Out with the old, in with the new: Rules of Marketing and PR!

I am in agreement with Scott that businesses need to focus on the New rules of Marketing and PR. Scott, like most consumers in this new land of social media are looking for authenticity, building relationships and providing education of a product and not to be sold on the product.  The new rules can be targeted to specific niche markets, where traditional advertising could not accommodate (Scott, 2014, pg. 16). Scott also points out that most people have performed independent research (Scott, 2013, pg. 15) prior to purchasing a product and need not be sold on the product. A great example to this when Scott is describing his experience with auto shopping online.  In a article by Scott Gerber, he notes “people love to buy, but they hate to be sold and companies currently celebrating the most success in social media focus on engagement, nurturing relationships and sharing value through their social outreach” (Gerber, 2014).

         While I agree that the rules need to change, I also feel that some Marketing and PR “old rules” should stay in place.  As Scott notes, if “other programs are working for you, that’s great! Please keep going. There is room in many marketing and PR programs for traditional techniques” (Scott, 2014, pg. 15). I feel that there does need to be a healthy mix of the two and this is where IMC plays a role.

Old Rules of Marketing

Advertising was exclusively about selling products. In today’s social media error, this rule should be tossed out. As Scott references several times that the new rules are about educating, interaction and building relationships, if all these goals are accomplished via social media, the sale of the product will be there.

Advertising needed to appeal to the masses. I feel this rule should go. The focus here should be with niche markets.   One advertising platform will work in certain situations, and in others it will not.  You really need to know your audience before choosing the correct platform. This allows you to target them in an individualized manner as well as an untapped market.

Old Rules of PR

Jargon was okay because the journalists all understood it. This rule should be tossed.  Not everyone is a journalist and is able to understand the language they use.  As a consumer if you don’t understand something you probable will not buy or use it. 

The only way to get ink and airtime was through the media. This rule should be tossed out. Scott notes with social media, we communicate directly with our audience, bypassing the media filter completely (Scott, 2013, pg. 35). With all the different social media platforms, consumers are able to chose which ones are right for them, which ultimately allows control from both the business and consumer.

References

Gerber, S. (2014, January 27). 9 ways social media will change in 2014. Retrieved from     http://mashable.com/2014/01/27/social-media-marketing-2014/

Scott, D.M. (2013) The New Rules of Marketing and PR. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Welcome, Again!

Hello everyone.  I'm just trying to figure this blogging thing out.  I'm reposting my class introduction as a starting point.

I am very excited about this class, since we live in a world of social media its imperative that we know at least one form of social media to communicate with friends, family, co-workers and businesses.

            My greatest challenge is two-fold; learning some of the social media platforms along with keeping up with all the information across them to be sure not to miss important information.  Currently, I have Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram accounts.  I have never blogged or Tweeted and I constantly get invites to join people on Linkedin, which I usually ignore.  The sites, which I have accounts for, I usually use for entertainment purposes only.  However, this weeks readings are great summations of how social media can work for you. The key to this is to know who and what to follow for credible information, especially in the business world.

            The overall class structure and layout is different then previous classes.  However, it follows suit for a social media platform.  I like the idea of following others on sites, this will give us a chance to work with those we have not worked with before during the cohort.  With the group led discussions it will be interesting and exciting to see the direction each leader will focus the discussion on.  This will keep the discussion fresh and new and based on the topic, we will be asked to think differently. 

            One take away from the class would be to how to correctly use and manage each type of account as well as to identify the difference between “good and bad” social media and how to respond accordingly.  In my current position I do not manage or use any type of social media platforms.  However, my husband is self-employed and I have a part time business as a Jewelry Lady and for both of these I would like to use social media as a source of information to get the word out and keep followers up to date.  In addition, when I am in the job market, having knowledge of all the different social media platforms will be priceless. 

I look forward to working with all of you! 

Welcome

Hi- This is my first time blogging.  Seems like I have it figured out (well somewhat), now I just have to "find" everyone.