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Spin Sucks( Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age)[SPIN SUCKS][Paperback]
Spin Sucks( Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age) <> Paperback <> GiniDietrich <> Que
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First published October 30, 2013
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March 28, 2014
I am not a public relations professional and my primary job is not in communications. Despite the fact that I am not an “industry” person, I enjoyed Spin Sucks and discovered several useful takeaway points that can be applied universally.
Principles in Spin Sucks help me be a better social media citizen, especially in the way I conduct myself as a consumer, because it gives me insight into how organizations handle their social media functions. There are examples of the very effective (Hertz, page 69) and the effectiveness-compromised (Applebee’s, page 119). As a consumer, I want from brands what Spin Sucks advocates: a brand that participates in conversation with me, that listens to my wants and needs, that doesn’t feel the need to control what I say about it. If the product is good (and customer service is responsive), what I say will help you as a brand, not hurt you.
If I were in the “industry,” Spin Sucks would be useful to me as a novice, and has sufficient depth to be relevant to a seasoned pro. I have learned through my involvement in the “Spin Sucks” community (a community propagated via comments on the Spin Sucks blog) that it’s okay to ask the basic questions. For example, the question I asked a few months ago (a very rudimentary one), “what is the difference between paid, earned, owned, and shared media”? was answered respectfully at the time and is answered in this book. (Here is the post where my question was answered: http://spinsucks.com/communication/th... )
For those who have been working in the industry for years, Spin Sucks still provides a bit of a “centering point” to make sure your professional compass is still on target. Are you conducting yourself ethically? Are you staying on top of the flow of communication across multiple channels? Are you being disciplined when issues turn into crises by resisting the impulse to become defensive?
One aspect of public relations that Spin Sucks visits throughout the book is the fact that ultimately a business’s leaders will expect a return on investment from public relations and communications. It’s fun to think about blog posts, YouTube videos, and other creative outlets, but we all know that if it doesn’t contribute to the bottom line, the function is likely to sink to the bottom of the fiscal priority list. Spin Sucks, with its emphasis on integration of communications with other functions (like sales) taps a critical vein in today’s economic climate: people who purport to be doing a business’s business have to prove why it makes economic sense. As the book states on page 50, “If you’re able to create a holistic approach with all of your media efforts, you’ll soon become a hub in a wheel of information. Your communications programs will be an investment with a pretty significant return.”
In the chapter about “Whisper Campaign and Anonymous Attackers,” Spin Sucks concludes (page 69) “Sometimes we just want to be heard.” This book provides solid, versatile, effective ways to help customers know that they have been heard, while preparing businesses to cope with the ever-expanding assortment of ways that customers get their messages across.
*Note: I was provided a complimentary copy of Spin Sucks for review purposes. The opinion is all my own!
Principles in Spin Sucks help me be a better social media citizen, especially in the way I conduct myself as a consumer, because it gives me insight into how organizations handle their social media functions. There are examples of the very effective (Hertz, page 69) and the effectiveness-compromised (Applebee’s, page 119). As a consumer, I want from brands what Spin Sucks advocates: a brand that participates in conversation with me, that listens to my wants and needs, that doesn’t feel the need to control what I say about it. If the product is good (and customer service is responsive), what I say will help you as a brand, not hurt you.
If I were in the “industry,” Spin Sucks would be useful to me as a novice, and has sufficient depth to be relevant to a seasoned pro. I have learned through my involvement in the “Spin Sucks” community (a community propagated via comments on the Spin Sucks blog) that it’s okay to ask the basic questions. For example, the question I asked a few months ago (a very rudimentary one), “what is the difference between paid, earned, owned, and shared media”? was answered respectfully at the time and is answered in this book. (Here is the post where my question was answered: http://spinsucks.com/communication/th... )
For those who have been working in the industry for years, Spin Sucks still provides a bit of a “centering point” to make sure your professional compass is still on target. Are you conducting yourself ethically? Are you staying on top of the flow of communication across multiple channels? Are you being disciplined when issues turn into crises by resisting the impulse to become defensive?
One aspect of public relations that Spin Sucks visits throughout the book is the fact that ultimately a business’s leaders will expect a return on investment from public relations and communications. It’s fun to think about blog posts, YouTube videos, and other creative outlets, but we all know that if it doesn’t contribute to the bottom line, the function is likely to sink to the bottom of the fiscal priority list. Spin Sucks, with its emphasis on integration of communications with other functions (like sales) taps a critical vein in today’s economic climate: people who purport to be doing a business’s business have to prove why it makes economic sense. As the book states on page 50, “If you’re able to create a holistic approach with all of your media efforts, you’ll soon become a hub in a wheel of information. Your communications programs will be an investment with a pretty significant return.”
In the chapter about “Whisper Campaign and Anonymous Attackers,” Spin Sucks concludes (page 69) “Sometimes we just want to be heard.” This book provides solid, versatile, effective ways to help customers know that they have been heard, while preparing businesses to cope with the ever-expanding assortment of ways that customers get their messages across.
*Note: I was provided a complimentary copy of Spin Sucks for review purposes. The opinion is all my own!
March 29, 2014
I really liked Spin Sucks and high recommend it not just for those in PR, marketing, digital strategy and corporate communications or restricted to those working in a particular area of the economy. Those curious on the state of communications and PR as it is today and where it's going, small business owners, senior executives in the private, public and non profit worlds as well as students in marketing and public relations programs will find this book to be a must read.
Gini Dietrich points out the integrated communications of today and tomorrow is a marathon and not a sprint and successful campaigns can be created ethically without resorting to the dark side to reach objectives. Spin Sucks is an easy read full of real world examples outlining how the communication landscape is changing with some current tactics are losing their effectiveness and how social media is used effectively within communication campaigns helping organizations and clients reach their goals.
Gini Dietrich points out the integrated communications of today and tomorrow is a marathon and not a sprint and successful campaigns can be created ethically without resorting to the dark side to reach objectives. Spin Sucks is an easy read full of real world examples outlining how the communication landscape is changing with some current tactics are losing their effectiveness and how social media is used effectively within communication campaigns helping organizations and clients reach their goals.
September 28, 2018
An excellent text that discusses the latest trends in digital marketing – the good news: hard work in genuine content creation is the best payoff. Dietrich's passion in her field shines through and her easy writing helps one grasp all the current trends quickly, especially the current and useful examples. There's a lot of hands-on approach methods on how to tackle good content creation, maintain positive communications, and how to go about crises communication or negative concepts like whisper campaigns. A really helpful and up-to-date book for digital marketers, PR communicators, and reputation managers.
March 6, 2014
Learn the Secret Sauce of Effective PR
This book is an interesting amalgam of practical instruction, recent history of the industry, and case studies/examples. The author provides the how and the why behind her advice.
Whether you are in full support of social media, storytelling for business, transparency, and head-on crisis management and you're trying to convince your higher-ups or you're the one who needs convincing, Gini provides example after example in an easy-to-understand, quick read.
The book gives you an appreciation for PR professionals and relationship-building, while providing you with tips and tools to mount your own effective campaigns.
If you're wondering why you need to tell your business's story Gini sums it up in one of my favorite lines from the book, "In the good ol' days you were the only one telling your story. Now everyone is telling your story,"
I loved her tips on how to tell your business's story so much, I wish I had written them.
She further stresses how good content is the only safeguard against Google's changing algorithms.
I've been working in marketing and social media for five years and I've been a writer for many more. I was pretty confident in my skill set but it didn't take me long to grab for a notebook to take notes on Gini's advice.
Add this book to your collection. It's one you'll want to own.
This book is an interesting amalgam of practical instruction, recent history of the industry, and case studies/examples. The author provides the how and the why behind her advice.
Whether you are in full support of social media, storytelling for business, transparency, and head-on crisis management and you're trying to convince your higher-ups or you're the one who needs convincing, Gini provides example after example in an easy-to-understand, quick read.
The book gives you an appreciation for PR professionals and relationship-building, while providing you with tips and tools to mount your own effective campaigns.
If you're wondering why you need to tell your business's story Gini sums it up in one of my favorite lines from the book, "In the good ol' days you were the only one telling your story. Now everyone is telling your story,"
I loved her tips on how to tell your business's story so much, I wish I had written them.
She further stresses how good content is the only safeguard against Google's changing algorithms.
I've been working in marketing and social media for five years and I've been a writer for many more. I was pretty confident in my skill set but it didn't take me long to grab for a notebook to take notes on Gini's advice.
Add this book to your collection. It's one you'll want to own.
April 4, 2014
I follow Gini Dietrich's blog Spin Sucks, and I signed up to get an advance copy of her book. People throw around terms like owned, paid, and earned media, and the distinctions aren't always totally clear. This book defines those terms and more.
After reading this book, I think it is perfect for the following audiences:
1. Junior to mid-career PR professionals
2. Business owners/Marketing execs who would benefit from seeing the PR landscape from an expert perspective
3. Senior PR execs who sometimes struggle with explaining the ever-changing industry to clients
This book tackled the evolving field of digital PR and did an excellent job connecting the dots between SEO, reputation management, and content marketing. I found the section on SEO particularly useful, since that's not my field of expertise--and it can be very specific and complicated.
Definitely recommend this book!
After reading this book, I think it is perfect for the following audiences:
1. Junior to mid-career PR professionals
2. Business owners/Marketing execs who would benefit from seeing the PR landscape from an expert perspective
3. Senior PR execs who sometimes struggle with explaining the ever-changing industry to clients
This book tackled the evolving field of digital PR and did an excellent job connecting the dots between SEO, reputation management, and content marketing. I found the section on SEO particularly useful, since that's not my field of expertise--and it can be very specific and complicated.
Definitely recommend this book!
March 17, 2014
“It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.” Truer words have not been written.
Gini Dietrich takes a practical approach to explaining the opportunities and threats that present themselves in the current environment and does a really great job of demonstrating the complexities of digital communications and the inter-connectedness of communications today.
The book is informative, easy to read and full of topical examples. Most importantly, the overall message I took away is this: earned and paid and shared (social) and owned media can no longer be separately considered strategies and tactics, as they are so immensely intertwined.
In all, Spin Sucks did an extremely solid job of clearly explaining the depth and breadth of the complexities of corporate communications today. Really useful, fast read.
Gini Dietrich takes a practical approach to explaining the opportunities and threats that present themselves in the current environment and does a really great job of demonstrating the complexities of digital communications and the inter-connectedness of communications today.
The book is informative, easy to read and full of topical examples. Most importantly, the overall message I took away is this: earned and paid and shared (social) and owned media can no longer be separately considered strategies and tactics, as they are so immensely intertwined.
In all, Spin Sucks did an extremely solid job of clearly explaining the depth and breadth of the complexities of corporate communications today. Really useful, fast read.
March 29, 2014
Regardless of what size company you work for, this book is a MUST-READ!
After you read it, share it with your colleagues and executives.
Spin DOES suck, and you see brands/companies prove this on a regular basis. If you try to spin, you fail.
Gini Dietrich practices what she preaches. Pulling from experience and the Spin Sucks community, Gini tells you like it is in this clearly written book.
It doesn't matter if you are just beginning your PR career or have double-digit years under your belt - read this book, learn from it, implement Gini's teachings, and then demand that she write a sequel!
After you read it, share it with your colleagues and executives.
Spin DOES suck, and you see brands/companies prove this on a regular basis. If you try to spin, you fail.
Gini Dietrich practices what she preaches. Pulling from experience and the Spin Sucks community, Gini tells you like it is in this clearly written book.
It doesn't matter if you are just beginning your PR career or have double-digit years under your belt - read this book, learn from it, implement Gini's teachings, and then demand that she write a sequel!
March 29, 2014
A wonderful look at how PR has changed in light of the digital world, this book is a great read for anyone in the marketing or public relations industries. Part how-to, part primer, Gini's unique perspective underscores that "it's a marathon, not a sprint" and eschews unethical PR practices, discusses how changes in the Google algorithm affect what we do as PR & marketing professionals on a daily basis.
This is now required reading for my staff & agency partners.
This is now required reading for my staff & agency partners.
April 10, 2014
Every month an endless stream of pop-marketing and public relations books are published about communication in the digital age. Many of them are entertaining airplane reading, but offer nothing new or substantive. “Spin Sucks: Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age,” by Gini Dietrich, the founder of a Chicago-based integrated marketing communication firm, is not a pop-marketing book.
“Spin Sucks” is the type of book I wish I had read when I was starting out in marketing. It is filled with practical and tactical marketing communications advice delivered with wit and wisdom. Dietrich covers paid, earned, shared, and owned media communications, as well as an important chapter on crisis communications. “Spin Sucks” contains checklists, case studies, anecdotes, and practical techniques that are applicable to both small business and nonprofit marketing. If you are new to online marketing or a marketing student, you will devour this book and refer back to it often.
“Imagine a universe,” Dietrich writes, “where every letter, punctuation mark, word sentence, paragraph, and page is a commodity. No longer is it about writing copy that is interesting and compelling. It’s about who can write the most words in the shortest time. If those words have lots of keywords in them, all the better. Writers are paid not by technical, valuable, educational or interesting content, but based on the number of words.”
Given the millions of pieces of marketing and PR content shared and ignored online every day, the explosion of connected devices, and a person’s 8 second average attention span, this universe is closer than you think. Marketers today are competing in an environment of content shock and schlock. “Spin Sucks” will help you keep your head above water in this environment.
“Spin Sucks” is the type of book I wish I had read when I was starting out in marketing. It is filled with practical and tactical marketing communications advice delivered with wit and wisdom. Dietrich covers paid, earned, shared, and owned media communications, as well as an important chapter on crisis communications. “Spin Sucks” contains checklists, case studies, anecdotes, and practical techniques that are applicable to both small business and nonprofit marketing. If you are new to online marketing or a marketing student, you will devour this book and refer back to it often.
“Imagine a universe,” Dietrich writes, “where every letter, punctuation mark, word sentence, paragraph, and page is a commodity. No longer is it about writing copy that is interesting and compelling. It’s about who can write the most words in the shortest time. If those words have lots of keywords in them, all the better. Writers are paid not by technical, valuable, educational or interesting content, but based on the number of words.”
Given the millions of pieces of marketing and PR content shared and ignored online every day, the explosion of connected devices, and a person’s 8 second average attention span, this universe is closer than you think. Marketers today are competing in an environment of content shock and schlock. “Spin Sucks” will help you keep your head above water in this environment.
April 8, 2014
Spin Sucks should strike fear into anyone that is still doing PR the "old fashioned" way.
Why? Because your customers control your brand now. The lines between PR and digital marketing have been blurred. Your well thought-out strategy can be sunk in 140 characters or less. Understanding this new reality is the key to preventing or managing a social media crisis.
That's where Spin Sucks the book comes in. Just like the Spin Sucks blog, Gini covers the good, bad and the ugly of PR (and there's plenty of ugly!). From "astroturfing" to whisper campaigns, or PR companies that get their clients penalized by Google, the book has plenty of case studies to help you steer clear of trouble.
You can't rely on sex, scandals, tragedy or overnight success to tell your story. You must tell your brand's story using elements of fiction in a compelling way. When you have a good story to tell, you don't need spin! When a customer complaint does arise you'll have a strategy for addressing it quickly. Get to the real issue of the complaint. Consider the source and their level of influence. Respond, and then listen.
You won't please everyone, but if you take the lessons from Spin Sucks to heart you have a chance of turning adversaries into advocates. Telling your brand's story will engage your audience and earn their trust. From that you can build a community of advocates that help spread your message.
From start to finish, Spin Sucks delivers practical advice that's easy to understand and implement. It's not just a book for PR pros. It's for anyone online marketer trying to build their brand. (And who wouldn't that include these days?)
Why? Because your customers control your brand now. The lines between PR and digital marketing have been blurred. Your well thought-out strategy can be sunk in 140 characters or less. Understanding this new reality is the key to preventing or managing a social media crisis.
That's where Spin Sucks the book comes in. Just like the Spin Sucks blog, Gini covers the good, bad and the ugly of PR (and there's plenty of ugly!). From "astroturfing" to whisper campaigns, or PR companies that get their clients penalized by Google, the book has plenty of case studies to help you steer clear of trouble.
You can't rely on sex, scandals, tragedy or overnight success to tell your story. You must tell your brand's story using elements of fiction in a compelling way. When you have a good story to tell, you don't need spin! When a customer complaint does arise you'll have a strategy for addressing it quickly. Get to the real issue of the complaint. Consider the source and their level of influence. Respond, and then listen.
You won't please everyone, but if you take the lessons from Spin Sucks to heart you have a chance of turning adversaries into advocates. Telling your brand's story will engage your audience and earn their trust. From that you can build a community of advocates that help spread your message.
From start to finish, Spin Sucks delivers practical advice that's easy to understand and implement. It's not just a book for PR pros. It's for anyone online marketer trying to build their brand. (And who wouldn't that include these days?)
March 30, 2014
As a young practitioner, I have spent the last few years learning about the art and business of public relations through various sources, both exciting and dry. I can gladly say that Gini Dietrich's Spin Sucks falls on the top of the 'exciting' list.
I was first introduced to Gini, and her PR wisdom, through her blog of the same title and fell in love with how she communicated her professional experiences and gave relevant advice that always proved useful. Gini's new book, Spin Sucks also captures the essence of telling your brand's story to you audience, but at the same time keeping you engaged as a reader.
This has been one of my quicker reads by far, I just couldn't put it down. The use of the PR industry's most well known case studies, tied with how you should or shouldn't communicate to your orginizatoin's community, is one of the most appealing aspects of this novel. With insight on how to properly stay on top of Google's search engine, or dealing with irate customers on social media, or just learning a few tips on how to take advantage of real-time marketing, Spin Sucks will help you execute strategy with ease.
I highly recommend Spin Sucks. Whether you are a green practitioner or a well established PR professional, Gini's novel will surely help you improve some aspect of your communications efforts.
I was first introduced to Gini, and her PR wisdom, through her blog of the same title and fell in love with how she communicated her professional experiences and gave relevant advice that always proved useful. Gini's new book, Spin Sucks also captures the essence of telling your brand's story to you audience, but at the same time keeping you engaged as a reader.
This has been one of my quicker reads by far, I just couldn't put it down. The use of the PR industry's most well known case studies, tied with how you should or shouldn't communicate to your orginizatoin's community, is one of the most appealing aspects of this novel. With insight on how to properly stay on top of Google's search engine, or dealing with irate customers on social media, or just learning a few tips on how to take advantage of real-time marketing, Spin Sucks will help you execute strategy with ease.
I highly recommend Spin Sucks. Whether you are a green practitioner or a well established PR professional, Gini's novel will surely help you improve some aspect of your communications efforts.
April 6, 2014
As an employee of Arment Dietrich, I'm able to work with Gini Dietrich on a daily basis. It is not often that one is lucky enough to have a job they love, and work for a CEO that daily makes them better, both as a communications professional and as a leader. That's what it is like to work at Arment Dietrich. That being said, this book provides the reader with that same type of useful and actionable advice. It is written in a way that both the veteran PR pro and the CEO just starting to think through his/her companies communications strategies will find it useful. Gini lays out a strategy based on trust and relationships, vs. sales pitches and 'spin'. She provides case studies, tips, best practices, and advice from her years in the industry. The book reads quickly and easily (unlike many business books that often make you wish you were reading a dictionary).
This is a must read for anyone who owns, runs, or works for a business and needs to create communications strategies that work.
Read
June 20, 2024Read my full review at SouthernSpines.com: http://bit.ly/1kyvQyo. Much more than an aspirational mantra, Spin Sucks is an antidote to the unflattering view of public relations as a mystical and deceitful practice. Gini offers fresh and relevant case studies for ethical and effective communication campaigns that profit from today’s technology. She devotes an entire chapter to search engine optimization and the ever-changing Google algorithm. Spin Sucks also demonstrates through well-researched narratives how companies are managing crisis communications in a world where one negative comment can spread like wildfire in minutes through social media. Executives or leaders whose responsibilities include hiring communication professionals–whether those professionals work inside or outside the organization–will benefit from the hiring criteria that Spin Sucks offers. Public relations, marketing and communication practitioners will find inspiration and strategy that will help them better serve their clients and their profession.
March 29, 2014
I love this book!
Spin Sucks is a must read for all PR, marketing and communications professionals and, even more important, business owners. From content creation to the ins and outs of Google to brand management and crisis communications, Gini Dietrich beautifully articulates the art of listening and storytelling, and brings clarity to the too-often misunderstood profession of public relations.
I promise you will benefit from Gini's digitally charged, straight-forward insights, detailed instruction and colorful anecdotes. I sure did!
Gayle Joseph
Founder & CEO
Gayle Joseph Group, LLC
Spin Sucks is a must read for all PR, marketing and communications professionals and, even more important, business owners. From content creation to the ins and outs of Google to brand management and crisis communications, Gini Dietrich beautifully articulates the art of listening and storytelling, and brings clarity to the too-often misunderstood profession of public relations.
I promise you will benefit from Gini's digitally charged, straight-forward insights, detailed instruction and colorful anecdotes. I sure did!
Gayle Joseph
Founder & CEO
Gayle Joseph Group, LLC
April 1, 2014
This book is definitely one that I’d recommend for businesses and organizations of all sizes – even if you think you’re doing PR right, this book might make you realize you aren’t. Filled with practical tips, tricks, and tools, this book falls into the category of desk reference or guide. And at a mere 146 pages, this is a book that can be easily read and passed around through your marketing team before your next strategy session.
If you don’t pick it up, your competition will. And they’ll be instantly ahead of you.
If you don’t pick it up, your competition will. And they’ll be instantly ahead of you.
June 28, 2017
Today, it takes a bit more than to plaster a city’s billboards with an image of a semi-naked girl interacting with your product somehow to sell out your stock. The digital age is upon us, and this also means that the web is packed with ridiculously large amounts of content and information. For people to notice your content and what you have to offer, you have to stand out. In Spin Sucks, the author introduces practices, like delivering high quality content and an enhanced customer service experience, to help you win over the hearts and clicks of your customers.
March 31, 2014
This book is so easy to read and understand!
Gini does not fill page after page with meaningless information. She is straight forward and holds nothing back, as my dad would say she is "a straight shooter."
Get a copy today! It does not matter what you do or what size company you work for this book is a must read.
The best take away I can give is that: The journey is a marathon, not a sprint. And never be afraid of hard work.
Gini does not fill page after page with meaningless information. She is straight forward and holds nothing back, as my dad would say she is "a straight shooter."
Get a copy today! It does not matter what you do or what size company you work for this book is a must read.
The best take away I can give is that: The journey is a marathon, not a sprint. And never be afraid of hard work.
April 1, 2014
I was fortunate enough to be given an advance copy. You can read my full review of Spin Sucks at http://fave.co/1gHzLba
Here's an excerpt from that review:
"Spin Sucks is one of those rare business advice books that actually does, within the pages, what the author suggests you should do in your company. That, for me, speaks volumes.
Let me explain..."
Here's an excerpt from that review:
"Spin Sucks is one of those rare business advice books that actually does, within the pages, what the author suggests you should do in your company. That, for me, speaks volumes.
Let me explain..."
April 2, 2014
In an intensely chatty style that will keep readers craving for more, Spin Sucks is set to be my 2014 public relations book of the year. It will scare “old hats” in the industry with its strong emphasis on digital communication, and that is just one of the reasons I like it.
You can read my full review on my blog: http://thoughtsymposium.com/2014/04/s...
You can read my full review on my blog: http://thoughtsymposium.com/2014/04/s...
March 30, 2014
This is not just a PR or marketing book; it's a relevant book for any business who is trying to figure out what their online presence should be and how it can benefit their business.
Very easy read and with plenty of actionable items to start you on the way.
The journey is a marathon, not a sprint.
Very easy read and with plenty of actionable items to start you on the way.
The journey is a marathon, not a sprint.
June 28, 2014
Practical common sense advice that a lot of people need to read and hear. When non-marketing and communications folks ask what it is I do for a living, I'm going to point them in the direction of this book.
September 28, 2015
Quick read - great little book that distills down exactly what you need to do when your professional reputation is attacked online.
I work with mental health professionals who are interested in cleaning up their online reputations. This is a book that I'll definitely recommend to them.
I work with mental health professionals who are interested in cleaning up their online reputations. This is a book that I'll definitely recommend to them.
November 1, 2014
Great read, especially for people in marketing / new media! Very informative, great case studies.
August 5, 2016
Why you should read Spin Sucks: Truth overwhelms lies, spin and broken promises (eventually). Limitless online content and search toppled the old monopolies on news, information and old fashioned public relations.
What demoralized public relations the most? Its very name – PR – became synonymous with “lying for a living,” being spin doctors, party planners, club hoppers and magicians, says Gini Dietrich, author of Spin Sucks: Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age.
Three main goals remain constant, Dietrich notes: inform people, persuade people and integrate people with other people.
New terms: The tainting of “PR,” lead practitioners to find a host of new names: Strategic Communications, Communications, Public Affairs and a host of more specific “relations” terms (media relations, investor relations, customer relations, university relations, corporate relations, etc.)
The splintering of names, like the splintering of mass media, left the public more confused whenever someone asked “what exactly do you do?”
Five years ago, the year pundits wondered why Google paid $1.65 billion for a new service called YouTube, Brian Solis called for massive changes in his book, Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: how Social Media is Reinventing Aging Business of PR. Dietrich’s new book shows how far we’ve moved in just half a decade.
PR a victim of bad PR? This wouldn’t be the first time PR had its reputation soured. Dietrich explains the word “propaganda” was first coined by Pope Gregory XV 400 years ago, telling missionaries to “propagate the faith” in the face of rising Protestantism. After governments began equating propaganda with false information campaigns, the term “propaganda’’ quickly lost its credibility.
Modern Public Relations began in 1929 and remained largely the same for the next 70 years: PR people built relationships with influential journalists and set up events to get public attention.
If, for example, you got a good story about your company written in the Detroit Free Press (earned media), you could be reasonably sure a large chunk of Michigan’s population would see and read it and that the news would trickle down to other media outlets.
In 2001, everything changed: paying PR people for their access to and ability to influence powerful journalists made a great deal of sense when a small number of influencers controlled print and broadcast media that most people paid attention to. The web enabled everyone to be a publisher or broadcaster which splintered influence and the number of voices.
But readership/viewership numbers fragmented as well so getting a story in the Free Press no longer means most Michiganders will actually read it. Instead of reading 20 stories in the Free Press, we are now just as likely to read 20 stories from 20 different outlets that show up in our social media news feed or are referred to us by friends.
Readers get a voice now too: And even if PR people get the exact story they want in the exact outlet they want, online commenters are still able to add their own take to the mix, in real time, at the bottom of the page where the story lives online.
Why people are confused: 2013 research found 93 percent of marketers are using content marketing but more than half said they had no strategy (or weren’t sure if they had one), according to the Content Marketing Institute.
New rules but still the choice is between hype and help: Today every brand can be its own publisher and its own publicist but the battle remains between those pushing hype and those offering help.
The dark side of PR is darker than ever: Dietrich explains how PR people are hired in to create negative stories about rivals.
“The idea of whisper campaigns began, not surprisingly, during wartime, because it is an effective and inexpensive way to create protests, support stand-offs, and exercise national will without using the military. From there, it has seeped into politics, the tobacco industry, Hollywood, and now, Silicon Valley.’’
Obamacare example: conservatives are airing ads featuring victims of Obamacare and Democrats call these victims “liars.’’ Just yesterday, a Democrat friend posted on my Facebook wall about how much she was saving because of Obamacare – my conservative friends questioned her honesty as well.
Isn’t is perfectly understandable that any reform would create both winners and losers without labeling one side or the other liars?
Yet, Dietrich notes that content farms, stolen content, black hat SEO or false accounts are actually common online now because too many organizations go for the cheap, easy way to gain a quick win. Google blacklists that sort of content and pages fall from search results.
Promises that sound too good to be true usually are. The worst organizations offer hype that is polarizing and ultimately detrimental. The best brands offer stories and content that help.
Content and inbound marketing, a better way: Most people will first look up your organization on Google, which is looking for fresh, valuable and educational content. Truth and helpful content prevails. Hype falls.
“It used to be your website was an online version of your corporate brochure,’’ Dietrich writes. “But times, they are a changin’. Your website now needs to be a living and breathing document that changes consistently (at least once a week, according to a HubSpot study)… Brand journalism puts the storytelling in the hands of corporations. While you still want third party influencers to tell your story for you, you no longer have to depend on it.”
The numbers show the story of what happens when you create strong content: 88 percent of B2C companies and 67 percent of B2C companies generated more leads. Adding one or two pieces of content per month grew leads 10 percent, adding two to four new content pieces grew leads by 30 percent and more than four articles per month was worth a 77 percent gain in leads.
Smart brands are investing in content, showing visitors (potential leads and customers) how to do things.
“The argument many business leaders make at that point is, ‘Why would I want to give away our secret sauce? Then our competitors would do what we do,’’’ Dietrich notes. “Here’s the thing: Your competitors may know the exact recipe to your secret sauce, but no one does it as well… Your competitors will fall all over themselves trying to reproduce what you have – while you focus on innovation and new products or services.’’
Content marketing – as well as evolving real time online marketing – where brands develop conversations and stories in real time responding to real events as they occur – now build digital word of mouth in real time.
The essential element of any good story: truth. Even with fiction, the best stories always ring true, make sense and help people understand something. When you educate visitors, they appreciate the help, allowing relationships to grow. If they feel cheated or betrayed, relationships sour.
“Your brand – how it appears, how it makes people feel, what it says is what you want your customers and prospective customers to think about your organization. Your brand is you,’’ Dietrich notes. “An organization’s reputation, today, is only as good as its search results.’’
http://www.organikconsulting.com/trut...
What demoralized public relations the most? Its very name – PR – became synonymous with “lying for a living,” being spin doctors, party planners, club hoppers and magicians, says Gini Dietrich, author of Spin Sucks: Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age.
Three main goals remain constant, Dietrich notes: inform people, persuade people and integrate people with other people.
New terms: The tainting of “PR,” lead practitioners to find a host of new names: Strategic Communications, Communications, Public Affairs and a host of more specific “relations” terms (media relations, investor relations, customer relations, university relations, corporate relations, etc.)
The splintering of names, like the splintering of mass media, left the public more confused whenever someone asked “what exactly do you do?”
Five years ago, the year pundits wondered why Google paid $1.65 billion for a new service called YouTube, Brian Solis called for massive changes in his book, Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: how Social Media is Reinventing Aging Business of PR. Dietrich’s new book shows how far we’ve moved in just half a decade.
PR a victim of bad PR? This wouldn’t be the first time PR had its reputation soured. Dietrich explains the word “propaganda” was first coined by Pope Gregory XV 400 years ago, telling missionaries to “propagate the faith” in the face of rising Protestantism. After governments began equating propaganda with false information campaigns, the term “propaganda’’ quickly lost its credibility.
Modern Public Relations began in 1929 and remained largely the same for the next 70 years: PR people built relationships with influential journalists and set up events to get public attention.
If, for example, you got a good story about your company written in the Detroit Free Press (earned media), you could be reasonably sure a large chunk of Michigan’s population would see and read it and that the news would trickle down to other media outlets.
In 2001, everything changed: paying PR people for their access to and ability to influence powerful journalists made a great deal of sense when a small number of influencers controlled print and broadcast media that most people paid attention to. The web enabled everyone to be a publisher or broadcaster which splintered influence and the number of voices.
But readership/viewership numbers fragmented as well so getting a story in the Free Press no longer means most Michiganders will actually read it. Instead of reading 20 stories in the Free Press, we are now just as likely to read 20 stories from 20 different outlets that show up in our social media news feed or are referred to us by friends.
Readers get a voice now too: And even if PR people get the exact story they want in the exact outlet they want, online commenters are still able to add their own take to the mix, in real time, at the bottom of the page where the story lives online.
Why people are confused: 2013 research found 93 percent of marketers are using content marketing but more than half said they had no strategy (or weren’t sure if they had one), according to the Content Marketing Institute.
New rules but still the choice is between hype and help: Today every brand can be its own publisher and its own publicist but the battle remains between those pushing hype and those offering help.
The dark side of PR is darker than ever: Dietrich explains how PR people are hired in to create negative stories about rivals.
“The idea of whisper campaigns began, not surprisingly, during wartime, because it is an effective and inexpensive way to create protests, support stand-offs, and exercise national will without using the military. From there, it has seeped into politics, the tobacco industry, Hollywood, and now, Silicon Valley.’’
Obamacare example: conservatives are airing ads featuring victims of Obamacare and Democrats call these victims “liars.’’ Just yesterday, a Democrat friend posted on my Facebook wall about how much she was saving because of Obamacare – my conservative friends questioned her honesty as well.
Isn’t is perfectly understandable that any reform would create both winners and losers without labeling one side or the other liars?
Yet, Dietrich notes that content farms, stolen content, black hat SEO or false accounts are actually common online now because too many organizations go for the cheap, easy way to gain a quick win. Google blacklists that sort of content and pages fall from search results.
Promises that sound too good to be true usually are. The worst organizations offer hype that is polarizing and ultimately detrimental. The best brands offer stories and content that help.
Content and inbound marketing, a better way: Most people will first look up your organization on Google, which is looking for fresh, valuable and educational content. Truth and helpful content prevails. Hype falls.
“It used to be your website was an online version of your corporate brochure,’’ Dietrich writes. “But times, they are a changin’. Your website now needs to be a living and breathing document that changes consistently (at least once a week, according to a HubSpot study)… Brand journalism puts the storytelling in the hands of corporations. While you still want third party influencers to tell your story for you, you no longer have to depend on it.”
The numbers show the story of what happens when you create strong content: 88 percent of B2C companies and 67 percent of B2C companies generated more leads. Adding one or two pieces of content per month grew leads 10 percent, adding two to four new content pieces grew leads by 30 percent and more than four articles per month was worth a 77 percent gain in leads.
Smart brands are investing in content, showing visitors (potential leads and customers) how to do things.
“The argument many business leaders make at that point is, ‘Why would I want to give away our secret sauce? Then our competitors would do what we do,’’’ Dietrich notes. “Here’s the thing: Your competitors may know the exact recipe to your secret sauce, but no one does it as well… Your competitors will fall all over themselves trying to reproduce what you have – while you focus on innovation and new products or services.’’
Content marketing – as well as evolving real time online marketing – where brands develop conversations and stories in real time responding to real events as they occur – now build digital word of mouth in real time.
The essential element of any good story: truth. Even with fiction, the best stories always ring true, make sense and help people understand something. When you educate visitors, they appreciate the help, allowing relationships to grow. If they feel cheated or betrayed, relationships sour.
“Your brand – how it appears, how it makes people feel, what it says is what you want your customers and prospective customers to think about your organization. Your brand is you,’’ Dietrich notes. “An organization’s reputation, today, is only as good as its search results.’’
http://www.organikconsulting.com/trut...
October 22, 2021
Kitap, temel olarak iletişim ve itibar yönetimi kitabı. Başarılı ve başarısız olmuş olan bir çok itibar ve iletişim yönetimi girişimini nedenleri ve sonuçlarıyla anlatarak okurlara pazarlama alanında bir öngörü sunuyor. Bu açıdan değerli bi kitap olduğunu düşünüyorum. Genel olarak keyifle okudum. İşletme ve pazarlama alanındaki özellikle kurumsal iletişim departmanlarinda çalışan herkese faydalı olacağını düşünüyorum.
December 29, 2024
"Spin Sucks" by Gini Dietrich is a great primer on marketing, communications, and public relations in the modern era. Having been published in 2014, there's a few specifics that are outdated or outmoded, but the foundation of what's explored is not only still relevant, but even more important than it was a decade ago. It's a valuable read for anyone looking to understand how to position themselves, their organization/business, or the issues they care about in the media and online today.
January 30, 2020
Good intro book outlining the basics on business coms, yet could have used an editor itself - certain sections or phrases were very repetitive and made me question whether the author took their own advice. Seems like it was written in a rush.
July 16, 2020
If this book actually focused on communication and reputation management, it would be better. But with very cursory overviews of content marketing and SEO, it just tries to cover too much ground. And it also very clearly never went through the copyediting stage. It's extremely distracting.
August 6, 2023
This book was worth the PESO method but kinda outdated when referring to the Internet. Reading in 2023 tho, I did pick it up from other PR book that kept giving this one shoutouts throughout. Good timeless advice throughout though. Would enjoy an updated version tons.
August 31, 2018
It was okay. Pretty outdated at times but some small nuggets are in there.
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