An undergrad’s experience of PR by Elsa Carron

Aug 12, 2013 by SuperUser

As an English literature major, the most common thing I hear is: oh, so are you going to be a teacher? Then when they learn I’m minoring in Japanese you can almost hear them thinking: what are you going to do with that?

I like my course – I’m passionate about it and it makes me a more enthusiastic person. It is about more than reading classics; it is learning the ins and outs of writing and what culture means. English literature and other liberal arts subjects are made for those who like unusual pathways to employment; even though it means having to explore different possibilities, and, sometimes, taking a chance.

I took a chance at the beginning of my first year of university, signing up for a PR module as my elective. It caught my attention because it involved learning to write effectively. I thought, this is great. I love writing in any shape or form; this module is made for me. That’s when I took a closer look and noticed that students would also be gaining valuable interviewing and presentation skills: through group presentations. I nearly turned away from that PR module. I’ve done street theatre and stood on a stage in front of a thousand people, but class presentations still make me want to run the other way.

So, working with people I haven’t chosen and presenting in front of a class, not my favourites; on the other hand, writing, editing, storytelling: yes, please, I want more – I’ll make mistakes and love it. I was on a fence: to PR or not to PR, convinced that taking the plunge would feel like an icy cold bath. Love of writing tipped me over that fence, and I don’t regret one moment, not even my trembling hands during my group presentation.

As it turned out, every other student there was a PR or marketing major. Cue, gulp, what am I doing here? I allowed myself a moment of panic and then I realized that the knowledge I gained in liberal arts studies could be transferred to PR.  Even better, theoretical skills in liberal arts, such as good writing, editing, research, being creative and accurate, became skills I could apply when drafting a press release, finding out what a client wants or preparing a campaign plan.

That elective module opened my eyes to the world of PR. That you can be a liberal arts student and have more than teacher as an employment option. That PR is demanding, yet exciting, interesting and versatile. It can take you anywhere.

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Social Media experts shared top insights at #Engage2013 conference

May 7, 2013 by Tania Harasimiuk

Tracking Twitter Trends on a daily basis is a truly worthwhile activity because you never know what insightful information you can stumble upon and how it can add value to your business growth. A highly interactive and trending Twitter topic occurred on the 23rd April, which streamed live the best practice from PR and marketing field.

On that day a social media conference Engage 2013 took place in London and generated buzz nationally and even worldwide with key speakers from companies such as Twitter, Nestlé, KLM, SAB Miller and Adobe.

The industry experts presented useful case studies and shared data on how to use social media for maximum effectiveness. The overall goal of the conference was to engage and inspire attendees to cope with struggle when it comes to social media strategy. It was a real learning experience for attendees and below we have summarised the highlights and insights from the key speakers.

Pete Blackshaw,  Global Head of Digital & Social Media at Nestlé, pointed out that listening, engaging and inspiring are three main ways of utilising social media for the business growth. The right analytical and measurement tool is also a paramount aspect of any social media strategy. These tools help companies to increase listening skills and understand the customer’s demand.

The Head of Social Strategy at Adobe, EMEA, Jeremy Waite discussed the challenges that small and big companies face when creating an online strategy. Jeremy highlighted an importance to build all social media activity on a solid strategy and to help with that, Adobe introduced the “Like Cycle”. Jeremy also explained that not every Like is important as 98.6% of fans who Like a brand page may never return.

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/jeremywaite/social-bakers-adobe-likecycle

The speaker suggested that social media is not a platform anymore since it becomes more integrated into an organisation. Today’s customers are developing so fast on social media, so brands need to catch up with that and find more innovative ways to connect with their audience.

By Emma Urjasova, PR intern

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Reputation is everything?

Mar 25, 2013 by Tania Harasimiuk

Reputation is everything? Maybe it’s time we took more time to address our own

As I am sure that news of the BBC story on NHS London PR spending reached all corners of the industry at pace, I am equally sure that I am not alone in feeling both aggrieved and somewhat concerned. Aside from the lazy headline and negative rhetoric, the summation that PR cannot provide value, and instead dubbed ‘a total waste of money’, appears to have the ability to transform me from a level-headed, well balanced chap, into a fire-spitting, claw-wielding dragon.

However, I am not utilising this space to speak in defence of PR spending within the NHS. Both CIPR, and notably Sarah Pinch, published in The Holmes Report, have argued robustly on the topic, with the latter stating that taxpayers’ money is not allocated to fluffy campaigns, but to life-changing and life-saving work. Unfortunately this doesn’t make the national press, but what is concerning is that not only does the language within the news piece relate to ‘spin doctors’, the character trait that irritably lingers, but to the presumed incalculability of the value of PR.

Plenty of discussion has taken place on how reputation can be improved by enthusing clients in transparency and ethical and moral practices (not lying being key), and sure, PR needs to do more of its own PR, but focus should settle on changing the public perception that PR is not an investment but an expense and cost to business. This is by no means an easy task, virtually every profession has perception issues, but measurement and evaluation at every possible outcome, and provision of a monetary value where possible, can go a long way to changing those perception and reputational issues. I mean, if the PR and Communication agencies together with the PCTs had clear ROI figures to convey value against investment, would the story have even been written?

Emphasis on evaluation and measurement should be a mandatory exercise for any practitioner, and through the provision of an ROI value, increased transparency on the impact of PR becomes available. However, what is important to emphasise is that it is not just measurement, but what you measure, and ensuring that the attained results can represent a real value to a business.

Stephen Waddington, Digital and Social Media Director for Ketchum’s European Operations, outlined in a recent blog for CIPR that social media indicators can be easily manipulated or faked, and thus concentration should fall on metrics built on business outcomes and not just engagement and audience building. Although the results of media relations, for example, cannot be manipulated or faked, it is important to relay this code of practice across all our activities as public relations practitioners.

Keeping it simple, measurements of our PR services and initiatives must be focused far more intrinsically around client business objectives. Selecting which indicators we use for measurement is therefore paramount, and although positive ROI values cannot always be provided, it at least provides a transparency which can be digested by both the business community and the general public. For all we know, 50,000 London women may have averted cervical cancer through early screening and pre-cautionary day case procedures thanks to increased awareness as a result of PR campaigns. I wonder what saving this may have brought the NHS in radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments? Effective measurement of what matters could prove a large step forward in changing those age old perceptions.

Blog by David Bertram

 

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Media lists: Still important? You bet.

Mar 21, 2013 by Tania Harasimiuk

Media lists: Still important? You bet.

With social media increasingly dictating our communication methods, and becoming an increasingly integral cornerstone of our client communication strategies, it is far from unknown that a paradigmatic shift is in the midst of taking place from earned media and the more traditional media relations service to a greater emphasis on self-content creation or so-called ‘owned media’. Indeed journalists are not as integral to the success of our communications as they have been in the past. The annual benchmarking survey from CIPR, 2012/2013 State of the Profession, shows that 52% of budgets are spent on media relations, and that less than a third of the survey’s respondents hold journalists within their most influential contacts.

So what does this mean then? Sure, getting a journalist to write a story is, thankfully, no longer the be all and end all, and this is partly due to the value of earned media no longer resting wholly on their shoulders. The opinion leaders of the digital social age; the social networkers, bloggers, and online communities writing to large online audiences on differing niche subjects, represent a new age of influencers that are invaluable resources in accessing certain markets. So yes, media relations has and is certainly still changing, but only the naive would suggest it will phase out completely. Of course, PR is far much more than press and media relations, it is about communicating with the audiences that matter to our clients. But as our audiences still gorge on media (for example the increase of television viewing despite forecasted decreases due to the birth of mobile), media relations must still be involved in the strategy mix, with PR campaigns of the future most likely to continue to include a blend of strategies depending on the communication behaviours of our audiences.

The media list has always been a hugely valuable asset to any practitioner when it comes to media relations and earned media, but why does an up-to-date media list hold greater value now than before the advent of digital?

1)      Media fragmentation: An ever-expanding number of communications channels and mediums put greater pressures on list creation and maintenance to ensure opportunities are not squandered. This great graphic simply shows the immense fragmentation to take place within social media alone.

2)      Niche media: With new technologies allowing the proliferation of new publications and outlets, those that are specific to certain sectors and interests are growing, representing great opportunities for targeted communications. Keeping track of those relevant to your clients is integral.

3)      Movers and shakers: The dynamic nature of the landscape means that not only do new outlets emerge all the time, but contacts are seemingly constantly on the move. It is more important than ever to keep track of who is writing about what and where.

4)      Increased ‘Groundswell’: There are an increasing number of content creators contributing via social media and particularly social networks in the form of microblogs. Keeping track of blogs/microblogs with subjects and topics bearing relevance to clients, particularly those of high rank, is essential. Tools such as Klout and blogrank are a couple of the many helpful tools measuring rank and influence.

5)      PR Interns: Allocating media list creation and maintenance to entry-level graduates is a means of excellent training. With the opportunity to make important contacts from the word go, the budding interns and executives are able to acquire expert knowledge of the media landscape.

Without a continually updated media list, it is practically impossible for media relations services to not only operate successfully, but to simply keep up with the dynamic media landscape. It certainly isn’t easy to react effectively to a national story relevant to one of your clients, or any other method of inbound media relations for that matter! Hard graft it certainly is, but graft that is fruitful. Particularly for those new to the industry, occupying those intern and entry level positions, who are handed some excellent experience in undertaking these tasks. To all those in internships and entry-level positions, try not to groan too much, you’ll be thankful in the years to come!

David Bertram, March 2013

 

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PR students get creative in special industry link

Mar 19, 2013 by Tania Harasimiuk

Practical PR in the classroom

A Lancashire public relations specialist has given final year students a special insight into creativity during a guest lecture on campus.

Tania Harasimiuk-Boardman, who has over 15 years of experience in PR, marketing and advertising in London, Dubai and Manchester, told the students of the importance of pitching unique story ideas and also discussed how brands engage with consumers online.

Tania, whose business Forevergreen PR is based near Chorley in Lancashire, was joined by David Bertram, who has recently completed his postgraduate studies on the UCLan MSc International Applied Communication programme.

David, who told the students about his experiences of dealing with journalists and writing press releases, has gained valuable experience through working with Forevergreen PR on an internship.

Tania said: “This year we have trialled working with interns from UCLan and found it to be an invaluable experience so we were thrilled to be invited to guest lecture. Sharing learnings with the students helps to give them practical insights into the industry, ensuring they are better prepared for the workplace.”

Public relations course leader Chris Shaw added: “Our students always value the chance to learn from and discuss with PR campaigns with industry practitioners. Tania’s presentation has added value to the undergraduates’ studies and will certainly help them on a campaign plan they being assessed on before Christmas.”

About Forevergreen PR

Forevergreen PR is a boutique consultancy providing PR and marketing services to SMEs and new start-ups across a wide range of industries. Based in Lancashire, the team at Forevergreen PR offer a full suite of cost-effective PR solutions to help enhance your business’ presence and encourage growth. For further details please contact Tania Harasimiuk-Boardman on 07910 126938 or email tania@forevergreenpr.co.uk.

You can also connect with Forevergreen PR online by visiting www.forevergreenpr.co.uk on Twitter @ForevergreenPR / @PR_Forevergreen and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Forevergreen-PR-Marketing-Consultancy/211322562215433 .

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