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What are your PR and marketing goals? (ps: "clips" = wrong answer!)

I write about strategies to turn fans into customers and customers into fans. I also share ways to use real-time strategies to spread ideas, influence minds, and build business.

Press Release Content  |  New Rules of Marketing and PR  |  Public Relations  |  Marketing  |  Advertising  |  Business to Business  |  Corporate blogging

Ever seen "press clips" or "advertising awards" on a company's balance sheet? Of course not because clips and awards are not company goals.

Effective web marketing and PR delivers compelling content to buyers and drives action. Companies that understand the new rules of marketing and PR have a clearly defined business goal – to get qualified leads for the sales team, to sell products, to generate contributions, to get people to vote or join.

Successful organizations aren't focused on the wrong goals, things like press clips and advertising awards. At successful organizations, news releases, blogs, web sites, podcasts and other content draw visitors into the sales-consideration cycle, then funnels them towards the place where action occurs. When content effectively drives action, the next step of the sales process – an e-commerce company’s "products" button, the B2B corporation's "please contact us" form, or non-profit's "donate" link – are easily found.

On the speaking circuit, I have noticed that many traditional PR pros and ad guys are uncomfortable working toward real business goals. I get folded arms and tight-lipped stares when I talk about real company goals.

How about you?

Here's how to tell if the new rules are right for you. You need to consider your goals for communicating via marketing and public relations. Why are you advertising? Is the reason you are doing that Super Bowl ad to score great tickets to the game? Are you doing a creative magazine ad to win an award for your agency?

And why are you doing PR? Is the reason you're doing PR to create a book of press clips from mainstream media outlets to show your bosses? Is the reason you're doing PR because the CEO wants to be on TV? Are you doing PR to meet Oprah?

If the answers to these questions are "yes," then the new rules (and my book "The New Rules of Marketing and PR" that I am writing via this blog) are not for you.

However, if you are focused on your organization’s real goals, then please jump in and help me write my new book over the next months!