Strategic Planning for Public Relations, Third Edition

"Listening is a business imperative . . . especially in a world of empowered consumers. Brands are getting built and nurtured in a very different way. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to succeed in this new world order."
—Stan Sthanunathan, Vice President, Marketing Strategy & Insights, Coca-Cola

"One by one, the best marketing companies are putting 'listening to consumers' on their strategic agenda. Following each announcement, we hear . . . silence, as staff groups try to grapple with the new directive. Listen First! is a timely, unhyped, and pragmatic field guide for those exploring the world of listening."
—Ted McConnell, EVP Digital, Advertising Research Foundation; former head of Digital Marketing Innovation, Procter & Gamble

"How many of you have an effective listening strategy? To help guide you in the listening maze, identify new business opportunities, and select the right partners for the development and implementation of an effective listening strategy, this book is a must and an enjoyable read!"
—Prof. Yoram (Jerry) Wind, The Lauder Professor, The Wharton School

Forget the "pitch": Yesterday's PR techniques just don't work anymore. That's the bad news. Here's the great news: Social Media and Web 2.0 offer you an unprecedented opportunity to make PR work better than ever before. This book shows how to reinvent PR around two-way conversations, bring the "public" back into public relations and get results that traditional PR people can only dream about. Drawing on their unparalleled experience making Social Media work for business, PR 2.0.com's Brian Solis and industry leader Deirdre Breakenridge show how to transform the way you think, plan, prioritize, and deliver PR services. You'll learn powerful new ways to build the relationships that matter, and reach a new generation of influencers...leverage platforms ranging from Twitter to Facebook...truly embed yourself in the communities that are shaping the future. Best of all, you won't just learn how to add value in the Web 2.0 world: You'll learn how to prove how new, intelligent, and socially rooted PR will transform your organization into a proactive, participatory communication powerhouse that is in touch and informed with its community of stakeholders.

Sams Teach Yourself Facebook® for Business in 10 Minutes gives you straightforward, practical answers when you need fast results. By working through its 10-minute lessons, you’ll learn how to profit from Facebook’s powerful new business tools: Facebook Pages, Places, Deals, Ads, and more! Tips point out shortcuts and solutions; Cautions help you avoid common pitfalls; Notes provide additional information.

10 minutes is all you need to learn how to…

• Define your Facebook-centric online business strategy
• Plan and create your “business-friendly” personal Facebook page
• Create a Facebook Page, also known as a “fan page,” for your business
• Build your Wall with customer-focused status updates
• Create more effective Info, Photos, and Discussions tabs
• Find and install Apps that can help your business
• Claim and edit your Facebook Places page, and get customers to “check in”
• Plan, target, write, and design low-cost Facebook Ads that work
• Promote your Facebook presence and track its impact
• Offer Facebook Deals that attract new customers
• Avoid common Facebook business mistakes

Winner of a Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Title Award!

We are on the cusp of a marketing revolution.
And it is being led by you.

Return on Influence is the first book to explore how brands are identifying and leveraging the world’s most powerful bloggers, tweeters, and YouTube celebrities to build product awareness, brand buzz, and new sales.

In this revolutionary book, renowned marketing consultant and college educator Mark W. Schaefer shows you how to use the latest breakthroughs in social networking and influence marketing to achieve your goals through:

• In-depth explanations of the sources of online influence—and how they can work for or against you
• Interviews with more than 50 experts, including tech blogger Robert Scoble, Influence author Robert Cialdini, and industry thought leaders such as Mitch Joel, Jay Baer, and Christopher S. Penn
• An insider’s look at the controversial social scoring company Klout and its process for assigning influence numbers to everyone
• Practical, actionable tips to increase your own personal power and online influence
• More than a dozen original social influence marketing case studies

Even if you already use social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, or blogging to maintain an online presence, this eye-opening, action-ready guide shows you how to reach the “superconnectors” who ignite epidemics through word-of-mouth influence . . . and become one yourself.

This is the future of marketing at your fingertips: low-cost, high-speed, influence driven, and powerful. Filled with fascinating case studies, interviews, and insider advice, this essential guide prepares you for the next wave of social networking. This is how to win friends and influence people in the digital age—with a Return on Influence.

Praise for Return on Influence:

“Influence is the ability to cause, affect, or change behavior. Mark Schaefer helps you define the outcomes you wish to see . . . and measure them!”
—Brian Solis, author of The End of Business as Usual

“Schaefer’s book has earned its place on the shelf of anyone looking to find influencers—or become one.”
—Harold Burson, founder, Burson-Marsteller

“Return on Influence is definitive, exciting, and endlessly practical. In an age where marketing budgets are tight and getting tighter, social media—and particularly influence marketing—has become the silver bullet to solve all problems. Consider this book the marksmen’s manual.”
—Rick Wion, Director of Social Media, McDonald’s

“I could not stop reading this book. Mark Schaefer demystifies the power of influence in this insider’s guide to combining content strategy with network interactions to create social conversations that move markets.”
—Ardath Albee, author of eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale

“A fascinating exploration at how you track and increase your online influence. Real-world strategies for real-world companies.”
—Randy Gage, author of Prosperity Mind

Once only a platform for bloggers, WordPress is gaining popularity as a tool for creating individualized Web sites. WordPress expert Lisa Sabin-Wilson makes it easy for anyone with a basic knowledge of the WordPress software to create a custom site using complimentary technologies including CSS, HTML, and PHP. This easy-to-follow, full-color guide helps you identify the tools and technologies you need to create the site you envision, build a user-friendly navigation system, select colors and layouts, work with existing WordPress themes, and even develop your own theme to personalize your site.

• WordPress offers a versatile tool for building customized Web sites; this full-color book walks you through the process, explains the complimentary technologies involved, and shows you how to select colors, fonts, and themes
• Case studies illustrate the process and the effects that can be achieved
• Shows how to incorporate WordPress templates, graphic design principles, HTML, CSS, and PHP to build a truly one-of-a-kind Web site

The small town of Paradise, Pennsylvania, is a jewel in Lancaster County -- known for its picture-postcard landscapes and bucolic lifestyle. But that peace is shattered by the discovery of a dead infant in the barn of an Amish farmer. A police investigation quickly leads to two startling disclosures: the newborn's mother is an unmarried Amish woman, eighteen-year-old Katie Fisher. And the infant did not die of natural causes. Although Katie denies the medical proof that she gave birth to the child, circumstantial evidence leads to her arrest for the murder of her baby.

One hundred miles away, Philadelphia defense attorney Ellie Hathaway has achieved an enviable, high-profile career. But her latest court "victory" has set the sands shifting beneath her. Single at thirty-nine and unsatisfied with her relationship, Ellie doesn't look back when she turns down her chance to make partner and takes off for an open-ended stay at her great-aunt's home in Paradise.

Fate brings her to Katie Fisher. Suddenly, Ellie sees the chance to defend a client who truly needs her, not just one who can afford her. But taking on this case challenges Ellie in more ways than one. She finds herself not only in a clash of wills with a client who does not want to be defended but also in a clash of cultures with a people whose channels of justice are markedly different from her own.

Immersing herself in Katie Fisher's life -- and in a world founded on faith, humility, duty, and honesty -- Ellie begins to understand the pressures and sacrifices of those who to live "plain." As she peels away the layers of fact and fantasy, Ellie calls on an old friend for guidance. Now, just as this man from Ellie's past reenters her life, she must uncover the truth about a complex case, a tragic loss, the bonds of love -- and her own deepest fears and desires.