Ditching the jargon

Friday 9^th December is national Plain English Day.

Some of the most unhelpful and frankly embarrassing tosh written for public viewing will today vie for the Golden Bull Award.

The candidates (or at least their press officers) will cringe as their crimes against communication are exposed.

Much has been written about plain English and it has hasn’t been immune from criticism but no business can run effectively without it.

Why use plain English?

Plain English is simply the most efficient way of getting your message across.

Anything that confuses or frustrates people could cost you money.

If you want a free rein with your prose, write a novel. At work you have a professional duty to make sure your readers know what you are talking about.

It is not dumbing down. People, whatever their background, prefer it. The same basic rules are followed in tabloids and broadsheets alike.

My top tips for writing in plain English

Think about your audience.

What do they know about the subject? Do you need to grab their attention? What will make them interested?

Prioritise the information you need to give.

Deadlines, appointment dates or essential action must be in the first sentence or headline.

Provide bite-sized chunks.

Use short paragraphs and informative titles so the data is easily digested.  Don’t have your words all scrunched together.

Avoid preamble

“Further to your letter of the ...” just wastes space.

Only use acronyms and jargon your readers are likely to know

Specialist vocabulary is a fact of life but use it wisely. If it is essential (often it isn’t) than make sure you give its full title the first time.

Read it back to yourself - aloud

If it is hard to read comfortably or sounds ridiculous coming out of your mouth, change it.

READ MORE

www.plainenglish.co.uk has lots of examples of awful bilge that will make most of you feel a lot better

Email me if you are interested in coming to my next Plain English workshop. I also do very reasonable in-house training courses.

Traditional vs social media – what’s best for your business?

So, you’ve got a business. You’d like people to know about you. But there’s a problem.

You have limited time and budget. You’re not sure if you need newspaper coverage but frankly Twitter scares the hell out of you.

With so many different ways and places to connect, how do you know what's best for you?

  

1. Be clear whom you are trying to reach

It’s stating the obvious but different types of media appeal to different groups.

As much as possible know your target demographic including their age, where they live or even if you’d like them to be interested in a personal or professional capacity.

By prioritising your target groups you’ll stop yourself wasting time on media they don’t use. 

Local newspapers, for example, are barely read by the under 25s. If on the other hand your message is for other businesses or councillors then they can work a treat.

2. Find out what everyone else is doing

I have to admit I love social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. For me they have generated work, cemented contacts and I’ve had a lot of fun in the process.

At first social media is a bit like turning up at a huge party where everyone else seems to know each other. Don’t be intimidated. You need only find your friends, not become best pals everyone in the room.

Start by looking for people who do the same thing as you and see who they are in touch with. Hook up with associates, clients and colleagues.

Do a bit of traditional talking to your main contacts and ask them what sites and forums they find useful. Gradually build your networks so that the emphasis is on quality not quantity.

If after all that you can’t find anyone you have anything in common with then maybe social media is not where it’s happening for your key stakeholders (there are still people for whom that’s true). But best ask your nephew to do a search for you just in case.

3. Not everything on the internet is equal

The joy of modern communication techniques is that everyone is just as much as producer as a user of the information available. But there are no automatic filters on quality or popularity.

Before you invest time and money on trying to get noticed by a particular blog or website, make sure it is being noticed by other people. There are websites that will help you with this.

4. Even social media campaigns need a kick start

Just as all parties start with an invitation, so even social media campaigns usually need traditional media to point people in the right direction.

For example, TV programmes like X Factor regularly publicise a Twitter hashtag that helps viewers also follow the online discussion.  

Few campaigns are so targeted that you can rely on one form of communication alone. Using traditional media and marketing to encourage people to connect with you online generates awareness in its own right as well directing people to your online presence. 

5. Don’t ignore what’s under your nose

The hubbub that's accompanied the rise of Facebook and Twitter has to some extent drowned out less sexy but potentially more efficient means of communication for you.

Often, my clients aren’t looking for global domination. And as fun as it is to have @meatdressgaga following my tweets, I’m pretty certain she’s not going to be using my services.

If your stakeholders are close to home you’d do well to think about the simple, traditional means of communication that still thrive.

Large groups such as schools, parishes or councils often have their own newsletters. Some hold regular meetings. If you are trying to reach families in your area, for example, this route might be much more effective then a press release or a tweet and just as easy to do.

Finally, use what you already have. Your email database is a goldmine of people who are interested in you and what you do.

Occasional updates to them, done properly, are far more targeted and therefore effective than 140 characters sent out to the Twittersphere.

How to protect your reputation in a crisis

I’ve been umming and ahhing about giving some basic advice on crisis PR ever since the phone hacking scandal broke over the summer.

On the one hand, it seems presumptuous for me to use the implosion of a media empire as a hook for my little blog.

One the other, there can hardly be a more graphic demonstration of how quickly and badly things can go wrong, even for the most powerful companies.

So, what does crisis PR have to do with the kind of small businesses I represent?

Take a look at the stories in these links:

 Bouncy castle ‘blows away’ injuring three children

Man charged with sculpture deaths

Owner sentenced over carbon monoxide death

The fact is all businesses, however small, carry risks. You are probably handling people’s money, possibly their houses, their children, maybe their personal safety.

Whatever you do for a living, people are placing their trust in you.  And, however well you do it, there is always the potential for something to go wrong.

If public relations is about managing your reputation with those who are important to your success, then crisis PR is the true test of your mettle.  

How you handle yourself in a crisis will decide whether you have a business at the end of it or not. It will have long term impact on people's willingness to trust you again. 

A bit of basic planning will help you prepare for the storm. At the end of it, if done right, you may even have a stronger reputation than you started with. 

1.      Avoid a crisis by mitigating the risks

People honestly don’t expect life to be 100% trouble-free, but they do judge harshly if they feel problems were avoidable or that you are not taking the issue sufficiently seriously.

It sounds obvious but  have you ever sat down and thought through what could go wrong in your business, however unlikely, and what you can do now to avoid it happening?

2.      Don’t ignore an emerging issue

Pretending there isn’t a problem doesn’t usually make it go away. Really. Just ask the Murdochs.

If there are rumblings that people aren’t happy, suggestions that someone is acting improperly, repeated returns on the same item of stock, take note. This is your cue.

At this stage your stakeholders are looking to you to deal with the problem, no-one else. They trust you to deal with it. If you are decisive and successful, your problem is solved and you can move on.

3.       Ensure you can keep communicating

So, despite your best efforts, something terrible has happened. Maybe your clients are stuck in an earthquake or a major flaw has developed in your product. You face several intensely busy weeks to sort it out - if only the bloody phone would stop ringing.

Relatives, journalists, suppliers – everyone wants to know what’s going on. As tempting as it is, you mustn’t ignore these people so you can concentrate on the problem at hand.

In a crisis people crave information. If you refuse to engage then they will probably fear the worst, get frustrated, think you are trying to hide something, or all three.  

What to do about it 

There are ways to make this process manageable. Putting together a crisis communications plan beforehand will give you reassurance that you have all bases covered.

For help putting together a crisis communications plan for your business, or to find out about our seminars on protecting your reputation in a crisis, please contact claire@startpointpr.co.uk 

Are you a good enough news story?

Good PR is a lot more than just good press but there's no denying that getting your name in print is often one of the best ways to raise your profile. 

While lots of factors will influence how big a splash you make, the key to getting good copy is to give them a great story. 

Here are some of our top tips for finding yours.

1.     1. Do something new

It may sound obvious but that’s what the news is all about. You may be the first or the biggest or the smallest or the noisiest or the smelliest but no-one - at least not many - has done it like you before.

If you are already well known then a major change in the way you do things - like a refurbishment - might hit the headlines but it’s not guaranteed. Far more likely is that you’ll be directed to the paper’s advertising team.

2.      2. Piggyback a bigger story

The local media need to find ways to make a national story relevant to their audiences. Think back to the Japanese Tsunami and worried locals waiting to hear from relatives.

If you are doing canapés for the celebrity wedding of the year or making the 2012 Olympic gold medals then you’re a godsend to your local news editor.

3.  Have a celebrity link

Sad I know but a well-known face accompanying your news story will get you masses more coverage than you on your own and draws readers’ attention to the article itself.

4.     4. Think of the picture

Even quite run-of-the-mill stories can get great coverage if they have an eye-catching picture alongside them. It’s no coincidence that shots of smiling young ladies dominate the papers when there’s a heat wave (or any other excuse the picture editors can think of).

5.     5. Get third party endorsement

You may well think your pork pies are the best in the world but journalists won’t just take your word for it. If you want to make declarations about how good you are it’s best to have someone else say it for you.

6.     6. Be accurate

Journalists really hate finding out the information they’ve been given is wrong – and they do check. You need to be absolutely sure of your facts or you’ll not only lose the article, you’ll lose your new media contact as well.

7.     7. Don’t sit on it

The media have a very low boredom threshold. There’s no point telling them about something you did last year, last month, and probably even last week. They want the news when it happens. Make sure your story has a hook that makes it relevant to the moment.

Good luck!

(If you want help getting your stories in the paper please do get in touch.)