MAKE IT, DON’T FAKE IT

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Since Donald Trump’s election the term ‘fake news’ is being increasingly used to discredit all sorts of stories which people don’t agree with, from heavyweight political scandals to the quirky, more light hearted stories commonly found on social media.

So what is ‘fake news’? Essentially it’s when outlets deliberately publish hoaxes, propaganda and disinformation purporting to be real news, often using social media to drive web traffic and amplify the effect.

Why bother?  Well it’s all about generating clicks and advertising revenue, or to enhance, discredit or boost a person, policy or organisation.  Fake news can take many forms but is principally based around;

  • Disinformation: False information which is intended to mislead the audience, rather than explain the full story
  • Propaganda or spin: One-sided information, which often omits key facts or evidence which contradicts it
  • Subjective news: The presentation of one side of an argument more positively than the other
  • Infotainment: Usually stories about celebrities which are based largely on opinions rather than facts.

It could be argued that companies and media outlets have been peddling fake news for ages but the issue appears to be growing as the growth in news channels and social media platforms is pushing ‘editors’ to become more creative with their content in order to attract readers and page visits.  However, if regularly delivering fake news they risk undermining the reputation of their organisations as respected news channel.

Protect your reputation

The same applies to businesses or individuals who seek to mislead their audiences for short term gain.  If you have built up good contacts in the media, you can also quickly lose your goodwill by getting them to help spread stories about your business which aren’t strictly true.

Importantly, it can also damage a client’s authority and position as a media expert in their field and ultimately destroy the trust between your business and your customers, with obvious consequences.

We’d advise against propagating fake news but instead developing meaningful and trustworthy relationships with the media and other digital platforms that build credibility and authority in a sector or service.

Don’t issue news stories unless the story is genuinely newsworthy, which means there needs to be something about your story that makes it interesting and prompts people to read it. Think about your audience and ask why they should care about your story.  Is it something they need to know? Is it something that they need answering? Can your story help them in any way?

Also be mindful of what you like or share on social media. It’s easy to inadvertently like, retweet or share a fake news story. But if you do, you’re unwittingly helping to spread the fake news or even endorse it.

Certain sections of the PR industry are renowned for using trickery, sleight of hand and dark arts to pull the wool over people’s eyes on behalf of their clients.  But if you’ve got a good story to tell, why rely on cheap gimmicks?  At Source PR we offer straightforward, effective and most importantly honest advice.  That’s the best way to build relationships and get results without the need for fake news.

Connectivity: What’s The Cost to Rural Businesses?

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Tap. Click. Check-In. Tag. Review. The issue of whether businesses should or should not have an online presence is no longer a debate: today it is a must. But just how much can the issue of rural connectivity affect us?

We’re incredibly lucky here at Source – we enjoy a quaint rural village location, but within easy access of cities and commuter routes to visit clients all around the country. Poor 4G signal and dodgy internet isn’t something we particularly suffer from (touch wood), but this is certainly not the case for many other rural businesses.

The issue of poor connectivity goes further than just the frustration to business owners as they run their operations, it also affects customers, guests and clients. These effects are twofold – firstly, in this day and age, it is a fact that visiting customers expect good levels of connectivity as standard. Even those who come to stay with rural hospitality businesses to ‘get away from it all’ to leave the beeps of incoming texts and void of social media behind for a while and get back to nature, still expect some level of coverage just in case they want to reconnect with the outside world – they want the option.

Social Media requirements

Secondly, online social media presence is a great asset to any rural business. When guests are staying or customers use your services, they have the ability to help build your brand with a like, positive review or comment. Whilst customers are enjoying themselves in the moment, they’re most likely to check-in to let their followers know what they’re up to or upload an Instagram story showcasing your business to a whole new audience.

Allowing guests to connect with your business and express themselves in real time is invaluable – although many can create a positive review and upload photos when they’re back home, opportunities could be missed as this task slips down customers’ to-do lists when ‘real life’ settles back in.

The cost of poor connectivity can have a huge impact on rural businesses – so let’s hope the issue becomes a higher Government priority!

 

 

 

Modern Communications and Word of Mouth

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A short while ago, news reached the UK that blood donors in Sweden receive a text message when their blood has been used to save someone’s life. For so many reasons, this is an excellently admirable scheme – those who are kind enough to give up their time to donate blood should be applauded, and communication to let them know that they’ve saved a life right there and then is the perfect way to let the magnitude of their kindness really hit home.

 

Whenever anyone’s using modern communications in new ways, our ears are always pricked – and with this innovative use of mobile communication, we started to think: could an initiative aimed to give back to the public, actually end up driving business goals?

 

Communication between businesses and their customers is the key topic here. By keeping customers, in this case the donors, updated throughout the entire blood journey they’ll feel more connected to the entire process. So whether you’re collecting donations or selling goods and services, keeping your customers linked and connected to the journey will only ever make them feel more valued.

 

Then you’ve got to look further down the line. If you receive a message saying that your blood has just saved another human being’s life, that’s hardly something you’re going to keep to yourself. When you get that incredibly unusual and special message, the natural reaction is to share it. Using modern communication tools sparks the unstoppable chain that is word of mouth – suddenly, a whole new group of people are aware of the service and its cause, and they can then go on to tell their work colleagues the next day about this unbelievable message their friend received.

 

By crafting the right words and sending them the right way, modern communication tools and old fashioned word of mouth work hand in hand to build and drive a brand’s message. It doesn’t matter what your goal is, by creating a unique and engaging story to communicate to your customers, you’ve started a campaign of brand awareness that has an infinite finish line.

Make Your Brand Stand Out From The Crowd

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If the phrase ‘we’ve updated our privacy policy’ sends a shiver down your spine, don’t worry – you’re not alone. The recent changes in GDPR laws have left few untouched by consent forms and promises of the sacred nature of personal data collection. But we’re not here to talk about the value of an opted-in database (worthy of a whole other post of its own, with our client Textlocal finding that 54% of opted-in SMS users will respond to a business text), but rather about the panic that ensued as the 25th May approached – and how this can harm your brand.

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Where will competitors be spending their Marketing Budgets in 2018?

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It’s a competitive world out there with ambitious businesses each seeking a secret recipe for a successful ‘marketing mix’ to help them win business and out compete competitors.  So, to help those who may be a little lost or unsure, we thought it would be useful to share what our clients are doing and the marketing trends that are proving popular in 2018.

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‘The Source’ of 2017’s Success

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The Christmas and New Year break was over before we knew it, and now 2018 is in full swing. To beat the ‘January Blues’, here at The Source we’re keeping positive by reminiscing about the finest moments of last year. 2017 was filled with incredible cultural moments, from that ‘oops’ moment at the Oscars (how will we ever forget the Moonlight and La La Land mix up?!) to the recent royal engagement, but away from all the crazy going-ons of the outside world, nestled in the quaint village of Tattenhall, we had quite the year ourselves. From team expansions, to new clients, awards and of course, a rebrand! In case you missed any of our highlights from the past year, we thought we’d share them with you here.

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The Power of Social Media

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Social media has the power and the ability to change the world. It’s a broad claim, but the proof is in the figures; our good friends at Clicky Media have calculated that 92.6% of the 65 million UK population have internet access and over half of the population are active on social media sites – and this is just the UK, so imagine the numbers on a global scale! Social platforms are continuously developing; we have gone from basic status sharing sites to ones which are now inundated with gifs, memes, user-generated content and ‘reactions’, all of which keep internet users engaged and ‘tuned in’ to the events of the wider world. Read more