NOW IS GONE

By Geoff Livingston with Brian Solis (Bartleby Press)

Communications has evolved more in the last 10 years than it has in the previous 100….

I’ve just read Now is Gone, a 187-page book written by Geoff Livingston (with an introduction by Brian Solis), two sharp public relations practitioners, for PR executives and companies looking to understand and incorporate the strategic principles of social network marketing. As these two can attest, PR is so valuable yet so underrated. Oftentimes, PR is a mechanical process aimed at pleasing company executives rather than the people looking for real news and information. That paradigm doesn’t work anymore. Now is Gone was written to change how you engage with customers. Their Motto: Engage or Die!

In Your Face

The book’s energetic, in-your-face approach shows readers the evolution of Public Relations and offers vision and wisdom to help you communicate in the 2.0 world. Sadly, many companies are still in the dark as to how to truly maximize their impact utilizing social media. PR today is a totally different playing field. Blessedly, Livingston explains the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of 2.0 marketing. Everything you need to work in the PR 2.0 world is right here at your fingertips. A practical handbook for corporations, it’s also full of relevant case histories.

Doesn’t Answer Questions Nobody’s Asking

Today, people have a completely different routine and process for reading, interacting and sharing information. PR 2.0 is defined by interaction and interactive publishing—making all content available to the masses. We have to communicate with people in the places they go for information. It’s a new world we live in. Understanding your customer is key. It’s a world of dialog—not monologue. These gentlemen are helping to create a new breed of communications professionals. We not only want to read and disseminate information, but to share and create content for others to experience as well. Social media users today have myriad resources at their fingertips. Peer-to-peer marketing has never been more relevant. Social media allows companies to engage directly with customers.

Don’t Read This Book Alone

This practical handbook brings to mind Tapscott and Williams’ Wikinomics and David Meerman Scott’s New Rules of PR and Marketing. The future of marketing integrates traditional and social tools, connected by successful, ongoing relationships with media, influencers and people. The future of communications lies in introducing sociology to marketing strategy. The book is a quick read, yet it carefully explains a great deal of information from a pro who knows how to build successful PR 2.0 marketing campaigns. Don’t read this book alone. Read it with your colleagues and discuss it together. Then keep it handy because you’ll return to it again and again. There’s a great deal of data here that will be helpful to all readers working to wrap their arms around their new Marketing Public Relations campaigns.

All the best,

Allan