PR and marketing

Macquarie University’s Women, Management & Work Conference on 12-13 July 2012 will empower women to take control of their career by building on, and embracing, their full potential to become influential leaders in their field.

Newly appointed conference director Jenny Morawska, President and CEO of The Morawska Group said, “This year we are aiming to inspire and encourage women looking to make their mark in corporate leadership to act on their strengths and be empowered to start making changes.”

“It’s not enough to just discuss why women should be involved in more leadership positions. We need to inspire and empower women to start doing,” she said.

Women and men who are leaders in business and government will identify strategies to achieve higher levels of women in leadership roles throughout Australia. The conference will share inspirational stories, practical tips and tools to help the audience build on their strengths, unlock their potential and become empowered.

“Positive steps are being taken for women in leadership positions, but it isn’t enough. We need to start working together with men to ensure that the corporate landscape takes this on as an issue and begins helping us to make a change,” Ms Morawska said.

The Women, Management & Work: Inspiration and Empowerment – Creating your future conference is specifically designed to provide practical and relevant advice on empowerment, negotiation, social networking, presentation skills, workplace diversity, networking, mentoring, and career development.

Topics to be discussed over the two days include; the emerging future of corporate leadership, leveraging personal networks and how to be seen and heard in the workplace, as well as tips on how to empower your strengths to become an influential and successful leader.

The conference is hosted by the Centre for Workforce Futures, in the Department of Marketing and Management, Faculty of Business and Economics.  Professor Ray Markey the new director of the Centre for Workforce Futures said, “This conference gives voice to the many issues surrounding diversity and the changing dynamic in today’s workplace. Our research and academic input will give delegates an insight into the future of work and their place in it”.

Date: 12 - 13 July 2012, 9am – 5pm
Where: Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, 61-101 Phillip St, Sydney
For more information, program details & registration: www.mm.mq.edu.au/wmwc 
Fee: Early Bird $1,725 until 1 June 2012, $2,300

Yesterday I had corn & quinoa soup for lunch. So what? I hear you ask. About a year or so ago a cafe in Crows Nest called Montagu started following me on Twitter.

As a result of conversations on Twitter I started going there for lunch and having business coffee ‘catch ups’ there. In the last month or so they have started tweeting me what soup they have on.

Why this is special is because I’m vegetarian. So in winter I struggle to find soup in cafes that I can eat (as most vege soups are made with chicken stock).

Now mid morning, if Montagu have a vege friendly soup available for lunch, they tweet it out and include my twitter handle so it comes into my ‘mentions’ section of Twitter. 

I love it! It means I get to eat yummy soup that I know is vege friendly. And how clever of them to use such a creative way to generate business!

Learn how to do your own PR! – My next one day workshop on PR and media releases that get results is on next Thursday (11 August). 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. Sydney Writers’ Centre. Book now!

I hope you enjoy this newsletter.

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Using PR and social media to engage a community
Macquarie University has been running the annual Women, Management and Work Conference for 23 years, with the 2011 conference focusing on Women and Leadership: Ignite your strengths. Leading women spoke about how women can use their unique strengths to become influential leaders.

This year, Macquarie University once again asked CP Communications to run the PR and social media of the event as well as the sponsorship drive. CP Communications drove engagement and registrations by expanding and renewing the online community, in addition to traditional PR strategies.

The focus of our strategy was to use the various issues the conference would cover, to strike a chord with the target audience. We wanted a long lasting campaign that didn’t end when the conference did.

We reignited the conversation in the online community “Women at Work Australia” which included blogging, Tweeting, Facebook and a YouTube channel. We also added a new platform, a LinkedIn group.

CP Communications identified that the media talent were the conference speakers and invited them to be involved in PR. We sent media releases, various pitches and invited the speakers to provide contributed articles, which were pitched into online publications

Yet again we achieved amazing engagement and print and online coverage.

Read how we achieved these results at CP Communications – Success Stories

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YouTube for business - How to create a professional YouTube Channel
We can all be TV stars now by starting a YouTube TV channel. Creating compelling videos helps you engage with your target audience and is a great way to bring exposure to your business and also a way to position yourself as a thought leader or expert in your field.

Here are some tips for creating quality videos:

1. Use a good camera.
   The whole point of a YouTube video is to visually show or demonstrate your product, service or expertise. There is no point in uploading a video onto YouTube that is fuzzy, dull or blurry.
2. Get the lighting right.
   Again the whole point of YouTube is to visually get your message across professionally and that also includes making sure the video looks professionally made. Make sure the lighting is even and that there are no dark shadows.
3. Buy a good microphone.
   There is nothing more frustrating than trying to decipher what someone is saying while watching a video. If you want your messages, tips and advice to be clear investing in a good quality microphone is a good idea. Also, remember to test the sound before doing the whole recording.
4. Aim for one to five minutes.
   Your audience will probably be busy people who have short attention spans. With that in mind your audience will most likely press stop after the two minute mark. If you can, create short two minute videos but if you have to go over be sure to keep within the five minute range.

Read more tips and how to set up your channel 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:

Brand Management 
This one-day master class workshop will equip participants with the core knowledge and skills necessary to successfully and profitably manage a brand. Learn about brand equity, brand research, positioning and managing your brand and brand building. This workshop is designed for marketers and senior managers who have responsibilities over one or more brands within their organisation.
4 August 2011– Brisbane, Queensland

Social Media Women August: Learn about social media's role in the health industry with Heidi Allen of BodyinMind.org
Finding information about health is one of the highest uses of search engines today. Is the information we find reliable? How do we know? Is my doctor using social media? How do I feel about my health information going online? Heidi will help you understand the challenges of implementing a digital and social online strategy in a quickly evolving business ecosystem.
9 August 2011 – Sydney, NSW

Doing Business Online: The Latest Trends and the Legal Risks
The internet and Smartphones are now being used by many for business purposes. During this seminar a panel of expert speakers will present information about the latest trends and techniques being used by businesses. The legal risks of conducting an online business and how business owners can cover themselves will also be discussed.
9 August 2011 – Robina, Queensland

PR and Media Releases That Get Results with Catriona Pollard
Catriona will teach you how to construct a PR strategy that gets results. By the end of this workshop you will understand how to come up with a media angle, write a pitch, media release, article, case study and editorial. You will also learn how to strategically use these tools to maximise your chance of achieving your PR objectives.
11 August 2011 – Sydney, NSW

AFR Leadership Conference
The Australian Financial Review Leadership Conference 2011 brings you a fresh look at corporate leadership. At this one day conference learn about how to get the best out of multigenerational workforces, how to be a leader in the aftermath of a crisis and the importance of strategic HR.
16 August 2011 – Sydney, NSW

Integrating Online Services to your Existing Community Engagement Strategy
The explosion of online communications tools offers an enormous and often untapped potential to address a great deal of challenges faced by community engagement practitioners. Topics to be explored include the integration of online strategy with traditional methods of community engagement and examples of effective online strategies.
30 - 31 August 2011 – Melbourne, Victoria

Last week I finally did my 24 hrs for B&T. I’m not sure if you know about this column in B&T magazine but it profiles the day of someone in the marketing industry. It has been on my list of things to do for, well.... a year. It’s been moved from my monthly list of things to do so many times I didn’t even notice it anymore.

Our clients’ PR always comes first, obviously. But one of my New Year resolutions was to make sure we focus on our PR to help the business grow but also to showcase our skills. So one of our clients is...us!

Alison is our consultant, and updates our action plan just as we do for our clients. I’m now the annoying client that never gets back to her! In an attempt to get me to do the 24 hrs column, she even printed out a blank document with ½ hour intervals on it, and a motivational quote at the top to encourage me to do it!

It worked. It’s done now and hopefully will be printed in the next couple of months. She has also booked me in to do more videos for our YouTube channel, which I’m told, I can’t cancel!

We are half way through the year and it might be time to reflect on how you are going with your New Year resolutions. Is it time to update them? Reflect on them? Or even ditch them and create fresh goals?

Speaking this month: I will be speaking at the Leichhardt & Annandale Business Chamber breakfast on 14 July and SheBusiness lunch in Balmain on 28 July. The breakfast is booked out, but there are places available for the lunch. 

WIN a ticket to Macquarie University's Women, Management and Work Conference:
Attend Social Media Women in July to automatically go into the draw to win a ticket worth $2,300 to the Women, Management and Work Conference on 28-29 July 2011 in Sydney. The conference will inspire and inform women who are looking for insights and key tips to develop their leadership skills. Read more at www.lmsf.mq.edu.au/womenandleadership.

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter.

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Why 'how to' articles work
Writing articles is a fantastic way to gain publicity. There are specific types of articles that work well – the ‘how to’ article is one of them but there are specific ways to write them.

‘How to’ articles can not only position you as an industry expert, they can offer topical, helpful and interesting information to readers and are one of the easiest types of articles to write because they have a 'tried and tested' structure that works.

1. Know what you are writing about. When writing a ‘how to’ article make sure you do actually know how to do it. Your information needs to be backed up with real life experience and knowledge.
2. Stay on topic. The article should be objective and written in an informative and entertaining manner, but keep on topic. No editor will want to receive an article that goes off topic or becomes a promotional piece.
3. KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). Particularly if you are writing a ‘how to’ on something complex. Avoid jargon and write in short, clear sentences, using sub headings, dot points and bolding to communicate key points.
4. Proof read it. Once you are finished, proof read it and then give it to somebody else to read. It is very common for authors of articles to miss mistakes. Allowing another person to read over the article can help. Also, by doing this you can test if your 'how to' article is effective in communicating information to people who are not experts in the area. 

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Should you BranchOut?
Most people who have joined Facebook have ‘friended’ everyone they know from people they went to school with 30 years ago to new friends.

Their pages are filled to bursting with both personal and professional information about themselves and yet, in order to network on a professional basis, you need to use LinkedIn and start that networking process all over again.

At least that’s how it used to be until BranchOut was launched.

The BranchOut application, created in July 2010, is Facebook’s largest professional networking service. In many ways it is quite similar to LinkedIn allowing users to create networks, search for jobs or people at specific companies to relay interest to and seek endorsement from previous clients or employees.

BranchOut seems to have one advantage that LinkedIn doesn’t. It uses your existing Facebook network so your contacts are already there, waiting for you to explore as soon as you create your account.

And while on the topic of learning something new, for all you social media savvy people who feel they are starting to get bored by the already existing list of social media platforms – brace yourselves.

Word is quickly spreading about a new social media platform that is yet to hit our Australian social media shores called Kohort. Users are already able to stake their claim by creating their own user account name; however you can’t enter the site yet.

Mysterious or what!?

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

Social Media Women July: START UPS, Tips & Tools for Overcoming the Hurdles with Catherine Eibner
Starting any business can be challenging. Practical advice based on experience helps save time, energy and money and a free program that helps support a start-up is the cherry on the cake! Catherine Eibner will share her tips and advice for entrepreneurs on starting a business.
12 July 2011 – Sydney

Marketing Women Victoria social media event
‘Social media’ is on everyone’s lips and smart phones, but how many people and businesses actually get it right? The interactive session will be led by an impressive group of experts in the social media space: future leader of Haystac’s newly formed digital and social media unit, Kristen Boschma and fellow social media gurus Yvonne Adele, Eloise Zoppos and Trevor Young.
13 July 2011 – Melbourne

Chamber of Women in Business presents Sofia Majewski – director of Speak2us
Develop and strengthen your public speaking skills and become a confident and articulate public speaker with Sofia Majewski, Director of Speak2us. Learn about where and when you speak, who your audience is and how to manage nervousness and anxiety.
13 July 2011 – Canberra

Online Retail: Differentiating Online Businesses
This event, run by AIMIA, will help retail businesses entering the online space clearly understand how to differentiate their online offering and integrate with a multichannel retail business strategy. It features speakers from the e-tail multichannel space.
12 July 2011 – Sydney
14 July 2011 – Melbourne

Macquarie University’s Women, Management and Work Conference
Learn how to become an influential leader at Macquarie University’s 23rd annual Women, Management and Work Conference. This two day conference will inspire and inform women who are looking for insights and key tips to develop their leadership skills. Speakers include CEO of Medicare Lynelle Briggs Board Director of CoSolve, Anna Booth and Director in the Royal Australian Navy Captain Michele Miller.
28-29 July 2011 – Sydney

PR and Media Releases That Get Results with Catriona Pollard
Catriona Pollard will teach you how to construct a PR strategy that gets results. By the end of this workshop you will understand how to come up with a media angle, write a pitch, media release, article, case study and editorial. You will also learn how to strategically use these tools to maximise your chance of achieving your PR objectives.
11 August 2011 – Sydney

Macquarie University’s flagship Women, Management & Work Conference on 28-29 July 2011 will inspire women to take the next step by utilising and building on their signature strengths to become influential leaders.

Leading women speakers will focus on strategies to achieve higher levels of women in leadership roles throughout Australia. The conference will share practical tips and tools to facilitate career progress and success.

The two-day conference is in its 23rd year and conference co-director Melanie O’Connor said, “This year we are aiming to ignite discussion and encourage women looking to make their mark in the leadership stakes to act on their strengths.”

“Debate continues to circulate around management circles as women start taking more positive and active leadership roles. But it isn’t enough. We need to ensure that the corporate landscape continues to change for the better.”

“Although we have recently seen some increases in the numbers of women in senior management roles and CEO positions, the numbers are still too small to get excited about,” said Ms O’Connor.

According to research conducted by Macquarie University’s Faculty of Business and Economics’ Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency Census 2010, women are still underrepresented within key decision maker roles within Australia. The Australian Institute of Company Directors reported that in 2010 women made up about 25 percent of board appointments in Australia, but it slipped to 11 percent for the top 200 companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

These findings highlight that few significant changes have occurred in the business landscape to address why capable women are still prevented from contributing at high levels of business.

“It is clear that we still have a long way to go to fully integrate talented women into leadership roles. We hope that this conference will continue to spark the conversations needed to make cultural change a reality,” said Ms O’Connor.

Women, Management & Work: Ignite Your Strengths conference will consist of presentations and workshops with expert speakers from diverse backgrounds and industry sectors. Each section of the conference has been specifically developed to provide practical and relevant advice on negotiation, communication, mentoring and career development.

Topics to be discussed over the two days include what the future of leadership will look like and how women fit into this concept, as well as tips on how to fast track your strengths to become an influential leader.

Date: 28 and 29 July 2011, 9am – 5pm
Where: Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, 61-101 Phillip St, Sydney
For more information, program details & registration: www.lmsf.mq.edu.au/womenandleadership
Fee: $2,300


Conference speakers available to be interviewed include:
Melanie O’Connor, Managing Director, The Academy Network
Conference spokesperson. Melanie is highly regarded for her work in advising corporations in the development of talent management and capability strategies, and is considered by many to be one of the foremost advisers in this field in Australia.

Lynelle Briggs, CEO, Medicare Australia
Topic: Leadership Success Stories. Lynelle became CEO of Medicare in 2009. She has 30 years experience in the Australian Public Service. In 2004 she was appointed Australian Public Service Commissioner.

Anna Booth, Board Director & Policy Developer
Topic: The Future of Leadership. An executive director of CoSolve, a non-executive director of Industry Holdings Pty Ltd and a non- executive chair of Slater & Gordon.  Anna is a specialist in workplace relations, training and managing workplace change for positive outcomes.

Margy Osmond, CEO, Australian National Retail Association (ANRA)
Topic: The Future of Leadership. Margy is the inaugural CEO of ANRA which was established in 2006. She sits on the Boards of the Australian Sports Commission, the Bell Shakespeare Company and the Retail Employee’s Superannuation Trust.

Mara Olekalns, Professor of Management – Negotiations and Deputy Dean (Academic), Melbourne Business School
Topic: The art of negotiation: Strategies for success. Mara’s expertise is within the fields of negotiation and conflict resolution. Her research focuses on communication processes in negotiation. Mara has published in leading international management, psychology and communications journals.

Helen Conway, Director, Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency
Topic: Leadership Success Stories. Helen’s appointment as Director of EOWA comes after many years of experience in the top tiers of the corporate sector, including General Counsel, Company Secretary and the General Manager of the office of the CEO at Caltex Group and Senior Judicial Member of the NSW Equal Opportunity Tribunal.

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Women At Work Australia online community:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/womenatworkoz #WWMC
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WomenatWorkOz
Blog: http://womenatworkoz.posterous.com/

We secured great coverage for Macquarie University's Women, Management and Work Conference. A number of the conference's speakers featured across two double page spreads in the Winter edition of Business Chicks Latte magazine!

We secured great coverage for Eilish Bouchier's recently launched jewellery line, Shashen Jewels, in Business Chicks Latte magazine.

To register for the Women, Management and Work Conference CLICK HERE

Macquarie University’s Women, Management and Work Conference, on 29-30 July 2010, will be a place to canvas solutions to increasing the number of women elected to parliament, appointed to boards and senior management positions and achieving salary equity.

Leading women speakers will be discussing equal opportunity in the workplace and strategies to achieve higher levels of women in leadership roles throughout Australia. It will encourage and inspire women to succeed in the workforce.

Conference co-chair Melanie O’Connor says, “The conference has been running for 22 years, yet 22 years later we are still looking for solutions to these intractable issues. Although many Australians do not want to hear it, gender continues to act as an insidious barrier.”

“Research by Associate Professor McGraw published in The 2008 Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency Census highlights some alarming statistics which show that women do not form the majority in any category of senior job position in any industry in Australia.”

“Not surprisingly, not a single industry in Australia pays women more than they do men and most pay them less.”

“In 2008, there were four female CEOs in the top ASX200 companies in Australia or two percent, down from three per cent in 2006. 106 companies in the top ASX200 do not have a single woman on their boards.  A new update of the Macquarie/EOWA research featuring 2010 data will be released by the time of the conference,” said Ms O’Connor.

The conference will include presentations, round table discussions and workshops encouraging audience participation run by influential Australian leaders.

Topics discussed over the two days include: how to get on a board, how to get on an executive team, coaching and mentoring, promotion and development in your job, balancing the risks and rewards as well as inspiring leadership success stories. This year also includes topics on starting your own business.

There are over 20 inspiring and leading speakers including:
• The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for Housing; Minister for the Status of Women
• Brigadier Simone Wilkie AM, Director General Training, Headquarters Forces Command
• Heather Ridout, Chief Executive, Australian Industry Group
• Andrea Grant, Group Managing Director Human Resources, Telstra
• Mia Freedman, Journalist, columnist, author and media consultant

The Conference Directors are Associate Professor Peter McGraw, high profile management consultant Melanie O’Connor and Pam Morpeth.

Date: 29 and 30 July 2010, 9am – 5:30pm
Where: Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, 61-101 Phillip St, Sydney
For more information and program details visit: http://www.lmsf.mq.edu.au/wmwc
To register visit: http://www.lmsf.mq.edu.au/wmwc/register_now

Speakers available to be interviewed:
The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP
Minister for Housing and for the Status of Women, Australian Labor party
Tanya was elected to the Federal Parliament in 1998; and appointed the Minister for Housing and the Minister for the Status of Women in 2007. Tanya’s presentation will include predictions for the new directions in the world of work and what this means for tomorrow’s women in the workforce. 

Heather Ridout
Chief Executive, Australian Industry Group
Heather is a leading figure in the public policy debate and is a member of numerous policy setting groups. Heather will help determine what the world of work will look like by 2020. She will examine alternative scenarios and help identify key trends.

Claire Braund
Executive Director, Women on Boards
A business woman with a rural background, Claire co-founded Women on Boards following a career in media. Claire will provide an overview of what it takes to be a director and provide strategies to help women become prominent board members.

Helen Newell
Director, Corporate Development & Government Relations, Asciano
A career that spans projects in Mexico, the US and Canada across the rail, air and road sectors; Helen has worked for TNT and Toll and currently Asciano.  Helen will discuss strategies and tactics to help women get on an executive team and flourish.

Andrea Grant
Group MD, Human Resources, Telstra Corporation
Andrea joined Telstra in 2005, prior to this she held the role of Executive Director of HR GM Holden, where she served as GM Holden’s first female board member. Andrea will provide an insight to her own personal leadership journey and explain how she overcame challenges to achieve success as a woman.

Find us:
Web: http://www.lmsf.mq.edu.au/wmwc
Facebook: Women at Work Australia
Twitter: @womenatworkoz
Posterous: http://womenatworkoz.posterous.com/