Former presidential candidate Sean Gallagher to speak at the Media Future conference

April 24th, 2012 Posted in Media, Media Future, Online, Politics, Public Relations, Social Media No Comments

Former Presidential candidate Sean Gallagher will speak at the Media Future conference on May 15th, 2012. It will be the first time Mr Gallagher has publicly addressed his experiences in the recent presidential election and the circumstances surrounding what happened on RTE’s Frontline programme.

Speaking today on the announcement of Gallagher’s participation in Media Future, organiser Jack Murray said: ” ‘Twittergate’ is one of the biggest media stories of the last year, or any year. We are excited that we will hear Sean Gallagher speak for the first time about what happened on the night of the last presidential debate last October.”

Mr Gallagher’s appearance will be by way of an interview that will take a unique look at his presidential election campaign and, in particular, will focus on the dramatic role social media and the Frontline debate played in the final result.

How to Book your Ticket
Phone: (01) 473 2050 and ask for Cathal

Email: cathal@mediacontact.ie

Online: Go to www.mediafuture.ie and click ‘Buy Your Tickets Now’

About Media Future

The Media Future conference will bring together the world’s leading media people, innovations and technologies.

The last 5 years have seen more change and upheaval in the media than at any point in history. Everywhere you look the traditional ways of printing, broadcasting, publishing, and communicating are exploding and being challenged by new technologies.

Media Future will chart the extraordinary transformation of the media and identify the key trends, technologies and topics that will shape the future.

Over 2 days there will be 30 speakers, and four great workshops.

It is sponsored by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, IADT, RTE, UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School, Marks and Spencer, Diageo, XM Solutions, AvTek, and Aer TV.

Our Media Sponsor is RTE Digital.

How to customise your social updates

March 6th, 2012 Posted in Media Tips, Online, Public Relations, Social Media, Social Network, Social Platforms No Comments

You’ve set up a Twitter and Facebook account for your brand. You’ve attracted a reasonable amount of followers and are regularly posting content to both. Happy days, right? Wrong. These days nearly all regular social media users are on both Facebook and Twitter (at the very least). So, beware of boring your much sought-after followers by posting the same thing on both channels. See below for some useful tips on how to differentiate ….

Length. One obvious difference to note is the 140 character restriction on Twitter. Research has shown that tweets between 120 and 130 characters have the highest click through rates (remember to leave room for links). Astonishingly, on Facebook the limit is even less; posts under 80 characters receive 27% more engagement. So remember, less is more.

Photos. Viewing photos on Facebook is easy and is often the first thing people will do when looking at your profile, so really there’s little restriction – just make sure your pictures are interesting for your audience. On Twitter, however, users must click a link to see your photo and will not be pleased if the snap that took ages to load wasn’t worth the wait. Make sure they’re exciting, relevant and self-explanatory.

Personal Engagement. The pace of Twitter is much faster than Facebook, so it’s important to reply to people in a timely manner. It’s more much conversational too – your ratio of personal responses to organic tweets should be 50:50. Facebook is more useful for open-ended questions and redirection.

Frequency. To maintain activity on Twitter you’ll need to tweet several times a day, but not excessively (i.e keep it to every hour or two rather than every 15 minutes). Make sure all your tweets are relevant, however, and not just tweeting for the sake of it. With Facebook, post around 3 – 5 times per day so you stay in user’s news feeds but aren’t crowding them.

Language. With Twitter, it’s not entirely necessary to write complete sentences (although it’s better if you can). Once the message is clear it’s okay to use symbols or abbreviations to meet the character limit. While the opposite is true for Facebook, it’s not a place for excessive posts either. Use links to redirect to blogs or other places where longer posts are acceptable.

Source: HubSpot

The new definition of PR

March 6th, 2012 Posted in Public Relations No Comments

The Public Relations Society of Ame rica has been running a campaign since last November to achieve an updated definition of the term ‘public relations’. The official definition was last updated in 1982, so no-one can argue that it wasn’t out of date.

The society asked the public to submit definitions and, along with 12 partner organisations, whittled the many responses down to three potential definitions.

They then went back to the public to choose the winning entry, sparking a still-ongoing debate about what the exact definition should be.

So here it is. The official definition of public relations as of Feb 26th 2012 is as follows:

‘Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organisations and their publics’.

So there.

Source: PR Daily

2 for 1 Earlybird Offer – Expires this Friday!!

August 18th, 2011 Posted in Campaign, Course/Training, Facebook, Public Relations, Social Media No Comments

Today is the last day for you to avail of the 2for1 offer on the ‘How to build a tribe online’ and ‘Facebook for Business’ Masterclasses 2011 – Earlybird bookings expire Tomorrow (19th August) at 3pm.
These courses have been a huge success with over fifty different companies booked on each course already.

19^th September – How to build a tribe online – Using political marketing to grow followers for your business with Ewan McIntosh. Harold’s Cross Education Centre, Auditorium.

21^st September – Facebook for Business – How to get the most out of the world’s biggest social network with Katie Moffat. Harold’s Cross Education Centre, Auditorium.

These courses are proving to be hugely popular and with our 2for1 Earlybird offer its just €95 for both. After Friday these courses will cost €95 each. Both courses are highly relevant at the moment and it’s a great opportunity to learn from two of the best trainers in the business.

Communications guru Ewan McIntosh co-directed the digital media campaign of the Scottish National Party (SNP) which lead to a majority win in the election earlier this year that, in theory, the voting system was set up to avoid.

Katie Moffat is an independent consultant who has worked in the PR and digital industries for over 15 years, she has extensive experience of devising and implementing integrated communications strategies for a wide range of clients across a variety of industries and sectors including agencies, B2C, B2B, arts and public sector.

You can book here or contact Cathal on 01 473 2050.

How to build a tribe online

From Barack Obama’s historic win in the 2008 American Presidential election to the recent stunning victory by the Scottish Nationalist Party, online marketing is playing an essential role in major political campaigns.

This two-hour masterclass will show you how to utilise the tools of any successful political campaign to build an online following for your business.

It will be given by communications guru Ewan McIntosh who co-directed the digital media campaign of the Scottish National Party (SNP) which lead to a majority win in the election earlier this year that, in theory, the voting system was set up to avoid.

Digital media is too often treated as being of service to other parts of a marketing machine, but McIntosh shows what happens when you make it a core piston of your campaign’s engine.

From the starting point of what digital media spaces are out there, to which ones work best for specific purposes and exploring how they fit with traditional media and marketing, by the end of this three hour masterclass you will have a clear next step for your organisation’s strategy for finding the people who want your product or service already, and reaching out to those who don’t know it yet.

This course will cover:

- Why every idea is a campaign and every campaign wants to become a movement
- The Seven Spaces of Digital Media
- Which spaces work best for different types of customer relationship
- The importance of finding a clear vision
- How to communicate vision through digital media
- Constructing an integrated strategy that empowers a tribe
- Matching the pace and rhythm of a campaign to go faster than any competitor could ever match
- Telling the story: the importance of narrative

- How “the digital person” can raise their profile and stop being of service to the rest of the organisation, and start being its core piston.

Facebook for Business

You may be one of the 500 million people that uses Facebook to keep in touch with their friends but do you know how to use it effectively for your business? If not then come along to this workshop which will cover the ‘what, why and how’ of successfully using Facebook for business.

From the basics of setting up a Facebook page, to building your community (friends) and through to the more advanced side of using apps and customising your page.

This course will cover

Setting up:

- Difference between a Facebook profile / a page / a group / event
- Setting up your Facebook page
- Getting a custom Facebook URL
- Getting started with content & updating the page
- Some important dos and don’ts
- Resource: who should run your Facebook page? how often should you update?

Developing your Facebook presence:

- Building your community (getting people to ‘like’ your page)
- Customising your page
- Using Facebook apps
- Integrating Facebook into your marketing strategy
- Case studies – which businesses are using Facebook successfully

The 10 most mis-used words in press releases

August 16th, 2011 Posted in Media Tips, Public Relations No Comments

Most newsdesks receive hundreds (if not thousands) of e-mails every day. A large portion are press releases that journalists will merely glance at before pressing ‘delete.’ Ask anyone working at a newspaper or magazine and they’ll tell you that one of the main turn-offs with an otherwise good press release is the appearance of certain words and phrases. Here are PR Daily’s top ten most misused words.

Quality. ‘Our product’s are quality’ or ‘these are quality services’ doesn’t make a great deal of sense if you look up the definition of the word in a dictionary. More often than not, it can mean anything from good to poor. Add a modifier – high quality or low quality – so there’s no doubt what you’re trying to say.

Unique. The word on its own is perfectly fine, but adding anything before it is where the problems start. Something can’t be ‘very unique’ since there are no degrees of ‘unique-ness’. It either is, or it isn’t.

Innovation. People trying to write compelling copy sometimes think ‘innovation’ doesn’t say enough on its own. By definition, however, the word describes something new and ground breaking, so there’s no need to add superfluous words that are in reality just saying the same thing twice.

Official. News releases often contain the phrase ‘official launch’. Be wary of using this term as it could make it sound like your event is much more important than it may be, and also raises questions like ‘what makes this one official?’ and ‘has there been an unofficial launch?’

Exclusive. Press releases go out to numerous publications and organisations. Nothing you refer to in a release can be exclusive unless it’s going to just one person, or unless it’s a product, event or service.

Breaking. News is only breaking if it’s happening right this second, so if you have time to right a news release about it, it isn’t breaking.

Never/ever. There is always suspicion around phrases such as ‘never before seen’ and ‘biggest ever’. They should only be used if they can be definitively verified.

Revolutionary. It takes more than something new or slightly different to be revolutionary. It needs to be radically different, to the point where people are already talking about it and changing how they do things based on it. Which means that writing a press release about it would be entirely pointless.

Literally. Unless you work for an amusement park, nothing you write about will be a ‘literal’ roller coaster ride.

Social. The meaning of this term has become blurred in recent years. It needs to be made clear whether you mean it in the ’social gathering’ sense or the Twitter and Facebook sense. If you’re talking about social media, be sure to use the whole phrase.

Source: PR Daily

Oxfam Ireland launch online appeal for East Africa

July 19th, 2011 Posted in Campaign, Charity, Crisis, Digital comms, Online, Public Relations No Comments

Oxfam Ireland recently launched its biggest ever emergency appeal for those affected by the catastrophic drought in East Africa. Over 12 million people are facing starvation in the region, so ease and accessibility to donate is crucial to securing new funds.

This is the first appeal that Oxfam Ireland has used online advertising for, and the results of the campaign so far have highlighted a significant shift towards donating through online platforms.

The charity has created a Facebook app where users can donate, with the message that they’ve just donated appearing on both Oxfam’s and their own pages. They’ve also taken to Twitter to spread the word about the appeal, and are fast approaching 3,000 followers already.

Digital communications, they say, offers charities huge opportunities to engage directly with their constituents. As the costs of m-commerce reduce it will prove a fantastic platform for charities as it is an immediate and compelling method of engaging donors and successfully raising funds.

To donate to Oxfam Ireland’s East Africa appeal, visit:

Their website

Their Facebook page

Or text Donate to 51500

Don’t forget to check them out on Twitter at @oxfamireland too.

20 Tweet Seats to Twitter and Linkedin Masterclasses – Phone now

June 21st, 2011 Posted in Course/Training, Digital comms, LinkedIn, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter No Comments

We have 20 Tweet Seats to give away at just €45, to our Linkedin and Twitter Summer Masterclasses next week.

The first 20 people who ring 01 473 2050 and quote ‘tweet seats’ will get attendance on both the Linkedin and Twitter Summer Masterclasses next week, at the hugely reduced rate of €45 – the full price is €150.

See who else is coming here: http://bit.ly/inNXct

27th June – Getting started on Linkedin – A masterclass with Mark Williams
Harold’s Cross Education Centre, Auditorium

LinkedIn is fast becoming the World’s most important social networking site for doing business. Mark Williams aka Mr Linkedin is the only accredited LinkedIn trainer in Britain and Ireland, and brings a dynamic and perspective to the topic.

The Linkedin workshop will cover:

- How the Linkedin network works and what that means to you.
- How to create a killer profile that will get you noticed.
- Account & settings – how to make sure you reveal only what you want to.
- Building a network – issues to consider when deciding who to connect with.
- Group Mania – what they are, why they are important and how to get involved.
- Searching – how to find potential customers, employers, employees and associates.
- See what your competition is up to – track what others in your industry are doing.
- Using Linkedin to find your dream job.
- Examples of Linkedin success stories

29th June – Twitter for Business – getting started and getting results with Christian Payne
Harold’s Cross Education Centre, Auditorium

Twitter is the most important new media tool for businesses to start conversations with their customers. Christian Payne (@documentally) has over 18,000 followers and will enlighten participants about how to connect with an audience on Twitter. He has provided social media consultancy for companies such as Diageo, The Liberial Democratss, and Reuters. His past projects include documenting the plight of Iraqi refugees for the United Nations and working alongside Reuters on groundbreaking political projects with Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

The Twitter workshop will cover:

Basics

- Finding your name
- The right Avatar for you
- What makes a good profile
- Twitter Jargon
- “Is there anyone out there?” (Finding friends)
- How to tweet – Getting your message across in less than 140 characters
- What to tweet – dos and don’ts
- Who to follow
- “Help! Why are these strange people following me?
- Hash tagging

Advanced

- Advanced search
- Learning to filter
- Why lists are important
- Twitter platforms
- Twitter to go – tweeting from your phone
- Location tweeting
- Sharing multimedia
- Twitter company account-how many should man it and how to achieve a unified voice
- Twitter and your marketing strategy – how to integrate with FB, YouTube and other social networks.
- Case studies.

Elevate PR appoints new Accounts Executive

June 9th, 2011 Posted in Appointments, Marketing, Movers & Shakers, Public Relations No Comments

Aoife Smith has been appointed Account Executive at Elevate PR.

A graduate of DIT, Aoife studied Marketing. In her role at Elevate, Aoife works across a number of accounts including:

SEAT

Veuve Clicquot,

Moet and Chandon

Howards Storage World

Colgate-Palmolive

Curves.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Elevate is frank and tenacious PR agency with a strong track record in consumer and corporate PR.

New recruitments at Drury

May 19th, 2011 Posted in Appointments, Movers & Shakers, Public Relations No Comments

Drury has just announced that Orla Benson (pictured) has joined its Board of Directors. An experienced communications professional with more than 12 years industry and agency experience, Orla specialises in corporate and financial PR.

Her current clients include HP, McDonald’s, InterTradeIreland, Vodafone and the Commission for Aviation Regulation. In her career, Orla has also worked with a number of Ireland’s large plcs and corporates including Aer Lingus, Greencore and Heiton Group plc.

Prior to joining Drury, Orla worked with the Smurfit Business School at UCD and spent two years working with Randox Laboratories in Toronto.

The company also announced the appointment of Morwenna Rice as client manager. Morwenna has previously worked for Dublin PR agencies Corporate Reputations and Fleishman Hilliard and as a communications advisor to New Zealand water and wastewater company, Watercare.

Her clients in Drury include HP, CRH and Tourism Ireland. A graduate of UCD, Morwenna hold a BA Arts and a diploma in Public Relations and Event Management from the Fitzwilliam Institute.

Blog

The new definition of PR

The 10 most mis-used words in press releases

Oxfam Ireland launch online appeal for East Africa

Elevate PR appoints new Accounts Executive

New recruitments at Drury

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