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Fall in love with communicating…

As it’s the second month of the year (and we all know what happens on February 14!),  let’s focus on how you can fall in love with communicating and, more importantly, enjoy the benefits that consistent, good communication brings.

Instead of viewing it as just another must-do, I want you to think about embracing communication and  learning to love what it can do for you, your team, your organisation and business. Make it part of the way you work and operate.

Why? Because if you can crack the communications conundrum – you’re onto a winner and everything will work better within your business or organisation.

Staff advocates

Your staff will become some of your best advocates if you communicate well with them. Instead of them hearing about a major piece of company news from the media or on social media, make sure they always hear it from you first. This relates to sharing both positive and negative news and stories.

And it’s not just media stories you share with them, you ensure that your channels for staff communications are two-way, that they can access updates in a way that suits them and they can feedback too.

Getting them onside is crucial for lots of reasons, not least, for making it a happy, productive place to work, enabling you to be the best at what you do (benefiting the customer or end user) and for attracting fresh new talent.

Prepare, prepare, prepare

Being prepared with good communication takes the heat out of a crisis, because you’re ready with your statement. And a major announcement doesn’t send you into a flat spin – you’ve chosen when to make the announcement to your target audience.

You’re ready to deal with the resulting enquiries and possible media attention as you have statements prepared and you’re primed to do interviews.

And if there’s a major Government announcement that has repercussions on your industry – stay one step ahead by getting a press release or statement ready to issue. Maximise every opportunity.

Be proactive

Being proactive and taking control not only feels better – it is better.

For example, one of our clients has developed a prototype hydrogen car and because we were monitoring the likely contents of the Budget, we were able to write a media statement commenting on the investment of greener mobility. We made it a) relevant and b) interesting because hydrogen didn’t attract the same interest (and planned investment in infrastructure) as electric transport. The media like someone who isn’t afraid to stick their neck out as long as it’s relevant.

We prepared and issued a statement – tweaked it at the last minute to ensure it was 100 per cent in line with the Budget contents and it was featured in the Sunday Times and a top trade publication among others, resulting in thousands of views.

It’s another way of reaching your audience, building credibility in your industry and making your voice heard. The more you do, the more trust you build, the easier it is.

Seeing the value of good communications, whether it is sharing news with your team, your customers, potential customers or the industry you operate in needs to become your focus in 2020.

Book your complimentary 30 minute consultation with me here https://calendly.com/ckellypr to see how you can turn communication into your competitive advantage. Talk soon.

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Alcoholics struggling in lockdown

Photo credit: Step By Step Recovery

It was so brave of recovering alcoholic Jane, now a project worker at client Step By Step Recovery, to share how bad things were, in a bid to encourage others struggling with addiction to reach out for help.

Lockdown and the last eight months, have been tougher than ever for people with addiction problems and those in recovery.

And there’s never been a more important time to highlight the role that specialist addiction support plays.

I was delighted to see that Jane,  Step By Step Recovery and it’s outstanding service and team had been featured in iNews, after we shared Jane’s story.

Read it in full here

If you are struggling to reach the media with your news:

* Make each approach personal and only send your news to journalists who write about those sorts of topics.

* Make sure you have a ‘real’ story backed up with facts, some great quotes and images.

* Follow-up with a call a couple of days after sending your Press Release – you’d be amazed how many get ‘lost’ in Inboxes, get passed to a colleague or go on a ‘To Do’ list – never to see the light of day.

* Don’t treat all media the same. National reporters will want a really strong story and you’ll need to drop everything else and quickly supply any extra information and images they request and set up any interviews before the opportunity passes and to meet deadlines.

* Regional media need lots of information making their story a strong local one, 1-2 people quoted in their area, backed up with facts and hopefully events. And of course quality photos.

Contact me to learn more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#healthpr #pr # #publicrelations #marketing #healthcaremarketing #pragency

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How To Use Great PR To Persuade

 

No matter what size your organisation is, my latest Blog ‘How To Use Great PR To Persuade’ – will help to set up your project for success.

 

Adopt my principles to communicate your BIG NEWS and reap the benefits.

Clarity of message, targeted PR, delivered consistently = a dream combination.

Maybe I’m a bit of a communications nerd but I still love ‘turning something around’, making it easier to understand and more accessible for the audience.

There’s an interesting story in most things…you’ve just got to look.

What is PR?

PR is not limited to crisis management or firefighting. PR is an overarching communication strategy that builds brand awareness, establishes valuable relationships and builds trust.

And having trust in an organisation is key. The success of a new service launch or campaign relies heavily on how and when information is communicated to its staff, patients, investors, customers and stakeholders.

I’ve seen throughout my career, how organisations which are transparent and who communicate regularly are (in the main!) trusted, respected and well-treated by the Media. If a ‘situation’ does occur, it’s far easier to manage and any subsequent stories are reported in a balanced way.

You’ll be relieved to hear that the vast majority of reporters aren’t out to ‘do a hatchet job’! They are just doing their job. I should know, I used to be one.

Mastering your message through the effective use of PR will have a positive impact on the success of any projects or campaign.

And well planned communication strategies enable organisations to manage their relationships with all key stakeholders.

PR is about effective communication and every organisation, regardless of size, depends on its reputation for survival and success.

By incorporating a strategic PR approach into everything you deliver, you will increase public understanding of what you are trying to achieve, build support for your project and help to influence the opinion your audience has about you.

In order to deliver a successful campaign or project you first need to master your message and then deliver it effectively. In this post, I’ll outline the three key steps which will help you establish and maintain this mutual understanding and goodwill between your organisation and your key stakeholders.

Master Your Message

  • Write your key messages (clear statements of fact)
  • Make them interesting and unique
  • Be consistent in your messaging – whether it’s a video, Press Release or social media message
  • Get clarity on your story – effective PR is about telling a story
  • Be clear – define the end benefits of your activity
  • Identify your audience and how to reach them
  • Be clear from the outset what it is that you are trying to achieve
  • To measure PR results, take a snapshot of your current vital statistics – monthly website visitors, social media followers, any media coverage, number of phone and email enquiries, click throughs etc, audiences and brand mentions – then compare at the end of the PR activity.

Planning

Many projects fail or are not as successful as they might have been because they were not communicated clearly or planned properly, with enough lead-in time.

If PR is an afterthought or bolted on at the end of the project planning process, the success and reach of your campaign is going to be limited.

Including a communication strategy at the outset and incorporating it into every stage of the project, shares your key objectives, messages and activities to ensure the whole team understands and ‘buys into it’.

This helps to ensure consistency, reduces duplication and audience misunderstanding, promotes stakeholder buy-in, staff ownership and commitment.

One of the simple steps I’ve always taken is to communicate outside news with staff first so they hear about developments from their employer. That helps to foster a culture of mutual respect and loyalty. Your staff can be your biggest advocates if you treat them properly.

Delivery

Where you deliver your message is a key factor in determining your reach and visibility. Find out where your audience are hanging out?

Are they on social media? Probably. Which platform? Does your news warrant a Press Release?  Do you want local, trade or other media coverage and what would help you in sharing your story?

Are you communicating in the most accessible ways? Can the key stakeholders access the information and understand it? Talk to your patients, customers and target audience to see how they most like to receive information. Adapt your communication style and method to suit the different groups in your audience.

Could you host a conference or an event which would enable you to raise brand awareness and develop partnerships? A great way to increase your reach is through collaboration and leveraging the audience of your partners.

Good PR is the key to delivering any successful campaign. Taking control of the way your story is communicated from the very beginning allows you to manage and influence your reputation and relationships.

Investing in PR for your project increases the likelihood of success and has many long term benefits.

If you want to take control of how your story is told, drop me a message.

P.S – I’m also experienced in blog writing, drafting fresh content for your website, preparing key documents and dealing with media enquiries. When you’re ready, get in touch.