Movers and shakers…. maybe it’s nerves!
There’s a famous poem by Rudyard Kipling which includes that famous line: “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs….”
We’ve probably all heard it used as inspiration in adversity, but personally I always hear the second line added later by some wag: “…then perhaps you’ve misunderstood the situation.”
So why bring it up?
Well, at MMS Towers, we appear to be swimming against the tide and if we’re honest we’re not sure if it’s because we’re doing something right or because somewhere, somehow, we’re out of step. We’ve heard a lot in recent months about double-dip recessions and the global economic downturn, yet – without wishing to sound conceited – our client list has grown considerably since the beginning of 2012 and we’ve been forced to grow to keep pace.
Our new home – The Clocktower at Oakwood Park Business Centre, Bishop Thornton.
As a result, I’m typing this in our new offices at the Oakwood Park Business Centre. Our new-look website is imminent and there are a couple of spare desks awaiting recruits. It all sounds great – but if we’re honest we’re a little scared. These last few months have been a blur – an exhilarating kaleidoscope of events that have led us relentlessly upwards. The thing is, we can also see it’s a long way to fall.
We’re very grateful to all our friends and associates for their words of advice and encouragement and we’ve learned a lot in recent months – not least about ourselves. We also feel it’s important to emphasise that, although we’ve enjoyed our recent successes and love our new home, there’s no sense of complacency here.
There will be no let-up in the hunt for new opportunities nor in our efforts to continue to deliver for those who already use our services. We know that, if we want to fly, we have to keep flapping – and hard.
SP
So what is PR?
At the risk of being frowned upon, I’m not that keen on the Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ definition of our profession.
“Public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.”
I suppose it’s clear enough but, for me, it’s just a bit … well … wordy. I prefer an unattributed description of the trade:
“Everything you do or say is public relations”
It may be simple and it’s difficult to misunderstand – but I never cease to be surprised by the number of people who do.
Take the driver in a branded van, tailgating and bullying other drivers out of his way, weaving in traffic and overtaking aggressively. Would you buy anything from his company? What about the estate agent spotted on his hand-held mobile phone while driving his branded car on a busy street?
They’re small things in themselves, of course – but nevertheless big enough to influence opinion.
The CIPR’s definition is all very well, but it perhaps it risks suggesting that everything can be “planned or sustained”. It’s certainly true that good PR will help attract new business. But then it’s just as easily lost again the next day through poor customer service or thoughtlessness.
When pitching to a potential client, it’s easy to fall into the trap of only telling them what you think they want to hear but, in difficult times like these, is it not better to look through the eyes of their customer, see what they see – warts and all – and then offer advice based on what you really think?
After all, a good PR professional should be ready and willing to react to both the positive and negative events of the day – whether or not they’re part of some grand plan or long-term strategy.
Social media – can you afford not to?
Posted by Media Mum in Raising Your Profile, Social Media on March 8, 2012
Like most business folk, we do a fair amount of networking.
There’s no real substitute for getting out there and pressing the flesh when it comes to promoting your company and what you do for a living. Time and again, you’ll hear people say we buy from people we know and trust, even if it costs a bit more – so getting to know as many people as you can is a no-brainer.
But while plenty will tell you face-to-face is always best, there is an alternative these days. Social media platforms give us the chance to dip in and out of virtual networking meetings that go 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Of course, we always advocate against direct-selling; if you walked into a bar and did nothing but bang on about your business and why everyone should choose you, you’d soon find yourself standing alone – and it’s much the same online. But that doesn’t mean there’s no commercial benefit at all in engaging with potential customers through your mutual interests.
With that in mind, I’m always surprised by the number of people we meet at real-life networking events who profess to have no interest in Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest and the like, and who remain steadfast in the belief it’s a fad or “for the kids”.
An example:
On February 29, our local paper was hunting the “Post Box Proposer” – an anonymous victim of Cupid who asked her man for his hand in marriage via the medium of a laminated poster taped to a post box in the middle of town.
The news desk turned to Twitter in the hope of tracing the mystery couple and, within minutes, local businesses were offering cut-rate services and freebies (as long as the guy had said yes, of course).
Someone we know was in a relevant trade so we contacted them to suggest they might like to join in the online excitement – only to find they’re not on Twitter.
We posted on their behalf as a result and, within seconds, our contribution was retweeted by the newspaper and then by one of their followers – putting our friend’s business in front of an audience in excess of 3,000 people.
Not only that, but when the story was printed in the paper our tweet was included in the coverage, adding another 20,000 to the potential audience – not bad for something which took seconds and involved the use of 140 characters or less.
Social media is not a panacea and, used in isolation, it won’t generate enough revenue to keep a business in the black. But it’s an important part of the mix these days and if you’re not using it – and using it properly – you risk missing out on opportunities. In times like these, which of us can afford to do that …?
We’re brilliant, we are….If only we could say so!
Funny, isn’t it? It’s probably been an hour since I decided this blog post would be about our recent successes – and yet this is as far as I’ve got.
It’s not that we don’t have any to shout about. In fact, 2012 has been kind so far and we’ve decided it can stay.
It’s just that…well…neither of us is altogether comfortable with overt self-promotion. Of course, if it’s on someone else’s behalf, it’s a different matter. We’d have gone under already if we didn’t know how to do that.
But, when it’s about YOU, it’s different. Suddenly you’re stuck between sounding too full of yourself on the one hand and too self-effacing on the other – and the words just don’t march onto the page like they usually do.
So here I am with four paragraphs to show for the last 60 minutes (which has also involved quite a bit of procrastinating and more than one cup of tea). And I’m still no nearer telling you what a fabulous job we’re doing.
So I’ve decided I’m not going to. After all, as we know no one ever goes public with stuff that hasn’t quite worked out, maybe there’s only a limited value in bigging yourself up. Maybe it’s something best left for others to do on your behalf.
As Daniel Borstin once said: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness – and some hire public relations officers.” We’ll leave it to the people who know us and have worked with us to be ours.
SP
The rules of engagement?
Posted by Media Mum in Advice, General, Social Media on February 2, 2012
Someone asked me the other day which businesses are doing a good job on Twitter – and seemed surprised I couldn’t give them an answer.
I’d have to admit so was I – at least to begin with. But, having had time to think about it, it seems less remarkable that a single name didn’t leap into my head immediately.
Why? Well, I don’t use Twitter to search for brands or deals and, if anyone tries to use it to ram their product down my throat, I’m far more likely to avoid them.
I once heard someone tell a room full of business folk that “social media” was a misnomer. Apparently, we should all be describing it as “commercial media” because, essentially, it’s all about selling. Not to me – nor to many of the people we work with. If I come across an individual or brand using aggressive marketing techniques and making no attempt to engage, I’ll ignore them. For me, the in-your-face, hard-sell tactic ranks about the same as that cold call from Mumbai at 7pm.
And that perhaps explains why I couldn’t instantly pick a single brand as an example of a company doing a good job on Twitter. The good ones sneak in under the radar, their people rather than their products winning you over.
A trawl through my Twitter account confirms I prefer to engage with names not brands – and I suspect I’m not alone. I want to chat with John, Dave, Karen and Claire about football, motorsport or TV – not about their best deal or their one-off winter sale. I know what they all do for a job – and they didn’t have to tell me.
The thing is, next time I need something in their line of work, I’m more likely to use their firm because one of the first rules of commerce is that buying is an emotional decision – and we tend to do business with people we know, like and trust, not those who shout the loudest.
So if you work for a company raking in sacks of cash by converting Twitter into sales, I’d keep quiet about it if I were you. I might not be the only one to click on the ‘unfollow’ button.
SP
Nothing to say? Think again!
Posted by Media Mum in Advice, General, Raising Your Profile on November 28, 2011
Perhaps one of the most frustrating things a PR professional can come up against is a client – or potential client – already convinced they have “nothing to say”.
“We’ll be in touch when we’ve got something to shout about,” they promise – and, by and large, the majority are sincere. But what that means is that they have already made their own assessment of potential PR opportunities and dismissed them – without taking any professional advice or guidance on what their options might be.
One of the most common mistakes business folk make is to believe it’s all about the product. Most understand that: “I sell widgets” isn’t going to get them noticed and they’re right – particularly when there are three or four other outlets selling similar products in the area. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they have to wait until they can offer customers the “special limited-edition purple widget” before developing a PR strategy. In fact, all the best strategies are planned well in advance.
Just for a minute, think ahead to 2012 and events you already know are going to happen….
The Olympics have to be top of the list of course, but do you have an idea for a photo stunt you can roll out if Prince Harry gets engaged, if temperatures soar past 90˚C or drop to -15˚C, or for when England play in Europe? What about all the other regular annual events on your patch – could you use them to enhance awareness of your brand?
It’s a safe bet that any or all of these things are likely to make headlines – and, if you have a plan in place, those headlines could be about you or your company.
So, if we had a message about PR, it would be simply this: Think of the “P” as standing for “Proactive” and the “R” for “Reactive”. If you build a strategy in that order, you won’t go far wrong.
‘Run Geordie Run’ hero comes to town
Posted by Media Mum in Client News on November 4, 2011
The British man who made national headlines after running 3,100 miles across the United States for charity earlier this year will be Rossett School’s guest of honour at their annual prize-giving ceremony on November 17.
The epic trip, dubbed ‘Run Geordie Run’, saw Mark Allison of Co Durham average 31 miles a day over a hundred days on his route from California to New York City. He covered 13 states, including passing through the Rocky Mountains and Mojave Desert, and ran in extreme conditions including snow and heat.
He completed his quest in August and has so far raised over £50,000 for The Children’s Foundation and St Benedict’s Hospice in Sunderland.
Rossett School’s assistant headteacher, Mr Paul McIntosh, said: “Mark’s achievement is such an inspiration – he’s just the kind of person we want our students to see as a role model.
“Before the run Mark described himself as an 18-stone obese Geordie who loved bacon sandwiches, football and pies – so it just shows what you can do when you put your mind to it. I contacted him through Twitter and was delighted when he agreed to be our guest.”
The Bloke Who Didn’t Turn Up
After sitting on my own in a trendy watering-hole popular with city types for an hour, I ought to be a bit peeved with the guy who failed to turn up for our early-afternoon meeting.
The time, the drink, the parking and the petrol all cost; in fact, when added up, it came to a tidy sum which back in the `80s would have been equivalent to a couple of weeks’ wages.
However, surprisingly, I wasn’t all that bothered. Okay, it would seem the business which was supposedly up for grabs was so much hot air – and I still don’t get the sort of ego which gets off on dangling a bogus carrot. But, actually, this bloke probably did me a favour in a roundabout sort of way – simply because he gave me time to think.
I don’t just mean about family, kids or the stuff our minds normally turn to when you have time to please yourself. I mean about what our time is actually worth as business people. That seed was planted a few weeks ago during a discussion with a consultant we’d asked to help update our business plan. She suggested it would be useful to calculate how much of our week is really taken up by work done for money. Her argument was it would be starting point for calculating the fees we’d need to charge to allow us to pay for resources to help the business grow.
The thing is, since then we’ve been so tied up actually running the business we haven’t made time to complete the exercise. So, guess what? Yep. We’re no further forward. At least until now…
Thanks to the no-show, I had time to study my calendar from the past few weeks. To be honest, I was a little surprised by the comparison between what I’d call “real” work and time spent on what I suppose could be called speculation. Like everyone, we do need to be on the lookout for new business. I’ve met a host of new people over the past few weeks and I’m delighted to have been asked to play a part in some rewarding and exciting challenges.
But yesterday was the day I realised it’s time to redress the balance a bit – and I owe that to the bloke who didn’t turn up for lunch.
SP
In defence of the QLR
Posted by Media Mum in General, Social Media on September 9, 2011
Basra 2003: A British soldier arrests an Iraqi resident caught stealing copper cable.
At the time Baha Mousa died in the custody of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, Steve Parsley was a journalist embedded with the British troops in Iraq. This is his view in the wake of yesterday’s ruling on the incident.
Joining British troops in Basra eight years ago, I learned quickly that their life was a living hell – a mix of acute fear, boredom, confusion and frustration.
Of course, that cannot excuse the events which were to lead to the death of Baha Mousa in the custody of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment – but perhaps it provides something of a backdrop to Sir William Gage’s findings, announced in London yesterday
By September 2003, Basra was a mess. Saddam Hussain had fled and the new regime was still very much in its infancy, struggling to cope with the fall-out from a short but vicious conflict.
To say nothing of the 60ºC heat and an intermittent power supply – ditto water and fuel. There were riots in the streets the month before as a population – expecting a new era of plenty – became frustrated with foreign troops who were unable to provide it.
At the time, the insurgency was only just beginning; there were ambushes and there were casualties – but it wasn’t just security dominating soldiers’ lives. It was also a constant battle to restore some sort of order in a society conditioned to corruption, where life was cheap and nothing but brutality won respect.
Much of the time, the lights went out in Basra simply because someone had used a lorry to pull over a pylon and steal the copper cables for sale in neighbouring Iran. If not that, then perhaps the fuel supply to the power station had run out as bandits had tapped into the pipeline, taking as much as they could carry before leaving the rest to spill into the desert sand.
It was the same with running water. If taps ran dry, then the Iraqi solution was simply to walk a little distance from home, dig down to a main which was still running and shoot a hole in it.
In a meeting with one local elder, British troops were asked why they didn’t just shoot the culprits. The sheik argued a few dead bodies would set an example – and seemed genuinely perplexed when a British officer explained it wasn’t how things were done any more.
British patrols made arrests and handed culprits over to the fledgling police force but, often, a bribe or a threat of retribution would see them back on the streets – sometimes just minutes after the troops had left the compound.
So imagine how British soldiers might feel, knowing all this – but knowing too, that the next patrol might be their last; that, despite every effort made to restore order or to extend the hand of friendship, there were still people out there intent on killing them.
Capt David “Dai” Jones of 1 QLR lost his life in August 2003 and tensions were running high at the time – something acknowledged by 1 QLR’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Jorge Mendonca, who admitted losing a man was a heavy blow.
In an interview with me at the time, he said: “There are certainly many who will feel the loss of Captain Dai Jones very deeply but we have reminded everybody that indiscriminate violence against the Iraqis would only help to create more terrorists.”
Yesterday’s ruling gives those words added significance; if Col Mendonca knew there was a risk, perhaps more could and should have been done to ensure Iraqis in British custody were treated fairly.
Today’s headlines will shock many. Some will struggle to reconcile the images shown on TV with the sense of pride we feel in the UK’s armed forces serving in Afghanistan.
But, for me, the vast majority of soldiers I met inIraqin 2003 were doing exactly the same – a tough job in almost impossible circumstances.
Their resilience, determination and professionalism were remarkable and we should not let the actions of a few sully the reputation and respect so many others deserve.
The truth is out there . . .
Posted by Media Mum in Journalism, Social Media on August 24, 2011
Working as a journalist, one of the most frustrating things was watching speculation become fact – and then being grilled by the newsdesk over why you were “lagging behind” on a story.
Often, in reality, another media outlet had simply taken a punt, gambling on what the next development would be for the sake of dramatic headlines, a boost in newspaper sales, an “exclusive” and 24 hours of glory.
If they were right, then nobody was any the wiser; they got the credit for stealing a march on the opposition and left everyone else looking flat-footed. If they were wrong … well, you can blame the ‘source’ (who, of course, isn’t named) or just keep quiet.
The public can have a remarkably short memory when it comes to who said what and when. Recent examples? Well, the truly horrific shootings inNorwaywere originally reported as an Al Qaeda attack. Or can you remember which media reported Amy Winehouse had died of a drugs overdose? (Sky News and the Daily Mail for starters.)
The newspaper industry has taken a bit of a beating recently and no doubt some will be happy to join in a bit more journo-bashing. But the thing is, these days, we’re all at it.
Social media platforms like Twitter have turned everyone into a potential news source and, in all honesty, how many times have you read something on your timeline and retweeted it without any attempt at verification?
More and more of us have rediscovered the thrill of being first with the gossip. It used to be confined to the office, our friends in the pub – but now we can all tell the world… and before we know it, we’ve become news junkies with the same morals as a rogue reporter willing to present speculation as fact.
It’s true we’ve changed the way we communicate irrevocably and the new methods are still probably well short of their real potential. But any evangelists out there heralding social media as an antidote to poor journalism are deluded. The same crimes are often being committed in “citizen journalism” – just in 140 characters or less.
