Tag Archive for: business

Internal Communications: Getting it Right

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While marketing, advertising and PR are all great vehicles for getting your key messages out to the wider world, many CEOs forget one simple fact – that the best word-of-mouth for any business comes from those closest to it: the employees.

Your employees are your most important stakeholders – and your greatest brand ambassadors. Ensuring regular, consistent communication to everyone within the business is essential if you are to engage them, whether they are part of the executive management team or work the shop floor.

And internal engagement is critical. Without it you cannot expect your team to be working towards your company’s common goals – especially if they are not even clear on what those goals are. Equally, it’s important to have strong business values.  If you don’t make the company culture visible, you can’t expect your employees to behave in line with your brand’s ethos.

Transparency is integral to internal communications. Many CEOs have felt the backlash when they have made a big decision that impacts the whole business, but haven’t communicated it well (or at all) to those who matter most. Hearing about it through a public news announcement is never going to ingratiate staff towards head office.

Another essential point to remember is that although internal communications are never intended to be seen outside of the business, as much care should be taken with the linguistic style and tone as a media release, for example. You are still conveying key messages to a core audience, so take as much time and care as you would any other piece of written collateral.

Finally, don’t ever circulate anything you wouldn’t want talked about or published outside of the four walls you work within. As demonstrated by Deane Priest of Brumby’s early last year, nothing is ever ‘off the record’. Read morehere.

Top tips for getting internal communications right:

1) Ensure a consistent voice – make sure that any written materials (memos, emails, blogs etc.) are all written in the same tone and with the same language. Consistency will ensure you are talking as ‘one company, one voice’.

2) Involve your employees – if something big is happening with the business, ask your employees for their opinions/feedback on how this should be communicated. Hearing from them how best to approach the situation will help you get it right.

3) Communicate little and often – short, snappy communication done on a regular basis is likely to be more engaging that long, complicated emails/letters that go unread because of lack of time (or attention).

4) Encourage internal social networks – this will allow all employees on all levels to interact, removing any ‘them and us’ feelings.

5) Respond quickly to negative news – if murmurings are afoot that there is something wrong with the business, respond quickly and honestly. This is far better than allowing the rumour mill to get out of control and will reassure employees that their employer is looking out for them.

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6 questions: Susan Ronai, Managing Editor, BUSINESSbne

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Next up in our series finding out how journalists like to work, any issues they have with PRs, how they like stories to be pitched to them, etc, is Susan Ronai, managing editor of BUSINESSbne, a Brisbane specific magazine aimed at SMEs and targeted at business owners, managers and employees; effectively anyone who works in the business world.

1)      What is your deadline day?

My magazine is published 6 weekly, so the deadlines vary… the balance of this year is June 30, August 11, September 22 and November 4 and the time is close of business on that day.

2)      How do you prefer to be contacted (i.e. email, phone, fax, post)?

Prefer email by far.

3)      Is there a particular time of day you prefer to be contacted?

Doesn’t matter, but I don’t have mobile email, so I may not get an email until I’m back in the office.

4)      Do you like to meet companies and bosses for coffee/ lunch? If yes, do you have any favourite venues?

Anywhere except in town… the parking charges are prohibitive!

5)      What are your three pet peeves about PRs?

I don’t have any.

6)      What would the perfect story pitch be for you? And what’s the best PR pitch you have ever had?

I have recently asked Ignite to join with me in supplying copy once every 6 weeks for an interview style piece either on a person of note for “Have a Coffee with ….” or on a business for a “Business Success Story”, so would be interested in receiving pitches for those sections. The [best PR pitch] hasn’t happened yet so I can’t answer any further.

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Client close-up: Jim Cornish, Nanotek

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Welcome to the second edition of our regular feature talking to our clients to find out about their experiences of business, good and bad, and any advice they might have for other business leaders and owners.

Name: Jim Cornish

Job title and company: CEO, Nanotek

Pitch your company and what it does in a sentence: Nanotek (formerly ecowash mobile) is the world’s no.1 mobile waterless car washing franchise system. Utilising liquid polymer nanotechnology Nanotek provides unmatched quality and convenience.

How did you get to where you are now? By learning from all our experiences (good and bad) and continually moving not only industry goal posts but our own – we are constantly refining and developing our system (hence the change to Nanotek).

What has been your worst moment in business so far? Before Nanotek as a Marketing Director of a Multinational Organisation, I watched 10 people get retrenched without notice – it made me appreciate the fragility and insecurity of employment and inspired my passion for personal business ownership.

What has been your best moment in business so far? Most recently our launch in Russia, but any time I see one of our mobile units in a new market it is an incredible sensation.

Have you had any business mentors and what did they teach you? My father, who taught me that clear principles and integrity provide the foundation necessary from which to make sustainable decisions.

How does PR help your business/ why is it important to you? PR tells a story – it gives third person insights and perspectives which are beyond the scope of corporate derived advertising. Advertising creates brand awareness, but PR is far more effective in positioning and developing the personality of a brand.

Why do you work with Ignite PR & Marketing? Barrett and Trina are great – very responsive with a thorough understanding of the franchising segment. It is great to be able to confidently outsource such a critical element of our business and know it will be done right.

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Why businesses should consider outsourcing PR

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When it comes to marketing your business, there are a number of specialist areas that need to be looked at including graphic design, marketing and public relations. Whilst you might be able to do the basics in-house, there is expertise attached to these specialist areas. Here are a few reasons why it’s worth investing in your PR rather than DIY-ing it:

1)      We’ve got years of experience and expertise: chances are we’ve done it all before, we’ve written the press releases, we’ve done the media training, we’ve spoken to the journalists, we’ve pitched the stories – we’re doing the job day in, day out, for a varied client list.

2)      We can bring something new to the table: coming from an outside perspective we can put forward new ideas, different ways of doing things and challenge the way you do things ‘just because’. We’re there to make your business grow so we can grow too.

3)      You can get results without another ‘mouth to feed’: the breadth of our experience means that we are often more cost-effective than it would be to get the person/ people necessary in-house to cover all the tasks we can undertake.

4)      We can react fast: if something needs turning around quickly, if you need more hands on deck, an outsourced company should have the extra resource and capability to turn that around for you.

5)      We can help upskill your team: working closely side-by-side should mean that your in-house team learns more and more about PR and what it can achieve for your business.

Outsourcing is an investment and it’s important to weigh up the pros and cons before taking that step otherwise you may end up resenting the company that is working for you, rather than using them to their maximum potential and allowing them to work with you and integrate with your team.

The best time to get in the PR experts is if you’re running out of ideas, if you don’t want to make a long-term commitment initially and dip your toe in the water, if your in-house marketing team is overworked, if your head office and marketing function is overseas, if you’re a start-up business and focussed on the core business, if you want to inject fresh ideas and new skills.

But if you choose to go down the path of outsourcing you must be very clear about the objectives and how you will measure success, i.e. what the desired outcome is. It’s important for you to meet the team who would be working on your ‘account’ – you should get on with them and they should have the enthusiasm and skills necessary to deliver.

The best PR agency-client relationships are partnerships where the business is open and honest with the PR consultancy – being up front about business objectives, praising good work, working alongside the agency team and keeping them informed of everything happening in your business.

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What is crowdsourcing?

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An interesting infographic from oBizMedia.com giving a visual representation of crowdsourcing.

A talk at the recent Ideas Festival 2011 at the State Library of Queensland talked about ‘Crowdsourcing: how do you engage those on the edge?’. It was an interesting look at the history of crowdsourcing and how to unlock its potential. It was presented by Tom Hulme from OpenIDEO, which also ran a workshop to actively demonstrate the power of crowdsourcing.

How can you get others involved in your business challenges? And how can you incorporate the techniques used to encourage innovation within your own ranks?

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Top tips for media interviews

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Ultimately, we recommend any executives who will be undertaking media interviews to undergo professional media training to hone key messages and delivery – it’s you and your company’s reputation on the line after all – but we thought it would be worth sharing just a few pointers to bear in mind if you’ve got a big interview coming up.

1)      Meet deadlines: journalists are busy people and the story they are working on is the most important thing (to them) at that time, respect that by responding to requests in a timely manner, and when a big story breaks make sure you are available.

2)      Preparation is key: never ever wing it. Always try and get a full brief on the questions that will be asked, have your key messages ready to go, try and actually practise an interview with a friend or colleague asking the tricky questions.

3)      Know what you want to say: shape your message(s), work out what you want to say and how you can say it as simply as possible, always avoid jargon and don’t over complicate. Stay on track with your message(s) throughout the interview and learn how to bridge – i.e. when the question doesn’t necessarily cover what you want to say you can add your own extra bits. For example, “It’s important to remember that…”, “Before we get off that topic, let me just add…” etc. Try and think about two or three key ‘take-away’ points you want the journalist/ viewers/ readers to remember.

4)      And how you want to say it: body language and eye contact are important, often (for television and radio) it’s not really what you say its how you say it.

5)      Tell the truth: stick to the facts, distinguish between fact and opinion, if you don’t know the answer to something say so.

6)      Take written information: reporters often need help putting an issue in perspective, so feel free to provide them with written information to highlight the key facts and figures.

7)      Never say “No comment”: if you can’t answer something or choose not to, just give a brief explanation why otherwise it can be a little like a red rag to a bull.

8)      Silence is golden: don’t talk to fill any silences, say what you want to say and then it’s the reporter’s responsibility to keep the interview going.

9)      Nothing is 100% off the record: it’s worth remembering that a journalist is always on the lookout for the next big story, don’t let your ‘off the record’ comment become that; nothing is ever fully off the record.

10)  Get performance reviews: everyone can get better so make sure you review resulting articles or the broadcast coverage and seek comments and feedback from friends and colleagues

Good luck!

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How to be the perfect client

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Let it be said that obviously all of our clients are wonderful to work with, but everyone has their ‘moments’ so we thought it would be a useful exercise to look at what clients can do to help their PR agencies so that time is being spent in the work that will get the best results possible.

Believe it or not, you play a crucial role in ensuring our success with your organisation. We will show enthusiasm and understanding for your business and listen to your daily pressures, but similarly in a perfect world there are certain criteria that go towards making the perfect client.

1)      Let’s work as a team: don’t make it be you vs. us, we want to be part of your team, like an extension of your in-house department, so let’s work together like that. We might be able to bring a different perspective to the table as well, so use it. We want to be a partner, not just another supplier. We’ll need input from you as well; if you think we can work in silo you won’t get the best from the relationship

2)      Trust us and listen to our advice: you hired us for our insights and expertise, so please listen to us. We might not always tell you what you want to hear, but we never said it was going to be easy.

3)      Share and share alike: share your information with us as much as possible as early as possible, if we don’t know the full picture we can’t sell your stories.

4)      Don’t set us up to fail: give us reasonable timeframes and reasonable budgets to allow us to do the best job possible and have realistic expectations of what can be achieved.

5)      Appreciate the value of PR: you hired us so hopefully that means you have an understanding of PR and what it can achieve.

6)      Give us time: it will take a while for us to establish relationships with you and your audiences, give us at least six months. If you’re not happy after that, then you need to have serious words with us.

7)      Work out how you will determine success: work with us to come up with some measurable goals so we’ll both know whether something’s worked and has been a success, for example just because it’s a big media title doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right one for your business, so, if you’ve told us who your audiences are, listen to us on that one.

8)      Speak up: if you don’t like what we’re doing, at any point, tell us. We’d rather hear it and try and fix it than not know and have you suffer in silence or worse still, sack us.

9)      Know what you want: the better the brief, the better the solution.

10)   Make your mind up: if you must change your mind about something make sure you understand and appreciate the implications.

11)   More work means more money: we’re a business too and much as we love you, we don’t work for free.

12)   Pay us on time: slow payers get slow workers.

13)   Give credit where it’s due: it’s nice to get a thank you.

And on the nitty gritty day-to-day stuff:

14)   Appreciate deadlines: you have deadlines, we have deadlines, journalists have even tighter deadlines and generally if we don’t hit them we’ll miss the opportunity.

15)   Be prepared: if you’ve got an interview and we’ve given you briefing notes, please read them.

16)   Know the value of a good picture: good photography is very important; it can make or break a story.

17)   Understand the bigger picture: you or your product aren’t always going to be the main event, there’s a lot of news and competing information out there.

18)   You might need to wait for coverage: we’re pitching to long lead and short lead media, stories might not appear straight away.

19)   Be available: if a story is breaking, make sure you’re available should journalists need to talk to you.

20)   Have a laugh: everything’s much better when you have a laugh with us.

Obviously no-one’s perfect, but hopefully the above points have given some food for thought. Do you agree with us?

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Treading the minefield of Xmas office functions: tips on how to party ‘professionally’ this silly season

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OK so it’s that time of year again – office parties and business networking events a plenty along with the flow of alcohol. Love them or hate them, corporate Christmas parties are an integrated part of business life and perfect for cementing relationships with your clients and associates, as well as being a chance to source new leads and expand your network. However, before you get into the reindeer outfits and knock back the egg-nog, there are a few (PR) partying rules you should follow. An alcohol-fuelled Christmas party is not a good enough reason to throw your professionalism out the window. So if you are serious about setting the bar and keeping your career alive, follow our top PR partying tips:

1) Drive to the party.This way you won’t be able to get drunk as you will have to drive home. You might also become the knight in shining armour as you will be able to drop off any drunk colleagues (or even clients) if necessary.

2) Eat before hand and at the event (if possible). Even if there is only mini-cocktail sausages or deep fried spring rolls, something is better than nothing. If you are running the event, don’t be a scrooge, supply some food!

3) View the party as a time to secure relationships and potentially network with suppliers or clients. Touch base with all of the key people but try not to hassle the boss or Managing Director too much as their job is to also network with their team.

4) Dress appropriately (no boobs, tank tops or thongs visible – and we are not just referring to footwear here).

5) Keep the business talk to a minimum. There’s nothing worse than someone pushing their products on you when all you want to do is enjoy a vino and have a laugh with your colleagues. Have a few topics on hand to make conversation and keep it light.ie. football scores, latest news that day, fun industry stories

6) Balance the timing – don’t leave too early and don’t be the last person there. You want to make an impression and have fun but at the same time you don’t want to be known as the drunk hanger-on. It’s easy to become known as a drinker and this can affect your professional reputation.

7) Have fun. People are more relaxed at this time of year so it’s ok to have a laugh – just don’t make a joke at someone else’s expense. That’s a definite no-no.

Good photography pays in PR

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A while ago we discussed the importance of having appropriate photographs for press purposes (visit our previous blog here). Having a quality photo ready for media purposes can often make the difference between securing a full page feature or receiving a small mention in an article. Keeping journalists happy is our number one job so having the right tools to do this will enhance the results generated.

The only challenge we face in selling the idea to clients is that professional photos come at a price however, there are a myriad of ways to use the images and ensure you get the most value from a shoot.

Save on creative design

Purchasing photos for business use from sites such as iStock can be a nightmare. Royalty fees are often excessive (depending on the medium) and you can be charged per use making it an extremely expensive exercise.  The other danger is you are not guaranteed exclusive use of a photo and other brands could share your ‘unique’ identity. Hiring a photographer to take shots of events, staff, services, products or property will actually save you money in the long run and ensure any images will be better suited to bring your brand to life.

Fake paparazzi at events

Even a hint of free publicity is enough to make any CEO or businessperson smile. Though they aren’t ‘real’ paparazzi, professional photographers at your event will make guests feel special. Send the pictures onto the media later for post-publicity or use the images for future invites/ marketing materials. They can also be used to populate your social media sites.

Brilliant branding

Don’t make the mistake of cheapening your brand by using inferior product images in catalogues or other marketing materials.

A picture can tell a thousand words so make sure your product pictures don’t say ‘average’. A good branding photograph will often convey a ‘mood’ to build a strong emotional connection to your product.

Poor branding, poor positioning, boring, unprofessional

Shot 1: Does this make you want to buy this product?

 

Shot 2: Does this make you want to buy the product?

For more detailed information on photographs and a full list of official commercial photographers, visit http://www.aipp.com.au/

Connecting with your social media community

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With the continuing evolution of the social media sphere, we are finding more and more clients are looking towards social media networks to generate leads and raise awareness about their brand.

However, the way most companies are approaching social media is fast and furious.

You can rush things through to catch up with everyone else but if you haven’t thought your approach through properly you won’t get the desired results.

For some this topic might seem a bit ‘101’ Social Media but we continue to come across businesses that don’t really understand how it works and the power it possesses in influencing a brand positively or negatively.

Social media is a real-time medium that has to be approached differently to other mass-advertising channels. Social media networks are more about the ‘soft sell’ rather than the hard sell – no-one likes being sent hundreds of spam emails or receiving unsolicited telemarketing calls – and your social media community is the same. Blatant advertising material on social media channels is unacceptable as most people have joined for a bit of fun. The exception to this is when it is a specific promotion page and people are aware of this when they sign/ join up/follow.

With this in mind, it is important to have clear objectives for why you want your brand or business to engage in social media. Is your target market reached easily via this channel? It’s not good enough just to be ‘on’ it.

Brands can benefit  from building genuine connections with the market on social media but it needs to be consistent with the overall marketing strategy, which includes integrating above and below the line elements. Social  media requires a a long-term commitment but there are a few things you can do to engage fans quickly and easily. Simple things like asking questions or running specific online promotions through applications are two strategies that encourage engagement.

Roger Federer is one of the biggest sports brands in tennis (and sport in general). Part of the reason he continues to remain popular with both sponsors and fans is through his innovative approach to social media. Roger and his team consistently put in efforts to connect with his Facebook & YouTube fans and this has paid off with his number of Facebook fans recently hitting 4, 811, 836. His comments and videos regularly attract feedback in the thousands. I am sure many of you are aware of his recent video for Gillette, which went viral on the internet

The screen capture below is a great example of a recent post he made calling  for fans to ask him any questions they would like answered. Note: this one post attracted 9, 261 comments and 13, 9223 ‘likes’ – one of his less popular ones!

'The Fed' is a social media ace

 You will notice it actually seems like Roger himself is using this page – it is not all marketing material and this is a key element in its success as a fan page.

As a business owner it’s important to start with the end goal in mind so before doing anything consider what you really want to achieve in the social media sphere then act accordingly. Do research, check what competitors are doing and ensure you are familiar with social media tools so you can truly understand how it works and can be applied for your business.

If your business is already engaging in social media, assess how successful it is and  make sure there are consistent efforts to engage and connect with the online community.

Social media is a powerful communication tool but it is not a one size fits all medium.