Books

Engage: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web

Social media has democratized influence, forever changing the way businesses communicate with customers and the way customers affect the decisions of their peers. With platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, anyone can now find and connect with others who share similar interests, challenges, and beliefs-creating communities that shape and steer the perception of brands. Without engagement in these communities, we miss major opportunities to shape our marketing messages.

However, use of the tools does not guarantee that people will listen. Engagement is shaped by the interpretation of its intentions. In order for social media to mutually benefit you and your customers, you must engage them in meaningful and advantageous conversations, empowering them as true participants in your marketing and service efforts.

With Engage! as your guide, you can effectively compete in this new era of digital Darwinism while engendering the support of online champions. Social and participatory media significantly contribute to the success of every modern business, and with this book, you will find out how to:

- Create a space in the online ecosystem that truly represents your business and cultivates your customers’ loyalty and trust

- Participate in the unique culture of each available social media platform to engage your customers

- Establish an organizational structure that constantly targets the next new media trend

- Attract online champions and change agents who will uncover the social networks you need to reach and the influencers who will help build your reputation in the networked world

- Consistently adapt your company to market needs and trends based on the invaluable connections you forge and the empathy and insight you garner in the process

There are thousands of customers waiting to hear from you about your business and vision. It’s the minimum ante to create a vibrant and loyal online community. When you engage, you will build an authoritative social network that increases your visibility, relevance, influence, and profitability. It’s time to Engage!

Buy it from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books a Million | Borders

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Putting the Public Back in Public Relations

As the New York Times recently documented in its article, “Spinning the Web: PR in Silicon Valley,” the industry is, at the very least, in a state of disarray, mired in a global branding crisis. Up until now, PR was without a crisis communications team to anything about it.

A new book offers help and hope. And, it’s not just for PR and communications professionals. This book documents the socialization of the Web, marketing, service, and product development and promises to help anyone responsible for creating, managing, and steering the brand on behalf of any company.

Putting the Public in Public Relations is written for the those facing the new intersection of all that is literally “Public Relations” including PR, customer service, brand managers, advertising, social media, community management, media and journalism, marketing, teachers and students, content publishers, and everyone in between.

Book Summary:

PR, as we know it, is a dying practice having evolved away from the public and instead concentrating its energy on broadcasting messages to audiences through intermediaries such as media and bloggers.

What we’ve learned and what we know are quickly fading into irrelevance and obscurity. Reporters and analysts are now sharing the stage with a new generation of influencers…YOU!

In addition to a still relevant process of media relations, we now need to expand our scope of participation and outreach by also identifying, understanding, and engaging the everyday people who have defined a powerful and democratized online platform for creating and distributing information, insight, and opinions – effectively gaining authority in the process.

Public Relations can now participate in the online conversations that define our markets.. This is a new era of influence and in order to engage, we have to rewire our DNA to stop marketing “at” audiences in order to genuinely and intelligently humanize our story to connect with real people and the online communities they inhabit.

Putting the Public Back in Public Relations is a crucial guidebook for helping brands navigate the social economy, while enhancing your career and future in the process.

This book will help businesses forge meaningful relationships with the traditional and new influentials in order to cultivate a loyal and hyper-connected community of advocates.

Buy it from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders

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Now Is Gone

Now Is Gone seeks to help businesses embrace Social Media intelligently. Readers can learn if their organization is ready, how to begin, the predominant participation is marketing approach that other businesses are using, social media marketing strategies, and general social media insights. In addition to best practices, the book is laced with case studies that demonstrate corporate successes. This primer provides the quickest way for executives and entrepreneurs to figure out social media marketing.

Buy from Amazon

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The Art and Science of Blogger Relations

I’m happy to announce an updated version of my free ebook, “The Art and Science of Blogger Relations” is now available on Scribd and Docstoc as a free download. For all of you Kindle enthusiasts, it is also available in Amazon’s Kindle Store.

The methodologies and tactics required for effective blogger relations will shatter everything you were taught or thought you know about traditional PR. Part “un” common sense, part market expert, part enthusiast, and part customer, together, this guide will help you embody the new techniques and mastery necessary to effectively excel in media, analyst, and blogger relations today and tomorrow – while building long term, meaningful relationships along the way.

Buy it from Amazon

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Customer Service, The Art of Listening and Engagement Through Social Media

Engaging with and empowering your customers as an extension of your marketing efforts isn’t new. However, in the era of Social Media, there are new tools and philosophies to more effectively listen and engage with customers and in turn, cultivate a more significant community, enhance your brand, build relationships, and hopefully create evangelists along the way.

Download as Word Doc.

Download as PDF.

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The Essential Guide to Social Media

An executive outline of Social Media tools and resources needed to listen and participate, guiding PR, Customer Service, Product Development, and Marketing

Download as Word Doc.

Download as PDF.

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The Art and Science of Social Media and Community Relations

After running the popular series that evaluated and discussed ThinkFree’s experiment in Social Media, I decided to compile all of the posts into one free and downloadable ebook for your reference.

Download as a Word doc.

Download as a PDF

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The Art and Science of Blogger Relations

Blogger relations is so much more than the recognition that bloggers ARE influencers in their own right. Now it’s the understanding of how PR can work with them in addition to their traditional day-to-day activity.

I compiled a series of articles into one ebook that I hope will contribute to the elevation of PR as a respected profession, not just by the clients and executives, but by the very people we hope to build relationships with to bridge our story to the people who matter.

Download the Word Doc.

Download the PDF.

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PR Tips for Startups

I’ve created an ebook for startups and VCs based on a previous post to help steer them in the right direction on the road to visibility, attention, and resonance. It will go through several revisions in the future, but at the moment, it’s a great place to start.

Download as a Word Doc.

Download as a PDF.

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