Posted by Joe Panettieri
Greetings from Dublin, Ireland, where I’m covering a Cisco partner event. During the flight here I read a few more chapters of a rather compelling book, “The New Rules of Marketing and PR.” It should be required reading for everyone in high-tech media — from editors to reporters to PR to marketing folks. The author, David Meerman Scott, describes in detail how blogs, wikis, podcasts and other new media are changing the rules of PR and marketing. Let me give you a few prime examples.
Right now, I’m sitting in a conference room waiting for a Cisco press briefing to begin. A few other reporters here have laptops, but most are carrying pens and paper. How old school. By the time today ends, I will have posted multiple blog entries on TechIQ, while my media rivals are still formulating what to write about today’s event. And through big content distribution networks like SeekingAlpha.com, our coverage reaches millions of Google and Yahoo visitors every day.
The examples don’t end there.
Let’s flip the conversation and look at the situation from the PR and marketing perspective. Cisco’s PR team is savvy. They know I’m blogging live from the event. And they frequently check the TechIQ web site … often throwing in some of their own observations through our comments areas. I’ve noticed PR and marketing execs from other companies (Kaseya, N-able, Autotask) taking a similar approach on our sites.
Yes, that’s right: Marketing and PR folks SHOULD jump into online conversations. Just be sure to do it in an honest, open way. Avoid the temptation to slam rivals. Stick with the facts. Point to your customer successes. Change your approach to communications.
Alas, my inbox is filled with generic pitches from old-school PR folks. Sure, PR pitches are still important. But it’s time for us all to accelerate our move to Web 2.0 types of communications. That’s what our readers want. Actually, that’s what they demand.
Not sure where to start? Give The New Rules of Marketing and PR a read. It’s worth your time. In the meantime, I’ve got to run. The Cisco event is kicking off now.
[...] On the upside, The VAR Guy is tired of lame, unsolicited press releases that flood his inbox. And yes, The VAR Guy actively leverages many Web 2.0 technologies. In fact, he’s a big fan of the Web 2.0-related book, “The New Rules of Marketing and PR.” [...]
Hey Joe,
Thanks for reading my book and writing about it here and on TechIQ. How cool. I appeciate it.
I totally agree with you that technology PR people need to understand what people like you are doing. Most don’t. Worse, many just don’t want to know and prefer to live in the past where PR was about begging the media to write something. Cisco, as you say, understands how you work, but most companies don’t.
Oh well, let the rest of them focus on Gartner while the smart ones get to know people like you.
Take care and thanks again.
David