PR and marketing

Seeking staff via social media

Catriona Pollard, of PR agency CP Communications, is also a proponent of using social media and the internet to find good staff, including a current opening for a senior account manager.

“We help businesses with their social media strategies, so using social media to find staff is natural for us, it really helps us level the playing field with bigger organisations in terms of finding talented people” she says.

To read the full article on SMH.com.au, click here.

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:

1. Test your theory on a smaller audience.
2. 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.
3. 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

Rural and regional Australians are unprepared for the impact a faster internet service will have on their businesses and everyday lives when the National Broadband Network (NBN) is introduced – with many seeming confused about what the changes will mean for them.

These are the findings of a recent survey of 1040 rural and regional Australians conducted by OurPatch, a community web portal. The survey revealed confusion over the NBN with contradictory opinions surfacing about whether any impact will even be noticeable, especially to their businesses.

Almost a third of those surveyed believe the NBN will not impact or improve their business, despite over half believing they will actually receive better service from other businesses.

Director of OurPatch, Simon Van Wyk said, “Regional and rural Australians don’t seem to understand the incredible potential of the NBN. Many business owners don’t believe their customer numbers or orders will increase, which shows a real lack of education about what the NBN can actually lead to.”

The survey showed that while 65 percent of those surveyed believe the NBN will have a significant and positive impact upon everyday life, 61 percent are unwilling to pay for faster internet.

“The NBN will not only impact everyday life, but also bring fantastic opportunities and the potential for increased revenue in business, with faster internet improving productivity and bringing a much wider scope for business services. Yet many Australians are unwilling to pay for it,” said Mr Van Wyk.

Rural and regional Australians were surveyed about the effects of major issues on their town including job availability, quality of life and cost of resources.

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About OurPatch and the survey
OurPatch is network of websites covering most of rural and regional Australia. OurPatch is the civic centre for the internet age with business and community information, local news and events and community engagement. They aim to deliver local news to rural and regional Australia.

The survey of 1040 rural and regional Australians over the age of 18 was carried out in late December 2010, covering all states and territories of Australia and representing all demographics. http://www.ourpatch.com.au/

LEGO® Australia in conjunction with Toyworld stores, are searching for the nation’s best LEGO builder in the National LEGO Building Competition with entries opening on the first of April 2011.

Now in its second year, the competition gives Australian children the opportunity to use their creativity and construction skills to build the LEGO model of their dreams for the chance to win a family trip to LEGOLAND® California.

All children interested in entering are required to build a LEGO model, take a photo of the model and present it with a completed entry form to their local Toyworld store. Entries can be submitted to any Toyworld store from 1st to 30th April 2011 and will be on display for the duration of the competition.

Ryan McNaught, LEGO Certified Professional is encouraging all children to start building their models now, ready to be entered when the competition opens in April.

“I suggest that children take inspiration for their models from all around them, from the world they live in, TV shows and the books they have read. Building something different and unique is definitely the way to go.”

“It is a good idea to not just build one thing, build lots of different things then they can choose their favourite one. Often it’s the other ideas and creations that are made that are even better than the original idea. So I encourage kids to build lots of models and pick their favourite model to enter as they can only submit one in the NLBC,” said Mr McNaught.

The Grand Prize winner will receive return flights to Los Angeles for four people, five nights accommodation in the luxurious Grand Pacific Palisades Resort and Hotel, admission for four people to LEGOLAND California theme park for four days, and $1,500 spending money. 

There will also be the chance to win store and state prizes with winners receiving $50RRP and $100 RRP worth of LEGO product respectively. All entrants will receive a Junior LEGO Master Builder Certificate.

It’s time to get building!

Visit www.toyworld.com.au or visit your local Toyworld store for more details.

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10 top tips for LEGO building

Ryan McNaught, LEGO Certified Professional has offered the following top ten tips to help children get started on their entries. Please feel free to use these.

1. Don’t just build one thing, build lots of different things then choose your favourite one.
   Often it’s the other ideas and creations you make that are even better than your original idea, so build lots and pick your favourite!
2. Get organised! Have your LEGO bricks all sorted out in a way that makes building easy, have your bricks sorted by colour and type, i.e. have all your mini figures and their utensils together.
3. Make things that you really like, if you really love space ships, then build a space ship, or if you are into making cities then build the best police station. Models are always better when you really love what you’re building.
4. Include things that move. Have hidden trap doors, sections that open and things that spin to make the model playable.
5. Every great model tells a story, for example; here is the King who is trying to defend his castle from the bad guy Prince who wants to take all of his cows!  The more interesting the story the more interesting the model.
6. Take inspiration for your models from all around you, from the world we live in, TV shows and the books you have read. Building something different and unique is definitely the way to go.
7. Work with other people, get together with your friends and family and build your models at the same time. This way you will get inspiration and ideas that will help you make an even better creation.
8. Build a strong model.  If you have to move your models around, make sure they are robust and tough, you don’t want your precious creation falling to pieces when you go to move it.
9. Don’t be afraid to start again, if you just finished building something and you aren’t happy with it, tear it down and build it again. All the great LEGO models around the world are made from many, many versions. 
10. Get colourful. Use different colours that you normally wouldn’t. Use colours in unusual ways, put a red stripe down the side of your grey space ship, it will make it super-fast and look super cool!

Notes to the Editor
Since 1932, when Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, began making wooden toys in his workshop, the name LEGO has been synonymous with creativity and learning through play.  LEGO is proud to carry on its historic tradition of learning through fun and creative play by announcing the National LEGO Building Competition.

About the LEGO Group
The LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned company, based in Billund, Denmark. It was founded in 1932 and today the group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of play materials for children, employing approximately 7,000 people globally. The LEGO Group is committed to the development of children’s creative and imaginative abilities. LEGO products can be purchased in more than 130 countries. www.lego.com

When you create your social media strategy, it’s a great idea to use the opportunity to engage all of your staff with their ideas about interesting tweets and blogs.

Once you have contribution from your team, its best to have only one person who approves it (once approved other people can upload it).  Building your brand on social media is about regularity, consistency, and knowing what is relevant and engaging to your audience. This takes time and organisation.

The following points explain why having a designated social media person will make your strategy more effective.

• Regular posts. To build followers, you need to post content regularly on the company blog, Twitter and Facebook. If no particular person is responsible, it’s likely that no one will make adequate time for it. It’s best to have one person responsible for regular posting.
• Avoid repetition and contradiction. It’s easier to keep track of what’s been said when you have one person responsible for social media, rather than many people. The person will keep track of what has been posted to avoid repetition and contradiction.
• Consistency. The style must be consistent in terms of language, format and content. This will build a strong brand image that your audience can better form a relationship with. The style will depend on your audience and your brand image. Having just one person approving content will keep your style consistent.
• Keep up to date. The person in charge of social media should be responsible for researching new social media methods and techniques. That way, your brand will be on the cutting edge of social media. That person will build expertise and learn how to make your social media more effective.
• Refresh. The person should regularly analyse the effectiveness of their actions – what has engaged the audience, what could be done better? A designated person can spend the required time adjusting the social media strategy until it is perfect.

In time, your company will have a social media expert and the content will be directed and strategic. Your social media accounts will be a way to engage existing and potential clients, and position the company as a leader in the field.