Raving World Wide About the New Rules of PR & Marketing

I've just read a copy of David Meerman Scott's new book World Wide Rave, courtesy of Jennifer Frahm.

The strategy and communications advisory firm of which I'm a partner - parkyoung - is partnering Jennifer in David's forthcoming tour of Australia. Accordingly, I'm helping Jen promote David's two masterclass events in Sydney and Melbourne.

Okay, with disclosures out of the way, here's the PR Warrior's snapshot of World Wide Rave.

In social media circles, David Meerman Scott sits comfortably in the top echelon. 

His 2007 book The New Rules of Marketing & PR was a best-seller. Practical and easy to read, it takes a sensible look at how the world of communications is changing, and what you can do to stay ahead of the pack and, importantly, get your message out into the marketplace without spending (wasting?) huge amounts of money on advertising.

With World Wide Rave, David takes the 'new rules' a step further and includes plenty of case studies to illustrate his theories.

The great thing about these examples is they're incredibly varied - from the very big - i.e. the launch of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park attraction which the marketing team promoted in the first instance to just seven people and as a result ended up reaching 350,000,000 - through to the geographically diverse (a number examples are from Australia) as well as smaller companies and organisations, including a cosmetic dentistry practice, several online businesses, a personal development virtual conference, a university and a women's community group ('Girls Fight Back').

The book basically extrapolates on what David calls his Rules of the Rave.

• Nobody cares about your products (except you) - what people care about is themselves and ways to solve their problems.
• No coercion required - when you've got something worth sharing, people will share it...no coercion required.
• Lose control - this scares most companies...you must lose control of your 'messages'.
• Put down roots - if you want your ideas to spread, you need to be involved in the online communities of people who actively share.
• Create triggers than encourage people to share - to elevate your online content to the status of a World Wide Rave, you need a trigger to get people talking.
• Point the world to your (virtual) doorstep - using World Wide Rave tactics, you can drive people to your stuff  via search engines. 

World Wide Rave is a quick and easy read but still has enough in the way of case studies and ideas to get you thinking. If you run a business or community organisation, or are in the marketing team of a larger company, it's worth adding World Wide Rave to your list of reading.

I also recommend David's The New Rules of PR & Marketing if you're after a highly practical book about social media marketing without the hype.

AUSTRALIAN MASTERCLASS TOUR 

David Meerman Scott will be in Australia in early September to take masterclass sessions in both Melbourne and Sydney:

SYDNEY - September 2 at Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre (book here).

MELBOURNE - September 4 at Champions in Federation Square (book here).

Click here for David Meerman Scott Australian Masterclass blog.