CP Communications has been running the PR campaign for the Government 2.0 Taskforce. Their report was released yesterday calling for the government to embrace Web 2.0 tools to deepen democracy and engage citizens.
It also recommends that government agencies and public servants use Web 2.0 tools such as blogs and online forums to engage with citizens, each other and likeminded professionals around the world.
When I was reading this, I thought – the same applies to most businesses. How many companies encourage their staff to share their expertise online? In fact, most businesses ban staff from using Web 2.0 tools at work.
Also, how many companies have fully integrated Web 2.0 to engage with customers and communities? Using Web 2.0 tools the Government can draw all those with the enthusiasm, expertise and crucial local knowledge to collaborate in the process of government. Can you do something like this to engage with your business community?
I want to thank everyone for your support with our Public Relations Sydney blog being shortlisted for Mumbrella's media & marketing blog of the year! As I mentioned whatever the outcome, I am so chuffed to have been shortlisted. Mumbrella said "the hardest category to shortlist was for media and marketing blog of the year. Several good ones didn’t make it."
Finally, we wish you a very merry Christmas and happy New Year! It’s been lovely sharing our stories with you. It’s been an exhilarating and exhausting year, and I am going to go lie under an umbrella on the beach for a couple of weeks and catch up on my reading and day dreaming.
See you in the New Year.
Is it time you Facebooked your business?
If you thought Facebook was just for keeping contact with friends and family, think again. It can be a great way of building an online community, or simply reaching another audience online.
With a Facebook Page you create a public profile that helps you to share your business and products with Facebook users.
Setting up your page
The first step when setting up your page isn’t actually setting up your page - it’s thinking about the name of your page. The obvious is your company name, however you can create a page that relates to your business.
For example we have two pages – Public Relations Sydney and CP Communications. The first relates to my personal blog, which I plan on creating a public relations community around, and the other is about our business.
Actually setting up your page
Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php and then you need to choose one of three categories for your business: Local Business (and the industry); Brand, Product, or Organisation; and Public band, Artist or other Public Figure.
Adding content
The easiest way of populating your page is RSS feeding your blog into the page. This then means every time you post an article on your blog, it is automatically fed into your Facebook page.
Getting fans
Once you've become a "fan" of your business, your friends on Facebook will see a message in their home page. You can also send a message to all of your friends asking them to become friends. I also suggest you add the page link to your website, email signature, blog, business card – as many places as possible!
What makes a good page?
A successful Facebook page needs to be engaging, updated and rewarding. While I was writing this article I read on Twitter @JourneyJottings tweeting about a giveaway on her Facebook page. She was engaging (and rewarding) her fans by running a 10 day giveaway where each day her fans had the chance of winning an Australia Map Journal.
This is just an excerpt of the full article! Go to our blog Public Relations Sydney to read the full article.
Why "No Comment" is never a good idea
Plastered across the media in the last couple of weeks have been reports of Tiger Woods – that car crash and those affairs. Tiger has been very vague about what occurred that night and replied to media inquiries with the dangerous “no comment” creating a public relations nightmare.
What’s the big deal?
When replying with “No Comment” both the media and the public automatically believe that Tiger is lying, or covering up what happened leaving the media to fill in the gap. This more often than not ends badly.
What to do if you are in a similar situation?
If you or your business find yourself in the midst of a crisis you should keep in mind the following suggestions:
• Never, ever say “No Comment.” Instead tell reporters the situation is still being reviewed and you will have a statement available as soon as you have all the facts.
• Offer as much information as possible to avoid the chance of inaccurate information being reported to the public.
• Respond quickly to define and control public perception of how you are handling the crisis or the media will do it for you.
• If the crisis affects members of the public, always show compassion and concern for the people involved.
• Don’t allow for speculation. If the interviewer says something that is not factual, correct the information.
• Report your own bad news before the media catches wind. This will avoid the media assuming you are guilty without getting your side of the story.
• Always admit your mistakes. Explain why the mistake occurred and what you are doing to fix the problem. Never underestimate the power of “sorry.”
• Forget about “on the record” “off the record” promises. If you don’t want something reported, then avoid discussing it completely.
Read the full article at Public Relations Sydney.
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