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.