Author: Lindsey Davies

WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO WORK IN PR?

Posted on May 29, 2020 by

Why would you want to work in PR

It’s a fair question. PR is challenging. You never get chance to switch off. As part of the day job, you must manage multiple relationships. It’s about working to other people’s deadlines. There is a constant feeling of being accountable for your own actions, and sometimes those of others. So, why would you want to work in PR?

We work in an industry that is constantly changing and that makes it exciting and unpredictable. It also means that we need to keep abreast of any new tactics that could benefit our clients. This puts us in a position where we are constantly learning.

For those that like to push themselves, PR is a perfect career path. It isn’t for the faint-hearted. Unless you have worked in the industry, it’s somewhat of an enigma. The assumption is you write copy and send it to a journalist, but the reality couldn’t be more different.

The traits of a PR professional

Becoming an exceptional PR professional takes time and experience. I don’t believe you can ever stop learning and so, as a practitioner and business owner, I make it my mission to read, listen and digest.

Working in PR for more than two decades has changed me. I have had to adapt my style, consider my approach and ‘give my head a shake’ on many an occasion. Although I was as eager as the next graduate when I started my career, I can now see I was naïve and inexperienced.

I now appreciate that taking a step back, however urgent a deadline, will almost always benefit the outcome. Attention to detail is essential and sloppiness unforgiveable. Having the ability to communicate with a person as they prefer is a skill. Listening is as important as sharing your thoughts.

When we look for PR professionals to join Open Comms we don’t have a carbon copy that we replicate. There is no one size here. We know that to provide our clients with the best results, we need a team that has a variety of personalities and experiences.

The common denominator for us is that people work hard and that they have shared values; to do a job and to do it well.

Where the PR industry is heading

The future is an interesting path. It’s not one that we can predict with any certainty. This year of all others has shown us that. We hear a lot that digital communications will continue to dominate our lives and that this will be how consumers access information.

The way that I see it, rather than predict how an industry will change, we focus too much on a single medium. When we look at the reality, PR is more about the message, it’s content and timings. The medium is the vehicle, the PR is whatever it is you need to deliver.

The future for PR, as I predict it, will continue to focus more on the story, whatever the medium.

Storytelling is becoming increasingly important as people want to learn about the personalities behind the brands they purchase from. Being better equipped to make informed choices is an expectation, not an exception.

With the more mindful shopper comes the need to share. The challenge arrives when businesses are expected to put pen to paper. Messages need to be concise,  copy compelling and sharing consistent. The tone needs to be reflective of the brand and the approach honest. Furthermore, at every step, the communication that is being shared needs to resonate with the audience.

It’s not always as simple as it seems.

Appreciating the complexities

PR isn’t a game. It isn’t ‘fannying around with press releases’ or drinking fizz at events. Nor is it freebies, new outfits, fast cars and lunches. And, it isn’t easy.

The landscape changes every day; mediums change, trends change, tactics that will work for clients change. Every. Single. Day.

Our specialism is one that fits within the wider marketing mix. It is a skill and requires professionals to deliver if they want to achieve results for clients. Anyone coming into the industry thinking it will be an easy ride is in for a rude awakening.

Working across sectors and with business to business, business to consumer and third sector organisations keeps us busy. At Open Comms we appreciate that every single brief, from every single client, is different.

This means we have to deliver our very best all of the time. We can’t take one model and apply it to the next company. It doesn’t work like that.

The benefits are that we get to create year-round plans and campaigns that have real impact. We work to objectives and then share the results. This means we can share in the success of each brand we work with.

That feeling is invaluable.

Consistent, compelling content will deliver results

There is so much more to PR than meets the eye. We cover so many different skills from event planning to activation, creative development to crisis management. No two days are ever the same.

The one consistent in our industry comes back to copy. If we want to deliver results for our clients’ we need to use copy to meet with objectives. Creating consistent, compelling content that can be shared across platforms needs to be our bread and butter. The thing that we deliver better than all others.

The message should build, the creative support and the overall outcome be excellent results.

Storytelling, finding angles and articulating the message in the right way, using the right medium, at the right time is PR.

It is exciting, quick-paced and fun.

Getting to the heart of a story and sharing it with passion and enthusiasm is a skill. Seeing copy in print, whether online or in print, is a real achievement. Watching campaigns gain momentum is exciting. Sharing this journey and the subsequent success it brings to business is what makes our industry so appealing and a great career option.

Trying it out for size

When I started my training in PR, we were told to find some experience.

We would be expected to give up ‘our time’ to gain experience from agencies. Not only did it give us the opportunity to put the theory to practice, we could see PR in action. This was a real turning point for me and made me realise this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

For others starting out, my advice would be to do the same. Be eager, aware, assertive, willing to approach businesses, to ask for experience and be willing to work. If you have what it takes, I can guarantee that PR will be a career that keeps on giving.

For anyone interested in learning more please do call a member of the team at Open Comms.

COUNTING THE COST OF PR VERSUS THE VALUE IT DELIVERS

Posted on May 19, 2020 by

Counting the cost of PR

During my career I have often thought about how businesses count the cost of PR without really understanding its value.

While browsing my social media channels last week, I came across a post that had been shared far and wide. It really resonated with me, and those I am connected with too. It reads:

“If I do a job in 30 minutes, it’s because I spent 10 years learning how to do that in 30 minutes. You owe me for the years, not the minutes.”

Having worked in the PR industry for more than 20 years, I appreciate the sentiment behind the words. For me, my training started when I was at college. I then did a four-year degree before securing my first full time position.

So, in total, my academic training was at least six years. That said, you never stop learning in PR, so it would be fair to suggest it is actually upwards of two decades.

PR is an investment

As a professional, it can be a challenge to explain to people that PR is an investment. Of course, any business will consider the cost, but they should also appreciate the value.

PR is about managing the reputation of a brand and business. Arguably, the biggest asset of any company. Without a reputation you have nothing. Putting the right amount of time, effort and budget behind it is essential.

Getting the balance right will ensure that companies get the results they are looking for.

Return on investment

Every organisation wants a return on investment. Having launched Open Communications more than 11 years ago, I understand this whole-heartedly. PR should be no different. Ensuring you choose an agency that is transparent, honest and open is half the battle.

Despite having the endorsement of some of the largest brands in the world, PR is still an unknown for some. In the most part, business owners know that they need it, but they can’t always see the true value.

This leaves PR as a forgotten relative. It becomes a ‘nice to have’ rather than the business-critical specialism it is.

In order to get best value from PR you need to provide a detailed brief. This gives clarity to the agency and gives you the chance to think carefully about the objectives you would like to achieve. These can then become KPIs to measure against.

Being honest about budgets

Providing a budget is really important.

Some people worry that providing a budget means an agency will charge that fee. Perhaps that will be the case, but they will also provide a rationale for the cost. It will allow them to provide realistic recommendations to meet with objectives.

Having no indication of the investment a business is willing to make just wastes time. It leaves an agency second guessing and that rarely works out well. It may mean the costs are too high or that the ideas are too safe. Either way, if a budget is given then everyone knows what they are working with.

We’ve always been very honest with our clients. We go above and beyond, treating our clients’ money as if it was our own. This is a value that has become reflective of Open Comms and synonymous with our approach.

This is one of the main reasons our clients’ work with us for years. They know what to expect and that they never need to challenge our honesty and transparency.

It’s about the years and not the hours

Going back to the main point. When working with an agency it really is about the years and not the hours. The hours are what you pay for. But the experience of a team is where the value lies.

At Open Comms we have a team of experts that have worked with some of the largest brands in the country. We have earnt our stripes and we love what we do. The assumption that PR is easy and that anyone can do it is misguided. The reality is very different.

It may be right that anyone can put pen to paper, however that isn’t PR. The education, training, skills, tactics and constantly evolving landscape means PR professionals are just that. Professionals. They have worked hard and have invested in their careers to be the best they can be.

Trust is integral to success

When you rely on an agency, you are trusting them with your brand. That’s a big commitment. We don’t take it lightly and that is one of the reasons our job is so exciting. Thankfully our clients have very similar traits. They trust us and believe in what we do.

This means we can work as an extension of their teams and to give them advice. Real advice. Honest advice. Uncomfortable advice. Not what they want to hear, but the right advice based on our experience and knowledge.

PR isn’t just about writing press releases or posting compelling content. It is about reputation and managing a brand. It is about avoiding crisis. It is about navigating through hard times and celebrating good.

The beauty of PR is that it doesn’t stand still. There is no one size fits all. Every single client we work with has different objectives. They are specific to their business and require a range of tactics. This keeps us on our toes and is just one of the many reasons we do what we do.

What to consider when choosing an agency

It’s really quite simple.

  1. The first thing to think about when choosing an agency is what you want to achieve. Create a clear brief that shares your objectives and budget.
  2. Next, find an agency that you feel would be a good fit with your business. PR is very much about relationships. You will be sharing information that is sensitive and confidential so you must have an affinity with the people you are working with.
  3. It’s not about them and us. It’s about working as a team to deliver results that meet with the objectives. Treating your agency as you would you colleagues will allow you to get the best from them.
  4. Remember, you are paying for experience. It’s about the years not the hours. Trust your agency to deliver. If you have any doubt, it’s probably time to review the suppliers you are working with.

Getting the balance

The balance between budget and return can be tricky but it’s not impossible. Be honest, be open and set expectations from the outset.

Once these are in place you will start to see the value of PR. When you are celebrating results, you will realise PR really is an investment and not a cost.

USING TALK TRIGGERS TO BENEFIT BUSINESS

Posted on May 15, 2020 by

Using talk triggers to benefit business

Brand experience has become more of a focus for businesses in recent years. No longer are consumers content with picking up a product and taking it home. A purchase now goes beyond that.

Shoppers want to understand the story, to experience it.

For several years’ companies could share how an item was manufactured or sourced but the landscape has changed. This is no longer detail enough. For organisations that want lasting loyalty from customers, they need to do more. They need to use talk triggers.

It’s no longer just about food miles, CSR or green credentials. This is part but not the sum of what is expected. Shoppers want to have an affinity with a brand. They want an experience.

Using talk triggers

I have worked with branding agencies and colleagues to discuss ‘talk triggers’ and know how they can resonate with shoppers. It makes sense when you consider that we live in an increasingly competitive world.

Updating a website with commitments is one step to gaining interest from a particular consumer group but having a consistent ‘gesture’ or approach is a better way of creating a community. Once a business can build this, they are well on the way to gaining a more loyal following of repeat purchasers and willing advocates.

Talk triggers could be something as simple as how a product is packaged or – as is the case with Hilton Double Tree – a warmed cookie on arrival. Whatever sets a business apart, it is important that this ‘trigger’ is used consistently.

What every organisation should be hoping for is that this positive experience becomes synonymous with the brand. It also becomes a trigger to talk and share a positive experience within the community.

Lessons learnt

Since working in PR, I have become more aware of the small yet important gestures that make my shopping experience with brands above average. It may be the  newsletter, email prompts about new products or free gifts that come after placing an order.

It doesn’t have to be an elaborate gesture and that is what makes this approach so interesting to me.

Just a few weeks ago I have signed up to a newsletter from a brand that manufactures baby foods. I have always found their choice of visuals, language, tone and approach appealing and so took the next step in the journey.

As well as receiving a code, which gave me ‘exclusive’ access to recipe ideas, I was also sent a free wall chart with stickers. While this isn’t a huge gesture, it was enough to make me want to explore the product range and gave me a great talk trigger for others.

The next parcel I took receipt of was a gift from a friend. Two pairs of baby leggings. They arrived in a beautiful box. When I opened it, the garments were carefully wrapped with branded tissue paper and sealed with an embossed sticker.

The care and attention that had been taken to make the opening of this product special really was something else. Not only are the garments next in line for an outing, the company is on my list for friends who are awaiting an imminent arrival of their own.

Benefitting business

Both of these examples, and others, have got me thinking about how we take the lessons learnt to benefit business. Although we work across a range of sectors, it doesn’t mean that the same principles used with these talk triggers couldn’t apply.

We already implement some of this without even thinking. As an example, when we package products for our clients, we always make an extra special effort. Not only does it reflect our own values as a business and the quality of our service, but it sends a subtle message to the recipient about the brand we are working for too.

If someone takes extra care and attention then it is more likely to resonate with the customer, perhaps even leading to a repeat purchase or engagement.

I’m sure if we thought slightly differently, we could apply even more ideas and suggestions to benefit our own business, as well as our clients.

Every day is a school day

I’m a big believer in the phrase that every day is a school day. If you are open-minded then you can learn from others; good or bad.

Not every experience we have is going to be positive. However, what we take from that could benefit our own business too.

In the same way that we can make a note of positive talk triggers, we can do the same with those that are less impressive. At least this way we could avoid making the same mistakes.

What I’ve recognised is that my expectations of brand experience are far higher than they used to be. This hasn’t been a conscious decision but is certainly the case. That’s not to say that I complain a lot or am difficult to please, but there are certain levels of service that I expect.

Making a note

I’m a real fan of notebooks. I like to be prepared for meetings, personal and professionals, and am known to write everything down. I’ve decided to take this habit and to use it to the benefit of the business.

At Open Comms we make it our mission to share examples of best practice. Often, the challenge is remembering the things that impressed us most. There is so much going on in our industry that one great example is soon forgotten in place of another.

Taking the time to write down the talk triggers that impress me will make sure I keep them to share. It will also be a positive reminder that there are businesses that are doing things that set them out from the crowd.

Back to basics

As well as being more mindful of what others are doing, I’m also going to go back to basics. I think there are times we can tie ourselves in knots. The truth is that our clients choose to work with us because we deliver a great service and consistent results.

It goes back to our values and the thought we put into the business before we launched. More than 11 years later that hasn’t changed. We get the job done and we do it well.

Moving forward I’m going to make sure that we remember this and take the time to look back on our journey and celebrate our success. Perhaps I will have an example of how a company manages to put this into practice and I can take more lessons learnt to benefit our business.

REDEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE FOR STRONGER RESULTS

Posted on May 12, 2020 by

Redefine your audience for better results

When you are working on developing a robust PR strategy, one of the first places to start is to redefine your audience. Without this, you aren’t so much creating a plan as drawing up a list of tactics. This approach may work short term but will not deliver sustainable results over time.

With any other business investment, this level of ambiguity wouldn’t be accepted. So, don’t make it the case with communications. Instead set some objectives to work towards and measure against. This should then allow you to see the benefit of your efforts to the bottom line.

Targeting a mass market

The default audience for many companies is ‘mass market’. While it’s fair to suggest that some organisations have less obvious targets, redefining the audience will help to prioritise and direct efforts.

In instances where ‘anyone’ is an audience, it will be helpful to break this down and to think in characters. Before you roll your eyes, this technique can make a real difference when you put the theory into practice.

Creating characters will require an open mind and some imagination. This isn’t a case of assuming that there are three or four types of people in the world and they all sit neatly into boxes. It is about finding collective attributes which can be used to give a business greater focus when targeting prospective customers.

Customer mapping

When you take a step back and put some thought into your customers and their preferences, you will see that each group will have similarities. It may be frequency of visit, average spend, dwell time online or in store or purchase occasions.

These factors can be used to create characters that are representative of your preferred audiences. Using a simple mapping exercise, you can allocate personalities to each grouping to focus your mind and efforts.

Consider their age, job, family model, what media they will engage with, what they like doing in their spare time and where they may live. Map this onto a piece of paper for each of the groups you have identified.

All of these facts will help you to come up with your ‘characters’. Remember, this is about mapping similarities to refine and direct your marketing and PR efforts. As such, it’s worth being as succinct as you can. Rather than having five or six groups, just focus your efforts on two or three at the most. This will stop the mapping becoming needlessly complicated.

Naming your characters

Once you have identified your characters, give them a name. Make them into a person that you can visualise, better understand and use to transform the way that you communicate as a company.

Take a name that you can relate to and even consider someone you know if it helps. Once you have named each person, put together a day in the life which can be shared with the wider team. This will encourage everyone at the business to talk in the same way and think collectively about what each audience will want.

Test and measure

Like any investment, it is important to test and measure the results. Once you have your characters, think about how you will align each message to meet with their needs – not the other way around.

It is important that everything is tailored to the audience and not to your business. Many companies get this wrong and become overtly self-promotional. Pushing out their message in a way that would appeal to them.

This does not deliver the return or results an organisation would want. In fact, it has the opposite impact, leaving people looking elsewhere for a company that will focus its efforts on their needs as a customer.

Companies should work on creating compelling content, sharing stories that resonate, becoming visible across the right social media channels and reinforcing the values of the business and quality of its products.

This will all help to communicate with those that matter most to your company; the audiences that you have chosen and can now become your focus.

Summary

It’s not always easy for a business to identify its audiences. Companies can spend too much time focusing on the aspirational at the expense of the real targets. In order to get this right, we would advise that you:

  1. Put in place a simple mapping of your audiences
  2. Identify consistencies that create collectives
  3. Pull together no more than three groups
  4. Create a character for each group
  5. Name the character so that they become a personality
  6. Decide how it would be best to communicate with this person
  7. Start to put a plan together that will deliver the results you want
  8. Test, measure, adapt and repeat

A WORLD WITHOUT NEWS

Posted on April 29, 2020 by

No news

Just take a moment to think what it would be like to live in a world without news. No negative headlines. No worries about the wider world. No gossip columns. No announcements of job losses or business failures. No articles about people that mean nothing to you. No articles. Full stop.

Now take some time and think again.

There would be no national newspapers to keep you up to date with politics and economics. No business pages to provide category insight, trends or innovation. The narrative would be ‘manipulated’. Stories would share the positive but fail to give the bigger picture. We would become reliant on a one-sided view of everything. There would be no accountability, governance or code of practice.

Local news would come from chatter shared around the school gates or water cooler. Gossip would prevail. There would be no time for investigating the facts. Those stories that make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside would be enjoyed by the few, not the many.

Charitable activities, good deeds and communities coming together to clap in the street. Veterans raising millions of pounds through personal challenges. Residents using their skills to sew, knit and cook to selflessly help others.

These things would still happen, but only those involved would know about them. Certainly not the millions of people that rely on their newspaper, radio or TV broadcast every day.

Give journalists a chance

So, perhaps I’m painting an unbalanced picture of the news myself.

Maybe some journalists aren’t as thorough or as professional as we may like. Playing devil’s advocate, couldn’t that be said of all industries? Surely the behaviour of few doesn’t set a precedent for the many.

I have worked with journalists across international, national and regional media, broadcast and print, for more than twenty years. Throughout my career, I can honestly say that I have built up a genuine respect and admiration for what they do.

Some, I would even consider as friends.

A heartfelt plea

Yesterday evening I was scrolling through my twitter feed only to come across a video which had been shared by journalists from the Yorkshire Post. The collective, with no outside encouragement, had come together to give a heartfelt plea to readers.

The message was very simple: buy a paper.

Not only was the content raw, it put a face to the people behind the headlines. It gave a glimpse of those that work so hard to put a paper together every day. Those that allow us to better understand what is going on in our region; good or bad.

It struck a real chord with me.

You may not like the way that some journalists behave, and you may have taken a vow never to buy a particular title for your own reasons, but don’t shoot every messenger. We live in a country where we have a choice of media and medium.

Spoilt for choice

You don’t have to buy one paper, listen to one radio show or rely on one TV station. There is an abundance of media out there. We are fortunate that this is the case, and perhaps too spoilt for choice.

While I know that people will take this as an opportunity to share their opinions about the media; with some that say journalists are ‘missing the mark’, perhaps even that they are not representative of the British public. The simple truth is, this goes beyond a daily press conference.

This is a moment in time, and we would be mindful to think beyond it.

Think about the last story you read which made you smile. Think about the cuttings your mum kept. Think about those you are saving for your own family. Think about that feeling when your company featured in the business pages and someone mentioned it. Think about the ideas, encouragement and motivation you took from a feature.

Don’t be the reason to ‘stop press’

There are good and bad sides to everything. Nothing is perfect. We are all learning, and we are all adapting. Journalism is a skill. It takes patience, thought, concentration, the ability to find an angle and to get to the heart of a story. It is creative, exciting, interesting and engaging. It keeps us all informed.

This may be an opportunity for us to turn our backs on journalism and to make a stand. Refuse to buy a paper. Turn off the radio. Avoid the press conferences. Choose a box set.

When this is all over and we come out from the darkness and into the light. When we go to pick up our free paper on the daily commute. When we go to grab the local paper to see what’s happening down the road. When we go to the shop on a Saturday morning to enjoy the paper with a strong coffee. When we go to grab the Sunday paper with its many supplements that last us a week.

They won’t be there.

The stand we took. The one we didn’t think enough about. The point we made. It will be the demise of the newspaper. Humble as it may be, it is a lifeline for many. Don’t make a mistake you will live to regret.

Taking the right stand: the news stand

For now, I am backing the Yorkshire Post and the journalists that work for the title and those within the wider JMIMedia Publishing Ltd.

I will continue to buy my local papers. I will learn from the stories, laugh at the stories, cry over the stories, be shocked by the stories and I will encourage others to do the same.

In a time when it has never been more important to come together, let’s back the many and ignore the few. Buy a paper and keep an industry alive that many of us really do rely on.

SHARE YOUR STORY: BUILD YOUR BRAND

Posted on April 22, 2020 by

PR is about telling stories and building brands

Brand loyalty is not what it used to be. People don’t typically have the same affinity with a company they once did. Perhaps because we now purchase for convenience rather than experience. We access our shopping online or from conglomerates. We have absolutely no idea who served us from one day to the next. That is assuming you didn’t use self checkout.

Times have changed and so have expectations. Consumers want quick, easy and accessible. They want price checks and free returns policies. It’s no longer about relationship building or shared values, it’s about simplicity and functionality.

But what if things were to change?

What’s your story?

Storytelling is an underestimated skill.

Sharing content that is useful, insightful and meaningful has changed the landscape for brands, giving them an opportunity to create a point of difference. In a bid to stand out from the crowd, manufacturers and retailers need to let people know why they should choose one product over another.

This isn’t just about why a business started in the first place, it goes beyond that. In order to give a true impression of a company and what it stands for, an organisation needs to decide what themes will resonate with its audience(s).

It may be the values of a business, the sustainable approach it takes, its corporate social responsibility or the skill, time, effort and experience that goes into making the final product. It may be tone of voice and an honesty that is not typical within a given market or all of the above.

Whatever it happens to be, making a plan for posting content and giving consumers the opportunity to learn more about a company will equip them with the information they need to make more informed choices.

Content that matters

There is a belief that posting a blog every now and then will do the trick and sharing copy across social channels will have people flicking on the kettle and grabbing a cup of tea ready to sit down for a good read.

The truth is that people are just as busy as you are.

It is therefore necessary for brands to consider this and to condense copy so that it can be shared in a way that will appeal to the widest overall audience. It is fine to draft a blog, but break the copy up and then provide a revised version which will share the main points across social channels. If people want to read more they can. Working in this way gives them the choice.

Organisations should map out what the audience needs, wants and what they will enjoy. It may be industry specific topics, thought leadership articles, advice and guidance or something more light-hearted, such as a weekly update from the workforce.

Identifying what is most likely to work will save time and also keep people coming back for more. There is no point in sharing the same content over and over. This is a chance to mix things up and to give a brief glimpse behind closed doors.

Content that changes behaviours

Marketing and PR can be a reoccurring point on agendas which never gets the attention it deserves.

What business owners may fail to realise is that well written copy that is shared regularly can change behaviours. That means that people could switch from purchasing one brand to another based on access to information and strategic storytelling.

Some brands do this very well and use the opportunity to share updates as a way of reiterating the importance of every purchaser to them. Not only does this start to build a community of like minded people, it also gives those involved the confidence they have made the right decision.

When you think about it, would you rather purchase from a faceless, transactional business that will seemingly never give you a second thought or from a brand with personality that thanks you for your custom and directs you to useful content that you can access at your leisure.

Forcing the point

It is absolutely imperative that whatever the size of the business, those responsible for drafting copy understand the difference between selling and sharing. There is a fine line between commercial marketing and editorial PR, which can seem like a mountain to climb when you are faced with a blank sheet and a blog post to draft.

When curating content, it is a good to set out a plan. What is the purpose of the copy, what is the point and why will people read and share it? Without the answers to each of these questions, you may find you are wasting your time.

Forcing a point may come across as a sales pitch, which can do more damage than good. The purpose is rather to educate, inform and give people the detail and background they need to make an informed choice about your product and business.

That is why establishing a tone of voice will give you an edge and will make drafting copy far simpler. It will mean that you are able to inject personality and to build this over time. It doesn’t have to remain exactly the same, it can evolve and those that do become loyal follows will become a part of that journey.

Starting small, thinking big

Drafting content and sharing stories should be a part of any businesses planning and strategy if they want to build a strong and resilient brand.

Rather than make this ‘another thing to do’, the best way to implement change is to start small and think big. One suggestion would be to draft a blog a month, which is supported by social media updates across the most appropriate channels to redirect the audience to that post.

There can then be plans to increase this as the audience increases and customers become more accustomed to the sharing of regular content. Setting clear measures of success should be all the encouragement a business needs to continue. After all, if the right approach is taken, the results will follow.

THE POWER OF STORYTELLING FROM ‘MY STREET’

Posted on April 21, 2020 by

The power of storytelling

I have a guilty pleasure; I really like to watch documentaries while I make dinner. It’s my time to do two things that I enjoy; learning from storytelling and creating homemade meals for my family.

This isn’t a new thing. It was always my Sunday afternoon treat. Since lockdown I’ve started to watch programmes on my iPad while prepping, chopping, baking, boiling and roasting. It is a way for me to destress and unwind while also learning about others.

I am interested in different communities, cultures and lifestyles. The way people choose to live their lives intrigues me and I genuinely believe we can all learn from others: good or bad.

Looking differently at My Street

While perusing the choices, I came across an old programme called My Street. The concept was simple but inspired. A lady had lived on a street for many years and realised she didn’t know her neighbours.

Not usual now-a-days, and something that I feel we can probably all relate to in one way or another.

She set about knocking on doors and asking each family to share their stories about love, life and loss on film. The outcome was an insight into a street that was made up of so many different characters that had one thing in common: their postcode.

Learning from storytelling

This got me thinking.

There is little doubt that one of the reasons I enjoy documentaries so much is that I write stories for a living. Admittedly, the releases and features I draft are often about business, but this doesn’t mean they are devoid of personality.

We always say that passion is infectious, and personality is the one thing that a company has that cannot be replicated. You may be selling the same product as another business but what makes your organisation unique is you. This is where the power of storytelling comes into its own.

I then realised that during lockdown we have started to talk to our neighbours more. We’ve always nodded a polite hello but now we stand in our gardens and we chat. We live on a cul-de-sac in a former mining village and are all very different.

Since lockdown a group of us have come together and during our morning, afternoon and evening chats (which conform to the obligatory social distancing) we have learnt about ‘My Street’. It wasn’t forced it just happened and has made me realise how important it is to add personality to content if you want to really engage with an audience.

Behind closed doors

People like stories. They like to know what happens behind closed doors and to hear about the love, life and loss of others. This doesn’t mean every business needs to share their inner most workings with everyone. In fact, I can’t think of a single client that would happily disclose all their best kept secrets. What it does put into perspective is the need to add interesting facts into the case studies, press releases, blogs and social content.

If you want to harness the power of storytelling you need to think differently.

Adding some honesty to copy and write in the first person to change a piece of content from informative to truly engaging. Creating reactions and changing behaviours is one of the benefits of PR and writing in this way will achieve those objectives.

Going back to My Street

Although I have worked in PR for more than 20 years, I never assume to know everything.

Life is about lessons and I like to learn from others. I try to take the positives from situations and just one of those will be that My Street has reminded me that the true story is the person behind the headline.

Remembering this and using it as a tool going forward, I’m going to put this into practice and make it my mission to find out more about the people behind the stories that we share. But before that, I am going to continue to enjoy the chats that we are having with neighbours and to learning more about what goes on behind closed doors on My Street.

AVOIDING LONG-TERM DAMAGE DURING A CRISIS

Posted on April 3, 2020 by

Avoiding long-term damage during a crisis

It’s fair to say that for most of us the novelty of working from home has worn off. There are serious decisions to be made that will impact on the lives of those around us. Uncertainty is causing anxiety and sleepless nights are becoming the norm. That is why we all need to focus on avoiding long-term damage during a crisis.

Business owners could be forgiven for finding these times the most stressful of their careers. Although most companies are facing the same challenges, the difference is how they are handled.

Stop, think, act

The best organisations are those that call upon the varied skills and quirks of colleagues. This means there are a range of personalities within a business to contend with. While during normal times this doesn’t cause too much of a problem, when times are tough these differences will be magnified.

Encouraging everyone within the team to stop, think and then act is just one approach that can dilute potential fallout. The last thing any company needs is for someone to make a rash decision that will have long-term implications.

Calling upon those with the most relevant expertise to lead is likely to deliver a more positive outcome. Carrying on with business as usual simply won’t work.

Communicating clearly

It is important that any company recognises the value in communicating clearly with its audiences. Not only does this gives customers, suppliers and staff the confidence they need, but it also reflects positively on the brand.

Taking the time to think carefully about what is being said and to whom is a good starting point. It is then about delivering these messages consistently and across the relevant channels.

As these are unprecedented times, audiences don’t expect that companies have all the answers. They do however want honesty and transparency. Authenticity is a word that is overused in PR but brands that can communicate in this way will almost certainly be most resilient.

Finding the silver lining

As contracts are cancelled, budgets are cut and staff are furloughed there seems to be no silver lining to this dark cloud.

During a crisis it is often best to say as little as possible and to stick to the facts, however there has never been a situation like this. Most businesses are facing the same challenges at the same time.

Rather than focusing entirely on the negative, use this as an opportunity. Share the values of a business and show what organisations are doing to support others. CSR (corporate social responsibility) is very much front of mind at present, so ensuring that this is communicated is essential.

It may be that employees are standing outside each Thursday and clapping at 8pm. A company could have turned its signage blue in support of the NHS, carers and frontline workers. People may be putting together care packages or supporting neighbours. Whatever a business is doing, it may be of benefit to let others know.

Using social media for the right reasons

In recent years, social media has commonly featured in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. It may be trolling, shaming or shared content that was intended to be private. Whatever the situation, social media channels have had their fair share of negative publicity.

That was, until now.

It’s been really enlightening to see social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn used for the right reasons. With light-hearted videos shared by companies and posts offering support, it has been a welcome relief.

Companies can use these examples as best practice and look at ways that they could do the same. As long as these posts are done for the right reasons, they will add personality to a brand and engage with audiences when it matters most.

Calling upon a network

When organisations are faced with a crisis it is often exclusive. This means that they are left to handle the approach, process and consequences alone.

In this instance, everyone is in the same boat. This therefore gives businesses the chance to call upon their networks for help and support. There is no shame in asking for advice and the same can be said for offering it.

Having a company can be isolating and lonely. At times like this it is essential that we all come together and do our best for the benefit of the wider business community. We can then do our best to avoid long-term damage during a crisis.

A focus on the future

While times are tough, we all need to remain focused on the future. There is light at the end of the tunnel, we just need to get there. It is going to take resilience, solidarity, effort, positivity and mindfulness.

These are all strengths we need to call upon and we will.

In the meantime, we need to communicate consistently, remember our values and try our hardest. Before long, we will get to a point where we can celebrate all that we have achieved when faced with unprecedented adversity.

Summary

Finding ways to be more progressive and to put in place an approach that works best for a business can be a challenge. We would urge any company of any size to consider the following:

  • Stop, think and act
  • Communicate clearly
  • Try to find a silver lining
  • Use social media for the right reasons
  • Call upon your network
  • Focus on the future

We hope that this will provide a starting point and a check list for organisations to work from. No company wants this, however having plans in place can support the present while also pathing the way for a brighter future. Hopefully then we can all work towards avoiding long-term damage during a crisis. For access to information and support about your PR, marketing content and social media please call a member of the team.

SHARING THE SECRETS BEHIND PR

Posted on April 1, 2020 by

Sharing the secrets about PR

The truth is that when it comes to sharing the secrets behind PR, there aren’t any.

Before I go on, let me make it clear, those working in the profession are specialists and they spend years training but there is no need for a scholarship at Hogwarts.

As an industry, PR suffers from a reputation crisis. Many businesses have been let down by false promises, hidden costs and wasted budgets. They have been offered the earth and when that doesn’t materialise they are left with a document full of excuses.

Unfortunately, this has put many companies off, and rightly so, but the good news is that this doesn’t have to be the case. 

Starting at the beginning

All businesses can benefit from PR. This isn’t a statement, it’s a fact.

Whatever the industry or product, there can be a clear rationale made for engaging with staff, customers and / or suppliers. Furthermore, it is really important that companies share their values, approach and where possible, the reason for their existence.

If people are to part with their hard earned money, they want to better understand where their purchases come from. This isn’t necessarily about food miles, but more about the philosophy of an organisation and what it stands for.

Setting a strategy

Clearly, not every business is the same, and the objectives for putting a communications strategy in place will be different. This is one of the benefits of PR; it can be shaped around any organisation whether business to business, business to consumer or third sector.

The other thing to consider is who will be involved in developing the strategy and delivering it. There needs to be clear ownership and input. PR isn’t something that will just happen, it needs to be managed and driven.

A seat around the boardroom table

PR needs to take a seat around the boardroom table. There is no point in making the investment – of time or resource – if putting a strategy into practice is not going to be taken seriously. If PR remains a nice to have then it simply won’t work.

Finding those within the business that have a natural affinity or passion for communication will take some of the pressure off. Giving these individuals additional responsibility and set performance indicators to work towards will keep PR on the agenda.

Discussing the tactics that have worked and those that haven’t with the senior management team will reinforce the importance of PR and what it can deliver.

Sharing the excitement

As a business function, when PR works well, it is difficult for people not to notice. It may be coverage in a newspaper, on the radio or even TV. It could be a newsletter, a blog, social media posts or an internal communication programme.

Whatever the objective, getting excited by the results that can be achieved through PR is fundamental to its success. A further benefit is that once one element of the plan is working, it can evolve and additional actions can be added.

Not enough time in the day

It’s easy to default to this assumption. There just simply isn’t enough time in the day to do everything that is required and PR isn’t a priority.

Well, it should be.

How a company communicates will influence the behaviour of its customers. There are few other specialisms that can make this kind of impact. PR is just as important as the quality of a product or service, which should ensure that it remains on the agenda.

When organisations recognise the real value of PR it can be transformative and that is why setting aside the time is so important.

Relying on the specialists

For those that really don’t have the time and cannot find any available resource within the business, the alternative is to turn to the specialists.

As a Wakefield based PR agency we work with businesses of all sizes. As well as delivering a year-round PR, communications and content strategy for our clients, we also deliver training. This gives smaller organisations the tactics, tools and techniques they need to put the theory into practice.

For those that want to explore PR, content marketing and social media further, please do give us a call or email.

 

YOU DON’T NEED PR IN MANUFACTURING

Posted on January 27, 2020 by

Manufacturing business

Manufacturing businesses are some of the most exciting companies in the country. Not only do they produce products, their organisations are full of innovation, automation, talent and aspiration. That is why it is so baffling that there continues to be a belief that you don’t need PR in manufacturing.

It doesn’t really matter what you produce, when I walk out onto a factory floor I am always mesmerised. There is so much going on. It’s not just about the process or the flow of the production process, it’s the smells and the sounds too.
Working in manufacturing

Starting my career in a print factory, I had the chance to work with operators, team leaders, warehouse operatives and managers. All had a story to share and experiences that brought their tales to life.

Since that time, I have worked with many companies that rely on the expertise of machine operators, engineers, production managers and operations directors. Understanding what a significant part they play in the success of an organisation is just half of the battle.

Working with manufacturers

As a PR agency we take this insight and shape content that will generate earned and owned coverage. As such the story needs to be compelling enough for journalists to want to print it and for visitors to want to read it.

The challenge that we have when we are delivering PR in manufacutring companies is that many of them don’t see what incredible work they do. They come to work, do a day’s graft and go home. Some of these organisations are more than a hundred years old. Although times have changed and processes have progressed, they still see their day job as the same as it was before.

Trying to explain to some businesses that they need to communicate with customers, to share their story and to allow their brand to resonate falls on deaf ears. Some don’t feel they need to bother, and others just don’t know where to start.

Making the most of every opportunity

In a world where we are surrounded by opportunities to communicate, whether that be online, in print or across digital platforms, we should be making the most of it. Instead, a lot of companies simply stick to what they are good at.

The truth is that many manufacturers run as a business and forget the relevance and commercial value of creating a brand. In some instances, they feel that talk of marketing and

PR is ‘the fluffy stuff’ they don’t need to bother with. Not only is this untrue, it could be very damaging.

Supporting the reputation of a business

PR supports the reputation of a brand and business. It provides insight into a company, its values and ambitions. It isn’t just a sales tool, it is a vehicle to share a story and to attract talent. Saying nothing doesn’t mean that nothing will get said, it simply means you won’t control the message.

I’ve come across a lot of small to medium sized manufacturers that have said they can’t afford PR. I always respond in the same way; you invest in an accountant to ensure that you are financially stable and compliant, PR is no less important.

Perhaps you do need PR in manufacturing

Manufacturing is a complex industry and there are often a lot of secrets. It may be workflow, innovative products, configuration of machinery or just the need to keep trade secrets. This doesn’t negate the need for PR, nor does it mean that a story can’t be shared.

What we do with our clients that work in the sector is to identify what we can say and to create a year-round schedule of activity that keeps their brand front of mind. We don’t target one audience, we target many and make sure that our messaging resonates where it should.

Over the years we have secured some incredible results for our clients and we’ve had a lot of fun. For those that are debating what PR could do for their business I would encourage you to get in touch. We have lots of examples to share that just may help you to change your mind.