Lots of folks ask me if I think social media will replace traditional media. No one knows the future, but I doubt it. We’re likely looking at an integrated environment where both traditional and new media have value. Taking a play off of Chris Andersen’s Long Tail, this chart plots the effectiveness or the weight of various earned media tactics in the current environment.

Red hits have the most impact, while the long tail (yellow) still makes up half the marketplace. We’ll define the marketplace as word of mouth power.

Needless to say, this is subjective and various earned media forms have disparate degrees of weight. General classification is the best we can do without the correct measurement tools using a real world full on case-study with all types of earned media opportunities. Further, this assumes PR owns social media within a company. As we know, social media is often divided amongst the larger marketing department.

Ping Pong

Another issue with this chart is that it seeks to isolate individual tools and their weight. In reality — given today’s fractured media environment — one hit in any of these areas can trigger successive hits in others. When a word of mouth campaign has actual substance it usually cascades. Smart PR and social media practitioners understand this.

For example, my client FortiusOne received significant blog hits in the magic middle last fall (both Solis and Huyse introduced me to this theory). When pointed to this significant traction, the Washington Post took notice and wrote them up. Then ABC, Information Week and a new host of bloggers saw the Washington Post story and covered FortiusOne. And then speaking engagements and secondary trade press coverage ensued.

In Chapter Four of Now Is Gone, we talk about this “ping pong match” between traditional and new media outlets. From the draft material last June:

One great way to promote your new media initiative remains traditional media, who often use well-respected blogs as sources or even the subject of stories… [Social media attention] drives information into the spotlight forcing traditional media to pay attention – or look like they’ve missed the news, and most importantly the conversation. Blogs [can be] a more effective way of reaching and inspiring traditional media to react than most PR professionals and wire services combined.

Ping pong matches demonstrate that weighting one tool by its actual total community and eyeball impact fails. As Seth Godin says in Meatball Sundae (see Buzz Bin review), it doesn’t matter if the socially generated earned media only gets one percent of the hoped for attention if it’s the right one percent (Image credit: Ping Pong Persi by Mas-Luka)

Order Classification

Brief definitions on the order classification from top to bottom:

• Top tier media: Think WSJ, NY Times, BusinessWeek, Good Morning America. This should be obvious.
• Major awards, speeches: Keynotes at major conferences, shows, significant awards (Forbes 50 best places to work), etc.
• Top trades, national radio, regional newspapers: Should be self evident.
• Top tier blogs: Have essentially become as powerful as the trade press, and in some cases more so.
• Trade press: The singles for any blue chip PR program. You need some of the extra base hits to get power, but these hits are essential.
• Local speaking opps, awards, etc.: Can also include industry wide panels at conferences in this classification
• Magic Middle: At the base of power and the beginning of the long tail, this is where a lot of tremendous work can be done.
• Organic Social Media: Corporate social media and blogging initiatives (if executed well).
• Analyst relations: Forrester, Gartner et al.
• Social Network Referrals: Can be humongous but more often than not,just an event. Usually fueled by the Magic Middle.
• SEO enabled press releases, lower blog hits: The heart of the PR long tail. Note how little value press releases are given in my weighting.
• Email spamming reporters and bloggers: Why is this here as a tool? Because people are still doing it in spite of the high risk and low reward! They can’t give up the 1% return. See Eric Eggertson on the topic.

Some practitioners will want to adjust my placement or add tools to the basic Livingston set. To make your own chart, download the long tail at Entrepreneurs Journey and Photoshop away.

Several folks have asked me to start a Now Is Gone Facebook group. I really appreciate the enthusiasm, but at this time cannot oblige.

Why? Because I’m one man, and I’m running a company, too, in addition to launching the book. Plus there’s that whole family thing. And Brian Solis is one busy person, too. Time is the most precious resource. So when it comes to marketing activities for Now Is Gone the choices must be strategically targeted towards maximum impact.

This blog, my Facebook profile and Twitter are the primer forms of direct outreach to you. The rest is dedicated to media relations, providing other bloggers information, and speaking engagements.

A Facebook group does not seem to be a great marketing tool as there are so many well-established social media and marketing groups and sub-communities out there. Strategically, it was not the right move from a time investment standpoint.

That being said, fans should feel welcome to start their own Now Is Gone community group. User-generated social media of this nature was and still is totally unexpected, but we did put Now Is Gone graphics on Flickr.

Thank you to those who were interested, and I am sorry that I cannot oblige you at this time.

Update

Peter Corbett created a Facebook fan group. Details here.

A flurry of new reviews out there, including four thumbs up and our first mediocre review. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the book , and to write a blog post about it. Here’s a summary of the reviews.

BlogWrite for CEOs’ Debbie Weil (author of the Corporate Blogging Book)gives Now Is Gone is a “Stellar Unreview” today. This was particularly great because Debbie was the first A List marketing blogger to give a review since Valeria Maltoni’s. Here’s a snippet:

Nine (out of 10) stars for Geoff Livingston’s [and Brian Solis's] Now Is Gone… First and last, rush online and order this book. It’s a gotta-have for your book shelf if you want to understand social media and how it fits into the new marketing mix (and yes, it does).

After The Launch’s Shama Hyder dubbed the book a must read today:

I have two vices- books and good food. Due to my first vice, I have read over 200 books this year alone. And one book that really stands out in my mind is Now Is Gone by Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis.

Open the Dialogue’s Chris Thilk (also on Movie Madness) gave the book a lukewarm thumbs up on Monday:

If there’s one thing that I took issue with in Now is Gone, it’s Livingston’s tendency to paint things as definitively right or wrong or to characterize the social media world as if it operated with a single collective conscious… While there are points of view in Now is Gone I don’t exactly agree with, it is worth picking up and reading.

Mobile Diner’s Chris Parandian also reviewed the book over last weekend (congratulations on the new gig, Chris):

The book continues at a nice pace with examples of companies utilizing social media and the success of having two-way conversations with consumers. There were some instances in the book where I was wanting more from now is gone. However, this topic is a big one to tackle and Geoff focused appropriately on those who might be interested in social media but have not committed to it. That is a growing constituency and this book could be a catalyst for engagement by some companies.

Fleet Street PR’s Dave Fleet says your boss needs to read Now Is Gone:

If you (or your boss) find yourself confused, apprehensive or unsure about delving into the world of new media, then Now Is Gone is for you… For me, a particular strength of the book is that it doesn’t automatically assume that you should market your business using social media. I’ve found that a lot of people fall into “shiny new object syndrome.” Instead, Livingston challenges the reader, asking questions like whether they are ready to relinquish control of their message, whether their audience is ready and whether they can dedicate the necessary resources.

Again, thank you to all five reviewers. I know reading books take time as do blog posts. It’s an honor that you invested this time in Now Is Gone.

We’ve had 19 reviews including bloggers, Amazon and publicity, and this post actually has some of the best of them and the most pointed criticism to date (Thilk’s). Overall, all of them recommended Now Is Gone.

Next week, we will take some time to examine some of the points that folks have questioned in the book… Why would we do that? Well, it is a conversation, right?

It must be the week of the interview! I had the distinct honor of appearing on the Diva Marketing Blog, thanks to the Ad Age’s #2 female blogger Toby Bloomberg. Here are two Q and As from Toby’s interview (Toby’s Buzz Bin interview was also featured in the book). All six Qs here.

Diva Marketing: Love the title of your new book – Now Is Gone. Where did the inspiration come from and what is the significance for you?

Geoff Livingston: I wish it was really cool, but it came while watching Casino Royale on DVD.  It seemed like a great title for one of the Bond movies, but afterwards the name kept rolling around in my head. 

Within days of that night the need for a book became apparent. The title fit the current need to engage in social media. Now Is Gone was born, and the Broccoli family was opted out. 

Now Is Gone really conveys a sense of urgency.  I think the business marketplace senses that urgency, and smart players understand competitive advantage can still be gained… But it has to be done in the next 12-18 months.

Diva Marketing: Now Is Gone contains a wealth of examples and case studies ranging from large corporate B2C companies like Jet Blue to smaller B2B organizations such as Reston Limousine and even Not for Profit where you highlight the Red Cross. In your research did you discover any common lessons learned that you can pass along to Diva’s community?

Geoff Livingston: It’s all about them… Meaning the readers.  This is a theme Meerman Scott picks up on, too, in his excellent book The New Rules.

Look we’re in a fractured media environment with millions of options out there, particularly for those that like to partake in social media. Corporate social media is fighting for time with every single one of them, from the New York Times and NBC to the brand new blog on Blogger and someone’s first Seesmic post.

So the only way to get and keep eyeballs is to understand you must publish something interesting.  Interesting in their minds, not yours. Having an editorial mission to serve those community members goes a long way towards achieving that goal.

Joe Ciarallo, co-editor of mediabistro’s PRNewser took some time to interview me this week.  We got connected through Kyle Flaherty.  Joe asked some great questions that were worth sharing.  You can read the full interview here.

JC: Are there any clients you’ve told NOT to blog?

GL: Yes, I’ve told several clients not to blog. We’re also launching a social media tool for some clients. Sometimes a company offers value in a very vertical way. Lets say XM satellite. They only thing they add is greater radio. Do they really belong in the blogosphere talking about automobiles?

But, they could maybe talk about great road trips, and then have a blog about it. It’s all about knowing where your place is in the larger picture.

JC: Doesn’t “traditional media” still matter?

GL: We have a chapter in the book about using traditional media to promote new media. There is a weird ping-pong match going on between traditional and new. To ignore either would be a mistake. The reality is there is always going to be a place for traditional media.

Blogs drive info into the spotlight, forcing traditional media to pay attention. Once journalists report on what blogs have to say – it starts a ping-pong match.

The other thing is that I know people say bloggers are citizen journalists, but they aren’t [journalists].

JC: Your column “Action, Not Just Words” in the Washington Post, attacked “green PR” for being all talk and no walk. You mentioned Dell as one company who is following up on its talk. Are there any others you’d like to highlight?

GL: One is Marriott. They’ve been doing it for about ten years.

JC: Do you see it changing?

GL: I don’t know. It’s a strange world we’re in with corporate America. That is really the issue. They’re still being led by folks who will do whatever it takes to build business and be profitable. Social responsibility is being thrust upon these companies. Some will get it. Innovators will get it. Most will not ’till they start losing customers.

Brian Solis and I will appear today on Mike McGrath’s BlogTalkRadio show at 2 Eastern, 11 Pacific. We’ll be discussing some parts of the book, namely whether or not social media is right for a corporate culture, as well as the seven principles of community building.

Interested parties who want to talk with Brian and I should call in after the show starts at (646) 478-5503. The show will remain on the BlogTalkRadio site as a podcast.

I’m a firm believer in analogies, and this particularly pungent one may explain why many Social Media campaigns are doomed to failure. To experience the full fragrance of this lesson, you need to know a little about how to make compost without making a stink. (I don’t apologize for the comparison, as many consider modern reputation management to be little more than “fertilizer” anyway.)

Whether you call it “New Media” or “Social Media”, there are many parallels to compost.

• Compost itself has little intrinsic value, but it makes plants grow faster
• Compost - like Social Media - does happen on its own, but not fast enough to be of use
• Compost - while made of natural ingredients - is not meant to be consumed directly
• Compost earns blue ribbons based on what it grows and how it grows it

Making a Pile

While “compost happens”, it doesn’t happen fast enough for the savvy gardener. Instead, there are several rules of thumb governing the types of leaves and organic debris one includes in the pile. The amount of water you add to the mix determines its temperature, and can accelerate or decelerate the fermentation. The pile must be periodically turned and churned to ensure uniform conversion - a commitment to periodically get your hands dirty in a personal way.

If you’re not careful, you end up with too much nitrate generation - or maybe too little. Cooking your compost too quickly also prevents the formation of many useful nutrients that replenish the soil. And if you do everything improperly, you end up with a big smelly pile that no one wants to claim or go near.

Making Social Media

While “social media” can happen on its own, it benefits from expert help. Each social media practitioner brings a different prescription for the right mix of ingredients. Along the way, you have to closely monitor the conditions, and know when to add water, when to goose the process, and when to back off. You also need to stay involved and engaged with the project, realizing this is a process - requiring a commitment to periodically get your hands dirty in a personal way.

If you’re not careful, you destroy the very organic support you were trying to cultivate. And there’s no real value in making compost, unless you intend to use it to feed and supplement existing public relations and reputation management efforts. If you have an expectation of overnight results, you aren’t growing anything of value. And if you’re caught cheating, you end up with a smelly pile that soils your name and encourages others to distance themselves from you.

The Bottom Line

New Media tactics and tools are far from a panacea. If you’re not willing or able to use them properly, don’t get involved. It’s hard work and requires attention - and it can enhance everything else you do. Or it can stink up the joint.

Before you hire someone to help you with a Social Media campaign, check under their fingernails. You’d be surprised how many have never soiled their hands, and don’t really know any more than you do.

Remember that it’s about the produce. You’re not buying a bucket of rich, earthy loam. You’re buying the vegetables.

And there are always those who feel like they can get better results by trucking in a load of something else and spreading it around.

(Ike Pigott regularly writes at Occam’s RazR.)

It’s not every day you get asked to interview for a blog based in Bulgaria. So when Maria Sokolova asked me some questions for the Rich&Forts blog, I definitely agreed. Afterall, we’re living in a Global Neighborhood.

The questions focused on Word of Mouth and C2C marketing, synonyms used for social media marketing. Here’s two of the four questions and there respective answers (image credit to jjso):

1. Nowadays a new (and old in the same time) term has appeared - c2c (consumer-to consumer). What is the importance of c2c marketing and how marketers should deal with?

My big issue with the term “C2C” marketing is that it assumes consumers make a conscious decision to market products. That’s not necessarily what’s happening, although affiliate programs and eBay are certainly examples of true C2C.

When Word of Mouth (WOM) referrals occur it’s because a customer believes in a product. The brand promise of marketing has been matched by the actual user experience. Thus, they are happy to confirm the marketing and lend their credibility to the product/service/solution. This is third party credibility, a result of good public relations using social media tools, not a conscious paid-for-marketing action.

Word of mouth cannot be paid for so easily. It can be inspired, but products and services must also be inspiring. Marketing can only accelerate the consumer’s excitement for a product they would generally like anyway. At the same time marketing and WOM can also accelerate a bad product’s failure.

3. Is it enough to have a positive WOM (word of mouth) to expect the sales raise? Why?

Not necessarily. It gets back to the intent of the social media program. There are many possible outcomes, including better brand perception (GM and Dell), brand awareness (Google’s OpenSocial), political action (green programs) and, of course, sales.

If the outcome is sales, then the program must be engineered to generate sales. Consider the previous examples. WOMM used to generate excitement about vintage clothes or the Southwest experience. But the marketers involved assume that some participants would want more, so they made intelligent calls-to-action as part of their program.

Now if a program is engineered to build excitement with an obvious call to action, and nothing happens than there are several issues that could be in play. The most obvious is the company or organization placed too much emphasis on the sale and too little on creating value for the community through the social media or WOM effort. In the end, creating value drives consumer interest in WOM campaigns and this can never be supplanted by the actual desired outcome.

You can read the entire interview on the Rich&Forts blog.

Allan Cox’s “Your Inner CEO” offers executives a really hard gut check. Their journey forces them to understand what’s going on inside their company… and them.

The theory is until a CEO really understands what drives him or her, they will not be able to meet the challenges facing them in day-to-day business. The book is particularly relevant for organizational leaders challenged by dynamic market forces… such as the advent of social media and its impact on marketing.

Your Inner CEO follows the precept that executives are not in control; that they must adapt to the current market conditions. To do that, an executive needs to ask him/herself some tough questions as simply as possible. And he/she may not like the answers, possibly causing the executive to reinvent their goals.

This is an outstanding exercise for any leader. Here’s what I came up with:

• I am: an energizer
• Life is: an opportunity to grow.
• My central goal: is to be of service.
• Main obstruction: is wanting to be liked.

What’s amazing about Your Inner CEO (available on Amazon) is not only the rigorous gut check, but the success stories. There are so many executives and companies that turned it around by taking the time to check out what drives them, both positively and negatively. The resulting knowledge lets executives and their companies refocus on what’s important.

Veteran Author Alan Cox grounds the book in spiritual principles, and does CEOs a great service by forcing them to look at who they really are, and what their companies are actually doing. A brilliant and worthwhile read.

BlogWork’s Rajesh Lalwani wrote up the book last Monday for the PR community in India.

Rajesh says:

So what does it mean for the reader?

1. The book introduces Social Media, the benefits, and the importance of engaging with influencers and customers directly
2. Explains the new culture of two-way conversational marketing
3. Inspires and shapes social media strategies to successfully engage communities
4. Highlights some of the more common social media promotion tools
5. Reveals cultural hurdles a company must face before starting social media outreach
6. Provides ways to manage the rapid evolution of social networks and technologies

This morning Communicators Anonymous’ Lauren Vargas reviewed the book and said:

Currently, I use The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott as a teaching tool/primer of social media. Now is Gone is a natural evolution of Meerman’s premise. Each book reads with a very different voice and cannot be substituted for the other. The outline,flow and parting comments of each [Now Is Gone] chapter makes an easy and valuable read.

I couldn’t agree more. I found the New Rules to be a great book. David Meerman Scott’s book was cited several times in Now Is Gone. And David did a back jacket review for the book, too.

But more importantly (and I hope David doesn’t kill me for disclosing this) he has been a great help, coaching me through the trials and tribulations of book publishing. See this is round one for me (and Brian), while David is an established author. Getting coaching tips have been invaluable, and I guarantee David’s influence will extend beyond Now Is Gone into my next book (if there’s another one in the cards).

So in addition to big thanks to Rajesh Lalwani and Lauren Vargas, I also want to thank David. Have a great Thanksgiving, folks. We’ll be back on Monday.