an ever updated video skills for comms resource page

As video grows in importance there's an ever changing debate about the role it will take and how comms people can use it. We’re launching this page as a place to make sense of it all which we’ll regularly update.

Last update: January 7.

by Dan Slee

There’s no question that video is making a profound mark on communications.

While people are devouring video content on their smartphones most organisations are not even out of the starting blocks.

A few years ago, getting video onto the social web meant uploading to YouTube. Today, you can upload to YouTube + Facebook + Instagram + Twitter + Vine + Snapchat + Periscope + Meercat and a range of others.

We’ve collected together some resources that we think you’ll find helpful. We’ve put them into loosely into examples, strategy and tactics and as things develop we may change things around.

Click to read more ...

5 tips for getting more from your webinars

Public services constantly have to change and adapt, so it’s no surprise that the way we share learning has to too. Here’s how you can make the most of your webinars

By GUEST EDITOR Dyfrig Williams

Anyone who’s run an event will know that they’re expensive things. So to complement our shared learning seminars, the Good Practice Exchange at the Wales Audit Office have been running webinars on a range of topics that affect public services. Here’s some of what we’ve learnt so far.

Start small

Doing things differently is always nerve racking. I haven’t been as nervous as the first time I clicked the ‘begin webinar’ button for quite some time. Helen Reynolds has blogged about how she’s finding her feet with podcasting and isn’t actively promoting her efforts with Ben Proctor. Similarly, our first webinar was a pilot webinar with twenty attendees from an IT seminar.  If it went wrong, it wasn’t the end of the world, but fortunately it didn’t.

Click to read more ...

#prstack: the power of community

Ding, ding. Round two. So here we go again. The second generation #PRstack hits the virtual (and actual) shelves of public relations land today.

by David Sawyer

Thirty PR practitioners writing case studies about how they use online tools to do their job better and faster.

I’ve read a few and can’t wait to pore over the rest.

If anything, the quality’s even higher.

Last time round it was a case of “Oooh, I’d not heard of that one. Let’s give it a go.”

In MKII it’s more “Oooh, I was au fait with x and y but never thought of using them together to do z.”

Click to read more ...

Six videos that work and their lessons for comms people

Video can cut through and make a connection like no other medium. The smartphone in people's pocket means they are snacking on short videos like never before. Good news? You can make video too. Here's some inspiration. 

by Dan Slee

Here's good news and bad news. First, the bad news. people aren't reading your press release. They're watching video.

Ofcom say that 66 per cent of UK adults in 2015 have a smartphone in their pocket and 42 per cent are watching short videos. That means they are twice as likely to watch a clip shared on social media using their phone than they are to watch a TV show.

Click to read more ...

a message from cipr presidential candidate Jason MacKenzie

The CIPR is a membership body for public relations in the UK. It is a major voice for the profession. In the race for the Presidency of the organisation Andy Green takes on Jason MacKenzie. We carry a message from both Andy and Jason.

by Jason MacKenzie

The PR industry remains at a critical juncture. Many people still don’t understand or appreciate the value we create for organisations.

The CIPR’s mandate to unite practitioners in the drive to professionalism is vital. We’re on the right track. Now is not the time to zig-zag or to go off on a tangent.

There are three specific areas I will concentrate on, if I’m elected president.

Click to read more ...

a message from cipr presidential candidate andy green

The CIPR is a membership body for public relations in the UK. It is a major voice for the profession. In the race for the Presidency of the organisation Andy Green takes on Jason McKenzie. We carry a message from both Andy and Jason.

by Andy Green 

Public sector comms faces massive challenges in this age of austerity.

Digital transformation continues. We are working in an increasingly networked society where old models of command and control are now no longer valid.

 A context of ever rising expectations starkly contrasts with a reality of less resource.

We face the task of ensuring CEO’s understand the value of public relations.

An effective CIPR means you don’t fight these battles alone. A CIPR that increases your resilience. A CIPR that leads the way in redefining a ‘New School PR’ that helps you prove your worth.

I’m going to put a plaque in CIPR HQ reception saying: ‘We are a members led organization’.

Click to read more ...

for video is it facebook v youtube... or both?

Video is increasingly important to comms people. It's where people are going to consume media. But where you upload can make or break what you are putting out. As we launch a fresh round of video workshops, here's a run down on the Facebook v YouTube epic battle.

by Dan Slee

So, where do you stand? Are you in the blue corner or the red?

There’s a punch-up going on between Facebook and YouTube and the winner gets the crown of King of Video.

When you consider that almost 70 per cent of the web is going to be video by 2017 that's actually some crown to be fighting over.

Click to read more ...

let's not start from scratch everytime

It used to be easy communicating the annual budget. A quick press release about a public meeting or two and the job was done. Today, communicating the budget in a world of cuts, efficiencies and savings is a far bigger task. Feedback from residents can help shape final decisions. LGComms have a project. Can you help?

GUEST EDITOR by Emma Rodgers

When I first joined Local Government Communications (LGcommunications), I was really keen to make sure that I could do everything I could to provide help and support to public sector communications colleagues up and down the country. 

And having become vice chair in May of this year, I was even more determined to make it so as I know fellow board members were.

Click to read more ...

top tips for success in the UnAwards 2015

We know many of you are working on your entries and nominations for the UnAwards 2015. We thought it would be useful to share some top tips on giving you the best shot at success this year.

By Darren Caveney

You have six weeks to work on your entries.  Sounds plenty of time doesn't it?  But the deadline will be here before you know it.

We’ve all left award entries until the last minute in the past due to other competing work demands. But is that what your best work this year deserves? No, course not.

So use the time wisely and have a think about which of the 15 categories are a best fit with the activity and projects you are most proud of. Grab a coffee, sit somewhere quiet for 10 minutes with a pencil and a piece of paper and begin sketching out your ideas or a small mind map for your entry. Focus on the best way to make it stand out from the crowd.

Click to read more ...

10 years of being a head of comms and what do I have to show for it?

10 years in communications is a long time. 10 years being a head of comms is a really long time. Lessons are a plenty so here’s a post which attempts to capture the key ones.

By Darren Caveney

Well here’s the thing. I woke up this morning and for the first time in 10-years I am not a head of comms. This is a good thing because it means I have moved on to an exciting new phase of my career.

It’s an obvious time to reflect. Has 10 years of being a head of comms made me a better comms professional? And would I recommend the role to someone else? Here’s my take on it, my top tips and answers to these two simple questions.

I have had some fantastic opportunities. Worked with some brilliant colleagues. Won over a dozen industry awards with them and learned way more than you could ever capture in a single post. I have also sat in some dreary meetings. Had to argue the case for comms, over and over and over and over, and crossed swords with some quite unpleasant people. The rough with the smooth. You know the score.

Click to read more ...

measuring experience and engagement with intranets

The Intranet Now event is on the horizon. It's an excellent event that seeks to celebate and showcase some of the best work in the field. As one of its organisers says, user experience is of growing importance. 

by Wedge Black and Brian Lamb

The clearest indicator of a successful intranet is that people can use it to get things done: finding a person; booking time off; checking a part number; reading the latest news. Can they do these things? How easily? What percentage of people trying to do them are successful? To discover these success indicators, you have to do some form of usability testing.

The ‘user experience’ is of growing importance as the workplace becomes more and more the digital workplace.

Click to read more ...

don't turn an emergency into a crisis

If you are public sector there's a strong chance you'll be involved in emergency communications. It could be anything from a protest march to a terrorist incident. It's a fascinating part of the job. But isn't that crisis comms? Well, actually no...

by Ben Proctor 

I tell people that I work in emergency communications and, to be honest, most of them suddenly find they have an urgent appointment.

The vast majority of those that are too slow to make a convincing excuse will almost immediately say

“So, you work in crisis comms do you?” and I will almost certainly say

“Yes” because I don’t want them to leave and, really, what does it matter?

Actually I think it matters quite a lot.

Click to read more ...

the UnAwards are open

The comms2point0 UnAwards 2015 are now officially open. How can you enter? how can you nominate and how can you attend them? Here’s the lowdown…

By Darren Caveney

So you’ve delivered some great work this year which has made a difference. And you might just feel like it deserves a little smidge of recognition. Well you’re in luck because the comms2point0 UnAwards have arrived giving you the opportunity to show off your best work.

It might be a social media initiative which delivered amazing returns or it might be a shiny new website which has made your online business purr. How about a campaign which has made a difference to your residents, patients or customers. Or a good old fashioned piece of great storytelling.

Whatever you’ve created this year there’s almost certainly a category amongst the 15 in this year’s UnAwards.

Click to read more ...

great stat! the benefit of an email subscriber is £1.51 and it’s the same for social media too

New research has been published by Govdelivery that looks to pin-down the Holy Grail of digital communications. The question of how much followers, subscribers and likes is worth.

By Dan Slee

A while back I helped with some comms planning for a web project that aimed to link members of the community with groups and clubs in their area.

There were more than half a dozen around the table. On the face of it, I quietly reflected that this was worthy but what was the point?

My misgivings were answered by a bright community worker. He told the story of a hypothetical man aged 66 who had just lost his wife. He may start drinking. He may start getting ill and see his GP. He may start being a nuisance to neighbours and the housing authority and police may get involved. All of this costs the taxpayer spiralling amounts of money. Suddenly, the project came alive. We could attach a financial value to the benefit it brought.

Click to read more ...

five ways to find bloggers

There are thousands of communities dotted around the web in the UK. These can range from hyperlocal sites that focus on an area to a community of shared interest like knitting. How can you find what you are looking for?

by Dan Slee

You're looking to talk to a community but how do you do it? A range of ways and the chances are that those communities could be online too.

For a comms plan to work it needs to reach out to all communities and ways to connect online is well worth looking at.

Here's a few resources to help you:

Click to read more ...