The Measurement Standard: Blog Edition

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

2.0 Good Books on Marketing 2.0

Book Reviews

2.0 Good Books on Marketing 2.0:

Larry Weber's
Marketing to the Social Web

 

and

David Meerman Scott's
The New Rules of Marketing and PR

 

by Katie Delahaye Paine

There might be a thousand people on the planet that fully grok the implications of social media on the world of marketing. Then there are another ten thousand or so who think they understand it. And then there's the rest of the marketers on the planet who are clueless about what is about to hit them. For any of the millions in that third category, here are two new books that should really help.

Marketing to the Social Web

In Marketing to the Social Web, Larry Weber relies on his decades of experience as a marketer and PR guy (founder of Weber now Weber Shandwick, one of the agencies I dealt with when I was director of corporate communications at Lotus) to provide a good explanation of what is about to happen and how to cope. He's great on the history and his personal stories and experience with the people he's talking about lend a level of credibility that is missing from many of these sort of books.

Here's a quote from the first chapter (and you can download the whole chapter here):

Rather than broadcasting marketing messages to an increasingly indifferent, even resentful, audience jaded by the 2,000-plus messages the average American is reputedly exposed to every day, marketers should participate in, organize, and encourage social networks to which people want to belong. Rather than talking <I>at<I> customers, marketers should talk <I>with<I> them. And the social web is the most effective way in the history of the world to do just that on a large scale.

His lists are great, like "Seven Steps to Marketing on the Social Web" and "Ten Rules for Private Communities." He covers all the bases from blogs and social networks to podcasting and the future of TV. And, of course, I have to give the book extra points because he includes a good chapter on measurement that even I can't find anything to argue with.

Do I consider Marketing to the Social Web a must read for every marketer? No. It's too focused on big success stories and broad brush strokes of what is happening in big consumer markets, and a bit too based on one man's opinion for my taste. But will I quote it often? Absolutely. It is chock-full of great stories and terrific statistics, and for many it will be a very worthwhile read.

The New Rules of Marketing and PR

On the other hand David Meerman's Scott's The New Rules of Marketing and PR is a must-read for marketers, regardless of whether you are marketing a yoga studio in New Hampshire or luxury automobiles in Beverly Hills. It is truly a how-to book that gives basic instructions for any marketer to get going in the new social marketing space.

Compared to Weber, Scott devotes relatively little time to the ancient history of marketing, preferring instead to present how to write for a blog, how to podcast, how to write a press release that's not for the press, how to use social networking sites, how to change your web content to complement your social media strategy and how to use search engine optimization in this new environment.

Of course the one thing missing from Scott's book is any mention at all of measurement. But that's okay, you can read my book to get that…

Your Measurement Reading List: Three Books About Blogging Reviewed

YOUR MEASUREMENT READING LIST
Book Your Ticket To Blogistan
Three books on blogging reviewed:

• The Corporate Blogging Book, by Debbie Weil


• Naked Conversations by Shel Israel and Robert Scoble


• Dispatches from Blogistan by Susan Stefanac

Book reviews by Katie Delahaye Paine

As blogging moves from fringe to center stage, bookstore shelves are filling up with books about blogging. Search Amazon.com's book section for "blog" and you get almost 5,000 results. Personally, I think reading a book about blogging is sort of silly. The art is evolving so quickly, you're better off reading blogs than reading a book about blogs...

Your Measurement Reading List: A review of Mark Weiner's book "The Value Of PR"

YOUR MEASUREMENT READING LIST
Prove The Value Of PR
Mark Weiner's "Unleashing the Power of PR: A Contrarian's Guide to Marketing and Communications."
Book Review by Katie Delahaye Paine

This book is a great 250-page argument for research and measurement in PR. I hope lots of people buy it. In fact, I hope lots of people buy it and give it to their bosses. If you don't know anything about measurement or PR it's a good place to get started...