, look no further than the title of Chapter 1: "Trust and the Relationship-Building Approach to Communications."

It starts with a wonderful explanation of the transition from one-way, publicity-driven communications to the synchronous two-way conversations at the heart of PR today. The reason for the new 2008 edition is the impact of social media on PR relationships, and there's a lot more information on social media than any other PR text book I've seen. And it's great, highly practical advice.

My favorite part of the book is its organization and simplicity. Take this, for example:

In public relations we are ultimately trying to get people to:

1. Do something we want them to do

2. Not do something we don't them to do

3. Let us do something we want to do

And of course, once you've identified which of these three outcomes you want, measurement becomes remarkably simple.

The style and format are a key element to the book's success. It's beautifully laid out, with clear, easy-to-read text and lots of great "Tips from the Pros" that reinforce the points being made. It's full of case studies and exercises that prove and back up the lessons.

So whether you're new to PR or an old pro who wants to freshen your skills and learn more about social media, this is a great place to start.

Paul Gillin's "The New Influencers" Gets Highest Recommendation

Your Measurement Reading List

Understand the Coming Change
The New Influencers by Paul Gillin

There have been countless books written about the blogosphere, ranging from the worthless to a handful that are truly useful. Paul Gillin's The New Influencers is at the far end of the scale: It is really great, exceptionally good. It has my highest recommendation. In the Must-Read-If-You-Want-to Survive-the-21st-Century trilogy, The Cluetrain Manifesto is the prequel, Naked Conversations comes in the middle, and now The New Influencers is the sequel.

As I say in my Paine of Measurement column for this issue, my standard answer to a wide variety of questions is "Ask your customers." When asked what someone should do about the blogosphere, I tell them: "Read Naked Conversations." And from now on, I'm adding, "Read The New Influencers."

Now, I have to say that author Paul Gillin is one of the people who have changed my life. Way back when, I was interviewing for the Director of Corporate Communications job at Lotus, and I was presented with a story that he'd just written that was critical of the company. The question was: "What would you do about this!" I think I said I'd take Paul to lunch and find out what was on his mind. It must have been the right answer because I got the job. And about a month later I really was having lunch with him, learning the ins and outs of the PC media world.

We've crossed paths numerous times in the intervening two decades and he's always been just a little ahead of the pack. And that's exactly where you need to be in this new, ever-evolving world where deadlines and gatekeepers are as useful as buggy whips and 8-track tapes. So go read this book.

What makes The New Influencers really great is not just the solid practical advice, but also how Paul approaches the fundamental dynamics of the new media world. He makes you understand the DNA of this new society and how it works, which is a much better place to start off from.

Too many people do not comprehend how fundamental the coming change is. If they read Gillin's book, then they will. -KDP