E=MC2 Blog

Is your website still fit for purpose in 2012?

2012-01-23T09:25:00.003Z

Websites are today’s virtual shopfronts. They speak volumes about the organisations they represent, creating lasting impressions which will engage or disengage customers within the first four seconds of their visit.

Website design trends in 2012

Website design in 2012 is all about the customer experience and customers want functionality, faster online access and social interactivity. If your website still appears as a static extension of your company brochure, with very little functionality or consumer interaction, it probably is time for a major overhaul.

Purpose-design

The best websites today are purpose-designed. They are built around the actions you want your customers to take when they visit your site or land on a particular page.
If you are planning on upgrading your website or rebuilding it from scratch, you should be incorporating the following elements.

Social media integration

Social media is also set to become an integral part of website communications, customer relationship-building and retention in 2012. Corporate attitudes to social media are changing and more organisations are developing integrated strategies to support their Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube presence. We will see more websites using their social media channels this year to talk to and learn from their customers, build relationships with them, manage complaints and provide support. Expect to see Twitter for business use really taking-off in 2012.

Smart phone-friendliness

Smart phone searches will grow significantly this year with more than one in five internet searches expected to be via a mobile device and the trend will increase significantly over the next five years. If your website is not mobile -friendly, frustrated visitors who find it difficult to read and slow to load will go elsewhere. Content too should be compatible. Headlines and text should adjust to fit the smartphone browser so that the visitor doesn’t have to scroll over to see it.

Forget Flash – it’s HTML5

Speed of access is what people want. Smart phones will not be installing Flash for consumers which makes using HTML5 extremely important for businesses.

Intelligent and useful content

Reader-friendliness, quality of information and usefulness are what attract customers and search engines like Google to a website. Make sure you research your market before making improvements. It’s important to listen to the people you want to reach, understand their needs and provide content and imagery that will attract and interest them. If you can give them what they want they will engage with your site and get others to link to it.

‘Inclusivity’

Consumers also want to find what they are looking for quickly in a language that they understand and identify with. The language style, tone and voice of your website should therefore be compatible and familiar to the people you want to reach so, again, listen and learn from your audience before you start to ‘speak’.

Continuous ‘fresh’ content

Search engines like Google as well as consumers don’t want to see and read the same old boring stuff over and over again. They are hungry for fresh content that’s interesting, useful and engaging. You should regularly refresh your site with new information, video, photos, info graphics, slide presentations, news releases and more.

Big interesting pictures and attention-grabbing headlines

Again, big, dynamic images, high impact headlines, interesting infographics and larger icons are all features which savvy websites are using to keep consumer returning to their websites, engaging with it and referring it to other potential customers.

More community and environmental commitment

Last but not least, consumers expect to see real examples of community, ethical and environmental commitment with testimonials, case studies, events calendars and social media interactivity within this section of your website.

Should my business have a blog?

2011-12-16T10:29:00.003Z

Think of a business blog as part of your online marketing toolkit. Blogs can really help you to personalise your business and build brand awareness as well as trust amongst your customers.

Business blogs are also not only extremely cost-effective but a great way to communicate with prospects, build long-term customer relationships and generally market your business.

Here’s what blogging can do for you:

Demonstrate your knowledge and establish you as an expert in your field

Make your business services stand out

Attract new business prospects and opportunities

Improve brand visibility and search engine rankings

Create PR and media opportunities

Open communications channels with prospects / customers

Generate new leads

Show customers / prospects how you can solve you’re their business problems

What should I blog about?

Decide first what you want your blog to achieve. Who are the people you want to reach? Be very specific about this and don’t try to be ‘all things to all people’. The more focussed you are, the more effective your blog will be. Think about what you can you write about that is going to be valuable and interesting to your readers. Remember, a successful business blog is always customer-focussed and never about ‘you’.

Quality and consistency is vital

If you are going to blog, then you need to be consistent and do it regularly to build customer loyalty. Quality is also extremely important; your blog should be ‘brand’ - and ‘reputation-building’. That means you must have compelling, high quality content - for your readers and to boost search engine rankings - that’s spell-checked and factually correct. The design, look and feel of your blog should also be in keeping with your corporate identity and culture.

Invite discussion

An easy way to do this is to ask your visitors for feedback by inviting them to leave comments or suggestions which keep the conversations going. And when people participate, don’t forget to thank and acknowledge them.

Comment on other people’s blogs and social sites

Get yourself known by commenting or guest blogging on other people’s blogs and discussion forums. Try to participate in other social networking channels like LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube and SlideShare.

By following these tips, you will be well on your way to being a successful blogger.

QR codes: a fantastic business marketing tool you should be using!

2011-11-24T16:29:00.006Z

Over the past few months we’ve been encouraging our clients to start incorporating Quick Response codes (QR codes) into their marketing communications because they are an extremely cost-effective and useful way of encouraging customers to interact with a company’s products or services.

What are QR codes and what should I use them for?
QR codes are 2-D barcodes that behave like hyperlinks and can be decoded using your smartphone with a QR code reader. They can link to a new product page on your website, a Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter profile, a Google maps reference, vouchers or special offers – just about anything you want to show and tell your customers about. You can also use QR codes to send emails and SMS messages automatically or upload people’s contact details into your smartphone’s address book. They were first designed for the auto industry to track parts.

QR codes – a huge marketing opportunity just waiting to be tapped
The great thing about QR codes is that you are not limited in terms of length, size and space. Traditional advertising works on limits. You pay for extra airtime, advertising and newspaper space. But fixing a QR code to your advertisement, you are literally limitless in the amount of information you can include in your advert. According to the latest UK survey of mobile phone users in July 2011, 45% of consumers already own a smartphone with a further 17% planning to acquire one within the year. In terms of marketing opportunities, there is an audience for QR codes that is just waiting to be tapped!

How do I get a QR code?
It’s very easy. There are several websites which will create QR codes for free like Quickqr and Qrstuff.

How do QR codes work?
The first thing you need to do is to download a QR reader. Most smartphones come with readers already installed these days. You can also download one from the internet for free. After you’ve done this, enter the QR reader on your phone and take a picture of the QR code. This will take you to the code’s location. For example, if you put your LinkedIn or website address into the QR code creator, the QR code created will take people to that page when they take a picture of it on their smartphone.

How do you use a QR code?
You can use QR codes to promote yourself, your products and services in all sorts of ways. For example, you might have a QR code next to each product on your web site which contains product details, contact information and the web link to the page so consumers can review this information on their smart phone and share it with their friends. You could add one to your job advertisement, exhibition stand, company signage and business card so it’s easy for someone to add you to their smart phone address book.

In short, you can add a QR code to any marketing and advertising materials from posters to TV advertisements and use them to connect consumers or customers to:

Product information

Contact details

Special offers

Special events

Competition details

Voucher or coupon

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

Latest YouTube video

If you are interested in using QR codes here are some useful links:

http://www.quikqr.com/

www.beetagg.com/downloadreader

www.reader.kaywa.com/getit

www.2d-code.co.uk/qr-code-readers

http://www.qrstuff.com/

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code

How to write a good PR brief

2011-11-01T09:00:00.001Z

A PR pitch and eventual communications programme are only as good as the PR brief you provide.

Here are some quick tips on how to write a good PR brief.

Vision and objectives: state what your vision and key objectives are. What is it that you want to achieve, where, when and why?

Target audiences: identify who you want to reach.

Background: provide background information on your organisation, this could for example, be a company profile explaining what you do and your products and services. Explain what issues and challenges your organisation is facing and any key selling messages and unique selling points you have (e.g. why do people choose your organisation / products / services?).

The PR brief:

Identify and highlight the areas you want the PR agency to tackle and what resources, including any additional agency or in-house PR or marketing communications support.

Budget: be clear on how much you want to spend as your PR strategy and programme will need to be built around your budget.

Deadlines: state your project delivery deadlines.

Useful website references: include these and any other resources which will help the PR agency learn more about your organisation.

Provide high quality business information: PR professionals are business advisers and strategists, so a good brief will provide scope for consultants to give their perspective and insight on the issues you need to address and strategies. This will also give you an insight into the agency’s creative and strategic thinking capabilities.

Account management: ask the PR agency to provide details on how they will manage the account and work on a day to day basis with you, your organisation and management team.

Confidentiality: include a statement on confidentiality and intellectual property.

Submission date: advise when your submission deadline is.

Experience / references

Ask for examples of work and project successes so the PR consultancy or agency can highlight their skills and capabilities and request references too.

What should you put on your homepage?

2011-10-10T17:09:00.007+01:00

Your homepage is the most important landing page of your website and yet surprisingly few organisations put the right information on it.

Four seconds to grab the visitor’s attention

The opening text of your website’s homepage should be able to tell visitors in four seconds or less what you do and what you are selling. Think of it as the opening statement of a company résumé – it should highlight the key products, services or skills you are offering.

Some homepage do’s and don’ts…

Don’t put a company logo, strapline, video, fancy Flash graphic and ‘click here to enter’ on your homepage, it’s a real turn-off. Visitors want to find what they are looking for instantly so cut to the chase.

Don’t put anything to do with you company history, vision and values, mission statements, employee numbers and corporate information on your homepage – these belong in the ‘About us’ section.

Do keep your content refreshed by running an RSS or company news feed on your homepage.

Do - if you want to be found on Google and other search engines - ensure your homepage contains keywords and phrases that people would use to search for you on the internet. But be careful, your text must make sense and be readable, informative and intelligent to visitors and search engines. Search Engines like Google rank websites on the relevance of their content.

Last but not least, test out your homepage content on people who know nothing about what your company does or sells. Their feedback will tell you very quickly if your homepage is doing its job!

How do you turn negative PR into positive on the internet?

2011-08-28T09:07:00.002+01:00

What do you do if you find your company, products or services under fire on the internet?

A very unhappy listed UK company recently asked us for strategic PR advice after finding negative comments from investors on the organisation’s financial performance. It wanted to know what it could do to stop the remarks on a discussion forum.

Our top three PR tips on managing your online reputation
If these negative comments are highly visible on internet searches, posting a defensive reply on a popular blog, discussion board or social media channel will just ‘fuel the fire’ and make things worse.

In situations like these you need to get the basics right. Here are our top three tips:

Push down negative comments with a strategic PR programme of good news product or company stories which generate positive brand messages on the front pages of Google and other engine searches.

Resist the temptation of posting defensive replies

Don’t order the removal of the comments just because you don’t like them!

When a PR crisis hits, it’s too late to prepare!

2011-08-04T15:22:00.002+01:00

A PR crisis is any situation that threatens your organisation’s image and reputation. Fail to prepare for it, then prepare to fail.

When a PR crisis hits an organisation the rules of the game in normal PR and media relations change dramatically. The speed of information and image delivery over the internet is often almost instantaneous. Speculation and public criticism through social media channels like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, can overwhelm an organisation within minutes. And if you are not prepared for this, you could find yourself in serious hot water.

Every organisation should have a simple crisis communications procedure or as I call it, a ‘PR protection plan’ ready to go when things go wrong. It’s not just good PR practice, it could be a ‘life-saver’!

Crisis PR requires efficient reporting systems

Whether you are dealing with a fatality, customer complaint, share price crash, or a product fail, you will need effective crisis reporting systems which alert your chief exec and senior management team to the situation in seconds. Staff and suppliers must also have a protocol for referring any media enquiries straight to your communications team.

Be factual, quick and truthful

When things do go wrong, tell your story factually, quickly and truthfully. If you ignore the situation, deny or hide it, it will get worse. People usually remember what they hear first and last so view the situation from their perspective not just yours. On a final note, don’t make the common mistake of handing the crisis PR and media relations over to your lawyers. If they are not communications professionals, it could escalate the problem.

Five simple SEO tips for writing effective online press releases

2011-07-14T16:10:00.001+01:00

SEO optimisation is really important if you want your online press release content crawled, indexed and ranked by internet search engines. That’s why you need to make sure that your digital press releases promote both your news and maximise your internet search visibility and rankings.

You can improve the search visibility of your digital press release content by following E=MC2 Public Relations’ five simple SEO tips for writing effective online press releases:

Research, optimise and hyperlink your top keyword phrases (no more than two

Link to a landing page, so you can track interest

Post in the news area of your website (newsdesk)

Distribute via RSS news feeds

Maximise PR distribution to relevant online press (this gets your press release on other sites with backlinks to you)

This should help you create SEO-friendly press releases that will send more potential buyers and journalists to your website!

Ruined in a ‘tweet’ – ignore social media at your peril!

2011-06-09T14:35:00.003+01:00

At a time when a good name can be destroyed in a ‘tweet’, it’s surprising how few organisations actively monitor what people are saying about them over the Internet. These days, we’re more likely to be influenced by what other customers are saying about a product on the internet than believe its slick advertising and marketing hype.

Every business should be actively engaged in not just protecting but also strengthening its online reputation. Listening to what’s being said about your company on blogs, discussion forums and other social media channels also gives you an opportunity to respond and contribute to these conversations in a positive and personal way. It’s these two-way conversations which can play a vital role in building customer relationships and keeping people on side when things go wrong.

Social media marketing is becoming hugely powerful and monitoring it is vital to keeping your business reputation intact.

If you are not already tuned-in, there are some great free tools you can use to start monitoring what people are saying about you.

Here are three good ones to get you started:

Google Alerts
Google alerts, these are free, all you need is a Google account. Google trawls the Internet for conversations about you and sends the links. Also a great tool for keeping tabs on your competitors!

Tweetdeck
Tweetdeck organises all of your Twitter communications and tracks what people are saying about your organisation or products.

Social Mention
Social Mention is like Google Alerts but for social media.

Think before you tweet

2011-04-28T11:58:00.003+01:00

The problem with Twitter or anything you publish on the web is that it’s permanent. From chief executives and politicians to celebrities and journalists, the Internet is full of damaging examples of disastrous and embarrassing tweets.

So think before you tweet – there’s no such thing as ‘off the record’ on the internet!

Here’s a few tips on what not to talk about...

• Don’t complain about your organisation, products, customers or staff
• Don’t get defensive or angry
• Don’t tell tales
• Don’t publicise sensitive company or financial information
• Don’t publicise private or confidential issues
• Don’t criticise your competitors
• Don’t be inaccurate
• Don’t be defamatory
• Don’t forget to spell-check your words!

Yours,

Arthur

The Blog Dog

Footballers: don’t make a twit of yourself

2011-04-14T11:39:00.006+01:00

(Photo courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti)

Has anyone else noticed all the media stories about sportspeople using Twitter? Golfer Rory McIlroy posted a photo of himself with Charl Schwartzel, the day after the South African snatched the US Masters from him. He tweeted: “Flying to Malaysia with Charl! Glad one of us has a green jacket on!!!”

It’s a shame others - often footballers - don’t tweet so graciously. England striker Carlton Cole has been charged with improper conduct by the FA after making ill-advised Twitter comments about Ghana fans. Ipswich Town youngster Billy Clarke used Twitter to reveal that the Tractor Boys were not going to offer him a new contract. The latest offender is St Johnstone player Michael Duberry, who tweeted an expletive-laced tirade against a referee following a recent defeat.

So, what’s to be done? The way I see it, these are the options:

• Impose a complete ban on players using social networking sites – draconian perhaps, but it was about the only thing that worked well during the England team’s 2010 World Cup campaign.

• Threaten players with disciplinary action if they post anything inflammatory – the prospect of being dropped, made to train with the youth team or suspended without pay for a few weeks could be a stronger deterrent than a fine.

• Ban players from posting anything relating to football on their social networking sites – it works for other industries, why not football?

• Get players to clear any football-related comments with their club’s press office – I’m surprised clubs haven’t done this already, updates to Facebook and Twitter are just as public as pre- and post-match interviews.

• Train players how to use social media sensibly – top players get media training at a young age, so it makes sense to teach them about social networking sites too. Attendance should be compulsory if a player has a social networking account.

Why use social media for business?

2011-04-06T17:11:00.005+01:00

It’s an excellent way of connecting to your customers where they are and what they are saying about you.

It’s a great way of reinforcing existing client relationships and building new ones. Businesses can share knowledge and information easily on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, consumer forums or via Twitter.

It’s the quickest method of communicating key business messages to a wide range of people. Corporate Twitter accounts are a great way of broadcasting company news instantly and concisely.

Crisis PR: it can be vital to managing corporate reputation, messages and keeping people informed when things go wrong.

Twitter is excellent for driving visitors to your website and corporate blog.

Blog dog
Arthur

Latest national spending habits: smart phones, 'apps' and online dating

2011-03-15T17:25:00.004Z

The latest ONS survey published this week on the nation's spending habits shows the impact of new technology and the Internet.

Added to the British shopping basket of goods and services (used by ONS to calculate UK inflation rates) are smart phones and 'apps' which are replacing mobile phone downloads like ringtones and wallpaper. Also in the basket for the first time are online dating agency fees with the Internet fast becoming the new way to find love.

Bad news for dogs like me. Instead of going out for walks, householders are spending their money on giant TV sets, 'home cinema' systems, sparkling wine and ready-meals.

Frankly, I'd like to see more dog food in the basket – Bakers Complete and Beef and Lamb Pedigree Chum please.

Blog dog
Arthur

Give SMEs a fair share of public sector contracts

2011-03-08T08:11:00.003Z

I’m happy to learn that our PM David Cameron sees SMEs as key to UK plc’s economic recovery. Also delighted that he’s pledged to help SMEs – including hard-working PR dogs like me - win a fair share of public sector contracts. Considering that SMEs account for over 50% of the UK business economy, but only win around 8% of the public sector contracts, it’s clear the current system is grossly unfair. I hope Mr Cameron in the spirit of ‘localism’ is prepared to follow through on his rhetoric, take action and give SMEs a fighting chance by cutting the ridiculously expensive, pointless and wasteful government procurement process. Of course, the question is: can he cut through all the government red tape to make it happen?

Crisis PR: How to handle journalists and the media in a crisis

2011-02-21T17:23:00.004Z

When crisis hits your organisation and the press are calling you for comment, it is extremely important that the media and journalists understand and feel that you as the company’s spokesperson, really care!

• Express sympathy and grave concern for what has happened

• Reassure the media that the matter has been taken extremely seriously

• Be as open as possible, do not appear to be hedging

• Don’t blame or admit to blame or negligence but do say, “This is what went wrong and this is what remedial action we took to ensure that this type of incident never happens again.”• If it is true, stress that this is the first incident to happen in the history of the company

• Reinforce what remedial action has been taken including anything ‘above and beyond the call of duty’

• Point out that your company’s standards are well above the statutory minimum (safety / hygiene / training)

• Stick to the facts and don’t speculate

• Keep calm and don’t be defensive

• Be honest and courteous

• Don’t commit to compensation!

• Make a record of the contact

• If you don't know the answer, don't answer it. An "I'll get back to you on that" is always a better answer than a made up one. Simply say, "That's a good question. I'm going to check on it and get back to you in 20 minutes." Then do it. Do not leave the reporter without a call back. Even if you call back to let the reporter know that you're still looking for the information, that's better than leaving them hanging.

Why is photography important for PR?

2010-11-26T18:30:00.002Z

The short answer is that the media likes stories which come with pictures.

Having an eye-catching image can make the difference between a story being used or spiked.

On some news websites, the format demands that the journalist uses a picture. If you provide an image, your story immediately stands a much better chance of getting coverage.

In general, a story with a picture gets more editorial space and therefore has more impact in newspapers and magazines.

How do you get the high-quality images which send out the right message about your organisation?

 Use a professional photographer with a track record of working with media. Look at examples of their work – can they get the pictures you need?

 Send out the right image. Study your target media for examples of the pictures they prefer.

 Tell the story. If your news is about your company funding playground equipment at a primary school, get some children and the play equipment in the picture. Avoid dull handshake shots or people in suits presenting a cheque.

 Give good brief. Make sure the photographer knows what you’re looking for by providing a detailed brief, including examples of the type of shot required. Anyone involved in organising the shoot should be briefed too – make sure they know exactly what is involved, any special arrangements needed and how long the photoshoot will take.

 Get a caption. Don’t send images to the media without a caption, it drives journalists mad. People need to be fully identified with names and job titles.

Why use Twitter?

2010-10-22T14:57:00.001+01:00

Twitter is often referred to as ‘micro-blogging’ as it is used to share views and opinions quickly and concisely.

And there’s no doubt that it’s effective: it currently has 3.7 million UK users, an increasing number of which are businesses.

But why has it become so popular and why should you be using it?

Twitter accounts are useful because they:

• Are excellent for disseminating your news stories quickly – When you log in to Twitter, how many times have you seen a Tweet from someone saying that they’ve seen a celebrity a few minutes before at a station or an airport? The point here is that Twitter is instant. Type in a short message, share it, and everyone following you knows about it immediately. Think of it as like sending a text, but to lots of people.

• Have the potential to reach influential people and groups – Worldwide, it’s estimated that around 106 million people or organisations have Twitter accounts: that gives you a potentially huge audience. Try to follow as many people/organisations as you can, but if you’re a business, be strategic – focus on finding similar businesses, clients, subcontractors or decision-makers who you already work with or are targeting – don’t just follow everyone and anyone.

• Create a sense of community – A crucial thing to remember when using Twitter or any social media tool is that online, people congregate around areas of interest rather than demographics. It’s an excellent place to meet and engage with like-minded individuals or businesses.

• Can be used to comment on issues relevant to your industry – If there’s an issue or topic that’s current in your industry, Twitter is a great place to air your views and also find out what your contemporaries think too. Find something topical, Tweet it and ask your followers for their views – the more regularly you do this, the more likely you are to get a response.

• Are a great way of sharing best practice – If you’ve found a method for doing something successfully that can help others, Twitter is an easy way of sharing it. For example, if you’ve put together a presentation about a particular subject, you can send a link to it out on Twitter so that everyone can see it.

FACT: You are 500 times more likely to read an advertorial than an advert…

2010-10-15T12:32:00.002+01:00

Advertorials are back in fashion and for good reasons too. Surveys suggest that people are 500 times more likely to read an advertorial than an advert. That’s because they’re informative and they look and read like a real news or feature story.

Advertorials are paid-for ‘adverts’ which resemble an objectively-written editorial. Magazines, e-zines and newspapers love them because they generate income. Savvy businesses love them because they sell products and services. What’s more, they can be used for a myriad of marketing purposes from magazine features, to web-based ‘information sites’.

81 per cent more orders than adverts

Research by Reader’s Digest revealed that an advertorial which looked like a magazine article generated 81 per cent more orders than the same copy presented in a traditional advert format.

With an advertorial you also have full editorial control over your business messaging. That’s important if you need to clearly communicate the benefits of a new product or service, or, explain a complex or technical concept. Advertorials give you the ability to base the content directly around your key messages without the threat of the messages being diluted or used out of context.

Advertorials educate and build trust among customers and stakeholders

This is why more and more smart businesses are choosing to invest in well-written and targeted advertorials to get their messages out into the public realm.

A typical advertorial will be 600 to 1,200 words with space for photos and contact details – but avoid using logos!

Don’t expect one advertorial to suddenly result in a flood of calls and emails. If you want to convince people to buy into your business then you need to educate them by communicating your messages regularly. This will build the relationship between you and your customers. And, with many national and local newspapers now offering a range of off and online deals and packages, it really is a good time to start giving the advertorial a bit more of your attention.

Five tips on how to improve your search engine rankings

2010-09-24T11:05:00.001+01:00

While most of us find websites through search engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo, but very few of us will look beyond the first two pages of search results. That’s why you want to make sure that your site is up at the top.

Five search engine optimisation (SEO) tips for improving your rankings on the internet:

1. Think carefully when selecting your keywords. Before you make your website live, you’ll need to create a list of keywords and phrases about your product or service. For example, if you sell shoes, this would need to be one of your keywords. However, lots of websites will have this as a keyword too, so choose a phrase with two or three key words which are relevant to you.

2. Include plenty of text content. Search engines find it difficult to pick up Flash content, but they love text. Try to use 100 or more words per page on your site, themed around your keywords or phrases.

3. Use your keywords frequently – between three and eight times per 100 words is usually recommended. And don’t forget to include keywords in your headlines or subheadings!

4. Add links to your site. Links help search engines to navigate the pages of your website, so make sure you have plenty littered throughout your site. A good place to start is by creating a home page which includes links through to other pages within your site.

5. Ask other sites to link to you. Try to get your links to your website on sites that are highly ranked by search engines. This is vital – search engines regard links to your site from other pages as a vote. The higher their search engine ranking, the more valid the vote is. Google has an application called PageRank which you can download to help you with this.

Social media is great for business if you have a strategy

2010-09-07T23:28:00.005+01:00

Social media is becoming hugely important in business marketing yet few companies understand it, let alone know how to use it effectively. Creating a company page on Facebook, LinkedIn or a channel on YouTube will not help you win friends and influence people if you don’t know which social media platforms your customers use and what they use them for.

Social media is a communications platform which allows you to be highly targeted in your selling messages and reach exactly the right people you want to make friends with - that's if you know how to use it. And in the current climate, it should be an integral part of your marcoms strategy not an ‘after-thought’.

So, if you want your ‘Tweeting’, ‘Facebooking’ and social media activities to work for you, here are a few things to think about:

1. What are your aims and objectives? Who do you want to engage and communicate with and what do you want to say?

2. What social platforms do your customers / prospects use and what online communities do they participate in (e.g. Twitter, LinkedIn and Ecademy business forums are going to be more useful if you are a B2B organisation than Facebook)?

3. Tailor your key messages to the people and businesses you want to reach and tell them something useful and valuable to them.

4. Be social and don’t try to ‘preach’ or ‘hard sell’. This is about building long-term ‘friendships’ with people you want to do business with.

5. Most importantly, communicate consistently, truthfully and regularly with customers and prospects – it’s key to building trust, confidence and a profitable following.

Proposed parking charges in Wiltshire are barking mad

2010-07-23T09:22:00.001+01:00

My local authority - Wiltshire Council - is holding a consultation about car parking charges across the county which has got me extremely hot under the collar!

My E=MC2 chums are also pretty angry too because they’ll have to start paying £4.50 a day, £22.50 a week; £90 a month and almost £1,100 a year! Money they could have spent on 4,050 cans of my favourite tripe flavour Pedigree Chum and a couple of juicy lamb bones from Lee Downer the butcher up the street.

Now everyone will leave their cars on the street, block buses, Massey Fergusons and combine harvesters and create huge traffic jams! And who's going to pay £4.50 a day when they can park for nothing on public roads or pay £3 at the Tisbury railway station?

If these ludicrous parking charges are enforced in Tisbury people won’t shop in the village anymore, our high street will die and local employers will be forced to move elsewhere. If the council wants to bring Wiltshire villages to their knees, this is the way to do it.

If you ask me, they’re all a bunch of city slickers who think that chickens come frozen.

If you don’t like the new parking charges and want to comment, go to: http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal/ltp/ltp_parking_strategy

DISASTER!!! How will you respond?

2010-06-17T14:18:00.002+01:00

Imagine this scenario: you’re the managing director of the main contractor building a massive new commercial development in a major city centre. Suddenly, a crane collapses causing carnage on the site below and a number of people are seriously injured. Within minutes, video footage of the crane collapsing is on the internet, reporters from the national media are contacting you for comment. Your company’s reputation is on the line – what are you going to do?

That’s just one example of a public relations crisis situation a construction firm might face, but crises can take many forms. It could be a programme of redundancies attracting negative press attention, allegations of bid-rigging, a vicious blog from a disgruntled employee or an environmental incident.

In the digital age, there’s an even greater risk of unwanted headlines damaging the reputation of your business. Thanks to the advent of social media such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, photos or even a video of a construction site which doesn’t comply with health and safety regulations can be posted on the internet with ease, and immediately, you’ve got a negative story and a reputation problem on your hands.

How will you respond? With a little foresight, preparation and a strategy, you can protect your good name and turn a potential PR crisis into a media opportunity that wins you customers and public support. Here are three points to remember:

1. Preparation is key – If you can step back and make an honest assessment of any potential issues in your organisation and make a plan, you’ll be better prepared when a crisis hits. Assistance from a professional communications firm can establish a framework so you can respond effectively when something does go wrong. A proactive approach is always best: if you have had problems in the past, take the necessary steps to ensure that your professional reputation isn’t compromised in the future.

2. Have a crisis communications strategy in place, and one that also deals with protecting your online reputation – Decide what you need to tell people and who you need to tell before you speak to the media. And, select the right spokesperson for the job. Choose someone who can communicate well and who understands the issues. Media training in advance can help.

3. Get your facts straight – The easiest way to shoot yourself in the foot is tell your side of the story without knowing the facts. Double-check your information with more than one source. Also, remember that journalists work to deadlines and need information quickly. If they don’t get it from you, they’ll get it from someone else!

E=MC2 Public Relations specialises in strategic public relations and reputation management for the construction, architecture, engineering, property and design sectors. Its activities include writing and placing press releases, press office management, crisis communications, media relations and online reputation management.

For further information, contact us on 01747 871752 or visit our website: www.emc2publicrelations.com. You can find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Hey, EMI – leave them songs alone!

2010-06-17T14:16:00.001+01:00

I was interested to read a few days ago about a court battle between legendary rockers Pink Floyd and the band’s record label of more than 40 years, EMI.

Apparently, the Floyd took legal action after reportedly objecting to the way in which EMI has been selling their music online. To cut a long story short, the judge ruled in favour of David Gilmour and co and said: “Hey, EMI – leave them songs alone.”

As a big music fan – you won’t be surprised to learn that I’m particularly partial to a bit of Bach – I felt heartened to hear of the Floyd’s victory. Well done to them, I say, for standing up for their artistic integrity and refusing to allow their songs to be sold online individually without their permission.

Of course, the Floyd and their contemporaries are all products of a bygone age of music that we’re unlikely to ever see the like of again – and more’s the pity because most of what I hear on the radio these days makes me want to cut my ears off – so I for one was pleased to see them striking a blow for the old guard.

During the aforementioned court case, Pink Floyd’s legal team argued that, under the terms of their contract with EMI, their albums were seamless and should not be split up. They also claimed that they ‘wanted to retain artistic control’ over their material. And I think that’s right. Now I’m not for one moment suggesting that the advent of new technology is a bad thing; on the contrary. I think it’s great that we have iPods and the ability to download songs from wherever we want, but I think the artist has to retain at least some semblance of control. Using Pink Floyd as an example, their seminal album Dark Side of the Moon is more than a collection of songs, it’s an artistic statement. Yes, by all means make it available for download, but in the form that the Floyd wanted people to hear it. Can you imagine that album without ‘Great Gig in the Sky’ or ‘Us and Them’? Those tracks are part of something much bigger which simply wouldn’t be complete if they were missing.

And the record buying public shouldn’t be ignored either. Surely there are still music fans left in the world who like to physically go to a record store on the day an album or single by an artist they like is released and buy it there and then? So what if it costs you a bit more than ordering it on the internet, there’s still something special about having that new piece of plastic in your hands and then getting it home as quickly as you can to listen to it. But maybe that’s just me. Perhaps times have changed so much and the general quality of popular music is now so poor that there simply aren’t any artists worth getting that excited about. I sincerely hope that I’m wrong on that one, but I think it’s a major factor.

Now, we all know that the record business is like every other worldwide industry at the moment – there were even rumours recently that EMI may have to consider selling the iconic Abbey Road studios to ease the group’s financial problems – but that’s irrelevant as far as I’m concerned. Not everyone wants to download singles or albums and those people should be accommodated, alongside those who embrace all of the new ways of accessing music we now have at our disposal.

So come on, music industry, start listening. Music fans come in all forms – it’s your job to give them what they want – what they really, really want …

Why should I incorporate social media into my business?

2010-02-02T10:54:00.005Z

Up until a few years ago, the term ‘social media’ was unheard of. Today, it’s inescapable. If you’ve got a Facebook or MySpace page, a Twitter account, or you regularly log on to YouTube to watch videos, you’re taking part in the social media revolution.

The rapid rate at which the use of social media is increasing is astonishing. YouTube is now reportedly the second largest search engine on the internet with 2.6 billion search queries a year – an incredible statistic when you consider that it took radio 38 years to reach 50 million listeners. In short, you can’t ignore it.

There are many reasons why social media is becoming ever more important within the business community. Firstly, it’s an excellent way of reinforcing existing relationships. Many businesses which want to share information can do this easily on Facebook or via Twitter.

It’s also the fastest method of disseminating your information to a wide range of people. Corporate Twitter accounts are a great way of broadcasting company news quickly and concisely. If you post a Tweet, it’s there in the public domain immediately for everyone to see.

Twitter is also excellent for driving people to corporate blogs. By including teasers of your blog entries in your Tweets, you can generate interest and encourage your audience to view your blog in full.

And thanks to YouTube, incorporating video content into your operations can be done with the minimum of fuss. By simply creating a YouTube channel, you can host all of your videos in one place and invite your audience to come in and take a look. It also means you don’t have to slow your website down by using it to host 200 megabyte videos.

But how do you make it work for your business? By following a few simple steps, you can use social media effectively.

Plan ahead – Before you start incorporating social media into your business activities, think about why you’ve chosen to do it and what you want to achieve. Most businesses which are unsuccessful in integrating social media fail because they have no idea what they want to get out of it.

Measure your success – In the past, one of the main criticisms of social media was that it was virtually impossible to measure its success. However, it’s now much easier to do this by seeing how many friends you have on Facebook, how many followers you have on Twitter, or how many views your YouTube video has had. If you’re using social media to try to generate more hits on your website, you can use a programme such as Google Analytics to monitor website traffic.

Know your audience – It’s important to remember that online, people congregate around areas of interest rather than demographics, so ensure you know your audience and give them content and topics that match their interests.

Be different – By all means, look at what other people are doing in terms of social media campaigns but making your Tweets, Facebook page or YouTube videos different is the key to success. For example, if you’ve got a blog, choose an interesting subject to focus on which nobody else is commenting on. Better still, find somebody with an interesting take on a particular situation to write the blog.

Key words – Finally, it’s essential to include as many of your key words as possible in your descriptor on your social media pages as this will improve your search engine position. The more of your key words you can incorporate into your Tweets and Facebook status posts, the better. It’s also important to remember that you need to revisit your key word selection regularly and fine-tune it to ensure that your name stays at the top of popular search results.

Those dirty dogs the NLA…

2010-01-19T14:25:00.003Z

A big pat on the back to you Meltwater News for finally standing up for us PR underdogs and fighting that unscrupulous and profiteering pack of hounds the Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA). It’s about time someone challenged their latest money-grabbing ‘link-tax’ scam to make us all pay for online newspaper content (material which PRs have written and supplied to them in the first place!).

I’m glad you are showing your teeth and taking them to Copyright Tribunal. I’d like to bite those no-good mongrels in the backside myself. The fact is, we should be charging you - NLA - for the privilege of using our copy! Without it you’d be out of business. I think the whole PR industry should help Meltwater win their case by boycotting NLA members. I’d like to see how long they would last without our press releases to fill their pages! Grrrrrrrrrr! You deserve a dose of your own medicine!

So, good on you Meltwater. I hope you win and if you need any PR help, give us a call on +44 (0)1747 871752. CIPR and PRCA take note, you should have done this for us years ago when the NLA was a toothless pup!

Has your advertising budget been cut? Why not use PR instead?

2010-01-04T16:30:00.004Z

Q: I’ve had to cut my advertising budget due to the current economic climate but still need to promote my business. How can I do this in a cost-effective way?

A: If you’ve ever wondered why some companies are always in the news, it’s because they understand the value of positive public relations and they most probably have a PR professional driving their media relations.

Public relations deals with reputation management and building great relationships with customers, employees and other groups which interact with your business. Good PR drives sales and creates favourable attitudes by getting people excited and thinking positively about your company.

A professional PR company can help you in a number of ways, including for example preparing press releases to communicate your key messages in local or trade publications, producing newsletters or case studies to illustrate examples of your successes or managing your electronic communications such as your company website or email bulletins to clients.

Whether you are a start-up company or an established business, you do need to be revving up your PR and getting your name and messages out there. With more companies fighting for less work, you need to keep communicating with the outside world to win new business, and so that people will think of you first when the economy picks up.

This is what strategic PR does. It keeps you in front of your customers, and it’s the most effective way of boosting your image and your business. If you don’t have the professional expertise in-house, don’t waste time, resources and money trying to do it yourself. Too often, the job of communicating the company’s strategic messages is given to the office receptionist or director’s secretary who will not have the writing skills, journalistic training or media contacts to do an effective job.

PR doesn’t have to be expensive. For one or two days a month, a PR professional can create a cost-effective communications programme that puts you in touch with the people you want to reach. You’ll benefit from their expertise and contacts, and the publicity your company generates will quickly cover your costs.

And this approach definitely has proven benefits. As Microsoft’s Bill Gates famously said: “If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on PR”, and look what he’s achieved!

E=MC2 welcomes enquiries from companies who want to find out more about how low-cost PR can help them raise their profile and win new business.

Top tips for effective PR

2009-11-23T13:45:00.003Z

One of the best ways of making people aware of your business is through PR.

It’s cost-effective and it can really create a buzz and get your name out there in the market. Here are a few tips on how to get it right:

Know what media your customers refer to for information and target those outlets.

Get to know the types of stories your target media are interested in using.

Research which journalists cover which stories. Sending information to the right person means it’s more likely to be used.

Tell readers something that will interest them or that they might need to know.

Make sure your message is clear, concise and has an objective: what do you want your audience to do?

Develop a relationship with the key media you are targeting.

Follow up your story with the journalists you’ve sent it to. It’s the most important factor in a successful PR campaign.

Think in pictures. Journalists love good-quality images so if your story needs a photo, make sure you provide them with a high-impact picture.

Ask everyone in your organisation to suggest ideas for PR stories.

When you generate good PR, make sure people in your organisation know about it – circulate coverage so everyone can share in the success.

Stay focused and stick to your plan. By doing this you will get a great deal of positive publicity for your business and at very little cost.

How to get press coverage

2009-10-06T15:21:00.005+01:00

Q: How can my business get press coverage?

A: If a dog bites a man so what? But if a man bites a dog, well, that’s a great story!

Your news or information has the best chance of getting into the press if it’s interesting, quirky or unusual. It’s got to meet at least one of the following criteria:

Currency: news has a short shelf life. If your event is happening today, it’s newsworthy. If it happened last month, it’s history.

Human interest: the first, the best, the worst, the tallest, the shortest. If something stands out from everything else, it may be newsworthy. When a cat climbs a tree, it's not news; but when its 96-year-old owner climbs the tree to rescue the moggy, it is.

Impact: events that have an impact on people’s lives are always interesting and the more people affected by your story, the more significant it is.

Prominence: politicians, movie stars, star athletes, CEOs – anyone who’s in the public eye. The mayor is a prominent local figure, a story involving him or her opening your business is likely to make the news.

Proximity: if you want your local paper to run your story, make sure it’s relevant and interesting to those who’ll be reading it.

Eye-catching: a dramatic, unusual or quirky photo that tells a story is newsworthy if the quality is good. And a story with a good photo has an even better chance of getting used.

Crisis PR - Protecting the reputation of your business

2009-08-01T23:54:00.003+01:00

Q: My business is facing difficulties and I’m worried that this will attract negative press coverage. How can I protect our reputation?

A: Every organisation is vulnerable to a crisis and whether you are facing an office closure, a product recall or an accident on site, if the public perceives you as compassionate, competent and confident, they are far more likely to believe and support what you say.

The sensational stories we all read about in the tabloids are examples of what happens when communications go wrong. While no one can predict a crisis, with a little foresight and preparation you can protect your reputation and turn a potential PR crisis into a media opportunity that wins you customer and public support.

Here are some of my tips on preparing for a crisis and how to get the best out of a bad situation:

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail – If you can step back and make an honest assessment of any potential issues in your organisation, you’ll be better prepared when a crisis hits. A little assistance from a professional communications firm can establish a basic framework so you can respond effectively when something does go wrong.

Show you care – Show sympathy and concern. Put yourself in the shoes of the people you’ve affected and shape your messages to address their concerns first.

Have a PR strategy – Decide what you need to tell people and who you need to tell before you speak to the media. And, select the right spokesperson for the job. If your CEO isn’t media savvy, can’t communicate well, or doesn’t really know the issues, choose someone who does.

Get your facts straight and tell the truth – The easiest way to make a fool of yourself is tell your side of the story without knowing the facts. Double-check your information with more than one source. And remember, journalists need information quickly. If they don’t get it from you, they’ll get it from someone else!

Manage the message – Make sure your own employees, suppliers and clients are never surprised by information going out to the public. And make sure they know not to speak to the media, but who to refer media enquiries to.

Never say ‘no comment’ – ‘No comment’ is always a comment so don’t ever say it – people will think you are hiding something!