The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott is one of the best business books I’ve read in a long time. It provides a comprehensive yet very practical overview of how to use social media to reach audiences.

“What all the new Web tools and techniques have in common,” Scott writes, “is that together they are the best way to communicate directly with your marketplace.”

Creating a buzz online also is a great way to get the attention of journalists, helping them discover you rather you going to them.

Ad agencies will find this book a useful guide for leveraging Web-based communication and helping their clients communicate more effectively. For more information, visit http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/books.htm

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.