Leading Lights: Marketing and PR Strategist David Meerman Scott

We've been liberated to elevate our businesses and ourselves through the new tools of marketing. In fact, new tools mean new rules. We no longer need to rely on the media for attention and publicity. We are the media now. We build trust, credibility and enthusiasm through our own direct communication with our prospects and customers. 

That's the core message that David Meerman Scott presents in his newly revised book The New Rules of Marketing and PR. "Before the Web came along, there were only three ways to get noticed: buy expensive advertising, beg the mainstream media to tell your story for you, or hire a huge sales staff to bug people one at a time about your products," he writes. "Now we have a better option: publishing interesting content on the Web that your buyers want to consume. The tools of the marketing and PR trade have changed...Online success comes from thinking like a journalist and a thought leader." 

I caught up with David at the recent South by Southwest conference here in Austin. I wanted to know what has surprised him about the impact of his work, what's still stopping companies from applying his ideas, how to "lose control" of your content (while still being able to obtain and nurture leads), and what steps marketers can take to ensure they speak to customers in their language (as opposed to "Corporate Gobbledygook"). Here's what he had to say:   

Comments

[David Meerman Scott]

Hey Britton - it was great to connect with you at SXSW. Thanks for doing this.

All the best

David

[Nettie Hartsock]

Britton!

Loved the interview. Really good content!

Nettie