It’s a busy day at PRstore, so I’m reaching into my lazy bag today. Here are three books I keep front and center on my bookshelf (does a bookshelf have a front and center?):
Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online
Andy Beal and Dr. Judy Strauss
If your Internet marketing plan consists of having a Web site and nothing more, Radically Transparent is a good starting point. Monitoring your company’s reputation online is a savvy PR move. It’s also less time-consuming than you’d think. Beal & Strauss provide an easy-to-read, engaging guide to assessing and shaping what’s said about you online.
(Meet Andy Beal in Charlotte: Online Reputation Management in Seven Steps)
The New Rules of Marketing & PR
David Meerman Scott
I hate press releases. When I was a reporter, I tossed 99% of them in the trash. Most press releases serve no purpose, in my opinion, save stroking the subject’s ego. But David Meerman Scott points out that press releases aren’t just about journalists anymore. The primarily Web-centric distribution of press releases means your release is more likely to be seen directly by a consumer. What does that mean for your PR strategy? Opportunity. DMS makes a compelling case for telling your story.
Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies
Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
You’ve read the headlines about MySpace, Facebook, blogs, and YouTube. “Too confusing,” you say. “The Web moves too fast for me,” you say. “Kid stuff,” you say. Think again. These services with goofy names are the new communication tools, and with them, public impressions of your company shift and spread faster than ever before. Ignore them if you want — you’ll regret your laziness. Li and Bernoff map out the landscape, making sense of social media for those who care what the world thinks of their companies.