seven awesome storytelling resources for PR people

The best jokes are often actually great stories. A great story can stay with you forever. And a good storyteller can captivate an audience. So can we embrace storytelling in more of our own communications?

GUEST EDITOR: Helen Reynolds

Storytelling is a skill that communications people can utilise to really boost their creativity.

I’ve gathered some links in one place to give us a boost – they inspired me and so thought I’d share them in this post.  But first…

Click to read more ...

24 things from day one #lgcomms13

There's always things to learn at an event. The lgcomms event at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff was no exception. For an audience of local government comms people there's plenty for all to learn.

by Emma Rodgers

Ok – first thing to admit, I missed the first three sessions. I’m gutted about that but I heard it was good… in fact the best yet.

From the sessions I was at, I learnt lots and know colleagues did too. For those who weren’t there, here are the top 20 things I learnt from day one of the LG Communications Academy.  

1. Jason Wakeford from the Environment Agency talked about the success of their Twibbon #floodaware and how it could be used really well across a variety of channels. They had lots of success going to where the conversations were and placing on major news channels.
2. When looking at likely emergencies top advice is ‘think big, act early & stick to simple consistent key messages with a clear call to action’
3. Some startling facts from LGA Chair Sir Merrick Cockell – 86 councils nationwide will be short of 15pm for every 100p that they spend. Others will be short of more than that. Local government communications role is to communicate this new reality to residents.
4. Future gazing: The reality for Local government communications in 10 years is that we’ll be communicating about a full range of public services [including fire, police and local government] all accessed around place.  

Click to read more ...

lgcomms: the digital debate: is traditional comms dead?

There's a major conference on communications in local government this week at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Part of it will see a debate on whether or not traditional comms is dead. Here is some background reading.

by Dan Slee

It's the LGComms Academy in Cardiff this week. A three day event looking at where we are, why we are and where we'll be going in communications in local government.

There will be some excellent speakers and there will I'm sure be much to learn. You can take a look at the line up from May 21 to 23 via a pdf here. The line-up is not available in a more a ccessible format, I'm afraid.

Last year, there was the profoundly depressing experience of a panel on social media being glibly introduced with the words: "There's only two things wrong with social media. It's not social and it's not media."

Click to read more ...

how to write and send a marketing email

It seems a pretty easy thing to do, huh, writing and sending an email. We’ve all done it thousands of times, maybe tens of thousands of times. We receive a growing number of them with every passing day. Love them or loathe them, emails are important and they here to stay.

by Darren Caveney 

Email? Send them an email? But, hasn’t the world all shifted across to social media, I hear you cry?

Click to read more ...

why gov.uk is the best sight on the web

The gov.uk website has been hailed for its design, simplicity and effectiveness. With good websites becoming more vital it has attracted praise. If you are part of an organisation you need to know how it works.

by Dave Thackeray

About a month ago I pinged an email (see how I’ve grasped the corporate babble nettle already?) to @danslee, one of the founders of the comms2point0 blog influential, among its local government readership, explaining why I thought GOV.UK would soon be regarded as one of the most important web creations of the year, if not the decade.

Click to read more ...

we need to lead change - a discussion paper on the future of fire comms

We know the landscape is changing. In this bold discussion paper one senior fire communications sets out his personal thoughts over how comms people in the sector should lead a revolution. First published here in it there is food for thought for the rest of the public sector. 

by Steve Chu

Today I’m publishing a discussion paper on the future of corporate communications in the English Fire and Rescue Service (FRS). I’m saying we need to achieve more with less. I’m saying that we need to find a more efficient model than the historic structure of over 40 press offices at individual FRS level. I’m saying that, as communicators, we need to prove our worth to the FRS beyond doubt. I’m saying that we, and the Service need to clearly set out what we should be aiming to achieve, and how that should be evaluated.

Click to read more ...

a personal revelation: focus groups are actually quite useful

Ever thought of using a focus group? Neither had this comms officer. The results were surprising...

 by Julie Waddicor

I must admit that I’ve always been a bit sceptical about focus groups. Yes, they might give an indication of public opinion and yes, they give your work some ‘real life’ legitimacy but look at the downsides: they are bound to be a self-selecting, self-opinionated group of busybodies. At best, they will give you opinions that don’t really match the way you want to take your work forward and, at worst, they’ll tell you how to do your job.

So, it was with some trepidation that I approached my boss’ ‘suggestion’ that I run some focus groups to help the development of our residents’ magazine.

Click to read more ...

we all need to change to get better - leaders too

by James Baker

"Have you ever done a search on CEO in Google images? (I got inspired after a recent social media training session I organised with the lovely Caz Yetman, and after reading this recent article on ditching the civil service tie.)

Go on, have a go - search, and see what comes up. How many people across the globe do you think might feel an affinity with the people in the results shown?

They don't really capture any expertise do they (despite the screaming suits and ties). Can you relate to them? Do they look like you? Your friends? Do you think they'd represent your best interests? Hmmmm not so sure now hey??

I think this also goes for the way in which CEOs, directors and politicians, have been positioned as some kind of other worldly creature, historically disconnected from the wider organization, industry or stakeholders.  

Click to read more ...

seven twitter mistakes we all have to make before we can call ourselves pros

It's a measure of a person and an organisation when they are happy to so freely flag up mistakes. Most would run a mile from doing so but being brave, and human, will pay off in the longer run, especially on social media.

by Helen Reynolds

Of all the experiences we have when using Twitter for our work, blunders, cock-ups and errors of every kind are the stories people seem to want to hear.

Click to read more ...

up for the cup: april's top posts

You could cut the atmosphere with a knife. Our specialist team of engravers are about to get to work. It's that time again when we announce last month's top post...

by Darren Caveney

Well April has seen a record number of visitors to our little old site. We thanks each and every one of you. And an even bigger thank you goes to last month's contributers - there genuinely were some absolutely brilliant posts and case studies, which meant competition to win the coveted £1 plastic cup was tougher than ever.

So, here goes.

In at number five...

I always feel very slightly fraud-ish when one of ours appears in the list. After all, we could completely cheat and award ourselves all sorts. But fifth was Head of Comms JD2.0 by me.

Click to read more ...

why digital inclusion must bridge the high street divide

Tough economic times on our high streets are providing huge problems for independent retailers. Local authorities are doing what they can to help but could take advantage of digital opportunities. A new event aims to show them how.

by Alistair Johnston

If local government leaders want thriving town centres they must bridge the growing digital divide between retail chains and their town’s independents. 

Click to read more ...

media law changes comms people need to know

Do you have a battered copy of McNae's Essential Law for Journalists on your desk? Many public relations people do. Thing is after a busy few weeks much of it is obsolete. In this post a media law expert runs comms people through some of the key headlines they need to know.

By David Banks

During the past week a significant shift happened in the lives of journalists in the UK.

The Defamation Bill finally passed, and when give the Royal Assent and fully implemented it will make a huge difference to anyone publishing here because of one key clause.

Click to read more ...

behind the scenes at macmillan comms

Everyone has seen MacMillan. They've got good branding. They do good things. They're effective and they make a difference. But what's the reality of working in their comms team?

by Katy Davies

Working in a small yet productive regional communications team at Macmillan Cancer Support really demands a broad scope of skills and expertise to cover the range of communications activities we undertake.

There’s five of us, each bringing something different to the table. International development, broadcast journalism, stakeholder management, agency and digital pretty much sums it up.

Together, we work across London, Anglia and the South East to deliver communications plans across fundraising, services and increasingly, local campaigning. We are part of the England External Affairs team and work with two other regional teams to manage our reputation and brand at local level.

Click to read more ...

from eye witness accounts to prime time news

So, how does it start? How does it go from an incident and a tweet to an unfolding incident that is getting played out on Twitter? A bright researcher has reconstructed the Boston Marathon bombings tweet by tweet.

by Carolyne Mitchell

I've followed the the Nieman Lab on Twitter for a while now but I only recently switched on mobile alerts for their tweets. I'm glad I did because already I've found their research invaluable.

Click to read more ...

why a comms - customer service link is essential

There is a growing realisation that digital communications needs to be two way. If it is two way then questions about your organisation get asked. It's time these questions were plugged into customer services. Here's how one forward-thinking organisation has done it...

by Matt Bond

Picture the scene. You arrive at work on a Monday morning after a weekend of downpours to find your social media accounts inundated with cries for help. Requests to clear a flooded drain sit alongside a query on how to find out if a dead cat has been collected by Council staff, and much more besides.

Click to read more ...