A hot topic at the moment seems to be recruitment and social media. This week we advertised a new role at CP Communications and used social media extensively. I was interviewed by the Sydney Morning Herald about how small businesses can use social media for recruitment and one of our clients commissioned research on the opportunity for using social media in their recruitment procedures.
For our position, I used the traditional method – advertising on SEEK – but I also had a think about how I could apply social media tactics to recruitment. So I placed the role on our company blog. I wanted potential candidates to go to our website rather than SEEK, so they could see the work we do as well.
I then created a bit.ly URL, which is a shorter URL that can be tracked, I tweeted the position out through my Twitter as well as @CPCPR. I asked close contacts to Direct Message it to their contacts. I placed it on my Facebook page as well as the company’s Facebook page. I also added it to the Job Boards in all of the groups I am a member of on LinkedIn.
Using social media this way means that you are spreading the word exponentially – and for us, hopefully reaching the ideal candidate that also ‘gets’ social media. I will let you know how we go!
Join our team! We are looking for a PR Consultant who will be managing a variety of clients from exciting up and coming companies to blue-chips. You will be working alongside your clients to turn concepts into fully fledged PR campaigns as well as working with a wonderful small team of dedicated, down to earth PR professionals.
Double pass to Starlight Cinema – this is the last week of the fabulous ME Bank Starlight Cinema – Sydney’s North Shore open air cinema. To win a double pass to Black Swan (Thursday) or Love and Other Drugs (Saturday) be the third person to email us!
I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter.
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Why media interviews are more than a friendly chat
A media interview can’t be treated as a casual conversation as whatever you say can be used directly or paraphrased for the article – so you want to make sure you’re in control of what’s coming out of your mouth!
Following these tips will set you up for a successful media interview:
- Prepare your key messages and thoughts before the interview. Hopefully you will have an idea of the angle the journalist wants to take so that you can think about the information they might want, and what you want to say.
- Practise for the interview by thinking about questions that are likely to be asked, and your best possible answers. Wherever possible, convey your key messages through your answers. Practise sentences out loud to hear whether they make sense and aren’t too long. Remember, the journalist will be looking for newsworthiness, so be honest and back up any claims that you make.
- Call the journalist – not the other way around. This way, you will not be caught off-guard. You will be in a quiet place, with your key messages on paper in front of you, and you will not be interrupted by people or the telephone.
- Don’t answer questions if you don’t know the answer. It’s natural to want to be able to answer every question, but there’s nothing wrong with saying ‘I don’t know’.
Read our step-by-step article about how to get the most from a media interview on our CP Communications website.
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Social media - when a silly mistake turns into a PR crisis
Marketing mistakes are nothing new, where companies have missed the mark completely with their campaigns and even insulted their audience in doing so.
However, a silly mistake can be magnified when the marketing platform is a social media site – as Bing Lee discovered during the recent Queensland flood disaster.
When Bing Lee attempted to attract people to its Facebook page by promising to donate more money to the flood appeal depending on how many people ‘liked’ their page – the social media community were outraged.
Anger and disgust can send the online world spinning, with social media users sharing opinions about unacceptable online behaviour that can reach thousands of people within minutes.
Before posting something that could be considered a little controversial, or before trying a new marketing tactic with social media, there are a few steps you should take:
- Test your theory on a smaller audience.
- Do some research. A quick Google search of marketing mistakes and social media crises might just give you a snapshot of what has been done before – and what has gone wrong.
- Don’t neglect your social media strategy plan. Be sure that whatever spontaneous idea you want to try out still fits in with your company’s objectives of what you want to achieve through social media.
Read the entire article on the Public Relations Sydney blog.
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Upcoming events
Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in:
Social Media Women – How to contribute to Wikipedia
Social Media Women’s March event features Suzanne Francis from Collective Action who will teach you how to contribute to Wikipedia. This month is the celebration of the centenary of International Women’s Day and the first anniversary of Social Media Women.
8 March 2011 – Sydney
The Body & Mind Corporate
Macquarie University’s Faculty of Business and Economics and iConneXX are presenting an event about managing health risks for executive women. General practitioner Dr Carole Hungerford, author of Good Health in the 21st Century and Nicola Gates, a registered Clinical Neuropsychologist, are among the expert speakers.
16 March 2011 – Sydney
Advertising, Marketing and Media Summit
Elite Media’s one-day summit in Brisbane will examine the current methods in brand building, such as advertising, marketing, mobile marketing and the future of media. The event will also be held in Sydney and Melbourne later this year.
21 March 2011 – Brisbane
ADMA Social Media Marketing
This short course uses case studies, exercises and a strategy framework to teach you how to use social media in your business. The course is held in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on various dates throughout the year.
23 March 2011 – Brisbane
Corporate Social Media Summit
This summit is aimed at people working in corporate marketing departments and will focus on using social media to generate revenue. It features keynote addresses from companies such as Greenpeace Australia, Telstra and Community Engine.
30-31 March 2011 – Sydney
ad:tech Melbourne
ad:tech is an annual digital and advertising event held in major cities around Australia. It features panel debates and keynote addresses about social media strategy, digital media, mobile marketing and more. Our client Josh Frith of The Dubs will be speaking at this event.
30-31 March 2011 – Melbourne
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