Archive for January, 2011

One size doesn’t fit all – embedding design in business strategy, guest blog by Brian Minards

Monday, January 24th, 2011

Time after time I have encountered businesses that arrive on the doorstep with a set of unaddressed, but specific, requirements that have not taken into consideration the core problem/s that face their business. The integration of design in a company’s business strategy and the orchestration of its manifestations are crucial to its success.

A problem many SMEs face is that of understanding that they may not have the in-house time or expertise to effectively assess and orchestrate the diverse, brand-led requirements of their business. It’s important to emphasise that not all businesses require a product or service turn-around, but it’s imperative that fragmented brand communication is not seen as a cosmetic or a panacea that will solve marketing issues.

Think of the wider brand expression journey as a circular building with many doors, each brightly marked with something different – new product development; print; advertising; digital; PR; word-of-mouth; media; social media; tone of voice; and so on. Inside the brand expression building is a hive of separate activities. Which door is to be knocked on first? Knock on any one of them and the direction of your brand will most possibly be led by the specific expertise of the company behind the door.

Starting out with a shopping list of say, ‘We need a logo’ will take you to the door of a logo shop. The reality may well be that what is actually required is perhaps a PR/communication plan or a review of a product or service range, but a logo shop will sell you logos. Logo-shop4U has a hungry team of logo designers baying to be fed and that’s exactly what you’ll get. A logo, not a joined up plan of action.

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Posted in Blogs, Business to business PR | No Comments »

How to get value from your PR

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

With traditional and digital PR being more critical than ever in how your business and reputation is regarded by your clients, prospects, employees, partners – now is the perfect time to review if your campaigns are adding real value and reaching the right audiences.

Integrating or ‘fusing’ your marketing, PR and social media activities and ensuring that they underpin your business plan – is a must. The companies who adopt this approach and who also harness the power of video blogs are those who are best placed to leapfrog their competitors in 2011.

Our MD Sharon Cain kicks off the New Year by asking you three key questions.

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Posted in Blogs, Media relations, Online PR, Quest PR, Social Media | 2 Comments »

Does social media make you more social?

Friday, January 7th, 2011

There is a popular belief that users of social media will become more aloof due to a lack of face-to-face interaction. However, a study by the University of Texas has dispelled this myth and proven that social networking actually strengthens personal and business ties.

Social networking sites offer a different medium of expressing your message – not just with text but also through images, video and other multimedia. It’s all about the conversations it can generate, putting a face to that once distant contact. Social media is transforming the sometimes tedious task of networking meetings and other physical events with a leisurely click of the button. This latest technological advancement has created a new business community, which you can’t afford to be excluded from.

Think about the cost effectiveness: only a decade ago cultivating business relationships involved time spent in a restaurant, at a conference or on the phone. Now you can forge and maintain a relationship in mere minutes with a simple tweet or a comment on a blog.

Your online profile also has the advantage of getting you talking offline. You see someone’s name at a business seminar, all it takes is “I read your latest blog and found it really interesting…” and you’re away. It’s like being a member of an exclusive club, leaving those who can’t talk the talk (or should that be tweet the tweet?) out in the cold.

A study by Stanford University suggests texting and tweeting makes people better communicators, especially Gen-Y members. This is because social media users need to be adaptable, reading their audience – of which there can be hundreds or thousands and each with their own needs – and engage accordingly. Researchers even hint that the online community is also superior at face-to-face communication.

There’s no denying the fantastic benefits of social media, yet it would be folly to rely solely on this medium. 90% of face-to-face communication is non-verbal and it is crucial to be able to read those messages. This is a skill that can take some people a lifetime to perfect but it’s not possible to hide behind a screen all the time. Offline interaction is a just as valuable a communication tool, which can mean the difference between landing that deal or joining the dole queue.

So, yes, social media does help to forge links quickly and effectively. However, you still need to be able to back up your online skills in the 3D world.

For those who need help logging onto social media, Quest PR is hosting a social media strategy seminar on Thursday 10 February, 9am – 10.30. To book please contact Sue Roberts at sue@quest-pr.com.

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Why more businesses will be harnessing social media in 2011 – guest blog by Charlotte Britton

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

The Quest PR team wishes all our clients, business and networking partners in the UK, and our fantastic friends further afield – including Gini Dietrich and the team at Arment Dietrich and Jon Buscall from Jontus Media – a fantastic 2011.       

To kick off the New Year we have a guest post from Charlotte Britton of Optimum Exposure who shares with us the findings of a recent survey on how Yorkshire SMEs are harnessing social media to help secure new business.  

The results of the survey were fascinating – revealing how different sized companies in Yorkshire have integrated social media into their business and achieved a positive return on investment for their campaigns. Many of the companies have logged onto the benefits of social media as a tool to garner new business.

Blogs, Twitter and LinkedIn are undoubtedly the most popular networking sites amongst businesses. However, whilst small and medium businesses have really honed in on promoting themselves via LinkedIn, larger companies (50+ employees) are not actively exploiting the advantages of the site. Video content (YouTube) is lagging behind, presumably due to the perceived expense of creating a professional video.

As well as new business, Yorkshire companies are utilising social media to bolster their PR activities. 75% of respondents confirmed social media has been responsible for creating positive PR and 40% revealed that social media has helped with issues management.

Company websites are a common vehicle to promote businesses’ social media activity. 55% have links to their social profiles from their website’s homepage, whilst 30% have a dedicated ‘community’ webpage which signposts users to the various social media sites.

The survey demonstrated that social media is becoming a core part of the marketing mix.  Companies that are adopting the technologies and techniques are creating a competitive advantage for themselves as more people are using sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs. However, companies need to understand the objectives and metrics for success before embarking on any activity, so they know what success looks like as the campaign grows.

The research shows many Yorkshire companies appreciate the value of social media, leaving their non-web savvy competitors dead in the water. Yet there is still some way to go before perfectly mastering it as a fine art. 

View the full survey on SlideShare at:
http://www.slideshare.net/charlottebritton/yorkshire-social-media-survey-2010

Charlotte is Managing Director of Optimum Exposure (http://www.optimumexposure.co.uk/ , a consultancy that specialises in digital marketing strategies that help companies to make the most of the social web.

Charlotte Britton is a visionary leader and a widely acclaimed expert in the internet and digital marketing. She has regularly featured on expert panels and is a keen blogger.

Follow her on Twitter,, LinkedIn and her blog.

 

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Posted in Blogs, Social Media | 2 Comments »

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