Posts Tagged ‘PR’

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What do you think of me?

October 26, 2010

Greg Canty - Fuzion Communications

Greg Canty - Fuzion Communications

“What do you think of me?” is a strange question to ask anyone but every day we are putting ourselves out there in the firing line and whether you like it or not, people will judge you and are thinking of you either negatively, positively or neither.

My son recently told me it annoyed him how I use Foursquare as he ends up seeing updates from me constantly on Facebook about where I am and what I am saying about these places.

It got me thinking…

If that is annoying him then what does everyone else think of me, what do you think of me?

In the new world of communication with the different Social Media platforms making it much easier to spread your message quickly to a wide audience, those of you who embrace the available tools are asking that question on a regular basis.

Every time you publish a blog, upload a photo, upload a link, give an opinion, join a conversation, pass on interesting information, make a video or simply make a status update you are putting yourself on the line with friends, clients, very lose acquaintances and possible new clients.

Social Media without a doubt is a terrific way to convey information about you and your business, spreading valuable messages but if you get it wrong you can just as easily turn people off as you can turn people on!

While social media is very much in the fast lane we are still at the very beginning, with the functionality and features evolving on a constant basis and the rules and etiquette still forming.

Chris Brogan a very popular writer and total expert in this area published a book called “Trust Agents” where he acknowledges the power of the web to build your reputation but acknowledges that the most important stepping stone is behaving in a manner that first builds trust online. With trust you can spread your message, without it you can waste a lot of time and run the danger of turning people off you.

If you are going to dedicate time and resources on social media both building a following and spreading your message it’s vital that you get it right.

There are no right or wrong answers here but how and what you post and how you conduct yourself generally online will determine how people will think of you. Even how you set up your social media tools, the pictures you use of yourself and your even choice of features such as LinkedIn automatically updating from Twitter, which updates automatically from Four Square can also affect how messages are delivered and interpreted.

When I start analysing how I behave online there are so many unanswered questions:

I try to use a particular style of title that grabs attention for my blogs – does that annoy the reader?

I try to be a little informal and “unstuffy” with my posts – does that suit the clients I am trying to attract?

I talk about everyday things as well as topics relevant to our business – does that make me look foolish and should I just stick with industry specific items?

I like to use a positive approach as much as possible – in the current environment, does that annoy people?

I post discussion items on various LinkedIn groups about once a week – do people get fed up of seeing these so often?

I follow some incredible marketers and I have a link from their blogs, which populates the Fuzion Facebook page – does this annoy people?

If I see something funny or unusual I will photograph it and upload it on Facebook – maybe my friends or acquaintances think these are silly?

On Twitter I use a mix of my name and the business name “GregCantyFuzion” as my identity – what do people think of this compared to funnier, customised or descriptive names?

Right or wrong all you can do really is measure your effectiveness as best as possible – watch traffic to your blog, see if your LinkedIn and Facebook posts get a reaction, watch if people engage with your discussion topics, see if your posts are retweeted. Also you can observe other people’s behaviour online and take on board the style of activity you like and more importantly the style of posting that you don’t like.

Better to burn than to fade away, better to put yourself and your business out there, drawing attention to your message and trying to make sure you maintain your online visibility. That’s a decision I made and I invest time in it. My one piece of definite advice is to be true to yourself or else you will not come across as being genuine.

So, back to my question.. What you think of me?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Marketing, PR, Social Media, Web Marketing | 20 Comments »

Buying with a PR Objective

October 12, 2010

When anyone in the retail sector is doing their purchasing they already have many objectives in mind such as:

  • The Margin that is available on the stock
  • Credit terms
  • Reliability of supply
  • Resulting Price points
  • Range of stock
  • Storage
  • Returns policy
  • Ability to compete versus competition
  • Will it sell!!
Buying with a PR Agenda

Buying with a PR Agenda

I know you probably have enough on your plate but (the famous but!), I would strongly encourage every purchasing manager to also include a definite “PR Agenda” as part of the criteria when deciding on which suppliers to buy from and which stock to choose.
If your purchasing is approached in this way then there will be opportunities for valuable Press Coverage, which will be terrific for awareness and for attracting shoppers into your store.

So.. what exactly do I mean when I say purchase with a PR Agenda? – I have a few tips that may help you as follows..

Look for suppliers that have a pro-active PR resource – what will they do to promote the stock you buy from them?
When choosing a supplier look for one that is actively engaged in PR, which when operated properly will result in your store being mentioned as a stockist in Press coverage that is achieved in your locality. Don’t be afraid to ask for evidence of this including copies of press clippings for other stockists etc (make sure your supplier also includes your details on their website as a stockist)

Choose suppliers that have timely press images available of the stock that you are purchasing
If the supplier does not have a PR resource the next best thing is that you are able to do your own PR in your locality and beyond. This will be made a lot easier if the supplier can provide you with timely, good quality, attractive (high resolution) images. With these you or your own PR firm can issue your own press releases. (another tip – include these images on your Facebook page)

Choose products that are exclusive and unique
When deciding on which stock to purchase, try to secure brands or ranges of stock that will be exclusive to your store. A second point here is to purchase “unusual” items that will by their very nature turn heads and achieve coverage. You may be tempted to play it very safe with stock and avoid unusual items that may not sell – take a risk here, even with a small quantity of “PR Stock”. Get this one right and the PR value will well exceed the cost of the stock purchased.

Frequency of PR
Try to plan your buying so that you have new stock and the ability to issue an interesting Press Release as often as possible during the year. The Press will write about your store quite often as long as you have a new story to tell.

National versus loca
Achieving PR is really valuable for your store as we have discussed – will your plan achieve local PR or is it possible to achieve national PR? Try hard to have something that will bring you attention with the press nationally. As discussed already this will be down to you being the “exclusive stockist of unusual items”

For example at Fuzion we have achieved national coverage for small stores as a result of them having quite unusual stock items in their range – this will generate curiosity with customers and press as well as a national reputation for your store.

Overall Review of your purchase plan
Once you have made the bulk of your purchasing decisions in terms of suppliers and stock sit back and review this to ensure that the plan has sufficient “PR Ability” applying the PR criteria as discussed above: PR Resource, PR Images, Exclusive Stock, Wow Stock, Frequency and National versus Local.

Maybe you need to make a few changes or add something into the mix to achieve your PR Objective?

Customer “Wow” & Word of Mouth
Not only will the unusual items of stock help you to achieve Press Coverage but they will also achieve valuable “Word of Mouth” with customers. Help this along by displaying unusual items prominently in your store and by distributing the images on your Facebook pages. Customers could well make the assumption that if you can purchase usual items in the store, then surely there will be a great selection of “other” stock?

At a time when budgets are very tight (or anytime to be honest!) bringing a PR “agenda” into your purchasing criteria could play a very valuable role in attracting new customers to your store as well as  building your reputation as being quite special.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Marketing, PR, Recession, Retailing | Leave a Comment »

The Shoe Polishing Award!

September 17, 2010
The Shoe Polishing Award

The Shoe Polishing Award

The whole idea of industry awards is really quite interesting and something that can often make you wonder when you see pictures in the newspapers or trade magazines of people holding their prizes for excellence in things you never heard of!

Recently we were caught in the “eye of the storm” and were first hand witnesses to the whole process, the effort, the submission, the anticipation, the nomination, the curiosity, the event, the nervousness, the elation, the photos, the congratulations and then the press coverage.

We were nominated and proudly won a national award for Excellence in PR, for work we did on the Cystic Fibrosis, St.Vincents campaign last year.

It was a total whirlwind for us, our whole team and even our families, clients and friends who were all waiting in the wings to celebrate our success or not as the case might have been.

While it wasn’t Hollywood, for us it was our Oscars and having won the award we celebrated and basked in a huge ray of satisfaction and achievement, just like Jeff Bridges may have done earlier this year.

Awards are relevant for every industry, wherever people and businesses take pride in what they do day in, day out, no matter what it is.

When you really think about it why should an industry hold awards?

1.       To raise the profile of an industry and those operating within it

2.       To help people’s understanding of the industry

3.       Raise the standards within the industry

4.       Acknowledge the important aspects of the industry and recognise some of the silent heroes

5.       Generate a sense of pride for the industry and the entrants

6.       Achieve PR for the entrants and the industry

7.       It gets people talking about the industry – the entrants will happily spread the award

8.       A great occasion for the players in an industry to come together and celebrate their profession

9.       Generates excitement for the entrants and a huge sense of purpose and satisfaction

10.   Tangible evidence of high standards through trophies and certificates that appear in meeting rooms around the country

11.   Terrific Fundraising opportunity –once nominated people will attend!

Having been through the process we are already thinking about next year and wondering which project will we be able to submit for an award. We’re hooked!

Whatever industry you’re in, even if that is Shoe Polishing, Go On, enter the awards, enjoy the journey and win yourself that Oscar!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Marketing, PR, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

16 PR Tips that No One can do for You

September 12, 2010
Answer the phone promptly

Answer the phone promptly

PR or Public Relations is all about Managing your Reputation– protecting, maintaining, building and managing your reputation.

There is nothing more valuable as a good reputation and this is about a lot more than employing a PR company.

Your reputation is every single aspect of how your business relates to the outside world, your customers, your prospects, the general public and the media. This applies equally to a small store as it does to a large store or brand.

Ok, how about 16 Tips for improving and managing your Positive Reputation (PR)

1.    Behave in an upbeat way with staff and customers
2.    Ensure your staff does the same
3.    Answer the phones promptly, politely, positively and helpfully
4.    Return missed calls promptly
5.    Return email enquiries quickly
6.    Deliver a good, friendly service to customers
7.    Handle complaints fairly and efficiently
8.    Deliver products and services on time
9.    Be polite, fair and efficient with your suppliers and staff
10.    Keep customers and prospects up to date with new products, features and services
11.    Treat your customers with respect (even if they are experiencing difficulty and are under financial pressure)
12.    Ensure that your website and all your printed materials are well laid out, with correct English,  easily understood, professional and properly reflect your business
13.    Ensure your store, premises and vehicles are kept neat and tidy
14.    Ensure the attire of your staff is in keeping with the standards of your business
15.    Ensure your staff always talk up your company and do not air grievances outside of the four walls with external people – make a pact to sort things out internally
16.    Talk up the achievements of your company and the staff working there – their talents, skills and achievements

This is not an exhaustive list – have a think about it and add another 5/10/20 points to improve your reputation even more. Even better get your team to help you with this task.

Ok, all of this is good for your business reputation, it didn’t require the intervention of third party consultants and oh yeah, it didn’t really cost a shilling – you still have your €1 left!

So far we have looked at some housekeeping reputation issues, what about behaving even more positively?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Customer Care, Marketing, PR | 2 Comments »

Chow Mein Special! – Going further to find New Business

August 29, 2010
Chinese Takeaway

Chinese Takeaway

Eventually we arrived at my sister’s holiday home in Duncannon in Wexford having spent a few hours in the car and a short ferry ride from Passage East.

A little later when we were all a little peckish and no one at all fancied cooking, someone suggested a Chinese takeaway. The menus were produced and we all picked out a dish of our choice and rang in our order. I jumped in the car with Coley, my brother in law as we were dispatched to collect the grub to satisfy the hungry bunch.

After a few minutes I was quite confused as the car was headed in the direction of the ferry. Maybe I was wrong, but I couldn’t remember passing anything that resembled a Chinese takeaway along the route we had taken earlier. Eventually we arrived at the spot where the ferry operates from and Coley suggested that we get a quick pint at the conveniently located pub.

Totally bewildered at this stage I just said nothing and proceeded to order a pint but I must admit that my stomach was starting to moan and groan as I had started to look forward to my Chow Mein Special!

In the middle of our chat about whoever Liverpool might be signing this year, Coley pipes up with “Here comes our dinner”. The penny took a while to drop but eventually I understood as the ferry approached the pier and we were greeted with the unusual sight of our Chinese friend running up the pier on foot with half a dozen bags! In he ran to the pub without saying a word, handed over the bags of food to the barman and just as quickly as he arrived he had disappeared again, just in time for the return journey!

Without blinking an eye the barman asked was the food for us and if we wanted the food kept warm for a while?  We weren’t the only customers waiting for a Chinese as there were a few other hungry souls nursing a pint until our man ran up the pier. Each bag was carefully marked with the contents and the cost – we finished our pints, claimed our bags and settled our tab with the barman and returned to the hungry mob!

At a time when we all have to dig a little deeper and get up a little earlier just to keep the show on the road it was a terrific and simple lesson in finding new customers by being a little bit creative, working with partners who might also benefit from your offering and literally looking beyond your nearest port for customers.

The Chow Mein special was really special!
Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications, Marketing & PR

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Posted in Customer Care, Irish Economy, Marketing, Recession, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Is it worth investing in PR in the Fashion Industry?

June 22, 2010
Fashion PR

Fashion PR

We just had a fashion client cut back on their PR activity, which has left us all really surprised and disappointed in particular seeing as they received terrific coverage around the country and nationally for their brands.

While trying to figure this one out internally we have to put ourselves in the client’s position and  ask ourselves the  simple question – If it was us would we invest in PR?

We use a simple criteria here – if you have access to strong, high quality current fashion visuals, in particular for a female brand the answer is yes, yes, yes!

I must admit that PR for a male brand is not quite as straight forward – you will get coverage but you need to work a lot harder to achieve the same result. Male fashion is not featured as much by journalists and is just not as sexy!! More imaginative solutions are needed here.

If you are a brand owner or agent make sure that you have a PR resource (internal or external)  in place so that the national fashion press and the local press where you have stockists can get their hands on the latest collections (press release & visuals). Make sure the stockists are mentioned in the local releases.

If you are a store owner and you know that the brand/agent are not engaging with a PR resource then take the matter into your own hands get those images from the brand and issue them locally yourself (or your PR person).

The print media absolutely love strong fashion visuals and if you have access to those for your stock then you will in all probability get coverage, which should build the profile of your store and brands with your existing and hopefully new customers.

Budget, budgets ..

I guess it all comes down to money and you need to decide how much can you afford to invest in this area.

If you have the quality material then don’t waste the opportunity for press coverage – if you can’t afford an external resource such as ourselves then try your best to allocate some internal resource to the task.

We do a lot of work in the fashion PR sector and once done properly you will achieve really good results.

Choosing brands for your store or agency?

In choosing what brands to stock in your store or what brands to take on in your agency it is worth considering –

  • Will the brands be supported by PR?
  • Will the PR extend to the local stockists?
  • Failing this will you have access to high quality visuals that you could use for your own PR drive?

This could be the difference between free coverage in the papers for your store/brand and none.

Choosing which product to stock in the store?

A little tip that we give everyone is to make sure when buying that you look for that item or that brand that is very unusual, which will create a talking point. The press love things that are attention grabbing and a little bit different.

So to answer my original question – would I invest in a PR resource ?

Definitely – If I couldn’t afford an external resource with experience in the sector I would make sure someone internally had PR as part of their role.  In the fashion industry it is the best value way of Marketing, achieving coverage and interest in your store or brand.

One thing you can be sure is that there are less people investing in PR than before so it is possible to make a bigger splash with less effort.

so .. another thing for you to consider along with all the multiplicity of challenges you have to face every day, as if you didn’t have enough on your plate already!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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The New PR Guru’s!

June 10, 2010
PR Guru

The PR Guru

This week we started off round two of the PR course that we are doing for the South Cork Enterprise Board.

Can I tell you a secret – I love it !!

The first group were absolutely terrific, they bonded, we bonded, and we all learnt some great new stuff and had fun in the process.

Having a room full of business people all with interesting stories and all pro-actively pushing the door to try to make things happen for themselves is totally exhilarating.

.. among them we had people from an art gallery, an online antique jewellery business, en established Cork firm trying to make new waves, a ballroom dancer, an Irish festival crew, intern placement, oriental gifts, high end electrical installations, makeup experts and even a PR person sharpening their skills.

Listening to people sharing their issues and challenges and then taking these objectives and applying the PR process to it is really great .. and don’t forget about the Purple Cow – they had to hear a lot about that particular creature from yours truly!

Can’t wait for next week ..

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications, Marketing & PR

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Posted in Marketing, PR, Recession | 4 Comments »

High Five When You See a ’10

April 19, 2010

Isn’t it fabulous to see the amount of ’10 Registration Cars on the roads since the start of the year.

Last year people, even those with the necessary funds were wary about buying a new car due to the “what would people think” syndrome – we need the positive activity to set the wheels in motion for our economy!

So, the car sales are up 31% in the first quarter – if you think about it this is probably with about 2/3 of the garages that were there last year and the good chance is that the existing garages are well down in staff numbers – time to start recruiting I wonder? Maybe a little bit premature? Whichever way you look at it – it leads to a higher tax take for the government and an industry starting to move again and some funds are back in circulation. All of those garages and car salesmen have money to spend elsewhere.

From what I can gather those sales are probably less than they should be – a few car salesmen I have spoken to have been telling me that accessing cars is a difficulty due to pessimistic predictions when they were placing advance orders – you will be lucky to get a new 5 Series BMW before next September!

And what else does all that mean? – well, that is a lot of positively motivated individuals driving around in their new cars – a new car is a great feeling – well done! It does put the rest of us in the mind for a new car – it’s a positive target to have for all of us. I want to buy a new car in 2010 – that’s a goal for you.. try to make it happen.

The “confidence wheel” is simple and this is what will get our country moving again, not any superb government policy – in my view their attempts to positively mobilise Ireland have just not happened. On the jobs creation front there has been zero strategy – the government have even slashed budgets in “job creation” departments, I’m deadly serious – if anyone has the time to check budget allocations, check out if budgets in government departments with the agenda of helping new business have been increased? – I promise you they have been cut in the same way as everything else, strategy – I don’t think so!

Ok, so there is positivity creeping through and that is coming from “us”, from pure positive attitude.

Performance will follow “positive attitude” – despite the odds, so keep it going.

While we are on the “positive” agenda and this is so critical for recovery I can finally report that the house across from us has been sold!

The sale seemed to be almost completed and then fall through a few times in the last 9 months. The same banks that would have handed out a mortgage at double the price have eventually approved a loan to our new neighbour (and they have picked up a fabulous bargain at the bottom of the market) at half the price. Something wrong somewhere!

Sherry Fitzgerald - Sold!

The Big "Sold"

The amusing thing is the sign put up by, Sherry Fitzgerald the auctioneers – in the same way that I am saying to celebrate the ’10, the auctioneers are celebrating the ‘sale’ with giant ‘SOLD’ text across their signs.

Well done to whoever is completing purchases out – high 5 when you see a  ’10 and celebrate those ‘Sold‘ and lease agreed signs – things are looking up, celebrate the positivity that is all of us ..

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications, Marketing & PR

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Posted in Irish Economy, PR, Recession, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

The SuperValu Girl!

November 28, 2009

The SuperValu Girl !There I was shopping basket in hand at my local supermarket picking up a few bits for a night in watching TV and all of a sudden I spotted her! This was my moment at last..
As a happily married man this might sound very suspicious but let me assure you that there is nothing sinister about it.
You see, this day was a special day, in fact a very special day.
Liverpool had beaten Man United that morning and I knew the SuperValu girl was a Man U supporter and for once I was able to have a little fun with her, with me being able to take the upper hand eventually. She spotted me coming, threw the eyes up to heaven and just took the teasing like any true fan!
I pick up bits and pieces in the store on a regular basis and as a result would be quite familiar with some of the staff and this girl in particular. She has a pleasant word to say to absolutely everyone from young kids to quite old customers and she always seems to be in good form, even when Man United lose to Liverpool!

The store might be a little bit more expensive than the local Dunne’s or Tesco’s, the selection probably isn’t as good but at the end of the day you just can’t beat a good atmosphere created by efficient and pleasant staff.

The SuperValu girl and all the other really good staff in stores and different businesses all around the country are worth their weight in gold, more than any marketing campaigns can hope to achieve. Campaigns are terrific at communicating what your business is all about but the proof is in the eating. Excellent staff are the best marketing of all.

…so even though we are on a bad run of results I will still bravely return, do my shopping and look forward to the chit chat with the SuperValu girl.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Irish Economy, Marketing, PR, Retailing | 3 Comments »

A Merry Irish Christmas and a Happy New Year?

November 21, 2009

Bah humbug – we have just seen the NAMA legislation passed by the Dail and we are about to face a round of public sector one day strikes with the government and the unions both posturing in a serious game of who has more bottle for a battle as we nervously approach the second Budget day this year. Who knows where all of this will lead and how it will affect us? For the most part we are quite helpless with little enough ability to influence anything. Are you as fed up with all of this as I am?

The one thing that we can be sure of is that Christmas is around the corner and as with every other year since we can remember we will all be stretching our budgets on presents for loved ones and friends and even gifts for our customers and staff who will have looked after us during the year. As always we will indulge in extra treats for ourselves and for our home between food and decorations… Merry Christmas, we deserve it!

How can we take this opportunity to take some small element of control of our circumstances and positively influence the economic environment around us and help not only to make it a Merry Christmas but also a Happy New Year?

My simple challenge is that we all consciously influence that spend on our Christmas budgets will be on Irish products and Irish services as much as possible. Without a doubt there will be less spent this year compared to last year but at least if we consciously Spend Irish, the money will stay in circulation in Ireland with more money in the country coffers come January, which will help kick off 2010 in a really positive way.

Ok, this may sound very noble and patriotic but when it boils down to it are we really going to be able to do it? .. I think so.

Let’s have a look at the typical shopping list:

– Books: Irish books by Irish authors by Irish publishers – make the effort to specifically choose Irish where possible. There are some fabulous books available
– Music & DVD’s: given a choice can we vote for the Irish artist, comedian, movie?
– Vouchers: can we opt for the restaurant, spa treatment or weekend break instead of an alternative?
– Turkey & Ham: make sure these are from Irish suppliers, that should be easy
– Other foodstuffs, relishes etc: Irish all the way, there is plenty of terrific choice
– Booze: which brands are produced in Ireland? – can we substitute our favourite for an Irish alternative? Cork Dry Gin isn’t a bad substitute for Bombay!

This list can go on forever but if we consciously make it our business to choose for the option that keeps money in Irish circulation then, that is better for our economy, for jobs and ultimately for us.

And how about thank you gifts for customers and staff?

If you are in a position to allocate budget for Christmas gifts then consciously choose gifts that are Irish, Irish food and beverages, Irish vouchers, Irish books, Irish Christmas cards and so on. Without too much effort we should be able to easily steer all our precious Euros towards Irish products and services. Many of the hamper suppliers specialise in Irish products.

Where it just isn’t possible to choose an Irish alternative (Transformers and Hannah Montana and nothing else will do!) you will at least help the cause if you carefully choose how and where you purchase these products. You can help keep more money in the country by supporting our retailers or if you shop on the web try to keep the business for the Irish providers.

The retailers and Irish web retailers can also play a huge part in all of this with their choices about the products that they decide to stock this Christmas and how these are displayed and promoted. Purchasing behaviour can be significantly influenced by the retail space the products are given, by products featured in window displays and adverts and by the products featured on the home pages of the websites. Suppliers and retailers should proactively work together to ensure that Irish products are given a fair crack of the whip or even a significant advantage. How bad? – We will all benefit.

Recession or no recession, a huge amount of money will be spent between now and Christmas
…so when you are making your list this Christmas, try to check it twice and where possible decide to keep as much as possible of that money in Ireland, have a Merry Christmas and help to make it a Happy New Year!

 

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