As a champion of using social media as a focused channel to integrate with – and complement – PR and marketing channels, Quest PR relishes the opportunity to engage and debate with fellow professionals about “what’s hot and what’s not” in the world of social media.

In the same way that unprecedented internet developments have sparked seismic changes to the way we communicate across a myriad of new channels, it’s also important to remember that some things have stayed reassuringly the same – including the fact that people do business with those they know, like and trust.

Our latest “top tips” from freelance writer Carlo Pandian highlight four basic guidelines to remember – irrespective of whether you are forging connections online or offline:

1. Real Relationships Are Still Important

Although social media makes it easier to communicate, it is still authentic and real connections which are the goal of the PR professional. It is easy to make very shallow connections on-line, because a message is so easy to send, so the trick is to really invest yourself into your on-line connections and build a relationship which is deep and authentic.

Use multiple social media channels to take advantage of the opportunities available for reaching out to press professionals and journalists in order to develop a rapport. Make sure that you are offering something of value to the relationship before you ask for something in return. Also, timing can be important so avoid afternoons which are usually deadline oriented and try connecting on a Friday when everyone is in a good mood.

2. Know Your Media

Before you approach a member of the media, recognise which ones cover the right sort of topic and appeal to the right audience for your story. Research the publication, put yourself into the perspective of the journalist and think about what sort of content they are looking to report on. If you think about your story from their point of view and ensure that it fits with their media, you can approach them with the perfect solution to help them meet their goals.

3. Give the Media Something Special

Where possible, let the press know that your story will be exclusive until a certain point in time. Anyone could cover just a general story, but everyone wants to know that they are reporting on something exciting and exclusive.

4. Produce Valuable Videos

YouTube is one of the best PR tools of the social media age; using video in your PR campaign can be very valuable. However, just because you have a video camera doesn’t mean that you know how to make an engaging and interesting short film. It really pays to have a professional videographer create something which will look professional and polished. The services can be more affordable than you might think.

Do you have any tips for using social media in your PR? Share them with us by commenting below, or send us a tweet to @QuestPR.

 Success speaks volumes: Nicky Pattinson & Richard McCann

 When you’re organising an event, commissioning an upbeat speaker who will motivate, energise and engage with your audience – is key to success.

At Quest PR We celebrate the talent and expertise of Yorkshire’s top speakers who will share their personal and business experiences with your guests – leaving them empowered and with new tools in their toolbox to help them face any future challenges in their business and personal lives.

Richard McCann

With his iCan attitude, Richard McCann will power you to another level and inspire you to take action. If the challenge your team faces seems overwhelming, Richard understands adversity and challenge at a level everyone can engage with and gives them techniques to help overcome their own challenges.

Nicky Pattinson

In this consumer-driven 21st century world, Nicky Pattinson takes her ESP: Emotional Sales Process, to inspire business people throughout the UK and the US – speaking to sales forces and entertaining at business conferences with her one off shot of intensity, forthrightness and insight. Compel the buyer to fall in love with you and your company and your sales will never be the same. “FEEL the LOVE – see the MONEY” she says – Never a truer sentence stated.

Roger Masterson

A serial entrepreneur, Roger Masterson is best known as “the Castle Man”, with his unique online castle-booking company Celtic Castles which specialises in the provision of overnight castle accommodation, private functions and parties, family gatherings, weddings and corporate events, with the common theme of a fantastic castle experience. Regularly featured in newspapers and magazines, Roger is a regular speaker about how the entrepreneurial spirit is the heart of any company.

John Hotowka

As a member of the Professional Speaking Association, as well as the Magic Circle, John Hotowka brings a mix of magic, business and humour to his conferences and events.  Using his “Achievement Thinking” methodology, John has helped companies make 90% of their annual sales three months ahead of target.

Geoff Ramm

A member of the Professional Speaker’s Association, Geoff Ramm is a Marketing Speaker whose unique style takes his audience on a journey full of real-life marketing stories to help them gain and retain more customers and helping companies to launch, develop and grow their businesses.

Emma Sutton

As the “Queen of Diamonds”, Emma Sutton has helped many business professionals to identify, polish, and express their own “Business Diamonds” with simple messages that are clear, powerful, and memorable, to ensure that when people ask “What do you do?”, you know how to make your business shine.

Lee Jackson

‘Lee from Leeds’ has over twenty years of experience speaking and working in very challenging situations including prisons, schools, SME’s, charities and corporates. His greatest testimonial ever was when someone said to him “We had no idea you’d been speaking for an hour – the time just flew, we had a great time and we learnt loads!” – job done.

Which speakers have made a difference to the way you run your business, or the way you live your life? Share your experiences on a comment below, or tweet us @QuestPR

Kate Banerjee, head of the children’s department for our client Jones Myers LLP on BBC News supporting “Bring Elsa Home”

Once again our team of former national and regional print and broadcast journalists at Quest PR appreciate the wealth of fantastic support from the media in catapulting the Bring Elsa Home campaign to the forefront of the national and regional news agenda.

Kate Banerjee, head of the children’s department for our client Jones Myers LLP and a Member of the International Child Abduction and Custody Unit and her client Naomi Button were called to comment on a report by the Office of the Head of International Family Justice for England and Wales which highlighted a 40% increase over the last year in global family disputes, including kidnapping of children by a parent.

Naomi Button, from Bramley in Leeds, shared the reality behind the numbers in her tenacious campaign to find her daughter Elsa Salama who was abducted by her father Tamer Salama during a family trip to Egypt in December 2011.

Following the initial publicity on the case in January this year which sparked a Bring Elsa Home Facebook page and Twitter account enabling the public to show their support and spread the word of the campaign – this week’s renewed media interest has poignantly highlighted the human heartbreak behind such cases.

We are hugely grateful to Clive Coleman, the BBC’s Legal Correspondent, BBC News and BBC News online, Sky News, Daybreak, BBC Radio 4 Today, BBC Radio 5 Live Victoria Derbyshire Show, Frances Gibb, legal correspondent at The Times, BBC Radio Leeds and Radio Aire for helping to further boost awareness of the challenges facing Naomi in her campaign to Bring Elsa Home to Leeds.

“Bring Elsa Home” demonstrates that the media can be a powerful force for good and we passionately hope that the on-going publicity will succeed in bringing this little girl home to her mum.

Please help to spread the word by liking “Bring Elsa Home” on Facebook and tweeting to @BringElsaHome or using the hashtag #BringElsaHome on Twitter.

Quest PR has proved that you can have your cake and eat it at the launch of our vibrant new website – the front page of which featured prominently on a celebration cake!

Yorkshire businesses from Sheffield, Leeds and Harrogate networked with like-minded peers to share experiences, meet new people and toast our website launch.

Maxine Amos of The Work Well Partnership offered guests massages to release the tension from computer keyboards as well as mini shoulder massages. Everyone who had a taster was amazed at how rejuvenated they felt afterwards!

David Archbold from St Michael’s Hospice gave an inspiring talk on their fantastic work and the opportunities for both individuals and businesses to support their cause. They include the sponsored Star Walk on 22 June in Harrogate – we also ran a raffle to boost funds – giving prizes from Be World Class author Simon Hartley on ‘How to Shine’ and copies of Calvert’s Guide to the British.

Our new website highlights how the team at Quest PR are specialists in making our clients famous by positioning clients as industry experts and how they use their “tell them, tell them you’ve told them and then tell them again” strategy to fuse business to business PR and social media to drive sales.

We share our media expertise through our training opportunities. Our new site also features testimonials and case studies, including clients, past and present, sharing how Quest PR had made a difference to their business and, of course, we love to promote our client’s successes in our latest news section.

The cake, featuring the front page of the new website, was cut just after the raffle was drawn and we were pleased to share it with all those who attended, including:

• Gareth Everson from 8 Success Drivers Ltd
• Rachel Bateson from Agenci Information Security
• Sue Hanson from BSH People Ltd
• Diane Moisley-Mason from DMM Training & Development
• Paul Grindley from hlw Keeble Hawson
• Jane Keogh from Independent Home Living
• Jill Beecroft from Nu Skin Enterprises
• Roz Drobott from Personelle Recruitment
• Matt Abrams and Alex Pashley from Pipe & Piper
• Diane Hall and Gail Powell from Solopreneur
• Richard Holgate from The Bespoke Courier Company
• Peter Watson from The Mentor

Thank you to everyone who helped to make the evening a storming success!

We’re appropriately celebrating our new website with a celebration blog about outstanding Yorkshire success in the country’s most prestigious business awards.

Regarded as the UK’s top accolade for businesses and individuals, The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise – awarded on the Queen’s birthday – are only given for the highest levels of excellence demonstrated in each category. Once again Yorkshire is celebrating a long list of winners; in total the region won 15 awards – ten for International Trade, three for Innovation and one each for Sustainable Development and Enterprise Promotion.

The Yorkshire awards for international trade included:

• Sheffield based bra designer Panache Lingerie,
• Bradford based mining equipment maker Osborn Metals,
• Keighley based dental supplier DB Orthodontics,
• Shipley based IT service company Europlus Direct,
• Rotherham based metal supplier London & Scandinavian Metallurgical Co,
• Grimsby based oil and gas hose manufacturer Shand Engineering,
• York based spare parts maker Sheppee International,
• Wakefield based clothing designer The Wakefield Shirt Group, and
• Todmorden based mining equipment manufacturer Weir Minerals Europe.

The University of Huddersfield won an award for International Trade, while Professor Elizabeth Towns-Andrews, the University’s director of research and enterprise, also won an award for Enterprise Promotion.

Family owned luxury bed manufacturer, Harrison Spinks, celebrated winning two awards in the Innovation and Sustainable Development categories. The Leeds-based business is the first UK bed manufacturer to win two awards in the same year.

Stage One Creative Services based in Tockwith, the company behind the Olympic Cauldron in London 2012, was a winner in the Innovation category, as was Hull based boiler maker Ideal Heating.

Wire lubricants company Metalube, is our honorary Yorkshire Winner – although it is based in Manchester Metalube is run by three Yorkshire entrepreneurs, winning an award for International Trade.

A royal representative visited each of the award winners, presenting them with a crystal bowl.  They are also invited to attend a celebratory reception at Buckingham Palace.

Cheers and a sparkling toast to the winners!

Our packed out seminar hosted by Lloyds Bank (thanks guys!) on how to join up PR and social media to boost the bottom line highlighted how an increasing number of businesses are recognising the importance of positioning themselves as experts across multi channels.

We enjoyed equipping attendees with tips on identifying and engaging with the right audiences across traditional PR channels and social media platforms to become an industry expert and secure new leads and contracts.

With so much noise and information being blasted out every second – reinforced by Jeff Bullas who highlights how over 2 billion of the world’s 7 billion people are connected to the internet – engaging and debating with strong content is critical.

We asked our audience which comprised wide ranging service and product based companies, including Clubit TV, Haines Watts, Henshaws Society for Blind People, Invest in Potential, Pharos Legal, The WorkWell Partnership, Thoroughbred Business Management, TRIG Creative and the What If? Forums, to define their wider business strategy and the companies they need to reach.

Knowing who to reach enables you to focus on what they are reading and listening to across PR channels and to find out which social media platforms they are using.

We then did an exercise on exactly what thought leadership collateral and content – whether it be forecasts, trends or top tips – they can roll out for maximum value.

A six step formula to stay fused and focused:

• Your PR content is rolled out across your digital and social media channels
• You Tweet links to your print and broadcast PR
• You include links to your videos on Twitter and Facebook
• You use expert comment from PR collateral to start LinkedIn discussions
• You adapt PR content into blog posts
• You adapt PR, blog content and videos into your e-newsletter

If you’d like to hear more about how we can help you to integrate your PR and social media for maximum impact then contact either myself Sharon Cain (Sharon@quest-pr.com) or our Senior Account Director Carol Arthur (carol.arthur@quest-pr.com), or to arrange an initial free of charge call one of our team on +44 (0)1423 564 192.

As our posts on the national and regional business development forums have illustrated, there’s no need to feel lonely as the top with such a wealth of support to help MDs resolve the business headaches which keep them awake at night.

These groups and individuals help leaders and managers to address burning issues which include sustaining a sales pipeline, market share and positioning, seeking out top talent, dealing with underperformers, constantly innovating – and aspiring to achieve a work life balance.

Our hat trick of blogs culminates with more great groups and people we wanted to acknowledge as we power into quarter 2 of 2013.

Business Exposure Group

Run by chairman Philip Drazen, the Business Exposure Group (BXG) gives a proactive alternative for business owners where best business opportunities come out of the blue – simply talking to other business owners creates opportunities.

Business owners operate today in a varied and complex world. As an owner you are expected to have all the answers. But it’s impossible. The future is all about trusted groups of people. Why not join one and feel revitalised in business.

As a member you will find that business issues which you find challenging, will have been overcome by other group members – allowing each of you to learn from each other’s experience.

Our members come from all backgrounds, all ages and a diverse spread of industries. They join because they recognise the return on investment they can get from the experience of other like-minded business owners.

Primeast

Primeast works with best in class learning and development companies across the world, creating world-class programmes and pooling resources to deliver outstanding services with regional sensitivity.

Because every business is different, we put no boundaries on the contribution we are able to make. We use a range of interventions, including coaching, facilitation, training, speaking and consulting.

What is more, we believe the appropriate environment is all-important when it comes to inspiring participants and connecting with real-life challenges. So our work is spread evenly between the great outdoors, training venues, corporate boardrooms and the workplace.

Leadership is a huge responsibility. It takes clear vision, great people skills, an ability to think strategically, often under pressure, and, sometimes, it takes courage. Never before have leaders had such high demands and expectations placed upon them. Those who rise to the challenge, develop themselves, and grow a visionary mindset will be best placed to succeed.

We understand that a “one size fit all” approach to leadership will just not work and offer tailored support to individuals and organisations which will really make a difference. Our style is experiential – leaders experiencing what great leadership is in a supportive environment. Our approach is a tailored blend of methods with practical application of theory and coaching support available – our expertise lies in our experienced and highly qualified leadership consultants and coaches.

Challenging Leaders

Run by Anthony Brook, Challenging Leaders runs CEO and senior executive peer groups, that is diverse groups (with a sector/gender/ethnic mix) of 12-15 leaders meeting once a month in a safe, confidential environment specifically to help each other with their current, strategic challenges.

We do this by harnessing the collective insight, experience and common sense of the people around the table to help you with your current strategic challenge – because what is often blindingly obvious to the people around the table at a strategic level about you, your organisation and your current challenge is not necessarily blindingly obvious to you.

Next Level Business Solutions

Run by Brian Allmay, Next Level Business Solutions delivers services spanning franchising and licencing, business planning, business development and mentoring and non-executive roles.

Below are some examples of business they have delivered for:

An established business had sales of £6m with sales rising every year but profits had been falling every year for the last four years.

• Reviewed the last 5 years financial results to analyse ratios and trends.
• Established that gross margins were falling every year, overheads were rising every year and that in about 6-months, the business would move into loss making unless those trends were reversed.
• Highlighted items which were not achieving a satisfactory level of profitability and the company dropped some items and re-priced others.
• Terms were re-negotiated with certain customers.
• A new sales manager was appointed.
• Worked with the sales team who had got into the bad habit of getting sales by discounting and showed them how this was putting the business at risk and the company issued guidelines to limit discounting.
• Changed the basis of remuneration so the sales team were profit focused rather than volume focused.
• Held a meeting of all employees to explain the position and why changes were being made to engage everyone with the new approaches.

Overhead savings in excess of £200K pa were identified.

Nine months later the Company made more profit in one month than it had the whole of the year before we started working with them.

Do you work with a coach or mentor? Share with us how doing so has boosted your business with a comment below, or tweet us @QuestPR.

Last week we looked at how SMEs are flourishing with the help of national business development groups.  However, do not underestimate the boost that local or independent organisations can give your business.  Sharing information about local businesses, people and cultures can provide you with the insider knowledge that can help your business stand out and succeed.

Within Yorkshire, there are numerous opportunities to network with local and national businesses – with the added bonus of personal support from those involved in running the group.  Some of our favourite independent and local business development groups include:

2Inspire

Based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, 2Inspire is dedicated to inspiring change for personal and business growth.  Headed by Rob Northfield, the team can help you to identify where changes can be made within your organisation to help you work smarter without having to work harder.

BiY

In Yorkshire, BiY offers “big support for small businesses”, providing an all-inclusive network for the regions’ SMEs.  Through the support of its founder, Darren Shaw and the BiY Associates, including our MD, Sharon Cain, BiY provides its members with development opportunities including focused business surgeries, training seminars and peer group round-table events across the region.

Vision Britain

Vision Britain aims to help SMEs develop the ability to grow a successful business, bringing both wealth and freedom to the lives of those involved.  Founded by Andrew Cussons, Anna Splain, Dennis Splain and Patrick Crayford, these self-confessed “staunch Yorkshire folk” came together to share their knowledge throughout the region they know best, establishing business environments that value people and encourage team work to reach their goals.

What If? Forums

Benefiting from both online and personal support, the What If? Forum members are a unique peer group of business owners looking to develop business building skills that are world class.  Over the past 10 years, What If? founder Richard Bosworth has helped SMEs add £110m of net worth to their businesses, and, alongside the What If? Forums, also personally supports business owners and leaders through his What If? Specialist blog.

Yorkshire Leadership Group

As an independent organisation, the Yorkshire Leadership Group believes that managers need to gain the understanding of situations through others to be able to fully evaluate a problem and implement solutions, enabling leaders to enjoy better results and stronger relationships.  With over 35 years’ improving the performance of numerous companies, founder Dennis Kaye continues to help SME owners learn through peer group development.

Are you a member of any business development groups in Yorkshire?  How have they helped you?  Share your experiences below, or tweet us @QuestPR.

During the last few years, it’s been a struggle for businesses to stay afloat and even then, some house-hold names have gone into administration, including Jessops, Blockbuster and JJB Sport.  As a small business in Yorkshire, it can be even more challenging to survive during a recession – but many SMEs are not only surviving, they are flourishing throughout Yorkshire and further afield with the help of some of the most amazing business development organisations.  These business development groups help owner managers and SMEs to grow and improve their business performance, sharing experiences and imparting expertise.

Several of these groups are franchised nationally and even internationally, ensuring the widest range of knowledge and expertise can be shared with their other members.  Some of our favourite franchised business development groups include:

Academy for Chief Executives

A leading organisation helping business owners to get the right advice and support, the Academy for Chief Executives is a source of constant innovation and fresh ideas. With the combined experience of the Academy’s members, along with expert speakers and the Chairman, each group aims to present an objective view of each member’s company to improve profitability and performance through peer-group learning, mentoring and coaching and the affirmation of expert speakers.

ActionCOACH

ActionCOACH started life as Action International in 1993 and has continued on its journey to truly international success with more than 1,000 offices in 46 countries.  ActionCOACH has a unique business development system, which works to their “14 Points of Culture” to help their members work in “co-opetition”, where even those in competition with each other can be a great resource. By teaching business owners how to make more time, build better teams in their companies and add more money to their bottom-line, ActionCOACH has grown to be the number one business coaching firm in the world.

The Alternative Board

The Alternative Board (TAB) membership is similar to having a seat on an executive board of directors and advisors.  TAB helps business leaders transform their company and work through business challenges, increasing business performance and truly living the personal and professional lives they dream of.  Using the experience of those who have gone before, TAB helps you learn from other business owners how to best solve your current challenges, such as growing profitability, hiring the right people, finding and following leads and strategic business planning.

Vistage International

When joining a Vistage International group, business leaders become part of a trusted community benefiting from a peer-to-peer learning environment to solve problems and take advantage of opportunities within their markets.  With three executive coaching programmes, Vistage address the unique goals of business leaders from CEOs and Managing Directors, to key executives, senior managers and professional consultants to address the specific goals for both company and professional development.

Next week we will be looking at local and independent business development forums.

Are you a member of any business development groups or forums?  How have they helped you?  Share your experiences below, or tweet us @QuestPR.

By Rochelle Whittaker

I was lucky enough to win a week’s placement at Quest PR as a prize in the recent Claire Maskell PR competition at Leeds Metropolitan University, where I am a first year student on the PR degree programme.

Quest’s particular expertise is in fusing traditional PR and social media so I was interested to see newspapers in the office every morning.  It made me think about how I digest the news. I don’t think I have ever bought a newspaper; I tend to access the news on-line.

Digital media has changed the media landscape and some would argue that newspapers are now redundant. With continuous development of fast, more malleable technologies, many have come to refer to traditional media as ‘dinosaur media’, having been damaged by a ‘social media comet’. Traditional media organisations are shrinking, rather like the slow extinction of dinosaurs.

The difference however, is that old media may be fading – but as I have learnt this week, it is not extinct.  Good PR is all about knowing your audience – where are they, what are they reading, what is influencing them?

Traditional PR methods alone are no longer enough to fulfil corporate objectives and organisations need to embrace social media as they strive to remain relevant to a new generation of media savvy audiences.  However, the prolific Tweeter could well be watching BBC Breakfast and reading The Times as well as joining in a heated hash tag debate.

This week I’ve seen how Quest PR fuses traditional PR and social media to help clients achieve their business goals and drive sales.  Quest incorporate articles from traditional media for use in on-line publications, uses blogs to promote their clients as expert media commentators and understands the power of engaging directly with audiences via Twitter.

I’ve learnt that newspapers, television, radio and social media can and should co-exist in effective PR.  I might even pop to the shops this weekend and pick up a Sunday paper for the first time ever!

If anyone would like to keep in touch, I’m on Twitter @ElleWhittPR.