Since I moved to Chicago last week, I have been learning the ropes with a great system of public transportation. Unlike other cites I’ve been to, Chicago has a bus and train system that is widely used by all kinds of people. It’s great and once I figure everything out, I’m sure I will find it to be easy and efficient. Hopefully.

Because  I’ve always got PR on the brain, public transportation is much like navigating a Web site. People will get lost. People will be afraid of the unfamiliar. People will get frustrated when their destination is not where they look first. As a marketer, you have the capability and power to make sure people will stick with you when one of the above events occur.

Chicago public transportation, compared to other cities, has three things that make it easy-to-use:

1. The end destination is clearly defined. Chicago CTA has a Web site that allows you to plan how to get any destination. Using a Web site should be the same way in that the layout should make it clear how to help the user get what they want from the site.
2. You don’t have to stay on the ride forever. Even for people living just outside the city, express buses and trains ensure passengers can get where they need to go quickly. In this new age of focusing on the consumer, don’t make users jump over hurdles to get what they need. Again, the path to should be quick and easy to access.
3. Users share their experience with others. Chicago CTA marketed absolutely nothing to me. I knew before I moved I would be purchasing an unlimited pass because of the positive experience my friends had before me. When someone visits your site, will you be confident to say they will say positive comments to others? Think Groundswell.

Creating a Web site, blog or anything else online requires you to be strategic in your approach on how you anticipate people to use it. An example of this is GM’s corporate Web site. In reading The New Rules of Marketing and PR, David Meerman Scott points out how automakers sites were not very user-friendly. Before these sites got cool, the PR and marketing teams at these companies created the sites by already planning where they want people to go on the site. However, people have their own ideas how they want to travel. Now, the site is highly functional and easy to maneuver.

What do you think about a Web site compared to public transportation? Are there differences? What makes a good Web site?

Photo by Springsun on Flickr.

My assignment this week for my NMDL class was to do some free PR for David Meerman Scott. If you haven’t read The New Rules of Marketing & PR yet, you really should. It’s a quick and informative read.

Scott also came out with another book (I just ordered mine on Amazon). Titled World Wide Rave, this book talks about “viral” marketing and how it works. Why is it called World Wide Rave? Scott explains it pretty well:

“A World Wide Rave is when people around the world are talking about you, your company, and your products. Whether you’re located in San Francisco, Dubai, or Reykjavík, it’s when global communities eagerly link to your stuff on the Web. It’s when online buzz drives buyers to your virtual doorstep. And it’s when tons of fans visit your Web site and your blog because they genuinely want to be there.”

I like this description a lot. Viral is a term that is thrown out there too often. It’s worse when you hear someone saying they are going to make a “viral” video. Scott even calls it sleazy, and I agree with him. Even so, there are some really good examples of products and companies online and I’m looking forward to this read. Here’s the page with more information on the book, and below is the video describing the book. Both are worth your time.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F4KHmm566I&hl=en&fs=1]

Scott also posted some of the rules of the rave:

• Nobody cares about your product (except you)
• No coercion required
• Lose control
• Put down roots
• Create triggers that encourage people to share
• Point the world to your (virtual) doorstep

I realized that there’s a lot of cool stuff you can do for free online to help get buzz for a company or product. This also means that you can do a lot understand to enhance your education. Below is what I did to share this information online and make his book a world wide rave. As a student, try some of these Web sites out, especially if you have student-run firms:

• PR.com is a free site you can use to post press releases. I posted a press release on World Wide Rave on this site. Who knows, maybe I’ll get coverage?
• I used Digg and Delicious to bookmark his site
• I posted some links on my Twitter feed
• I even wrote this post! That’s free PR, right?
• I shared some of his posts on Google Reader

All in all, I didn’t realize that there is so much you can do for free.  I wrote a press release and tried out some free PR sites – it’s on my Scribd profile here. It’s all cool stuff. Check out his book, won’t you?

A couple of weeks ago, Rachel Esterline sent out an idea on Twitter she had about a PR book club. I’ll be quite honest – I need to read more books. I read books for class (most of the time), subscribe to way too much on Google Reader to feed my news junkiness and make time to read The State News in print every day. But I don’t pick up too many books.

Thus, the PR Book Club for students and professionals begins. (We’re looking for a new name and we’re looking for suggestions!)

In case you haven’t heard me ramble about this, one of the things I’m most passionate about is professional development. Yes, more reading on top of what you are assigned as a student or your workload as a professional (or sometimes both), but I think you can and should make time for this.

Here’s my current book list on deck, and hopefully we’ll get to some of these:

The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott. Although it’s part of my New Media Drivers License class, I’ve had this for a while, just haven’t had time to read. I started reading it yesterday, and it’s incredibly engaging.

Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. This book has been recommended by me way too many times for me to ignore it.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven R. Covey. This, too, is a book highly recommended by friends and colleagues.

Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds. This is the second book that’s part of my NMDL course. Anyone in the marketing field can use a refresher course on solid presentations. Working in sales, I’m excited to improve my presentation skills.

Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy. He does advertising, I do PR, but I think this is going to be a good one.

Rachel is heading up the group and is seeking interested members. Head over to her blog and comment to be part of something really awesome.