Writing big announcements – telling employees about Brexit
How to announce the Brexit to your employees, or any big news likely to lead to uncertainty? Big announcements in business can benefit from having a writer on your team, here’s how: By defining the message. The Corporate Communications or HR team will have held briefings in the run up to any business-critical decision. A stack of Powerpoint slides can be gold dust, immediately making clear the position taken by each side – the key messages to the two, often culturally different organisations....
Why we’re all living in a post-fact world
The move to even shorter news cycles can only mean one thing: less time to check the facts. I don’t envy those reporting on Brexit or the US Presidential campaign, where you’re always one step behind; broadcast news often lags even further behind. I’ve been a fact-checker for business publications where you’re often running up against a tight deadline, but that’s nothing compared to live interviews for broadcast news. Politicians get to express opinions that quickly gain traction, before we...
Why doesn’t the event invitation give the location?
There’s nothing more helpful than the location of the event, yet many fail to include this vital piece of information when they issue an invitation. Not including the location seems to be a new ‘thing’ There’ll be a clickbait headline ‘Don’t miss out on a day of inspirational talks from key industry speakers’ with a date and no other option but to click on ‘Book your place’ to find out more. Then a landing page where you get to scroll through the speaker profiles and blurb about the sponsors,...
I could’ve been a footballer
Every actor has been scouted by a football club. The number of lads who nearly signed as a professional footballer before retraining as a performer is perhaps surprising. In the ‘50s, Sean Connery was reported to have been scouted for Celtic. Actually, he was offered a trial by East Fife, but why spoil a good story? ‘I could have been a footballer, but injury put paid to that, so I chose the theatre’, is a claim that appears time-and-again in interviews. Really? To quote the comedy writer...
Celebrities and social media management
Social media management is one of those things that people in marketing accept, but people not in the industry don't understand. I was surprised by a colleague who works in publishing, who was in raptures because a radio presenter had favourited her Tweet. This is a presenter who gets up at 4 am, and so is unlikely to be on Twitter at 8 pm, when they publicly claim to be in bed by 7 pm. The management of their, and many social media accounts of popular personalities, will have been turned over...
Marketing to Millennials
As we look to the New Year, Millennials feature heavily in many of the predictions for 2016. I’m exhausted by the constant claim that the Net Generation, those born between 1980 and 2000, will change how we do business. Forever. Sometimes I sit and wonder, what the reality is behind the hype. For example, we’re always being told that Millennials are digital natives with no concerns about privacy. But don’t confuse a willingness to express themselves publicly with no concerns over privacy. Just...
Creating your company’s LinkedIn profile
Social media is about building networks and it works best when a single person or handful of people take charge. But it takes time. Whether or not you choose to get involved you can’t afford to ignore it - the genie is already out of the bottle. You need to be aware that people on these networks are already talking about your business. And your employees will already be on LinkedIn, therefore why not embrace it? Here’s how your business can use LinkedIn: Set up a properly branded and fully...
How to market your book before publication
Here’s my advice for marketing your book, possibly even before you’ve written it. Most people are not just writing a book. Do you have the luxury of writing full time and getting paid for it? As an expert writer or knowledge specialist, you’ll most likely be writing as a side project. Recently I attended a talk by a consultant who has a firmly established reputation. He wasn’t a professional speaker, but casually mentioned ‘by the way, this approach is something I plan to go into more detail,...
I’m reaching out to you
Listening to the Talk Talk chief executive Dido Harding being interviewed about the widespread hacking of customer data earlier, I was struck by the use of one particular turn of phrase: "We're reaching out to our customers". The dog gave a startled yelp, as I yelled at the TV 'How? How are you going to do that?'. Because if I was a Talk Talk customer I would want important information - would I be contacted by email? Could I expect a call today, if so who from? A letter tomorrow? Or should we...
Why you need to write your contributor bio, profile or byline
Remember that man in overalls sweeping the floor of the Space Center at Cape Canaveral, who, when asked by JF Kennedy ‘What do you do here?’ replied: ‘Mr President, I’m helping put a man on the moon’? The point was he didn’t say, ‘I just come in and sweep the floor’. Then there’s the story of the man cutting stone for the construction of St Paul’s Cathedral, who when asked the same question by Sir Christopher Wren, told him: ‘‘I’m helping Sir Christopher Wren build a great cathedral.” It goes...
Well I picked up a copy of Treasures from Central Library, not exactly exotic far-flung shores...early days though, let's see.…
I am ON one of the free Treasures books. Have you spotted me? Would quite like to know how far…
[…] It’s a little overcast out there in Gilcrux today, so no matter I’ve a busy day at the desk,…
Ah lots of lovely content in those notepads means you've chosen to create rather than simply consume. I think the…
Enjoyed the read, food for thought, thanks Gill. I've a routine of spending (most) Mondays content clearing. Despite having all…