Tag Archive for: B2B PR

The Power Of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) In PR

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CSR or corporate social responsibility is something that businesses of all shapes and sizes are incorporating into their operations and it’s something we like to do with almost all of our clients at Source as it can be an invaluable tool for building a business’ profile.

From conglomerates to regional SMEs, companies are increasingly recognising the importance of integrating positive social and environmental policies into the business.

Whether its reducing plastic waste or funding community projects, CSR initiatives are a great way to build brand reputation and attractiveness to customers but without PR, your good work will be hidden from view.

Here at Source PR, we have the tools and the team to get your positive work out there and really showcase your commitment to worthy causes and ethical operations.

Why should you promote CSR initiatives?

 

Enhancing your industry reputation

CSR initiatives are a great way to demonstrate, to customers and investors, that your business is committed to socially and environmentally sustainable operations, beyond simply profit-making.

By promoting these initiatives through PR in the form of media coverage of social media campaigns, your business can build a positive reputation among key stakeholders and really strengthen your brand image.

These days, it matters to consumers, customers and stakeholders that, as a business, you’re having a positive impact on the world around you and are increasingly conscious of company practice.

In fact, 88% of consumers across the globe would choose to buy from a business that engaged in sustainable practices over ones that didn’t.

Whether it’s an environmental accreditation or a workplace support scheme, these initiatives are definitely worth shouting about!

Getting ahead in a competitive market

One of the key reasons why companies turn to PR agencies is to get ahead of their competition and in a competitive marketplace, CSR can really set you apart from other businesses.

We operate as an extension of your team so we’re able to quickly understand the sector you’re in and utilise key channels such as social media or news publications to showcase your CSR efforts.

This can help to highlight initiatives such as community engagement, approach to operating sustainably or employee welfare and give you an edge over competitors who may be slow off the mark in adopting these practices.

Retaining and attracting talent

Employees are, of course, the most important assets of any company and ensuring that you can retain and attract the best talent is vital to the long-term success of your business.

When it comes to applying for roles, people aren’t necessarily looking at the profits you turned, they want to work for an employer that cares about their employees and operates ethically.

By promoting CSR initiatives through PR, businesses can showcase their commitment to causes such as mental health awareness and employee welfare which will help attract talent.

This can also boost the engagement and job satisfaction of existing employees, which is critical as ultimately, engaged employees are more likely to stay with the company and the high cost of hiring can be minimised.

B2C CSR

Here at Source, our B2C team work closely with clients to develop long-term CSR strategy that can effectively build brand reputation among their target audience and, ultimately, appeal to a more socially and environmentally conscious consumer base.

Miller Homes North West

We’ve enjoyed working with the North West arm of housebuilders Miller Homes for over 10 years and have consistently helped them to operate successful CSR campaigns.

Back in September 2022, Miller introduced its new Community Fund initiative, which was set up to provide community and charity groups across the North West with the opportunity to apply for donations between £250 and £2,000.

We’ve loved playing our part in helping our client to give back to groups and causes that are local to the areas in which Miller are developing.

This campaign has seen the housebuilder make a real difference in communities across the region with donations being made to inspiring schools, vital food banks, and some incredible charities.

We’ve then been able to showcase the amazing work that Miller is doing through the Community Fund, by securing coverage in local media which demonstrates to target audiences that the company is committed to giving back and helping crucial local causes.

Getting this message across helps to build Miller’s reputation among potential customers and ultimately helps to grow the company’s positive brand image.

B2B CSR

Promoting CSR initiatives among B2B companies, is just as important as B2C and that’s why our team work in partnership with clients to develop initiatives that will help the business to attract potential customers and set themselves apart from competition.

Meadow

Meadow, a leading ingredients business, is a company we’ve enjoyed long-lasting partnership with and whose key PR objective is promoting their commitment to operating sustainably.

Sustainability is the business’ top priority and we’ve been on hand to help Meadow communicate key brand messages, such as their decarbonisation strategy, through features, thought leadership pieces and particularly social media.

During Mental Health Awareness Week 2023, we worked with Meadow to highlight the excellent mental health support initiatives that the company has in place through social media communications on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The social posts reached over 6,000 people during the week and helped to showcase Meadow’s commitment to supporting its employees and partner farmers through support systems like their amazing mental health first aiders.

Social media campaigns such as this one can really help when it comes to attracting and retaining the best talent as it demonstrates to employees (and potential employees) that this is a business that cares about the wellbeing of its staff.

If you think the team at Source could help you with your PR or media relations, get in touch!

When’s It Time To Hire Help For Your Social?

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It’s often said that managing social media is like making a cocktail, anyone can do it but not everyone can do it well. Doing social media effectively, effort and knowledge of the platforms so here we outline some tips for businesses who think they might be ready to get some additional help with their social.

If you or your senior team members are spending more time on social media then on the jobs they excel at, then, it may be time for you to hire help for your social.

If your business is growing but your social media pages don’t quite match up to that, it may be time for you to hire help for your social.

If you’re finding it hard to keep up to date with all the ongoing social media trends, it may be time for you to hire help for your social.

And… If you don’t have any social media at all but want to get your name out there in the digital, then we think it’s definitely time for you to hire help for your social.

What Should You Look For?

When looking to choose a social media agency, we would suggest that you consider the following checklist:

  1. Specialist experts – Do they have dedicated experts available to support and understand your businesses aims and objectives as well as having knowledge of the platforms you are looking to use? Social media platforms are constantly changing and updating to ensure users get the right experience.  Your team needs to be ahead of the curve so your brand is able to cut through and stand out.
  2. Do they know your industry? Do they understand the sector you work in or are they willing to learn? You may not want to hire a social media agency that is handling a competitor’s account but it is useful if they understand the sector and have some experience in it. If that’s not possible to find the right fit, it’s important to have a team that has the right attitude to learning and can support you with real and relevant advice.
  3. Do they have the right tools? It’s not just about creating engaging posts, it’s about working efficiently, monitoring the channels and tracking engagement.  Whether scheduling posts, creating graphics or improving video or images – make sure they have the right tools of the trade to make social media management as efficient and effective as possible.
  4. Are they on hand to react? Social media can change quickly, whether reacting to a negative issue or boosting viral content, the team needs to be on hand and responsive. Although posts may be scheduled a week in advance, the best teams are those who are also able to react to opportunities or trends that present themselves.
  5. Do they plan and are they proactive? The social media agency needs to take the time to understand your business so they can be creative and plan effective campaigns. Have a team that selects the trends, offers creative suggestions and advice, and delivers on a weekly basis. As always, we advise being on the front foot with communications.
  6. Check their track record. When looking for a social media agency, ask for some case studies that show the work that they do or even their own social media accounts.  A good social media agency should be more than willing to share their successes.

Why Getting Help is Important

But why is it so important to get your social media right?

Social media offers businesses an unparalleled opportunity to reach and engage with audiences wherever they may be. But first, you must understand who your audiences are and where they are found.

Taking a brief look at the demographics of each social media platform will help a business choose which platform is right for them.

Facebook is still one of the largest platforms amongst marketers and consumers, accounting for nearly 60% of Meta’s income compared to Instagram. However, the platforms continue to evolve and amongst younger users Snapchat and TikTok are now the predominant channels.

Instagram has reportedly more than 2bn users, with 30% being made up for the 18-24 age group with the average user spending more than half an hour on the platform each day.  Although the platform may be feeling pressure from TikTok, its decision to push Reels and short videos has reinvigorated and increased the platform’s engagement levels.

Instagram is increasingly being used as a gateway to support e-commerce and nearly 60% of businesses aim to use the platform for this purpose in the next 12 months (already more than $43bn was spent via the platform last year).

TikTok is growing and growing quickly, particularly amongst the slightly younger audience.  The site is also accessed by users daily with an average of 45 minutes spent on the site each day.  As the site ‘matures’ we’re likely to see it become more business orientated and as the users age with the platform we may see further changes to the video format and content used.

There is much change happening at Twitter and this is likely to continue until the company’s leadership decides in which direction to take the business.  It is however still a powerful platform and remains the space to be if wanting to discuss breaking news or to share opinions and thoughts.  More than a third of Twitter users have been to university and the platform is increasingly attracting a high-earning and well-educated base.

Elon Musk deciding what to do with Twitter?

For B2B clients, LinkedIn remains the premier platform with more than 930m users worldwide.  It remains predominantly male (57%) and has a slightly older demographic, with a third aged between 30 and 39.  It is however a highly engaged platform with two-thirds (63%) accessing the platform each week and nearly a quarter (22%) accessing daily.

There are numerous other platforms to consider whether Snapchat, Pinterest or others but when working with a social media agency they should also help spend time understanding your audiences and how best to engage with them.  This can include an audit of existing platforms and an action plan to take the business forward to capitalise on the opportunities.

If you’re looking to choose a social media agency, get in touch and let us walk you through the world of social media and how together we can build engagement, awareness and opportunity for your business.

Fake News & Clickbait… Who’s Views Are You Getting On Social Media?

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One of my favourite adverts back in the 1990s was from The Independent newspaper (now the i-newspaper of course). The ad drew the reader’s attention to the fact that the majority of large mainstream newspapers back in the day were owned and operated by ‘media moguls’.

The advert cleverly printed ‘Conrad Black’ into the same font and layout of the famous Daily Telegraph and the name ‘Rupert Murdock’ into The Times mast head.  The objective being that they were trying to convey that the newspapers were anything but independent and instead simply portraying the views of their owners and paymaster generals.

Historically, Britain has proudly had one of the freest and boldest press corps in the world that rightfully and skilfully has ‘held power to account without fear of favour’.  The highlighting of the newspaper ownership therefore resonated with me as we were often advised (when studying history at university) to look at the author of the work before determining any bias to the information presented.

As technologies and 24 hour news cycles developed, the pressures on newspapers to keep up has been intense.  Not only have they seen significant drops in readership that have led to a corresponding drop in revenue, but we are also seeing strategies that undermine the quality of the news presented in an effort to attract readers to more sensational stories – otherwise known as clickbait.

The sad reality however is that newspapers are not winning.  Recent research now shows the impact social media is having on not only everyday life but also on what we view, believe and how we consume information.

On average, UK consumers already spend an hour and 52 minutes every day on social media, with over half of them using the platforms to post or send private messages (56%) and to stay in touch with family and friends (53%).

Interestingly, nearly 8 out of 10 (79%) of 16 to 24 year olds say that social media is their main source of news.  Due to the open platform nature of social media, the quality and content of this news is very hard to regulate and there have been numerous cases of alleged ‘fake news’ whether relating to the US elections, Covid management or celebrity stories.

Although UK law allows users to report illicit content to the police, there is currently no legislation covering social media regulation nor the publication of ‘fake news’. The process of putting in place a form of regulation has been in progress for quite some time, however it has received heavy criticism for long delays in its implementation.

The Online Harms Bill, first proposed by Theresa May’s government in April 2019, sets out strict guidelines governing the removal of illegal content such as terrorist material or media that promotes suicide. Social networking sites must obey these rules or face being blocked in the UK.  This may be all well and good but there is disagreement as to where to draw the line between ‘harmful’ and free speech and who will be responsible for policing the content which is likely to be a much more complex affair.

The recent Covid pandemic highlighted just how complex the issue is.  Faced with a serious threat to public health, the government looked to ‘control the narrative’ both in mainstream media and also online. Many of the legacy media outlets towed the line with regard to messaging, in part due to government media spend, and also through their ‘public duty’ however social media platforms came under scrutiny over the content of posts that were shared.

In some cases the platforms were accused of sharing ‘conspiracy theories’ that challenged the narrative, while those sharing the alternative views felt that they had their accounts arbitrarily cancelled or ‘shadow banned’ where the content of their posts did not reach their usual audiences.  By May 2021, Facebook’s fact checking team had removed 16 million pieces of content and added warnings to around 167 million posts. YouTube removed more than 850 000 videos related to “dangerous or misleading Covid-19 medical information.”

This raises the question as to who are the fact checkers and what medical or specialist knowledge do they have to undertake their roles?  Professor Sander van der Linden, a professor of social psychology in society at Cambridge University comments: “I think it’s quite dangerous for scientific content to be labelled as misinformation, just because of the way people might perceive that.”

This naturally leads to the question on who is determining what is right or wrong on social platforms as this in turn leads to what can and can’t be shared.

We have already seen the democratically elected President of the United States banned on Twitter.  If a company’s executive team are calling the shots on essentially who has a voice or not, this has serious implications.  The new owner, Mr Musk, has also introduced a subscription cost to Twitter, suggestion those who don’t cough up will have their accounts effectively silenced.  It begs the question as to what other topics or views could be silenced if they don’t marry with his agenda?

 

Fake news & Click bait - Trump banned from Twitter

Fake news & Click bait – Trump banned from Twitter

Twitter is not alone, TikTok is facing a total US ban because of its Chinese ownership (with the US government afraid of data being shared with a malign body and the potential influence it could have on a population).  If this happens I would expect other countries to follow.

The algorithms of the platforms already favour certain content over others and decide who has their views shared over others.  This is most apparent in how businesses now essentially need to pay to be heard on any platform. As the saying goes, “If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.”

With more than 12.5bn hours collectively spent by the UK population on social media in 2021 (or an equivalent of 1.4million years for one person!) and five out of the top 20 websites being social platforms, social content undoubtedly has the biggest influence on today’s population.

As social media and their platform’s owners become more powerful, just as it was back in the 1990s with newspapers, we all need to consider who really owns these platforms, as this massively influences what we watch, listen to read and absorb.

How To Create A Successful B2B Campaign In 2023

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One of the reasons public relations (PR) is such an exciting role to work in is that to thrive in the industry you need to be dynamic and adaptable, and the same can be said for campaigns. When it comes to a B2B PR campaign, first and foremost, it’s vital to know your key messaging and desired outcomes before you even think about putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and brainstorming ideas. Let’s explore the fundamentals to creating a successful B2B campaign.

 

First of all, what is B2B PR?

B2B is short for business-to-business and B2B PR is essentially a way of one business communicating with another business. On the other hand, B2C means business to consumer.

So, when it comes to creating a successful B2B PR campaign, what do you need to know?

 

Set objectives

 As mentioned at the start of the blog, before you do anything else it’s important to examine what the desired outcome of the campaign is. Raising awareness of the business is likely to be part of the campaign KPIs, or perhaps it’s a specific issue or topic that the business would like to champion. Maybe you want to build-up your email database, generate interest in an event or up for a webinar or event or increase social media followers. Whatever the campaign objectives it is vital that they are clear from the start.

 

Know your audience and how to target them

Now you have your objectives set, it’s time to delve into your target audiences. For some clients, they may want to reach the key decision makers in a business, for others, maybe it’s a specific company department they need to get in front of. A recent example of this is a campaign we did here at Source for Evolve 4 where we had two very different target customers, food manufacturers and primary schools.

In order to establish exactly who those key audiences should be targeted and therefore how we could create a campaign to reach them, we gathered the team at Evolve and Source together and ran a persona workshop. Though these kinds of workshops can be lengthy, they are important as along with objectives they form the foundations of the campaign.

 

Research and brainstorming for a PR campaign

 The fun part! Now it’s time to gather your team and have a brainstorming session. There’s no one size fits all approach to researching and brainstorming and every agency or business will work individually. A good rule of thumb to live by here is that no idea is a bad idea, give everyone the space to gather their thoughts and ideas, air them, write them down on paper or type them out – whatever works best. This shouldn’t be confined to the office, though. Many of us get our best ideas when on a walk, in the shower or during a conversation with a friend.

 

Channels to use for your PR campaign

 If you work in PR, you’ll have likely heard of the staple PESO model. PESO stands for paid, earned, shared and owned media channels, all of which naturally overlap to generate that integrated campaign. Analysing this model can help to determine which channels you’ll be using for your campaign.

 

Image from spinsucks.com

 

Execution and measurement

Skipping straight to execution and measurement, once you’ve set out what channels you’ll be using during your campaign, you’ll need to actually do the work – that goes without saying! Draft and distribute the press releases, pitching in the feature articles, generate the video content, the list goes on.

Once your campaign is complete it’s time to measure results. Measuring results in PR is famously a sticky point and will depend on which channels you utilised for the campaign and the desired outcomes. At Source we have tools in place such as Ace Media which allows the team to capture and track print and online media coverage, as well as brand mentions, audience and lots more. This is just one example of how we measure success for our client’s B2B campaigns.

There we have it, that was B2B campaigns in a nutshell. If you think our team could help you with your next product launch, profile raising activity or social media content then get in touch.

How To Best Use Influencer Marketing

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Influencer marketing is increasingly being used by businesses and brands to extend their range and reach into new and lucrative markets.  Although the marketing tactic has been used for several years, influencer marketing is set for exponential growth in 2023.

PR agencies have always been the preferred partner for businesses looking to engage in influencer marketing.  From the more traditional media briefings in which companies sought to inspire editors and the media agenda, through to brand collaborations when the reputation of an established brand is used to leverage exposure for a new or emerging brand – the right PR agency can help reach and influence new audiences like no other marketing medium.

Today however influencer marketing primarily refers to collaborations between brands and ‘influencers’ on digital platforms whether social media, blogs or other digital channels. The question often asked by clients is ‘what is an influencer?’ and how to gauge whether they have a genuine ‘influence’ amongst target audiences.

Influencer Marketing – Breaking It Down

One common mistake is to not differentiate between a celebrity and an online influencer. Admittedly many celebrities can extend into the role of influencer but in many cases, they are quite separate entities.

Most influencers have built a loyal and enthusiastic audience by posting relevant and engaging content that resonates with their followers.  People organically elect to follow these influencers based on their content, which in turn can vary from quite generic topics such as food & drink, parenting and travel right down to very specific subjects such as photography, wellness or types of gin (and everything in-between!).

Influencer marketing is not limited to consumer brands as an influencer can be a well-read business expert or blogger who tweets relevant content, or a respected marketing executive on LinkedIn with insightful views and opinions. Within any industry, there are influential people—you just need to find them – and that’s where working with a PR agency can help.

Some influencers have hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of followers but there are also plenty who seem more like ordinary people. They may have less than 10,000 followers but they have developed a reputation for being the experts in their field. They are the go-to people who are trusted to provide the answers to people’s questions. Depending on their sphere of expertise, they can often be the people who make the most engaging social posts on their specialist topics. They share the best pictures, make the most entertaining videos, and run the most informative online discussions.

It’s important to realise that the influencer’s audiences don’t really care about brands specifically, more the opinions of the influencer towards the brand.  It’s therefore important to work with the influencer rather than push your rules, ‘brand guidelines’ or business practices into their actions as they can simply walk away, taking their followers with them or worse still become antagonistic.

The growth of influencer marketing

The statistics speak for themselves.  In 2016, influencer marketing was a $1.7bn industry worldwide, while last year (2022) it had grown to more than $16.4bn.  According to an influencer marketing hub report,  90% of survey respondents believe influencer marketing is an effective form of marketing and currently more than two thirds (67%) of brands use Instagram for influencer marketing.

The growth is set to continue as 75% of the survey respondents suggested that they would be dedicating a budget to influencer marketing in 2023. This rate is up substantially from the 37% who claimed they would allocate a budget to it just 6 years ago in 2017.

Tips for influencer marketing

So, for brands or businesses looking to engage with influencer marketing, we’d suggest that to be most effective, start with a plan that includes objectives, target markets and a budget and then begin careful research into who would be a good fit and provide you with a platform for targeted exposure.

When researching influencers, don’t be overtly swayed by their follower numbers but instead look at their levels of engagement.  How many people like their posts, comment or share as these are the key metrics to consider.  Often big name influencers may not be right for a brand or too commercial to develop genuine and lasting relationships.

Decide also how you are going to find and approach the influencer.  This can be time consuming so working with a PR agency that works with influencers can be a big help as often they may have existing relationship or the resource to target them organically.

When you have found the perfect partner, work with them and develop a schedule of activities.  Consider how their posts can integrate with your existing social media or content marketing schedule, what agreements are in place to ensure the right number of posts, reels or blogs are included in exchange for a product or service.  Is money changing hands and, if so, are the right contracts in place? Also remember the influencer must declare if a financial agreement or if a product has been gifted.

It’s also worth considering what doesn’t work.  Buying influence does not work as many influencers have spent time building their following and so wont risk tarnishing their reputation by selling out and promoting products they don’t like, relate to, or would not recommend to their followers.

It’s also not necessarily about quick results and fast sales.  Although this can be the case (most famously when Delia Smith recommends a kitchen product, they sell out fast!) the main objectives of influencer marketing is building the exposure of your product, its reputation and taking it to new potential audiences through the strength of third party endorsement.

Remember also to be specific as one size does not fit all.  Spend time to find the right fit with an influencer and when that’s achieved it’s proven to pay dividends.

For more information on influencer marketing, contact a member of the Source PR team and let us help build you reputation, product awareness and take your brand or business into new and exciting areas.

Skills You Need To Be A Successful PR In 2023

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It’s no secret that working in public relations and managing successful PR campaigns can be a stressful yet rewarding at times. One day you could be pitching in a hot new client story to the media, the next you could find yourself in Milan conducting a video shoot (okay, that doesn’t happen all that often, but it did for me recently, so I had to mention it!). Working in PR, means you get to add many strings to your bow and here, we explore the essential skills that’ll help you to enjoy a thriving career in PR.

 

Strong copywriting skills

Possibly the cornerstone of any role in PR and comms is solid copywriting skills. A huge part of the role, you’ll need to turn your hand to writing blogs, white papers, reports, press releases, case studies…the list goes on. If you’re in an agency role with several clients, it’s important to nail the tone of voice for each client and have the ability to digest sometimes complex information before drafting it up in an easily readable and understood manner.

 

An eye for news

A must-have skill in PR is knowing which story is going to hit the sweet spot with the media. In meetings or interviews, being able to pick out those golden key pieces of information that will leave journalists wanting to know more isn’t a knack that should be taken for granted.

 

Passion

Passion is what gets us through on the hardest days. Maybe you’re struggling to get in touch with a journalist, your social post isn’t performing how you wanted it to, or your event sign up numbers aren’t as high as anticipated – these things can really put you on a downer after weeks or even months of planning and hard work. A dash of passion and desire to do your best work is what is needed to get us through those tricky days!

 

A thick skin

Unfortunately, like many industries, delivering successful PR isn’t for the faint hearted. You may come across a cranky  (we all have bad days), challenging crisis comms work, or get some unexpected feedback on an article you poured your heart and soul into and it can be dis-heartening. Feeling this way isn’t a bad thing, it just shows we care!

Adaptability

“But that’s how we’ve always done it” isn’t a welcome phrase in our industry. As professionals, it’s important to be able to adapt, change and embrace new trends, techniques and technology. Gone are the days of cutting out individual press clippings and compiling them into a book to then send in the post to clients – and aren’t we glad of that!? If PRs had ignored this new method of communication called social media 10 years ago, then I wonder where we’d be now. Arguably, SEO only became a thing in the late 90s, and look how much that has evolved over the years. For me, there will always be a place for genuine content and print media, but there’s also plenty of room for the newer stuff too!

 

The team at Source PR have all of these skills in abundance, to find out how we could help you and your business, get in touch.

Crisis PR Management & Another Lesson From KFC

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No brand or business is immune to the challenges presented when a PR crisis erupts.  Equally, in today’s digital world, no company can guarantee that a PR crisis won’t happen to them, as such all companies should at least have plans in place to prepare for the unexpected.

Crises typically fall into two camps – internal crises, generated by a business decision, action or fault, or those developed externally either by a changing consumer landscape, political issue or an unforeseen issue with a product or service.

Hopefully effective business planning and preparation should mitigate a PR crisis erupting, so it must be particularly frustrating when an ‘own goal’ is scored by simply being careless and taking your eye off the ball.

This point is perfectly highlighted by the recent PR crisis to envelop KFC.  Earlier this month, KFC sent a promotional message to German customers encouraging them to celebrate Kristallnacht by having extra cheese on their tender pieces of chicken:

“It’s memorial day for Kristallnacht! Treat yourself with more tender cheese on your crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!”

The issue is that Kristallnacht is widely seen as being the start of the holocaust when in 1938 the Nazis led a series of attacks on Jewish businesses and community that left more than 90 people dead, and widespread destruction of Jewish properties and places of worship.

Kristallnacht (the night of broken glass) is remembered on the 9 November and marked with numerous memorial events and discussions to reflect the Nazis’ murder of more than six million Jewish people.

The PR issue was placed firmly at the doors of their automated push notification that sent the message directly to their customers without human intervention.  The system effectively identifies significant days in the calendar and attaches a promotion to them, before sending to customers.

Daniel Sugarman, Director of Public Affairs at the Board of Deputies of British Jews described the original KFC message as “absolutely hideous” and left KFC having to quickly apologise and re-examine their internal systems to prevent the company from having to manage future PR crises.

The company’s tried and tested crisis PR procedures quickly kicked into place but despite the rapid response, the issue had spread to online national and international news outlets.  The issue was quickly amplified via social platforms, illustrating the speed that a PR crisis can spread in today’s digital world.

This was an unnecessary and bad own goal by KFC.  Even if the business managed to convince its audiences that it was not actually in favour of celebrating Kristallnacht with extra cheese, it exposed the business at the very least as being uncaring, poorly run and single-mindedly promoting sales without due care.

We should really have expected better from KFC, particularly after they were able to turn an externally influenced issue into a master class of crisis PR management.

Back in February 2018, the company’s biggest nightmare turned into a reality when the restaurant ran out of chicken due to supplier issues. The net result was that the company was forced to shut down more than half of the stores in the UK.

How to manage a PR crisis

With a crisis PR team, plans and creative thinking in place they were able to turn the issue into a positive PR campaign – saving not only the brand’s reputation but also building relationships with customers and maintaining their trust.  How to manage a PR crisis? They simply followed the plan.

  1. To start, they apologised and made themselves accountable for the crisis.  Rather than attempt to shift blame they apologised to the customers directly via social media channels and newspapers
  2. Secondly, they kept communication open and honest. KFC was very effective at using social media to address customer questions or concerns, even using twitter to share customer Q&As
  3. Finally, by being transparent with the issue, and how they are dealing with it, KFC showed they were taking steps to bring the operations back to normal, with web links sharing information.

The company was also humble and showed gratitude towards its customers for bearing with them and apologised / thanked all the stakeholders for their patience.  Throughout the crisis PR management they kept the emotional balance right.  This involved being apologetic when things went wrong, professional when showing they had the matter under control and yet maintaining a sense of humour in their messaging.

A sense of humour when managing a PR crisis

Finally, they were consistent with their communications and ensured that the issue went to the very top with all messages on social media coming from the fictional KFC’s founder, Colonel Sanders, himself.

It’s clear that PR crises can come quickly out of the blue, from a simple slip up or from an issue that has developed gradually over time.  In today’s digital age, they can erupt more quickly than ever so it’s important to have plans in place.  KFC had a visible presence on social media prior to the crisis and made sure they used it to reach the affected parties.

If you find yourself in crisis or in a similar situation, contact Source PR as we can provide you with hands-on crisis management support or better still help you put a robust crisis management plan in place before an issue arises.

How Much Do PR Agencies Charge?

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As we head into what is likely to be another economic slowdown, there is often an uplift in businesses wanting to raise their profile in an increasingly competitive market.  With budgets tight and ambitions high, prospective clients often ask us ‘How much do PR agencies charge?’.

The short answer is how long is a piece of string, as there are a number or variables that can influence the amount PR agencies charge, whether it’s the amount of time spent supporting the account, the specialist nature of the work or the seniority and experience of the team required to deliver the results.

But it’s equally an important question as the predetermined budget is one of the key factors when selecting the right PR agency to support your marketing goals.

Here we’ve tried to outline some of the key elements that go into determining a PR budget, to help prospective clients pick the resource and team they need to support their business ambitions.  Knowing the information will hopefully help internal stakeholders understand why the costs are what they are and the agency is the right one for the business

Before appointing a PR agency, the first question must be whether the company has existing skills and resource available to deliver the plans.  If not, there is always the option to recruit a ‘PR manager’ to help, with typical costs of £35 – £50kpa depending on location, experience and skill set.  If selecting this route, ask whether they have all the required skills and industry resources to deliver the campaign as well as what plans are in place to cover holidays or other absences?

Another option could be to use a freelancer.  Freelancers often cost more than an in-house resource and can bring specialisms and experience, but often deliver tactically the strategy that’s been determined in house. Freelancers have specialities and niches, so if considering this you may need to hire one freelancer to handle your social media while another for media relations.  Costs can range from £150- £250 a day again depending on skills and experience and can quickly rack up if not managed carefully.

Selecting the right PR agency

When it comes to selecting a PR or social media agency, these typically fall into three categories, large, small and specialist PR firms.  Hiring an agency gives you access to a team of experts across the full spectrum of communications services from media relations, social media management, crisis communications, public affairs, SEO and more. Unlike a freelancer, agencies usually offer a team to deliver the strategic planning, measurement and evaluation along with tactical delivery and execution.

Smaller or ‘boutique’ agencies, typically have a staff of less than 20. Their monthly fees usually range from £1,500 – £5,000 (potentially more for a London based or highly specialist firm). The value is in the easier access to senior PR counsel as well as the agility and close working relations built with the team. Boutique firms can also specialise in specific sectors and services within the PR and marketing spectrum but offer a more personalised service to client businesses.

Large agencies usually have staff of more than 20 and have offices across the UK or world, offering support to clients that require that reach. Some of the brand names like Edelman, Weber Shandwick and Hill and Knowlton fall under this category. These agencies cost the highest with typical retainers more than £5,000 per month. These agencies are best suited for big corporations and governments, especially those needing PR support for multi-national launches and campaigns.

When it comes down to working out how much do PR agencies charge, most PR and social media agencies operate either on a project or retained basis.  Project rates tend to be for shorter term contracts between one and three months and can be used to support an event or crisis.  Project-based contracts tend to be priced higher than annual retainers because agencies spend a lot of time in winning the business, researching the company and getting to understand the various products or services. The short-term aspect can also put a lot of pressure on the agency’s resources to deliver within the time frame and the time spent on learning the account cannot be recuperated six months down the line once the project has ended.

Retained contracts run longer and are usually around 12 months duration, however at Source PR we are proud to say that we have supported several clients for more than 10 years on a rolling retained basis (as they value the work and results we deliver!). Retained contracts often cost lower than project-based contracts because the time spent and the research done in the initial few months by the agency are paid off in the long-term.

PR Agency Services

Services like media relations are offered on retainer contracts because the best results are achieved in the long term.  A one-off press mention in top-tier media can lead to a short spike in brand awareness or traffic to a website, but only consistent press coverage over the long-term will genuinely build and enhance a company’s brand and reputation.

Retained contracts typically allow clients to pay a fixed rate every month based on a specified scope of work or a fixed number of hours. Some months the work may be slower but it is usually balanced by months when the workload is higher.

One of the key influences into PR agency prices is based around the team allocated to support the business.  PR prices are proportional to the agency day rate card (i.e. how much time a member of the team would be required to support the business and the seniority / experience of the person or team). Naturally the hourly rate of an account executive is lower than that of an account manager, which is lower than that of an account director etc.

When looking to choose a PR agency, it tends to be best to work with a firm whose typical client is of the same size and budget as yours. Some clients with moderate budgets make the mistake of selecting a ‘big name’ agency only to have junior or less experienced PR staff working on the account as the client (or fees!) are not deemed as important to the senior team.  Smaller or boutique agencies typically give better access to the senior team at a more affordable rate.

Finally, one of the other key influences in determining ‘How much do PR agencies charge’ comes down to the services required by the client.  Some services like strategic planning, branding and public affairs understandably cost higher as they require more senior expertise. Crisis communications cost much higher as it requires the PR professional to be available 24X7 to respond to the crisis as it evolves and can take them away from other scheduled work

Similarly, services like media relations or working with influencers – where a PR professional brings their relationships built over the years also cost higher.  Services like social media management or blog writing can cost lower because they can be successfully undertaken without needing years of experience or decades spent building relationships.

The last question to ask is how much would it cost you not to recruit a PR agency?  What is the value of your time, do you have the skills and time to deliver a campaign yourself.  Equally what are the sales and opportunities you’re missing by not building your profile?  All are valid questions when asking ‘how much do PR agencies charge’.

Speak to us

If you’d like to speak to someone about PR pricing and what agencies can deliver against specific budgets, feel free to contact a member of our team.  Source PR is one of the North West’s leading boutique agencies and offers a full range of services to client business across the region and UK.

The team would be delighted to discuss your PR, social media and digital communication requirements and to meet to discuss your ambitions and how best we can deliver against your PR budgets and priorities.

It’s PR Not ER: Reflecting On Changing Attitudes In PR

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So much has changed over the eight (or so!) years that I’ve spent working in PR, an industry that is known for being one of the most stressful to work in. According to PRWeek, the stress of the job was magnified during the pandemic. With the combination of juggling client relationships, deadlines, meetings and all around wanting to do our best work for clients, it’s easy to see why working at a PR agency particularly has a reputation for being a stressful working environment.

 

However, in the time I’ve worked in the industry, I’ve certainly seen a positive shift in attitudes towards working hours and mental health. In this blog, I reflect on some personal experiences and why the phrase ‘it’s PR not ER’ is one that has stuck with me over the years.

 

Throwback to 2015

 

I started working at my first PR agency in 2015 as a fresh-faced and enthusiastic account executive. I’d had a couple of post-grad jobs before that which were great to get me into the world of full-time work, but I consider the first agency I worked at as when my career really began. Although I loved the variety of work, my team, the clients, the B2B element particularly, I was on the road a lot, often not getting back until very late at night after a few days away at a time and getting back into the office again first thing the morning after. At the time, flexible working in that kind of job was unheard of. Taking TOIL (Time Off in Lieu) for sometimes extra-long hours spent working was not the done thing and the stereotypical old-school attitude of eye-rolls by management for the first person to leave the office at 5.30pm was rife.

 

Back then, working from home for me was not an option, and there was a pressure to always be ‘on’, an attitude that my colleague Jess Pardoe describes perfectly in her blog around mental health awareness in the PR industry. Alongside the travelling, there was a fair amount of alcohol and parties, and don’t get me wrong, I’m not afraid of either! However, I recall nights out in London where we weren’t ‘allowed’ to go home until all the clients had done (I’m older and wiser now and I know I’d be more inclined to stick up for myself if I was told at 3am that I wasn’t allowed to go to bed just because a client wanted to stay up and carry-on drinking). Unfortunately, this attitude wasn’t agency specific, this kind outlook working in PR and marketing agencies seemed to be across the board.

 

However, I’ve seen a shift over the years and thankfully many agencies have begun to recognise that teams don’t want or need a ping pong table or a ball pond in the office, they want flexible working, a fair salary and autonomy over their working day.

 

Is in-house PR better than agency?

 

When entering the PR world, one question on many graduate’s lips is what’s the difference between in house PR and working in a PR agency, or what is working at a PR agency like? Naturally, new grads are curious, as was I.

 

I’d traditionally worked in an agency environment but a lot changed for me during those strange years at the height of the COVID pandemic, and I decided to try something new in my career in a shift to working in-house. I was intrigued to find out what it would be like to be completely focused on one business, rather than juggling multiple clients at once.

 

There are of course pros and cons of both sides of the spectrum, and every place of work is different, but after a few months I found myself missing the agency life. There’s nothing quite like working across a variety of clients and having a team around you that just GET IT. It’s cliche but in an agency no two days are the same. One day you can be working on a new client pitch, conducting a messaging workshop or helping to organise a large-scale event, and the next you’re visiting a client’s factory dressed head-to-toe in PPE conducting a video shoot, or on the rooftop of a skyscraper building taking in the views and learning about the development.

 

The future of PR

 

A wise manager of mine once told me, ‘it’s PR not ER’ and it’s a phrase I’ve never forgotten, because she was absolutely right. As PR professionals, we strive to do the best work we can for our clients, but we can only do this if we aren’t burnt out and allow ourselves to switch off and have down time.

 

I’m glad to see that new grads, often from Generation Z are looking for more from their place of work and many agencies are now offering flexible and hybrid working, as well as more competitive benefits than were offered in the UK when I first entered the world of work.

 

As the buoyant job market and fight to recruit the best talent continues, I hope that this can only be a positive thing for employees, meaning businesses will continue to put people’s mental health first.

 

Source PR’s MD Louis understands the importance of looking after the team’s wellbeing, learn more about Source’s values.

 

Developing PR Plans For 2022 – 5 Things To Consider

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As we look ahead into 2022, the team at Source PR shares below how they feel the pandemic has changed the way brands interact with customers and what PR and communication trends we’re likely to see as we head into 2022.

The pandemic has accelerated the changes in PR that have been coming over the past decade.  The move from more traditional ‘siloed’ communications towards a more holistic and integrated approach is complete.  For example, pure media relations can’t exist without reflective web content or supportive social media management – each communications silo needs to integrate and relate.

This has naturally led to a blurring of lines between PR, marketing and advertising, digital and offline – essentially requiring PR and marketing teams to develop plans that reflect an integrated approach to communications.

  1. Complete the shift to digital-first

The pandemic has ushered in a more digital world meaning companies should be looking at new ways of getting in front of their audiences and ‘meeting’ them in new ways.

In 2022, traditional PR strategies won’t work as well and companies need to adopt a digital-first strategy.  Marketers should however remember that although the platform is online that they’re targeting real people. We thrive on being liked, making conversation, and having meaningful interactions that we can relate to.

As we’re all individuals, this means that when it comes to engaging with customers, brands need to understand that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. Customers care more now than ever about their experience with the companies they are buying from and don’t want to be bombarded with generic emails or social communications that just aren’t relevant to them.

Always remember that consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that they trust, have a relationship and can relate to.

  1. Engage with, or become an influencer

It’s hard not to be aware of the growing influence of the influencer.  But what is an ‘influencer’?  In short, it’s someone with a strong following who ‘creates unique content that reaches and engages people within a specific target audience’.  When chosen correctly, they can add credibility, authenticity, and personality to campaigns, providing they are harnessed in the right way.

PR agencies are well placed to work with companies and brands to shape and foster a community of advocates and influencers.  Influencers can also help humanise the brand in addition to boosting appeal and trust, promoting products and services to new cohorts, providing invaluable user-generated content (UGC), word-of-mouth recommendations and social media chatter.

When considering an influencer be sure to undertake the due diligence and to create genuine partnerships that have strategic alignment with brand values. As ever, key performance indicators (KPIs) will play a crucial role in demonstrating whether the return on investment (ROI) is beneficial.

If you’re a business leader with proven experience in a sector, what’s to stop you from developing your own profile as a thought leader in the sector?  2022 could be the year for this and we are looking forward to working with our clients to achieve this ambition for them.

Finally, although we live in the digital age, brands need to be backed up by real people, otherwise, they risk becoming faceless.  Analysis of the social media platforms we manage clearly show that consumers want to experience the human touch and to understand the people behind the brands.

  1. Develop a social conscience

There is also greater pressure coming from consumer organisations and the public to ensure the products we are consuming have been delivered in a sustainable way, haven’t unnecessarily damaged the environment or caused distress to people or the planet.

If companies are doing good work, it’s important to share the news or at least give a vision for the future that stakeholders can buy into or be part of.  In short, communicating with a conscience has never been more crucial.

We are however still at the stage where companies are positively viewed for their good works, however, in 2022 it’s likely that there will be a shift towards the greater expectation that a company is doing the right thing.  Not acting or doing the ‘wrong thing’ therefore poses a risk to an organisation’s reputation, which can quickly spiral out of control in a digital world.

Be careful not to virtue signal or publish ‘green guff’ as the public are getting increasingly savvy and there is a risk it could backfire.  If you keep your actions aligned to your vision, values and core principles you can’t go far wrong and always keep the communities you are looking to influence in the forefront of your mind when selecting a campaign to support.

2022 will be all about developing a PR narrative that allows clients to demonstrate their credentials in a meaningful way.  When done well, community-led storytelling is more acceptable and authentic than direct brand-led communication, but this community advocacy needs to be consciously harnessed and not left to chance.

  1. Create the right content

As we continue to embrace the digital era, social and web channels are only going to gain more momentum and be an increasingly critical communication tool. In the coming year, ensure that the content provided is authentic and relevant to your audience’s interests.

There has already been a monumental rise of short-form video this year, but more companies will use the format for sales and information, not just entertainment. Of course, the sales messages conveyed via video will have to be entertaining and engaging to capture and hold the viewer’s attention.

The power of speech as a search tool will continue in 2022. Already nearly a third (29%) of people in Britain now own a smart speaker and Forrester predicts the number of households with smart speakers in the EU will reach 57.5 million by 2024. When creating content consider speech search terms as well as those typically typed into Google as increasingly consumers will rely on voice to search for their favourite product or to request information.

  1. Manage your messages

As we develop a multi-channel PR and communications strategy, communications professionals should not be lazy but adapt their messages to suit the platform.  Whether LinkedIn, Twitter or TikTok adapt the message and content to suit.  As new platforms develop, they also become more mainstream so don’t write off Snapchat and TikTok as only being relevant to younger generations.  More and more Millennials and other older generations are becoming active there.

The final point to make is to ensure your messages are adapted for various audiences.  Although much of the above relates to acquiring new customers, don’t forget that “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” and that retaining customers that are already engaged should be an equal focus for companies and brands in their PR and communications.

 

We’d love to know your thoughts on what you feel are the topics and trends for 2022?  Whether you agree or disagree with the above, I’m sure we can all agree that the only real risk is to those who choose to do nothing.  We’d happily meet to discuss or support your plans in 2022 and always love to hear or share ideas – you can contact us here.

Whatever you choose to do – we wish you the best of luck and hope you have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2022.

Photo by Djordje Vezilic from Pexels

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