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

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

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

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?

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?

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…

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

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.