This is one of the funniest blog posts I have read for some time. The five signs that you are a social media douchebag is well worth a read. My colleague Jo Jamieson and I were chatting yesterday about the language that is used in marketing circles these days and how it is fast becoming on a par with or worse than the acronym hell that is the telecom space.
Hey man, what do you do?
I leverage insights.
No, seriously. What’s your day job?
I put brands at the forefront of social media revolution.
Come on people, we all know you are clever but why do you have to sound like a douchebag?
It has been a busy start to the week with a number of new business pitches and review meetings. One question I have heard a couple of times is what should we be doing with social media?
We have seen our competitors have a Facebook page so should we have one also?
I’m sure a number of PR agencies would see the dollar signs and start drafting their proposals. However, I don’t believe digital campaigns should never be measured by spikes in traffic or sales however nice these are, but should be seen as a part of the service the company offers.
If by having an extra channel to potential customers clients can provide a customer service that is superior to competitors it will make them stand out from the crowd. By generating customer delight or by providing a service that is second to none online, companies can make digital a success regardless of what sector they are in or the demographic they are targeting. This is a point I made recently on the Berkeley blog after seeing that Umbro had started using Twitter.
I was on holiday last week and recieved an email from one of the journalists who had taken part in my meet the media series. The journalist in question explained that one of their colleagues was conducting an interview with a software company and was subsequently contacted by the PR who arranged the call to complain about them typing during the call.
What a shame. Surely the journalist was just taking notes so I can’t understand what the problem is. Having sat on a call this afternoon and having had to take down two pages of written notes understand how hard it is. My arm felt like it was about to fall off and I was begging for a keyboard.
I personally think that the PR who complained was a total pratt. Why complain? The publication is never going to want to deal with your agency again and if they lose their “massive” client they have just lost an important contact for all their other clients. In addition they have made our industry look foolish and not helped the cause.
You only need to follow a series of journalist and PR people on Twitter to see that the relationship between both parties can be a love hate relationship. Most PR and journalists understand the need for each other but once every two weeks there seems to be a new spat with one or the other trying to bad mouth the other. More often than not I find the whole thing a little embarrassing especially when the shouts of “name and shame” start coming from the masses.
Why do both sides continue to antagonise each other? Having interviewed some of the most influential journalists in our industry I believe that I understand their pet hates and don’t think it is that hard to avoid them. We all make the odd honest mistake but this culture of naming and shaming or complaining to bosses to get people in trouble is just sad to observe. What is the point?
There was a groan of disbelief in the BerkeleyPR office this afternoon as someone read out that more snow is expected in our part of the world on Wednesday. Now last week while the wife, Mae and I were on holiday, it was brilliant. I built a snowman, made many silly video clips using my flip camera and strolled around and enjoyed the scenery…brilliant fun.
What a contrast from the previous week where I couldn’t get my car out of its parking space and definitely couldn’t get it to good ol Reading. as a result I had no option but to work from home for a few days.
This is nothing new and I often do so when I have some writing to do and need some peace and quiet. At Berkeley PR we have all of the tools needed to enable us to work from home…..I just don’t like it.
Yes, I probably saved a great deal of time by working in the morning while I would have been in my car battling through the blizzard but I found the experience quite off putting. I love the noise of the office and the convenience of shouting across the office to a colleague when I have a question rather than going through the process of trying to get them to answer their phone. The wife wasn’t as willing to make a cup of coffee as Luke in the office and Mae certainly couldn’t tell me who the features editor at Marketing Week was when I had a memory failure like Hannah could.
I also missed the library available in the office. When ever we write any copy at Berkeley we like to produce it in the style of the publication we are targeting. This is always harder when you can’t put a couple of recent issues in front of you.
So in conclusion, although I can and often do I just don’t enjoy working from home and have all of my fingers crossed that the promised snow for Wednesday doesn’t appear. What about you?
Social media guru is a term that if I see I generally think…hmm really. So this week when an interview with yours truly was published calling me a social media guru I wasn’t too comfortable with it. Addict maybe but not a guru.
That said the interview was great fun and outlines what one of my typical working days is like. It is part of a series of interviews with some personalities in the PR industry so I am chuffed to be included alongside them. You can see it here on the PR Moment site, the wife has, and it looks like I might not get away with pretending to be asleep any more.
Berkeley PR is looking for two junior consultants…
We’re looking for bright, creative graduates with an interest in technology and social media to join our Reading-based team as trainee account executives. The successful candidates will be tenacious, talented and good team players.
Previous work experience or a degree in PR, marketing or a related discipline would be advantageous. However, the right attitude, natural communication skills and a willingness to learn are crucial.
In return, we offer the opportunity to build a successful career in PR with comprehensive training, a competitive salary and good holiday entitlement…..and the opportunity to listen to my crap jokes most days!
Please email your CV with a covering letter, explaining why you’d particularly like to work for Berkeley, to Jo.Jamieson@BerkeleyPR.co.uk
My wife keeps on asking everyone we meet what their New Year resolution is and when I am asked the same question I haven’t had an answer. This morning I sat down and thought about what they should be and here they are: Paul Stallard’s New Year resolutions
1. Secure more national coverage for my clients
2. Find time to write more
3. To leave more comments on other people’s blogs
4. Ask more questions
5. Network more
Have any of you got any New Year resolutions? If so why not put them in print and let the world see them and let them help you achieve them.
Paul Stallard is a PR professional at Berkeley PR, a digital, technology and consumer PR agency with offices in London and Reading, where he also contributes to its technology PR blog. Please note that this blog is written in a personal capacity and does not necessarily reflect the views of Berkeley PR….although they all read it.
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