PR and marketing

Want to know how to create a healthy work environment? Listen to Catriona's interview with Mindfood Radio as she shares her top five tips for creating a healthy office. Listen to the podcast here!

Last week I was interviewed about mentoring. I was asked about the reasons why we need a mentor. Over my career I have mentored numerous business people and graduates and I see this as part of my contribution to the business community.

Here are the reasons why I believe mentoring is important:

Create a learning culture in your life – I think we’re responsible for our own learning. By seeking a mentor you are creating an opportunity to grow, which is what you need if you really want to be successful.

A source of support and advice – recently I had to deal with a difficult situation with a ex-business associate. The first place I went to for advice was my group of business friends. Informal mentoring is very invaluable so seek out people you trust and admire to provide you with support and advice.

Formal goal setting – mentoring is a great way to help you set a clear career path and set goals for yourself. It also makes you accountable for your own career goals.

Inspiration and a different perspective – spending time with a mentor that you admire can assist with your own perspective and can lead to better decision making.

Expanding your network – I can’t stress how important networking is for your career and business. A mentor can open up new networks with people outside your own sphere of influence. This can lead to new career opportunities you otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

Million Paws Walk – We are participating in the Million Paws Walk 2012 to help raise money for the RSPCA. We hope that by participating in the Million Paws Walk we can raise money and awareness to help neglected animals, but we need your help.

Please support our team and the RSPCA by donating to our CP Communications fundraising page. Help us achieve our (very achievable) fundraising target of $250!

Learn how to do your own PR – My next one day workshop – PR and Media Releases that get Results – is on 24 May. Learn how to construct a PR strategy including how to develop media angles, pitches, media releases, articles, case studies and editorials. You will also learn how to strategically use these tools to maximise your chance of achieving your PR objectives. This event is held at the Sydney Writers’ Centre. Register here.

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter.
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How to write great content for the internet

Studies have shown that most people only spend 10 – 20 seconds viewing individual websites, which is hardly any time at all. So how do you get people to spend more time on your website and actually read your content?

The answer is to write valuable content that will appeal to your target audience and is presented in a clear format.

The way that we read internet content is different to how we read print text. People read slower on the internet and tend to scan the page, skimming over large chunks of content and focusing on subheadings and summaries. This means that you need to adapt your content for the internet to make it easier for people to read content on a computer screen.

• Make it brief: Cut down your print content by half .
• Break up the text: Small paragraphs of 40 – 70 words in length. Use subheadings, bullet points and empty space.
• Use links: Use hyperlinks to draw your reader’s attention to other articles that support your research or main points.
• Use inclusive language: Write content that will engage your reader by using the word ‘you’ instead of impersonal words such as ‘users’ or ‘consumers’.
• Create a catchy headline: Write a headline that will grab the reader’s attention and quickly convey the articles main point.

Read the full article on the CP Communications website.
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What you need to know before joining social media

Before you dive into social media there are a few things to consider.

Where is your target audience? Before you join a social media platform stop and think about where your target audience is. What social media sites are they using and which ones are they avoiding?

Which platforms suits your business? You don’t have to join all the social media platforms at once. Start by choosing the top two platforms that are right for your business.

Who will manage your social media accounts? Social media can be very time consuming. You need to consider who will manage your social media accounts and who is able to devote enough time to each site.

How will you use social media? You need to develop a strategy about how your business will use social media. This strategy should include what information you will post, how often it will be posted, how your brand will be represented and how you respond to positive and negative comments.

Are you prepared for a long relationship with social media? Social media is not just a onetime thing. It takes a long time to build a following on social media and to position your business as a valuable member of an online community.

Read the full article on our Public Relations Sydney blog.
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Upcoming events
Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in:

The business of blogging – made easy!
Blogging is an essential social media tool for any business because it allows clients to get to know your business. It also demonstrates your business’s expertise and improves your search engine rank on Google. At this event you will learn about the type of content that your readers are looking for. You will also gather ideas for your first 10 blog posts.
3 May – North Ryde

How to write a business book with Valerie Khoo
This Sydney Writers' Centre seminar shows you how to turn your expertise into a best-selling business book. You will gain practical advice on how to position yourself as an expert and gain instant credibility by authoring a best-selling book. You will learn about how to how to keep your reader interested, the basics of publicity, how to structure your book and how to use it as a lead generation tool.
4 May – Sydney

Women in Banking and Finance Business Series Luncheon – Ita Buttrose and Oroton Group CEO Sally MacDonald
This event will host a lively discussion between Ita Buttrose and Sally MacDonald about their careers and the future of women in leadership positions. They will also explore the strategies that worked for them to achieve successful careers. Ita Buttrose is a businesswomen, media editor and bestselling author. Sally MacDonald is the CEO and Managing Director of Oroton Group.
9 May – Sydney

LinkedIn: How to build great personal and professional profiles
This She Inspires event will discuss how to use LinkedIn to promote your personal brand and your business. You will learn how to integrate LinkedIn into your social media strategy and how to complete your online profile. Friends of CP Communications (that's you!) receive 25% off when they book with this code CP05lisb
16 May – Sydney

Professional development program: Magnetic writing
This course will teach you how to improve your text, sharpen your writing skills and keep your readers engaged with your writing. You will be shown how to grab and hold an audience’s attention while communicating your message clearly and simply. You will be given skills to make composition easier, no matter what level of writing you are at.
16 May – Perth

Leaders with a life conference
This annual business event will provide attendees with the energy, ideas and inspiration to take their leadership style from good to great. National and international speakers will provide their tips and personal leadership experiences. This conference is perfect for anyone who dares or dreams of taking the lead.
21 – 22 May – Adelaide

Our Director Catriona Pollard was featured in a radio interview for mybusinesshelp.com.au discussing PR tips for small business. Learn about how small business owners can get themselves into the media. Listen here.

When was the last time you day dreamed? Did you know that day dreaming helps with creativity and innovation? It helps your brain notice new connections, to see the overlaps that we normally overlook.

I’m reading Imagine: The Science of Creativity, which is all about how the brain ‘has a creative impulse built into its operating system’. It’s about how we imagine.

You don’t have to be an artist or naturally inventive to be creative. As the book says, we tend to assume that some people are simply more creative than others, that originality is a predetermined personality trait.

However, by merely sitting in a blue room or spending time looking at the blue ocean or the sky you can double your creativity.

Productive daydreaming (where you’re not letting your mind wander so far away it gets lost) can lead to great insights. When you are struggling with seemingly impossible problems, find time to unwind.

Rather than relentlessly focusing, take a warm shower or walk on a beach. Do a little day dreaming.

As the book says, it’s not until you let yourself relax and indulge in distractions that you will discover the answer; the insight arrives only after you stop looking for it.

So maybe it's time to stop looking and start day dreaming.

Million Paws Walk - We are participating in the Million Paws Walk 2012 on Sunday 20 May to help raise money for the RSPCA. We hope that by participating in the Million Paws Walk we can raise money and awareness to help neglected animals, but we need your help.

Please support our team and the RSPCA by donating to our CP Communications fundraising page. Help us achieve our (very achievable) fundraising target of $250!

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter.
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How to respond to negative tweets
Responding to a negative tweet can be tricky, especially since you don’t want to escalate the problem further. So how do you respond to a negative tweet and resolve the issue quickly while still maintaining a good reputation for your business?

The worst thing you can do is to ignore the tweet or respond in a negative way. This could escalate the issue and lead to a major crisis situation if other followers join the conversation.

Here are some tips to help you respond to a negative tweet.

• Tweet a polite public reply in response to the negative tweet and offer a clear process to resolving the issue. For example you could explain the issue better or offer them a discount on their next product.
• If you are following the person who wrote the negative tweet than you can send them a polite direct message explaining in further detail how to resolve the issue or asking them to explain the issue further.
• If you’re not following the person who wrote the negative tweet then send them a public reply and start following them. Ask them to follow you back so you can then send them a direct message.
• Deal with the issue on a more personal level by asking for their contact details. Send them an email or call them on the phone. This will be easier to resolve the issue when you can write more than 140 characters.
• Remember to address the problem quickly.
• Always stay calm and do not aggravate the situation further by getting angry or responding negatively.
• You can also research the person’s profile who wrote the tweet to understand their personality. This will help you to communicate better with them and help to meet their needs.

It is important to maintain good customer service while using twitter, which means responding to complaints quickly, being helpful, treating customers with respect and always being friendly and polite.

Read the full article here.
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How to use evergreen stories to your advantage
There are heaps of events that occur every year that the media will always publish stories about such as Christmas or Valentine’s Day. These stories are called evergreen stories.

Evergreen stories are kind of like ground hog day. They come around every year and from a media perspective, they remain interesting and newsworthy every year.

Journalists are always looking for a new angle for an evergreen story because they don’t want to publish the same story as last year. You can use this to your advantage and gain publicity for your business by coming up with a fresh new angle.

An example of an interesting evergreen angle is around New Years Eve when there are always hundreds of stories about New Year’s resolutions – quit smoking, get fit or get a new job. You could add a new twist to this angle such as: What are your New Year’s business resolutions and how to achieve them.

You could even write a success story about how your business achieved last year’s resolutions and the amazing result that occurred.

Read about how evergreen stories can benefit your business on our 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 Enterprise Unconference
At this event you will learn about the social enterprise, what it is and what it means for your business. You will also learn how the social enterprise impacts social innovators. This event offers the opportunity for you to network with other like-minded people to build your network and drive social innovation in Australia.
14 April 2012 – Paddington, NSW

6 Steps to a Better Business
At this free workshop you will learn how to make you business work more effectively so you don’t have to work so hard. Learn how to turn your advertising into an investment instead of an expense, leverage your time to maximise your profits and efficiency and learn how to recruit and retain the best employees for your business.
17 April 2012 – Crows Nest, NSW

Social Media Management
This conference will teach you how to create a sustainable presence for your business on social media. You will learn how to handle negative issues on social media and how to develop the best community on social media for your business. You will hear practical advice from a number of social media and marketing experts.
17-18 April 2012 – Sydney, NSW 

SEO for Beginners
Learn how to make your website Google friendly with search engine optimisation (SEO). You will learn about the definition of SEO and how to use it to get your business to appear on the first page of Google searches. Marketing expert Dave Chaffey of Netreach will provide practical advice and tips on SEO and how to find your own SEO consultant.
18 April 2012 – Sydney, NSW

Think Women Think Business
This one day conference is for women who want to invest in their future and receive a tool kit of ideas to grow their business. There are six available workshops to attend on the day and you can choose to attend any three that best suit your needs. You can also network with like minded women from a range of professional backgrounds. The conference concludes with a keynote presentation.
20 April 2012 – Perth, WA

Social Media Live! - Sydney
Attend this interactive workshop and learn how to use social media strategically and effectively for your business. At the end of the day you will have created your own Twitter account, LinkedIn profile and company page, a Facebook Business page and a social media strategy to manage these new sites. You will be given a workbook and instructions, which explain how to use these sites.
30 April 2012 – Sydney, NSW

Responding to a negative tweet can be tricky, especially since you don’t want to escalate the problem further. So how do you respond to a negative tweet and resolve the issue quickly while still maintaining the good reputation of your business?

The worst thing you can do is to ignore the tweet or respond in a negative way. This could escalate the issue and lead to a major crisis situation if other followers join the conversation.

Here are some tips to help you respond to a negative tweet:

• Tweet a polite public reply in response to the negative tweet and offer a clear process to resolving the issue. For example you could explain the issue better or offer them a discount on their next product.
• If you are following the person who wrote the negative tweet than you can send them a polite direct message explaining in further detail how to resolve the issue or asking them to explain the issue further.
• If you’re not following the person who wrote the negative tweet then send them a public reply and start following them. Ask them to follow you back so you can then send them a direct message.
• Deal with the issue on a more personal level by asking for their contact details. Send them an email or call them on the phone. This will be easier to resolve the issue when you can write more than 140 characters.
• Remember to address the problem quickly.
• Always stay calm and do not aggravate the situation further by getting angry or responding negatively.
• You can also research the person’s profile who wrote the tweet to understand their personality. This will help you to communicate better with them and help to meet their needs.
• Always be on the lookout for tweets about your business. You can use Google alerts, Twitter hashtag searches or http://tweetbeep.com/ to find mentions of your business. You can also use http://monitter.com/ to see a live feed of tweets related to or about your business.

It is important to maintain good customer service while using twitter, which means responding to complaints quickly, being helpful, treating customers with respect and always being friendly and polite.

Our Director, Catriona Pollard, speaks on PR and social media to a number of groups and seminars. Here is her PowerPoint presentation which shares practical tips on how to build your business profile and your personal brand using social media and PR.

An overview of PR and Social Media

I have enjoyed taking photos for a long time. I’ve never had one of those amazing expensive cameras, just the ‘point and click’ kind. I’ve often thought I should carry it around with me because I see photo opportunities everyday and have missed so many because I didn’t have my camera.

When I got my iPhone, I realised I was carrying a camera with me! I started taking photos most days and I am now an avid “iPhoneographer”. Yes that is a word. It’s also called mobile photography. There is a real movement in photography that now involves iPhone photos.

An app called Instagram has really facilitated this movement. It allows you to enhance, add filters and share your photos easily. Over the holidays I spent time exploring the people and ‘language’ of this app. There are IGers (Instagramers) all around the world, with a group in Sydney and Melbourne. You tag your photos so people can easily find the genre i.e. #ocean #clouds.

What’s a photo if it isn’t shared! So you start following people and liking their photos. They follow you back and you can add comments on photos. I have “met” some lovely people and great photographers. It’s another community I’m a member of now.

It’s even gone main stream. The Sydney Morning Herald ran a competition over summer for iPhone photos through Instagram. They requested you upload your photo to Instragram using the hashtag #summerherald and they chose the best to be published in the paper (I jumped for joy when one of my photos was used. Yippee).

When I was in Milford Sound in New Zealand over the holidays I was with people with amazing telephoto lens’ etc, and there I was with my ‘point & click’ camera in one hand and my iPhone in the other. It was quite funny!

Check out my photography blog ‘Life as I see it’ and I’m CatrionaPollard on Instagram if you want to join in the fun.

While we are on the subject of photography, I want to thank Shane D Photo for my gorgeous new professional photos!

Learn how to do your own PR! – My next one day workshop - PR and Media Releases that get Results - is on Thursday 23 February 2012. Learn how to construct a PR strategy including how to develop media angles, pitches, media releases, articles, case studies and editorials. You will also learn how to strategically use these tools to maximise your chance of achieving your PR objectives. This event is held at the Sydney Writers’ Centre. Book now!

I’m speaking at SheInspires on Social Media. Come and learn a step by step guide to social media and how you can use it to increase the profile, credibility and reputation for your business – and yourself. 28 February 2012, 6:00-7:30, The Rocks Sydney. Its $45 and we have a 25% off code – CP02insm – for our friends (which is you!). 

Want to join our team? We are looking for an experienced PR consultant to join our team. Send us your resume if you or anyone you know is interested in working with us. We’d love to hear from you.

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How to follow up with the media

So you’ve sent out a pitch or a media release to journalists and have received no reply. What now? What should you do to find out if the journalist received your email or if they are interested? An essential skill for all PR professionals is to learn how to follow up with the media over the phone.

The best way to follow up with a journalist is by calling them. An appropriate time to follow-up is usually two to three days after the email pitch or release has been sent.

Be very specific about the media pitch or release you sent them. Don’t just say “I sent you a release and wanted to know if you were interested”. 

•  Be polite and speak clearly
  When calling a journalist speak clearly and be very direct and to the point. Try to sound interested and enthusiastic to make the call interesting for the journalist. 
•  Don’t be afraid of journalists
  Don’t be intimidated by journalists, they are people too. If you contact them at a bad time apologise once and move on, apologising more than that can become annoying.
• Choose your questions wisely
  When calling a journalist don’t ask them if they are going to publish the media release. Instead, tell them the date you sent the media release on and what it was regarding. Simply ask if they received the release and if they would like further information or high resolution images. 
•  Be ready to respond to their requests
  You should be ready to supply the journalist with relevant images, additional information, event details or the contact details of your spokesperson. You can also line up interviews for the journalist to make it easier for them to cover your story/client.

Read the full article CP Communications News.
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Google+ Business Pages: What are the advantages?

Every business is different and so needs a different communications strategy. Not all businesses will be suited to the features and benefits that Google+ Business Pages offer, however some advantages of a Google+ Business Page include:

• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO):
  SEO is all about using techniques to drive the right people to your website. These include key words, back links and valuable content that will help search engines naturally find your site without paying for ads.
  
  As Google is one of the biggest search engines and therefore ranks Google+ very high in search results, it makes sense that SEO would be the top advantage for owning a Google+ Business Page.
• Google Services:
  By creating a Google+ Page, an organisation has direct access to all other Google services integrated into the system. Such services as Google Maps, search, YouTube, Android, Chrome and Gmail provide even greater exposure for a business. 
•  It helps build connections:
  Google+ pages don’t just interact with other pages; they interact with the entire Google+ world. Businesses can add people to circles, +1 comments and photos, add their own photos, edit their profile, host Hangouts and share things.
• Host hangouts:
  Google+ allows businesses to host their own Hangouts – live video chats with other users. Potentially a business could use these hangouts to have meetings with international clients, have expert discussions with potential clients or stream a live question and answer session. With live streaming businesses have even more of a reason to engage with their target audience.
• Circles:
  Circles are a feature on Google+ and Google+ Pages that allow the profile user to create groups of similar people or businesses. This makes it easier for businesses to send out targeted or tailored messages to each individual group.

Read the full article 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 Marketing Course (Sydney)
Want to learn how to use social media for marketing your business? The Social Media Marketing course will teach you the key principles for using social media successfully and examine best practice examples. This intensive day course will cover the key social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and blogging.
3 February- Sydney, NSW 

Social Media Women
How do you measure reputation on social media? Kate Carruthers, an expert and forecaster in online collaboration, social media and digital integration, will explain the new social recommendation economy and why reputation matters. She will discuss how to make the new social recommendation economy work for you.
7 February- Sydney, NSW

The League of Extraordinary Women volume II
This networking event is for all young up and coming female entrepreneurs to meet like minded females, network in an informal environment and establish new business and personal relationships. You will hear from some of Australia’s leading female entrepreneurs such as Jodie Fox, Telstra Business Woman of the Year 2011.
9 February- Sydney, NSW 

Secrets of success for women in leadership
The Secrets of Success seminar is the first step of The Butterfly Program for Women in Leadership, which is a personal development program designed specifically for women in leadership and those who aspire to leadership roles. This seminar will offer tips on how to overcome obstacles and control thoughts, feelings and actions to get better results.
16 February – Melbourne, Victoria

Accelerate your digital business
Most entrepreneurs and companies do not have a plan to grow their business. AIMIA and VentureOne have created the ‘Accelerate your digital business’ workshop to help you grow your business in 2012. They will discuss how partnerships, joint ventures and investments can accelerate your business.
28 February- Sydney, NSW 

Web editing course
At this one-day course you will learn how to upgrade your web editing and e-copywriting skills. You can participate in discussions, gain hands on experience and work on your own projects with the guidance of an experienced online editor.
27 February- Sydney, NSW

So you’ve sent out a pitch or a media release to journalists and have received no reply. What now? What should you do to find out if the journalist received your email or if they are interested? An essential skill for all PR professionals is to learn how to follow up with the media over the phone.

The best way to follow up with a journalist is by calling them. An appropriate time to follow-up is usually two to three days after the email pitch or release has been sent.

Never wait more than a week to follow up as waiting too long may result in the journalist deleting your email, the story being covered by another person or the story becoming (quite literally) yesterday’s news.

When it comes to following-up journalists the best advice would be to go with your gut instinct – listen to their tone of voice and the way they phrase their answers and make decisions based on that.

However, sometimes that can be a bit hard to do, so here are a few tips you should always take into account when following-up with a journalist.

Be very specific about the media pitch or release you sent them. Don’t just say “I sent you a release and wanted to know if you were interested”.

• Be polite and speak clearly
  When calling a journalist speak clearly and be very direct and to the point. Try to sound interested and enthusiastic to make the call interesting for the journalist.
• Don’t be afraid of journalists
  Don’t be intimidated by journalists, they are people too. If you contact them at a bad time apologise once and move on, apologising more than that can become annoying.
• Choose your questions wisely
  When calling a journalist don’t ask them if they are going to publish the media release. Instead, tell them the date you sent the media release on and what it was regarding. Simply ask if they received the release and if they would like further information or high resolution images.
• Be ready to respond to their requests
  You should be ready to supply the journalist with relevant images, additional information, event details or the contact details of your spokesperson. You can also line up interviews for the journalist to make it easier for them to cover your story/client.

Now that you have the journalist on the phone, how do you react to their responses? One way to calm your nerves and sound more confident on the phone would be to plan out what you want to get across – your pitch or key points.

However, any phone conversation can be unpredictable especially when dealing with a journalist. The best way to tackle any response from a journalist is to be flexible and prepared for anything. You may need to resend the release or answer detailed questions on the spot. More than likely you will need to leave a voice message, so be prepared for that.

Remember after every follow-up to make a note of the outcome to ensure you remember who you have called and who was interested.

The most important thing to remember when conducting a media follow-up is to remain confident and try to provide the most appropriate and interesting information for the journalist. With a little bit of preparation beforehand, you can then hang up the phone feeling like you’ve achieved your goal and maintained a good relationship with the journalist.