Answering difficult questions

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Stephen Ballard

It’s difficult to keep a level head when the spotlight is on you; media interviews and press conferences can be daunting especially when a live TV camera is present! There will Businessman shielding himself from microphonesinevitably be challenging questions to answer, and remember journalists are always after a story and have a ‘sixth sense’ for sniffing out controversy or spotting any contradiction in your answers.

Anyone acting as a spokesperson for your company should complete proper media training, but here are some tips based on my experience to make sure you say the right thing when the pressure’s on:

  1. Know your facts and most importantly figures. There’s no excuse for not knowing your stuff not only could you look like a fool but the reputation of your company could be adversely affected.
  2. Keep calm and breathe deeply, smile and keep relaxed. If your body language is defensive it’ll look like you have something to hide.
  3. Never say ‘no comment’– not only does this comes across arrogant and un-cooperative but it allows the journalists to control the story. If you don’t know the answer, simply say that and promise to get hold of the relevant information or person for them as soon as possible.
  4. Don’t be pressured to answer questions you shouldn’t but explain why you can’t give them that information. Honesty is always the best policy
  5. Remember, nothing is ever completely ‘off the record’.
  6. Always know what you want to communicate ahead of the interview and ensure you get this across. Choosing 3 or so ‘key messages’ can help with this and give you a focus for your answers.
  7. Use key phrases to bridge back to your key messages.
  8. Be positive. Don’t repeat negative questions back to the interviewer, as in: “No, our company has not suffered a slump in sales.” Instead, focus on the positives: “in the last month, we’ve sold over….”

And here’s the get out of jail answer to the really difficult question… Oops sorry that’s in our Media Training Course and I couldn’t possible give that away on a public blog…

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Why buying followers is bad for business

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Rosie Williams

Social media has undergone a boom over the last decade. The average person now spends up to 20 per cent of their PC time, and 30 per cent of their mobile time on social media websites. This surge in usage means that companies are under increasing pressure to be more active online.

It isn’t surprising then that services selling Twitter followers and Facebook likes are sprouting up all over the web. These websites pledge to save precious time and effort by offering up a huge social media following at the click of a button.twitter-followers

Sound too good to be true?

That’s because it is…

Bought followers are unlikely to have an interest in your company’s objectives. And, all too often the thousands of followers that flood in to boost your company’s online-ego are ‘shell’ accounts. These ‘shell’ accounts are basically fake profiles. Your posts won’t receive any retweets, likes or +1s from these fake profiles and those with a genuine interest in your brand will easily be able to see that techniques that have been put in place to mislead them and superficially boost your online credentials. You risk your company messages falling on deaf ears, and your business losing the respect of those that do seek to demonstrate an active interest in your brand.

As stated in a recent bcm blog: 5 reasons to launch your company into the Twittersphere, social media is a place to attract and engage a broader audience. It is precisely this attracting and engaging an audience organically, that can result in a social media presence that is beneficial to business.  To do this you need to post interesting updates regularly: whether it’s sharing informative content (like webinars or articles), answering their questions or breaking new tech stories.  These organic followers will actively enjoy sharing your posts with friends and colleagues and create a social media buzz, whilst all the while growing your business’ presence online.

Bought followers may be able to show an upward curve on a graph, but if you want to unlock the vast advantages that social media can offer your business then nothing will work quite as well as honest time and effort.

If you still feel a draw towards social media tools, use ones that will genuinely add value and help you find the right people. Tools like Followerwonk can help you identify relevant and influential people to engage with by searching for keywords in their Twitter bios. It allows you to analyse your own following and compare it to different Twitter accounts (such your competitors), helping you to identify who it would be beneficial to target.

And if you want to catch out those that do choose to bump up their following artificially, check out Status people– a fake follower analyser – to see the percentage of inactive and therefore useless followers of any Twitter account.  A handy tool to make a case if your boss ever asks you to go shopping for followers.

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Traditional PR vs Social media

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Stephen Ballard

Social media is driving change in the way we consume news and information and has forced many public relations professionals to reevaluate how best to embrace this new “teenage upstart” into an overall communication strategy.

Communication channels

Many companies that operate in the B2B sector, outside the “consumer” world, recognise the positive impact social media could have on their overall PR program but are struggling with how to effectively “engage on the web”.  There is no doubt that social media has the benefit of stimulating a two-way dialogue directly with a company’s chosen audience, but how does it fit into an existing strategic communications plan?

Understanding the relationship between traditional and digital PR, and leveraging the respective benefits of each “channel” is the key to success. Companies in the B2B sector often fail to realise that social media is fundamentally a two-way communication. Audience dialogue can provide a valuable insight into the success, or otherwise, of a communications plan.

The formula for success is a simple one: provide targeted, timely, topical content with real-time feedback. PR in traditional media provides the backdrop for success by originating application stories, technical articles and thought leadership pieces all of which are then highlighted and given a broader audience through social media such as blogs, LinkedIn or Twitter.  The above overview outlines the channels of communication, traditional and digital, that can be used together to deliver a well-rounded and impressive B2B communications plan.

This extension to traditional PR requires executive sponsorship, coupled with adequate financial and human resource if a company is to benefit from the tangible and demonstrable benefits that social media brings.

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Generating business through social media

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Jeremy Vickerman

It may be a great way of encouraging loyalty, building reputation and increasing market visibility but for many marketing managers, or at least the board of a company, the end-goal of PR is to stimulate sales.

In B2B comms, social media often gets a bad wrap for being a “fluffy” luxury which lacks tangible results and doesn’t obviously bring in business. B2B marketing managers run the risk of underestimating the potential that social media can have in attracting new customers, but also the time, focus and strategy needed to use social media for this purpose.

Finding customers on Social Media

It’s true that social platforms will be crammed with people who have no relevance to, or interest in, your business and are far from potential customers for you. But, if you were shown a room with 100 people in it and 10 of those people were potential customers, would you say that the room was not worth entering? Or would your business instinct start trying to identify those people in order to communicate with them?

Social media platforms are just like a room full of people. You need to accept that not everyone you will reach will result in a sale, but that making the effort to find the right people can be worth it. First, it’s important to find the room, or social media platform, that contains the most potential customers for your business. Research where your current customers are active online, check out where the key publications are most active and where there is the most discussion on topics that are relevant to you.

Some people fall into the trap of thinking that a social media strategy involves signing up to all of the different platforms and posting content on each of them without considering who is viewing it. That is the equivalent of writing lots of interesting and useful content, then instead of sending it to people who might be interested, pinning it to your door and waiting for people to seek it out themselves.

Once you’ve researched where your audiences are – get posting but don’t just stick with company updates and news. Customers are hungry for expertise to solve their problems and online forums are a great place to do this. Posting questions or answers in LinkedIn groups or Google + communities engages potential customers and also gives you a chance to prove your expertise and explain to them why they should be doing business with you.

Imagine you’re an industrial automation company and your products solve problems frequently encountered in manufacturing plants. If you identified an arena in which the managers of manufacturing plants discuss their industry, you could enlighten them as to how your product can help – making you visible to potential clients and potentially increasing sales.

Including links back to your product and purchase pages, or to blogs you have written on particular subjects will not only make your audience’s lives easier, it could significantly increase the traffic on your website and generate leads. Using analytics, as discussed in our previous blog, will help you monitor this and give you guidance on whether your strategy is working.

Social media is not about ‘posting and praying’ nor is it about nonsensical self promotion, it is about taking your offline marketing communications strategy which is focused and tailored and using that as a template to promote your business in an ever expanding network of potential customers. To underestimate it, or worse still ignoring it completely, is a sure-fire way of allowing your competitors to tap into those potential customers that at one stage could have been yours.

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Pitching etiquette

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Alex Cloney

Editors are the gatekeepers of editorial content. If you want something published then you need to make the case to them first. Successful pitches aren’t a given but the goals of companies and editors should be the same: publishing informative and interesting content that engages readers. If you can prove to an editor that you have this then you have a chance of pleasing everyone.

The way that you pitch to an editor makes all the difference about whether your content ends up published or not and there is no substitute for knowing an editor and their publication beforehand. It is a PR agency’s job to keep the channels of communication open between companies and the media. Putting effort into media relations gives us an idea of what floats an editor’s boat content-wise, what will suit their publication and allows us to keep track of opportunities or staff changes.

Role of PR

It’s a PR agency’s job to keep the channels of communication open between clients and the media and meet both of their requirements.

However, when faced with a ‘cold pitch’, there are other things we can do to make an editor’s life easier:

  • Stick to deadlines. Editors are always working on deadlines and it’s important to be aware of this to avoid pitching at the wrong time. Streamlining approval processes is important­– there’s no point an article being perfect if it’s never published. Equally, if it looks like the article won’t be ready on time it’s vital to warn the editor as early as possible. It’s never ideal but they’d rather know sooner than later so they can arrange a ‘Plan B’.
  • Do your homework. Reading the magazine regularly is the best way to discover the tone and format that the editor prefers and shows them that you really know your stuff. Editorial calendars can help to identify a relevant feature but it’s always good to explain why an article is a good fit for a feature. Is it a new product for an application that will be covered in a specific feature?
  • Find the hook. It’s important to think like a journalist and be aware that they’re looking for a story.  When you’ve identified the story make it clear and put it in the headline to grab their attention.
  • Be persistent. Editors can be extremely busy people. It’s nothing personal, but sometimes pitches will fall through the gaps. There’s no harm in gently reminding an editor why the proposed story might be of interest, providing you keep it polite and friendly. Follow-ups also go a long way in cementing your relationship with an editor as the more they hear from you, the more familiar they become with who you are and what you can offer them.
  • Proof-read several times. We’re all human but when dealing with professional wordsmiths, any grammatical mistakes are unforgivable. The same goes for inaccurate statements or statistics.
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Getting your content strategy right with analytics

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Robin Wolstenholme

Measuring the efficacy of PR campaigns can be a challenge, with PR measurement options ranging from simple and cost effective Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE), to tone and relevance models for print and expensive surveys and focus groups to look more into your brand’s reputation. Online PR opened up a whole new world of opportunity to analyse who is picking up on your content and what works.

This blog will mean different things to different people. A politician trying to influence the opinions of the electorate, an engineering company trying to educate a distinct market about a new technology, and a software house trying to generate product leads and build its prospects database through inbound marketing have very different goals – but getting the content right is common to any PR campaign.

Advanced social media analytics dash

There are countless analytics – so take care to choose the right ones!

Embracing web analytics gave PR and marcomms professionals access to a mind-boggling array of cost-effective (or even free) information about their audiences. It won’t measure reputation, or how your audience perceives and reacts to your content, but web analytics give valuable real-time insight into what content works, with which geographies, and where the audiences come from. Deep analysis of analytics has its place, but to avoid getting lost in the details, keep a regular eye on these PR-friendly fundamentals:

  1. What’s popular? Which keywords are driving traffic to your content from search? Which pieces of content are most visited, and what’s the average duration of visits for that content? This will give you an idea of what strikes a chord with your audience, and therefore what will work in the future.
  2. Who is your audience? Which traffic sources do your visits come from (search, social sites)? Where are your incoming links from (blogs, forums, social platforms)? Is your content attracting visitors from the right regions? This can help you identify the gateways for drawing traffic to your content, and aid targeted campaigns.
  3. Is your audience engaging with your content? How many times is a piece of content is shared, either through referrals or social interaction? How many pages does a visitor view? This shows whether they are interested in your content and actively looking for more.
  4. Are you retaining visitors?  Do you build your RSS subscriptions? Does your social following increase? Are people signing up for your newsletter, and are you rowing your contact database? Analytics can give you a good idea of whether your content is helping you achieve the goals of your PR campaign – whether its filling your inbound marketing funnel or building a following as a thought leader.

The important thing to note with analytics is that they are always changing. To use this information effectively, you can’t just measure up after a campaign to see how well you’ve done – you should look at it throughout the campaign and adjust your approach accordingly. That way, you can learn how to tailor your content to your audience and keep them coming back for more.

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Targeting a mobile audience

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Alex Cloney

The boom of mobile devices is having a huge impact on the way that people access content. Now, more than ever, people read, watch and share on a 24/7 basis and use multiple devices to do so. The latest research by Forrester found that 66% of employees now use 2 or more devices every day. We are becoming what comScore called “Digital Omnivores”, who consume content from multiple devices: smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops.

Content to-go

Content to-go, please!

Whilst people might not have the time to access content that is interesting to them when at home or at the office, they are likely to browse and read on-the-go, during the commute, whilst travelling for work, attending events or even when on site. Mobile devices have become a key outlet for content, and therefore fundamental to modern day PR. Here are our tips for attracting mobile device users:

1. Optimise webpages for mobile browsing–ensure your website is enhanced for tablets and smartphones. Similarly, when doing PR­, do your homework on which publications tailor their online content for mobile devices. This will maximise the potential readership of any piece published.

2. Keep your content short and snappy– whether it’s a press release, blog or even article. As much as they’re convenient, mobile devices with their small screens were not built for extensive reading. Also keep in mind that the likely surroundings of a mobile device user– think packed commuter train– are not conducive to concentration.

3. Immediacy is key– unlike desktops, mobile devices are not shut down at home time. You should publish updates when they’re fresh and keep an eye on social media (which often ramps up when everyone has finished their work for the day). Leaving it until the morning could make you seem behind the pack in the 24/7 online culture.

4. Soften the sales pitch– mobile devices may be used for work but because they are transitional items, carried around in a bag or pocket, they can be considered personal too. As a result, a piece that is heavily self-promotional could result in your audience feeling like their personal space is being invaded. Keep things focused on the story– after all, that’s what gets you noticed in a limitless online world where so much is published and readers are consuming more content than ever.

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LNG 17 launches interactive YouTube channel

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Rosie Williams

One of bcm’s most newly-established clients, the 17th International Conference & Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG 17), has just launched an interactive YouTube channel highlighting all the need-to-know information about the biggest global gas event of 2013.

Over the past few months we’ve been working closely with the LNG 17 organisers to develop the channel, which hosts a series of short videos covering the highlights of the LNG 17 program, why you should attend, the networking events that will be taking place and how you can get involved.

 

The channel features some of the official LNG 17 spokespeople, Jay Copan, the Executive Director of LNG 17, and Pat Roberts, the moderator for the LNG 17 Global Strategy Forum. In addition, make sure you keep your eyes peeled for guest appearances from bcm’s Managing Director, Stephen Ballard, and Account Executive Kelly Simons!

The novel interactive nature of these videos allows the viewer to navigate seamlessly between videos and register, follow the run up to the conference on the main social media channels and get in touch at the click of a button.

LNG 17 is set to be an event unparalleled within in its field and will take place in Houston, Texas from April 16-19th.  The bcm team has pulled out all the stops to provide LNG 17 with this interactive YouTube channel as part of a comprehensive public relations strategy encompassing a variety of social media platforms, as well as key online and print outlets around the world.

bcm was selected to work on LNG 17 following its successful PR campaign around the most recent World Gas Conference, which took place in Kuala Lumpur in May last year. The bcm team also worked on Gastech 2011 which took place in Amsterdam.

To keep up to date with all the latest LNG 17 developments, subscribe to the exclusive YouTube channel here.

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Encouraging social media interaction at events

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Michelle O'Connor

Last time we delved into promoting your event through social media. In this post, we’ll be looking at how you can use social media during your event. The immediacy of social media can be a godsend for providing up-to-the-minute updates and changes to your events. By the same token, it’s a great way of letting people know what’s going on. Here are our tips for fully utilising social media inside your event and to let the rest of the world know what they’re missing.

  • Provide free Wi-Fi and clearly communicate the password. That way attendees can keep informed and connect, discuss and interact at your event without the possibility of high data costs.
  • Encourage people to use your tag or hashtag (#) to share their thoughts and experiences at the event and photos/videos they’ve taken. Tagging will make relevant posts searchable and easier to find. It might also help create a community, as people can more easily tap into discussions and threads surrounding the event.
  • Make it visible: Get your event hashtag or handle printed on your flyers or even on T-shirts for event staff. Consider having a big screen displaying your Twitter feed. That way, everyone who might have got involved will get involved – who doesn’t want to see themselves on-screen?
  • Use social media to remind attendees what’s on and when (and show people who didn’t come what they’re missing out on). Broadcast any interesting updates, company news, contract signings or ‘firsts’ that might occur at the event- these will be of interest to non-attendees too.
  • Encourage questions: Not everyone can get face time with your speakers and VIPs so encourage people to submit questions on social media. It’s a great way of stimulating debate and of letting other people know information that you wouldn’t otherwise publish. Make sure to respond to questions quickly, on Twitter you have mere minutes, otherwise questions will be lost in a vast pool of posts. Timely replies will make your followers feel involved and valued.
  • Using social media after the event can extend the life of your event. Provide resources from the event- presentations and speeches that can be accessed easily. Videos and photos from the event are important as they have the potential to be shared around more than text content.
  • Take into consideration the prevalence of mobile devices (smartphones and tablets). When executing an event, consider how important these devices are in the attendees’ experience, and tailor resources and content so that they are easily digestible in these formats.
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Promoting your event with social media

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Michelle O'Connor

Event promotion and targeting have moved beyond the realm of creating adverts and mass-mailing print brochures and invitations. As well as marketing to the masses, with online tools you can customise messages to suit individuals or groups.

Using social media platforms to promote and enhance events is becoming much more common and so it is often thought that anyone can jump on Twitter or Facebook and suddenly reach 10,000 delegates. This, unfortunately, is not the case; in order for social media to work for events it takes strategy and creativity and, above all, commitment. Most often it is the hard work before the event that can really make or break a social media campaign. With that in mind, we’ve compiled some key considerations for achieving maximum exposure and hype on social media for your event.

Courtesy of the socialface blogBefore anything, you should review who you want to reach (specific industries or groups). Then, which social networks you should use to reach them. Do you really need to be on all of them? Or would focusing on one which your audience use frequently be more effective? We find, working in the B2B sector, that LinkedIn can be especially useful for reaching our target audiences. Next, you should secure the profiles and groups you need on these. Ensure you have a recognisable name and clear information about your event: what it is, where it is, when it is, and your website and registration details.

With your profiles lined up, start laying out your strategy. Ask yourself:

  • What do you want to achieve? Are you trying to create a viral buzz, attract sponsors, increase attendance, or just stay on trend?
  • Who should you be attracting? What will they want to know about? What will attract them to come to the event? Which groups or communities can you join to encourage interest and attract followers? You can invest time in crafting things but it’s only worthwhile if people are reading or engaging with your content.
  • Which similar events (and their social profiles) can you draw inspiration (and followers) from? Who were they following or interacting with? What did they do right and what did they do wrong?
  • What are the themes of your event? Are there any topical issues you can create discussions around? What are the keywords or hashtags for these? Can you create a relevant keyword or hashtag to get people buzzing about your event?
  • What interesting content can you share? Websites, blogs, magazine coverage? Your message will be a lot more cohesive if it is incorporated with the rest of your marketing for the event and social media is an effective way of getting that content ‘out there’ instead of sitting passively on a webpage.

Tune in next week for tips on how to use social media during your event to provide real-time updates, keep your attendees in the loop and show non-attendees what they’re missing.

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