Not to fear, mind. We have your back (Jack). They’ve created an infographic that highlights some of the most overly used and disastrous buzzwords to ever hit a news story so you don’t get caught up in the ‘fluff’. Some of the biggest perpetrating buzzwords were ‘leading’, ‘dynamic’ and ‘low hanging fruit’!

The infographic also names and shames some of the biggest companies that are buzzword crazy, with their “Game Changers”, “Paradigm Shifts” and what not. Be sure to check out the infographic for the full scoop… and the winner of the prestigious buzzword cheese award.

Want to post our infographic? use the link below:

http://www.pressat.co.uk/most-over-used-buzzwords-in-public-relations-2013.jpg

What’s a budget without a leak?

This years Budget was nearly leak free and it could have been a vast improvement on the previous year when so much of the budget was commonly known beforehand. So much so that by the time the chancellor came to announce it to the commons their was nothing left to quabble over.

But yet again the chancellor of the exchequer was left seething, when “a poor kid on £18k“(according to Tom Chivers at the Telegraph) managing the London’s Evening Standard Twitter account leaked an image of the front page cover detailing market-sensitive information and highlighting George Osborne’s 2013 Budget.

The tweet along with the image was swiftly deleted from the Evening Standard’s Twitter account but the damage had already been done with the Tweet spreading like wildfire across Twitter.

George Osborne was seen to be furious as a pack of Labour shadow ministers laughed and waved their copies of the leaked Budget as Mr Osborne addressed the commons, undoubtedly putting the chancellor off the task at hand.

Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said: “[Mr Osborne] almost need not have bothered coming to the House because the whole Budget, including the market-sensitive fiscal forecast, was in the Standard before he rose to his feet.”

You might be asking why such sensitive data is at the hands of the press? Information that can effect the lives of millions and vastly affect trading markets but in true British tradition it has long been a practice and almost tradition that the Treasury brief the Evening Standard and a host of other newspapers in the city with specifics before the chancellor announces the official budget to the commons. This is of course strictly confidential and under embargo.

So was this a pre-planned sinister leak or just a simple human mistake?

Let us know your views and comments below!!

 What exactly was leaked by the Evening Standard?

The following has been extracted from the image leaked on Twitter.

• Planned fuel duty hike scrapped
• 1p off a pint but cider up 2p, wine up 10p and spirits up 38p.
• Borrowing up to £61bn
• Income tax allowance will rise to £10,000 by April 2014
• Corporation tax cut to 20% by 2015
• Growth will apparently reach 1.8% next year, 2.3% by 2015. No Triple Dip.
• £2,000 cut to employer NI contributions.

The Evening Standard has since confirmed that the message was accidentally tweeted by a young journalist and has since been suspended from his job.

Sarah Sands, the Evening Standard editor, said:

“An investigation is immediately under way into how this front page was made public and the individual who Tweeted the page has been suspended while this takes place.”

Here is the official Twitter timeline from Joe Murphy at the Evening Standard:

I wish to apologise for a very serious mistake by the @eveningstandard earlier which resulted in our front page being tweeted. 1/2…

— Joe Murphy (@JoeMurphyLondon) March 20, 2013

… 2/2We are so sorry to the House of Commons, to the Speaker and to the Chancellor for what happened. We shall be apologosing to them

— Joe Murphy (@JoeMurphyLondon) March 20, 2013

Popular forms of media which are embedded into releases are sound bites, if you want to do this we can highly recommend Audio Boo as the GUI looks great in our sidebar.

How to embed an Audioboo sound bite

Once you have uploaded your audio to your personal Audioboo account, you can click the embed button and then copy the code as shown below.

Then simply paste all the code into the “Other” drop down box on Step 2 of the create a press release page.

And woo! the widget has been embedded into your press release for visitors to listen and interact. This is what makes the perfect social media news release and keeping visitors on your press release for longer.

Kevin Hurley, now a former Metropolitan police chief superintendent, believes that the bill will hurt journalists and ‘genuine’ whilst blowers as it will instil a level of fear that stops them from anonymously confiding in the media. He said:

“How did we find out about the MPs’ expenses and fiddling going on there? How did we find out about military kit not being up to scratch for Iraq and Afghanistan? How did find out patient care and the NHS failings?

The media find out about [scandals] very often because public officials come forward and tell them about it because they don’t have confidence in their own organisations.”

Having a climate of fear where informants or truth tellers are punished for exposing the wrongdoings of others seems dangerous. It could ultimately negate the purpose of free speech and impartial media.

That said with the somewhat recent phone hacking and monitoring scandals that have come to light others feel their should be a system in place that keeps the media in check, making sure the way in which stories and information is collected respects the privacy of others.

In fact born out of the Leveson enquiry is the now published Royal charter on press regulation draft that aims to regulate the press. The charter has however been heavily criticised for excluding many of the recommendations set out by the Levenson enquiry, thereby not fulfilling its true purpose, protecting the people from press intrusion.

What do you think? Should the press be regulated by a government body? Should it be allowed free reign or should the defamation bill rule them all?  What do you think about the PCC? Leave your comments below.

Enter HAPPY2013 at the payment stage to take advantage of this discount.
Struggling for ideas?
Take a look at this whitepaper: http://www.pressat.co.uk/press-release-tips-and-ideas/

Offer ends Friday 11th January 2013.

The employment market today is more competitive than ever before. Baby boomers used to get jobs by fighting over who leaves their CV on the most important person’s desk in the company chain. Today things are a bit more different.

If you step into someone’s office to drop your resume or inquire about a job people will look at you as if you’re from the past century (and they’re not far from the truth either). Today email is the way. Or any other type of online communication preferred by that company.

The fact that now it is much easier to contact an employer means that a lot more people are doing it. So if you want to stand out you will have to make that extra effort in order to grab their attention.

So how do you that? You build yourself a great online personal brand. When a prospective employer (or anyone for that matter) performs a Google search with your name not only should they not be presented with photos of you from last night’s party but they should be taken aback by your web etiquette. Here are … steps to make it a golden one:

1. Check your current status

Go on Google and check out the results it’s returning when you look up your own name (do it for any nicknames too). If you’re an average Internet cruiser you should see links to your Facebook profile and other social platforms you are using, perhaps a few photos and any content you have put up online under your name, whether it’s photos, videos, blog posts and so on.

If you don’t like what you’re seeing it’s time to do some cleaning up. Delete any undesirable content associated with your name and if it’s not under your own account contact the right people to ask for a correction (or removal). Also, make sure you set up the appropriate privacy settings for each platform, depending on the type of

2. Determine your online personality

You know how everybody says your Facebook profile is only an idealised version of yourself? That’s quite true, or at least it should be. No matter how hard you try, there will always be difference between who you are online and who you are in real life. Obviously, one should reflect the other but this also allows you to optimise anything that’s related to your online persona.

We all have different personalities depending on our environments and situations associated with them. It’s important that you choose which one you would like to display to the public, regardless of your aim. Think of yourself as an organisation – what do you bring to the table that others in your industry do not? Know your strengths and create a consistent brand around them.

Ask yourself questions such as ‘How do I make people feel?’, ‘What words are others using to describe me?’, ‘What kind of people do I get along with?’ This will help you figure out what traits you should be highlighting in your online profile as well as the tone of the voice you should be using.

Tip: Make sure you include details about your current employment status, contact information and goals.

3. Recognise your niche

Ok, you’ve got the basics covered. You know who you are and how you would like to be projected into cyberspace. What’s next is establishing what you’ll be talking about and ultimately become an expert in.

We all have our interests and hobbies that most of us tend to keep under the carpet as a weekend-only type of activity. However, things started shifting thanks to lovely portable devices such as smartphones and tablets that make content more accessible and immediate. Now you can turn your passion into your marketing hook and use that as a way to become an authority in the field through social media.

If you love films you might want to start writing reviews about it. Or set up a Youtube channel with short clips featuring your favourite movie scenes. If you’re passionate about both films and video as a form of expression, you can start creating videos using bits and pieces from your favourite films. If your love is for films, writing and fashion you can start blogging about what famous actors wear in your favourite movies.

The possibilities are endless. It’s just a matter of finding the right conversations for you. The quirkier your topic, the greater chances to build an audience and make yourself an expert on the subject. Everybody can write about Star Wars but how many people can put Yoda and Mickey Mouse together?

Author: Andreea Magdalina, Enternships Content & Community Manager

Enternships is a platform that connects ambitious, entrepreneurial students and graduates with innovative companies.

Five Rules for Starting Out Your PR Career

http://www.edelman.com/post/five-rules-for-starting-out-your-pr-career/

Nine Tips for PR Pros Working From Home During #Sandy

http://www.prnewsonline.com/watercooler/Nine-Tips-for-PR-Pros-Working-From-Home-During-Sandy_17309.html

The Measurement of PR

http://www.elevate.ie/the-measurement-of-pr/

Can PR People Become Brand Journalists? What Is It?

http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/mt/archives/2012/10/can_pr_people_b.php

Binary Byte: Shading Your Online PR; Managing Black and White Imperatives

http://windmillnetworking.com/2012/10/25/binary-byte-shading-your-online-pr-managing-black-and-white-imperatives/

Tips for Handling Negative Comments and Trolls on Social Media

With only 15 days to go it’s time to get your last minute festive PR in front of the right crowd.

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A marketing strategy can be as easy or hard as you make it and there really are no boundaries as to the amount of money that can be thrown at it. However, the underlying factor remains the same; its importance is axiomatic.

So, without further ado, cast your eyes over our 5 tips to kick-start your next product, service or promotion, Gangnam startup style:

Dedication – Rome wasn’t built in a day

There’s no golden path when it comes to marketing. All businesses have different budgets and methods of achieving publicity, it takes time and none manage to succeed overnight. If you’re looking for a “Get rich quick scheme” i’m afraid you’re out of luck!

Like most things in life, hard work and commitment are the actions (with a dash of luck) that really develops your startup business. Overnight success stories are very rare and in most cases just good PR (with years’ worth of undocumented hard graft behind the scenes).

As a startup you may not have an overabundance of money (or manpower) but your commitment and dedication should be limitless. In short, without the right attitude and dedication to regular marketing campaigns, small or large, free or paid, your business will fail. Your unwavering faith in your product is the true driving force in your startup years.
Strategise – Identify your audience

You love your product, but not everyone wants your really cool moondust powered MP3 Player. Find your niche audience and demographic and stick with it! Make sure you have researched the market size, potential sales, expansion, competition etc. thoroughly.

As a startup, you cannot afford to target the whole of humanity (and beyond!), instead make sure you carry out sufficient market research on your target audience in a concentrated area making sure you plug your product at every free opportunity possible. This also allows you to truly identify and relate to the needs of that small community of buyers. Then, simply rinse and repeat in a different area and before you know it you’ll be growing into the regional and national market space.

Targets and goals

Wanting is very different to having. Setting business targets can act as the underlying bridge between how well you want your business to perform and how well it is currently performing.

Analyse where you are and where you wish to be, making sure you set key performance indicators(KPIs). Also use the SMART approach when setting these targets making sure you are truly setting specific,  measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound targets. Then the most important bit, plan your your business and its direction around hitting each one of these targets. Now, as your business develops you will reach the right goals which will not only help with expansion and sales but also add a sense of achievement and progression (it’s always nice to see tangible results that prove your business is moving forward).

Organise your workflow making sure you assign/allocate work proportionately and realistically whilst always considering efficiency. At the very least, each of your identified business targets and objectives should be allocated to one member of the team as this ensures it will be worked on.

These should then be regularly reviewed looking at the time spent, progress made and expected completion date. As a startup business this is crucial even if your company only consists of one person or similarly a handful of people etc. This level of discipline ensures you do not get ‘sloppy’ with your work ethic, approach and dedication.

Trending Topics

What makes startup marketing so challenging is the very low or non-existent budget you have to play with. Now, you may feel like that closes many doors but why not leverage the PR, news, topics etc. of another issue/company and ‘ride the wave’, so to speak. Find a trending topic, which is currently ablaze in the media and market around it. With the topic already in full swing with journalists and media contacts, your “related” news is more likely to get picked up and published. Granted this will be on the backs of others but beggars startups can’t be choosers!

Email and Online Marketing

As a startup the likelihood is you will not have a (huge) subscriber/members list for your service but worry not, that’s fine. It is sure to build up in time. However, if you are reading this and thinking I don’t have any system in place for collecting customer email addresses then that is something that needs to be addressed now. Email marketing can be very effective when you know your target audience and the authenticity/relevance of the email list being used.

For example, users who have registered on your website, ARE interested in your services which makes it very likely they would purchase again, should the price be right. Email marketing is an extremely cost-effective solution to helping revive and promote products and sales.

Online marketing is very much the new sales arena and is by far the most effective way in which to reach your target audience. Luckily, if done properly it can achieve greater results than offline marketing whilst actually providing a better return! This is where press release distribution services shine. Using such systems can help you target the right media sources, making sure your news is shared with hundreds of sector specific journalists.

Summary

The above are just some of the ways to supercharge your next campaign. That said, you have to remember that marketing success is not necessarily measured by a checklist of to-do’s nor is its effectiveness infallible. Each company, whether startup or established has to make decisions unique to itself and you need to remember, even the best marketing doesn’t last forever, it is work in progress which needs to be attended to regularly, throughout the lifespan of your business.

Good luck!!

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Who can enter:

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