Review – Putting the Public Back in Public Relations
Image from Amazon.ca
Putting the Public Back In Public Relations by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge
First, don’t be put off by the “PR” aspect of the book.
Believe me, this is not another Public Relations theory book. Though Solis and Breakenridge do discuss the history and traditional practices of the industry, it’s more of a planning and practical guidebook for using new PR 2.0 strategies to build trust and credibility.
This book doesn’t just put the “public” back in public relations, it puts the human back into community relations and business promotion. Forget about automation and accumulating media hits, and think about creating a plan encourages others to continue to be interested in, and involved with, your company.
“Fusing marketing, PR, community relations, product marketing, and customer service in an entirely new, socially aware role.” -PPBPR
Solis and Breakenridge address the real problems with PR, and how the industry’s reputation has declined over the years. The internet has put a spotlight on PR’s worst-practices and blunders, and the authors identify how conscientious PR practitioners can begin to change the way others see the industry as a whole.
PR 2.0 is not about the taking advantage of services that provide automated tools to cast spam in the broadest directions with the least amount of effort and emotional investment. It’s about finding and establishing person-to-person interactions.
“Social Media requires respect and intelligence.” -PPBPR
As Solis and Breakenridge point out, Social Media and the new PR are about creating better conversations and nurturing mutually-beneficial relationships. Eliminate barriers, identify psychographics and establish connections with the people who could help to build your company’s public profile – the customers, evangelists, partners, journalists, bloggers, or whoever else fits into your business story.
Throughout the book they discuss:
- The History of PR
- PR Ethics & Blogger Relations
- The Language of New PR
- Traditional PR tools vs. New PR tools
- Creating social content, not just for PR, but for all aspects of your business
- How to get the best response when contacting influencers
- Which tools to use for the best results, and which ones leave you looking like an uninformed spammer
By far, my favorite parts are the examples of good PR strategies that went terribly wrong. This information is extremely helpful for planning client events and launches. I haven’t put this book back on the shelf since I purchased it back in March. It’s the most comprehensive book about social media tools and PR planning I’ve read so far.
The book also features an appendix of online tools – listed by their specific uses – so you can understand how they will fit into your overall strategy.
Putting the Public Back in Public Relations has even spawned a Social Media Book Club chat on Twitter. Check out how this book is already affecting the way people think about and practice Public Relations: #smbookclub
Thinking of doing your own PR or hiring a Public Relations or Marketing firm to handle it for you? Read this book first.
Arming yourself with the knowledge of what PR was, where it is right now, how the tools have changed, and what bad PR can do to your company, will really help you to determine if the tools or strategies are right for you.
It’s not an “anyone can do it, get out there, buy a media list and push, push, push” kind of Public Relations book. It’s an “anyone can do it if they’re dedicated, do the proper research, understand the new rules and respect the people they want to reach” kind of business book.
“Humanize your intent and story, learn how, where and why to participate.” -PPBPR
I’m recommending this book to everyone.
How to Raise the Bar in Your Own Company
Every once in a while, we stumble on something that truly resonates with our own ideas about how to run a successful small business.
I can’t remember where I found the link for this video. Most likely, it originated in a tweet and I clicked through to find Jason Fried’s post “The Bar for Success in Our Industry is Too Low” featuring David Heinemeier Hannsson’s talk at Startup School 2008.
All I know is that I’ve watched the video several times over the last few days. Though there are many differences between our industries, the problems we face are quite similar. When it comes to working online, there are so many expectations that act as obstacles to our success. We live in a new media world of “free,” “instant success,” and the work week that’s over before lunch hour every Monday. It’s creating high expectations with little commitment from our clients and ourselves.
The most important points:
- If you want to make money, put a price on your product. I know that right now everyone is talking about “free, free, free.” Don’t get me wrong, free is great. Sometimes it can help you get the word out and help you reach more people, but too much free will put you out of business fast. There’s nothing wrong with asking for compensation for your products or knowledge. In bankruptcy, nobody wins.
- Be in the work for the work. Because the fairytale buy-out, partnership or government contract you are wishing for may never happen. Care about the work because you’ll be doing it every day for a long time before anyone notices. If they ever do.
- Plan to set aside time to work on your business. If you don’t plan for specific blocks of time, they won’t happen. I know this from first hand experience. Allotting time means you’re more focused on getting the work done. If you only had 5 hours a week to work on your business instead of “in it,” what would you do?
- Scale it down. Instead of thinking of income in thousands, millions or billions, think about how much money you need to make each month to turn a profit. How many people do you need to buy your products, or pay for your services, to make your business successful?
The bottom line – and the reason I love this video - just focus on solving people’s problems. Once you do that, you’re guaranteed to have a product people love. Stop thinking about how much it’s worth, and focus on creating a product or service that helps to make people’s lives easier. The people who are willing to pay for it are the people you want as customers.
If you have to work too hard for little money and you start resenting the work, you’re doing it wrong.
Honestly, there are so many great points in the video you should just watch it.
It’s worth it.
If you want to be successful, you have to recognize the value in what you have to offer and put in the work to make it extraordinary.
How do you create a successful business? Spend the time, do the work and create value.
What do you think?
