Difference between blog and websiteI’m often asked what the difference is between a blog and a website. For many people active in online marketing, the difference between a website and a blog might seem obvious.

But nowadays, everyone – from PRs and communicators to business leaders and customer service managers – should have a clear understanding of the difference.

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Funny. I still come across companies who do spend money on advertising and yet do not have a search engine optimised website!

I think this is simply stunning.

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Hello, and thanks for visiting my blog!

About 18 months ago my partner Steve Seager and I started our business, we do communications. We help businesses sell their ideas, products and services on the social web.

Selling stuff in traditional media is one thing. But to do this on the social web is another. It takes a radically different view on things. You need to get out of the mass marketing headset and start thinking targeted.

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The art of selling through informing…

Throughout my career as a product marketer I tended to view Public Relations as a promotion activity. And with promotion I mean free publicity in media. As such PR is usually seen as a welcome addition to advertising.

With the rise of the social web, a different aspect of PR becomes increasingly important. On the web, the most valuable thing PR can do is to help businesses build relations with prospects, customers and stakeholders.

Building relationships. Right.
Does that sell anything?
The answer to that question is: YES. Public relations sells.

Why?

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McKinsey change the purchase funnel!

Everyone knows the purchase funnel gets narrower towards the end, right? The entire marketing process has been aligned to this principle for more than forty years.

Well, now we can think again. McKinsey’s recent global study shows a definite change in the way consumers research and buy products. And that opens up ways of smarter marketing.

McKinsey have replaced the traditional purchase funnel with the ‘Customer decision journey’. At the beginning of this journey, the consumer begins with an ‘Initial consideration set’ of brands or products. So far, so much the same.

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Great primer for the new rules of marketing and PR…

In nearly all the organisations I visit, I hear people actively debating a more effective use of online communication as a means to reach business objectives.

One of the biggest challenges here is to convert the collective ‘mass communication’ headset to a headset that embraces the new communication rules of the web.

If you want to get your organisation on the same page quickly, we recommend buying a few copies of this book by David Meerman Scott.

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