PR and marketing

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

Once upon a time, in a non-digital world, people met in real life and got to know each other as people rather than as brands. Business and branding were an extension of a person but they didn't make a person.

Today everyone is, in one way or another, digitally branded. Whether it is through Facebook, Twitter, a blog or LinkedIn, your personality and your brand - in both colour and design - are online for all to see.

So what happens when you meet your friends and contacts in real life? Does your personality in real life match the experience people have of you online? In real life do you reveal another (better or maybe worse) aspect of yourself? How do you live up to the expectations that have been created by you online?

Mariette Rups-Donnelly will share with you some tips, tricks and techniques to make sure that when you meet your contacts in real life you live up to every expectation and perception that they have of you.

Mariette will explain that in order for your physical being to compliment your digital one, you must first understand that people have created perceptions of you because of what you put out there both in branding and online presence.

When you understand that, then you can actively work to make sure your real life presence is just as strong.

About Mariette Rups-Donnelly:
Mariette has taken her years of experience as a leading actor and teacher of actors and combined it with an astute business understanding to create programs that go to the core of presence, presentation skills and business performance.

Through her company, Powerhouse Presentation, she runs a wide variety of one on one programs and customised workshops for small business owners, professional speakers, executives and corporations.

As a professional speaker and MC she is becoming more and more aware of the disconnection between people's online presence and their 'In Real Life' presence and performance.

She draws her expertise from a 34-year career as an Actor/Singer/Dancer and 26 years of teaching in some of Australia's leading acting institutions.

Her professional acting work is both national and international and includes theatre, television, film and cabaret with leading roles in A Chorus Line, Annie, Big River, Company, The Seagull, Hamlet, Emerald City, Away, among many others, and the title role in Evita, twice.

With her experience both in the performance world and the business world she has a wealth of knowledge to share.

A not to be missed event - learn how to match your real life presence to your online presence.

Register here for our September event.

Date:      Tuesday 13 September 2011
Time:      6:00pm - 8:30pm
Venue:   The Supper Club at the Oxford Hotel,
                134 Oxford St, Darlinghurst.
(Enter the Oxford St side of the hotel and walk up the stairs. Metered parking is a few steps away on Bourke St, $1.10 per hour)

Enter the draw to win LUCKY DOOR PRIZES, simply by attending!

Meet amazing women as well as discussing the ever changing world of social media.

The open discussion about social media is one of the best parts of the event. So bring your social media questions for the group to answer.

Social Media Women is all about inspiration, collaboration, supporting each other and growing. Join the community:

• Become a fan and check out the launch photos and post comments on Facebook
• See, subscribe and view the guest list on SocialMediaWomen.posterous.com
• Join and start discussions on LinkedIn
• Visit the official Social Media Women Site
• Follow us on Twitter @SocialMediaWomn

Do you want to see you and your business profiled in the media but don’t know where to start?

Have you sent out media releases and received no response?

When you get the right media coverage, your sales can double (or triple), you gain new customers and you can position yourself as a leader in the market place.

However, if you don't know the tactics of a publicity/public relations (PR) strategy or how to write an effective media release, you won’t get the results that will make a difference.

You'll learn the science behind an effective PR strategy including writing media releases that get results, how to approach journalists, how to write articles and case studies for the media as well as clever online tactics.

In one day, you'll discover the secrets to getting good publicity that you can use for your own business.

This seminar covers:
• the elements of a typical PR strategy
• how to determine your target audiences
• how to structure media releases and what you must include
• who you should quote and what they should say
• how to deal with journalists
• online distribution strategies
• contributing articles to publications
• how to approach bloggers as part of your PR strategy

This seminar is ideal for:
• Business owners, coaches, speakers, entrepreneurs who want to promote their business
• Professionals who have been given PR or marketing responsibilities but who may not have had formal training in this area
• People who are relatively new to a public relations role

This seminar covers all the issues you need to consider before you even put pen to paper - or fingers to the keyboard! Once you have these issues covered, you will have a strong framework that will guide how you write the release.

About Catriona Pollard
This seminar is presented by Catriona Pollard, director of CP Communications. Catriona has 18 years experience in developing and managing public relations and marketing programs.

Prior to establishing CP Communications in 2001, Catriona set up the marketing communications department for a leading software company and managed a diverse range of accounts within PR agencies. She also has extensive experience in managing public affairs and marketing in federal and state governments.

Catriona's blog Public Relations Sydney was shortlisted as media & marketing blog of the year 2009. She is a co-founder of Social Media Women, a formal online and in person networking group that encourages and assists women to participate more prominently in social media.

This seminar is held at the Sydney Writers' Centre.

PR and Media Releases that Get Results with Catriona Pollard
Thursday 15 September 2011 9.00am - 5.00pm
Fee: $495 (includes GST)

Book now! Click here.

Sydney Writers Centre
Ground Floor
55 Lavender Street
Milsons Point NSW 2061

Decoding the world of marketing and PR can be a challenge, especially for a small business. Uncover the many elements of effective marketing and public relations and identify the right strategy for you and your business.

Catriona Pollard will share tips with you on how to build the profile of yourself and your business through events. This will include attending networking groups and exhibitions, and public speaking.

Other topics to be covered include:

• Why you should use PR, and its benefits
• How to make the most of media coverage
• Sources you can use to gain free publicity
• The role of social media as part of your PR strategy

Don’t miss this rare opportunity!
Top tips and hot topics in the one event!

Date: 16 September 2011
Time: 3:00 PM - 5:30 PM (doors open at 2:30 PM)
Venue: Level 47, MLC Centre 
            19 Martin Place, Sydney, 2000

Register now for this event, click here.

Building your company’s profile and protecting its reputation should be a key aspect of your public relations strategy but an entire strategy can be derailed if the wrong spokesperson is selected to front the media.

So what should be considered when choosing your company’s spokesperson?

High-ranking executive: but not necessarily the CEO
In many cases the CEO is the most reputable name you can put out there, they obviously know the business well and have final say on all issues, however if the CEO is not media friendly, they could end up doing more harm than good.

If the CEO has a nervous or shy disposition or they can come across as un-trustworthy, they may not be the best person to represent your business. Another executive who is more confident is definitely worth considering.

Know the business and its key messages
One of the most important lessons in PR is knowing the company’s key messages and being able to tie them into an interview, regardless of the questions being asked. The spokesperson should have a strong knowledge of the company’s background and the issues that a journalist may raise, with a confidence to answer the questions while sticking to the PR strategy.

Well presented and well spoken
It doesn’t matter how knowledgeable a member of staff is, if they can’t string a sentence together for radio or look presentable on camera, then they shouldn’t be your spokesperson. It might sound harsh and it’s certainly not all about appearances, however in reality this person represents your company and you need to consider how you want the audience to perceive your business.

Understand the importance of media
Your spokesperson doesn’t have to have ‘get’ public relations but it is vital that they appreciate the power of the media and the value for the company of getting good press. If your spokesperson sees PR as a waste of time and a hassle in their busy day, they will not project the best image and may not convey the right message.

Media training is recommended
Many people get nervous when approached by the media, but by having a plan in place, your spokesperson will have more chance of giving a successful interview. Learning how to answer questions and how to stay in control of an interview by conveying your key messages can be incredibly valuable. It’s a good idea to participate in some sort of media training, whether it is an intensive one day session or a half an hour briefing with your PR person before the interview – the difference is definitely noticeable.

Recently I did a presentation at the networking group LetsDoBiz on social media. A friend of mine nearly fell over when she read about it on Twitter. You see, I make everyone else do presentations, but I don’t do them. They scare the bejesus out of me.

In one of the numerous conversations I have had with people about public speaking we realised it’s the whole centre of attention thing. You either love it or hate it. I am on the hate it side, but am now dipping my toes into the spotlight, and doing it in a way that suits me (i.e. baby steps).

The reason I encourage everyone to participate in speaking opportunities is that they offer a cost effective way of reaching a captive, and quite often a large and influential audience. They increase the brand awareness of your business and provide a platform for you to be a credible industry expert.

You can get some some tips on how to public speak by watching the experts! There is a great conference coming up discussing the future of journalism in the social media age. The Media140 conference is on 5-6 November in Sydney. As a reader of this newsletter you receive 20% discount on tickets, enter the CP140 code when registering.

I am organising a brunch to support breast cancer research at Aqua Dining at Milson’s Point on Tuesday 27 October, 9:30-11:30. It will be a champagne brunch including fruit, pastries & hot breakfast and a fashion show. Aqua Dining donates 100% of the cost of the breakfast to breast cancer research and we make a tax deductable donation of $80. Let me know if you are interested – it’s a great combination: champagne & supporting a good cause!

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter.

Maximise the power of public speaking

It is a well known fact that the fear of public speaking ranks higher than the fear of death. This means most people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy at a funeral! However public speaking doesn’t have to be a traumatic experience; in fact when done right, it can often be the most effective form of communication.

It is so powerful we build speaking opportunities into our clients PR strategies. Here are some useful tips for effective presentations.

Practice practice practice
If you are a nervous public speaker as most people are, the best way to overcome nerves is to practice your speech over and over. Practice in front of family and friends, the bedroom mirror – wherever.

Know the audience and the venue
Before your presentation find out who the audience will be and how much knowledge they will have on your topic so you can pitch it at the right level. It is essential that you tailor the presentation to the bulk of the audience and understand what makes them tick and what drives them. 

Clients can share your story
Often co-presenting with a client, or using case studies or anecdotes will help reinforce your story and build credibility. Your clients have a unique perspective that is often more convincing and ‘real’ compared to your story.  

Go to our Public Relations Sydney blog to read more presentation tips including get to the point, use efficient body language and don’t read the whole time.

Writing a great media release

One of the highest key word searches on our website and blog is “how to write media release”, so we thought we would share with you how to write a great release.

Developing and distributing a media release is one of the most effective methods of telling your story to the media.

A media release can contain information such as the work your business is doing, a new product release, the signing of a new contract or commenting on industry issues and trends.

The main rule is that all releases have to be newsworthy. If a release isn’t newsworthy, then it simply won’t get picked up. What makes items newsworthy differs greatly from one publication to the next or even from one section to the next. News is something new, up-to-the minute and of interest to the readers.

Following are some guidelines for good press releases:

• The lead paragraph is the most important and should provide a ‘hook’ for the journalist. It should contain who, what, when, where, why, and how.
• Write in the inverted pyramid style. After the lead paragraph, each remaining paragraph should be less important than the one preceding it. That way the editor can trim your release from the bottom. 
• Write in short sentences, short paragraphs and keep the information simple and to the point. Try to keep the release to one page.
• If you read an article in the paper, you will see they always include quotes. So you should give them the quotes to use. Attribute them to a particular person in the organisation and ensure they are newsworthy. 
• A good press release has no typographical or grammatical errors. 
• Head the release with “Media Release” and date it clearly. 
• Use a catchy headline. 
• At the end of the release add contact details so the editor can easily contact you for an interview.

Go to our resources section of our website to see a media release template.

Top 7 social media tips

In a really clever PR strategy, one of our Twitter friends, AJ Kulatunga (@ICT_GURU) has launched 31 Days of Technology. Linking it with the Northern Territory’s October Business Month, they are giving away a free technology tip everyday for 31 days in their blog and Twitter.

We asked him to give us his top seven social media tips.

• Use what works for you. If you’re not a fan of Facebook use a blog or Twitter instead. Mix and match the tools to suit your availability and personality.
• Make personal comments but remember everything you do represents the “face” of your business online.
• Social media involves giving and receiving, so make sure you help out others by promoting their ideas. 
• You’re in business so measure the results of your tools against your marketing strategy to see what works and what needs tweaking e.g. TweetReach
• Social media can be used for training as well. Popular “how-to” clips on You Tube can be fantastic staff training tools.
  Some tools to try are WordPress(blogging), Digg (articles) and Twitter (conversations with people).
• Check out GoogleWave – when it comes out it will change the way you think about communication online.

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