PR and marketing

PR and Media Releases that Get Results with Catriona Pollard

Catriona Pollard - Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Do you want to see you and your business profiled in the media but don’t know where to start?

Have you sent out media releases and received no response?

When you get the right media coverage, your sales can double (or triple), you gain new customers and you can position yourself as a leader in the market place.

However, if you don't know the tactics of a publicity/public relations (PR) strategy or how to write an effective media release, you won’t get the results that will make a difference.

You'll learn the science behind an effective PR strategy including writing media releases that get results, how to approach journalists, how to write articles and case studies for the media as well as clever online tactics.

In one day, you'll discover the secrets to getting good publicity that you can use for your own business.

This seminar covers:
• the elements of a typical PR strategy
• how to determine your target audiences
 how to structure media releases and what you must include
• who you should quote and what they should say
• how to deal with journalists
• online distribution strategies
• contributing articles to publications
• how to approach bloggers as part of your PR strategy

This seminar is ideal for:
• Business owners, coaches, speakers, entrepreneurs who want to promote their business
• Professionals who have been given PR or marketing responsibilities but who may not have had formal training in this area
• People who are relatively new to a public relations role

This seminar covers all the issues you need to consider before you even put pen to paper - or fingers to the keyboard! Once you have these issues covered, you will have a strong framework that will guide how you write the release.

About Catriona Pollard
This seminar is presented by Catriona Pollard, director of CP Communications. Catriona has 18 years experience in developing and managing public relations and marketing programs.

Prior to establishing CP Communications in 2001, Catriona set up the marketing communications department for a leading software company and managed a diverse range of accounts within PR agencies. She also has extensive experience in managing public affairs and marketing in federal and state governments.

Catriona's blog Public Relations Sydney was shortlisted as media & marketing blog of the year 2009. She is a co-founder of Social Media Women, a formal online and in person networking group that encourages and assists women to participate more prominently in social media.

This seminar is held at the Sydney Writers' Centre.

PR and Media Releases that Get Results with Catriona Pollard
11 August 2011 9.00am - 5.00pm
Fee: $495 (includes GST)

To book, please click here

Ground Floor
55 Lavender Street
Milsons Point NSW 2061


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CP Communications Newsletter - PR Tips & News 16 February 2010

Catriona Pollard - Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Recently I have been helping a lovely friend of mine, Margaret Carey, with setting up her newsletter and blog. She is off to East Timor volunteering her time in an NGO for a month or so.

While she is away she asked if I could help with her next newsletter. That’s easy. The software we used sits in the cloud. Not the raining type of cloud. The cloud refers to the ability to use software and data on the internet instead of on your hard drive.


Ten years ago if you wanted to do something with your PC you needed to buy software and install it. Web 2.0 has made that practice obsolete. So blogs, Twitter, my website program, this newsletter is all cloud computing.


Last Sunday I sat down with a great bunch of people over a long lunch – all organised over the cloud. I let people know about it on Twitter and Facebook and they RSVPd on a free program called Eventbrite, and I even upload photos of the event on a posterous blog.


So I’m loving the cloud – it has changed the way I work – and socialise!


I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter.


So why PR?

I often get asked why PR? What can PR do for my business that advertising or marketing can’t. Whether you run a small or large  business, have a start-up company, or simply expanding into a new country or geographical area, PR is an important tool for you. 

Here is what I think…


Credibility – Public relations holds a powerful position in the communications suite. One of the major impacts of PR is media relations, which assists you in achieving editorial coverage. People in your target market may see editorial as an independent and objective evaluation of your company. 

 

Due to the perceived objectivity of editorial coverage, PR is said to hold more credibility than other forms of marketing communication. Editorial coverage is trusted more than running an advertisement.


Cost Effectiveness – Public relations can be less expensive than other forms of paid communication, even if you hire an external public relations agency rather than performing this task in-house. Whilst you are paying for the services of a PR specialist, what you are achieving in the way of media coverage and changes in public perception may have otherwise cost you much more.


Exposure – Media coverage achieved through PR is likely to be more extensive than that which you would achieve through advertising, given a similar budget. Specialist PR people know which media to target for which message (and often have cultivated good contacts), what content the media want, when to pitch them which story to pitch and what is the best way to deliver your message.

Flexibility – Public relations has the benefits of being flexible in message content and being responsive to news. A skilled PR professional can turn around media releases in reaction to news or crisis situations within hours.

So what are the Twitter rules?

I was interviewed for TechMarketing magazine about the key rules for using Twitter, and I thought I would share it with you. 

What would be your rules for your clients as to how to use Twitter?

Twitter is immediate and permanent. (Technically, you can delete a tweet but it hangs around). The key rule I tell my staff and clients is to only tweet something you will be happy to see on the internet now and in the future.

 

Twitter needs to be credible so obviously only tweet information that assists to build credibility of the brand and the organisation. If it doesn’t, then don’t tweet it. 

 

The role of Twitter is to create relationships with your followers (and target audience) and relationships based on public slanging matches will not last. So if you are having a bad day – log out of twitter or hand it over to a colleague.

 

What are some of the advantages for PRs when it comes to using Twitter on behalf of their clients? What are some of the pitfalls?

We tweet and blog for our clients and for organisations that don’t have the in house expertise or resources, this works well. 

 

Although transparency is important for some twitter accounts, take for example Kevin Rudd’s account – we want to know if he or one of his staff is tweeting. For most companies this isn’t necessary. It’s the quality of the tweets that build followers rather than who is doing the tweeting. 


Quality is key and to figure out how to get that you need to develop a strategy. Asking what type of information would my followers want to read? How can we drive followers to the Facebook fan page? How personal do we go? etc

 

How would you advise a client to implement damage control in the event of a social media stuff-up? 

Because social media is immediate, you need to be immediate in your response. Join in the conversation immediately. Be honest and explain the situation and what you are doing to fix it. Say you are listening – and actually listen – and act on the complaints. 

Do not go quiet, do not say no comment, let your followers know how often and when to expect a response or communication from you. 


Upcoming events

Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in:

LAN Brazilian Festa at Starlight Cinema

The LAN Brazilian Festa returns for a second year to ME Bank Starlight Cinema, transforming North Sydney Oval into a mini Brazil. Starting at 4.00pm with everyone’s favourite Brazilian food, music, caipirinhas from the Sagatiba bar, football clinics and games, frescoball, kid’s activities, dance workshop and lots of fun. Film commences at sundown

28 February 2010


Award Winning PR Case Studies Breakfast

PRIA NSW is offering practitioners a fantastic opportunity to gain a detailed insight into the strategies behind last year’s most outstanding campaigns at a showcase event. 

2 March 2010

Ignite Sydney
Here some great speeches including Claire Moffat discussing how to connect to women using marketing and social media. Each speaker has 5 minutes on stage with 20 slides which rotate automatically after 15 seconds.
2 March 2010

Public Speaking Courses

Changingtools.com runs a course that aims to conquer the anxious, terrified and frustrated feelings associated with public speaking. This course will help you overcome any fear of public speaking.

15 March 2010

Relay for Life 

Relay for Life is a unique, overnight fundraising event! The three aims of the event are to celebrate survivors and carers of cancer; remember those lost to cancer; and to pledge a plan to make a change to fight cancer!

27- 28 March 2010

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