There’s no need to be rude

Ping over an email, rattle off a tweet, fire off a text, slip in a status update…all well and good and very fast, but are we not forgetting something? How about a please and a thank you, a little consideration to grammar and a passing thought for how the intended recipient may translate your hastily delivered missive.

Just one paragraph in, and this blog may already have taken on the scowling demeanour of a grumpy old man shaking an Oxford Concise at the gathering hordes of today’s un-educated. But bear with me, there is an important PR message in here if you can just wait for the angry storm to abate.

This all started with good old SMS – the now-humble text message. Very quickly words that had never been even close to abbreviation before were being stripped of characters and left for dead. Sumptious fat phrases had become an anorexic collection of capitals – oh how I didn’t LOL. But, when all was said and done the text message was, generally, an exchange between two consenting mobile-users, its grammatical horrors confined to a circuit board belonging to a friend or family member.

Bring in the next accused – your ubiquitous business communication of choice – Mr Email.

Long ago in the land of dial-up connections and computer monitors the size of a small house, the email was, basically, an electronic letter. It contained the required components to qualify as an online version of something you would happily stick a stamp on and slot in a letterbox. What happened??

I can only assume that as internet connections got faster, as more and more people used this ingenious tool and as inboxes began to bulge, so the common courtesies started getting ditched like a dusty old typewriter.

And now, following a long and painful descent into an electronic world where niceties are for losers and speed trumps pleasantry any day of the week, here we are facing a brusque future where emails mutate into little more than a gruff bark, and I for one am not happy – but I’m guessing you already got that bit.

At best an abrupt and impersonal email may be a temporary personality failure, at worst it can be translated as indifferent and uncaring – traits you will probably apply to dealing with your clients and customers in business – bad news!

Of course I’m not speaking scientifically here and am not backing up my observations and predictions with anything that amounts to proper research, and indeed, most people who email me are pleasant and polite. However, there is definitely an increasing trend towards blunt, bordering on rude.

More recently social media platforms have become very efficient carriers of the disease and we now find the same ill-mannered, poorly considered, messages popping up in all sorts of unexpected places. Of course rude Twitter users can offer a shortage of characters in their defence. Although maybe a few could trade in some of the 140 they use on expletives and crude acronyms for the odd pleasantry?

Yes I’m ranting, but not just at the personal affront I suffer to my delicate sensibilities, but from a business / marketing viewpoint, a lack of courtesy and craft in any communication is heading towards PR suicide. Translate this to the real world, and would you, for example, buy a trolley-full of shopping from someone who doesn’t offer a welcome or engage eye-contact? Oh, sorry, bad example for all Tesco shoppers, but hopefully you get my point.

We should be trying to be pleasant and likeable, not only to customers, but also to suppliers and anyone else we come into contact with in business, both for the sake of our business success and also because it demonstrates an understanding of what should still be an essential of civilised society!

…and if you would like a little guidance and advice, click here for an excellent resource

Also, this piece by journalist Jill Geisler gives specific scenarios of poor email etiquette – we’ve all been recipients of at least one or two of them

January Sale makes crucial marketing affordable

The decision to pilot its services under a reduced price ‘January Sale’ has proved a hit, for SHOUT! and many of its clients, with an overwhelming response to a new fixed-price package promotion.

The multi-faceted team has put together a range of services that encourage businesses and organisations to continue to invest in crucial elements of their marketing activity at reduced cost – and with the flexibility to take some of the time-related cost elements in-house.

“Our clients are facing major challenges at the moment – many, particularly in the public sector, being forced to cut marketing and design spending by up to 70%,”  said Creative Director, Sarah Monsoon. “Small and medium sized enterprises are struggling to justify marketing spend, perceiving cutting costs in these areas as a quick-fix to under-pressure budgets.
“Our approach to selling design and consultation, within this offer, means that we can work with clients to provide them with the elements that more crucially need our expertise and experience. After that, they can use our designs and recommendations however best suits them and their available resources.
“If that means using our designs to self-build a website or arrange their own print, we’re happy to support that.”

The promotion includes fixed-price logo and stationery design, newsletter design, social media review and recommend, and branding.

The SHOUT! team predicts that it will be expanding the fixed-price packages moving forward, but will continue to assess demand.

For more details of the January Sale packages click here.

Plenty to ‘SHOUT!About’

We have seen many changes in the world of communications since we stuffed our first press release into a board-backed envelope, slotted in a 5×7 inch photo, printed out an address label, stuck a stamp on the envelope and took a quick walk to the local post box. That was over 20 years ago.

The pace of PR has been accelerating ever since, but particularly in the last three or four years – exciting changes, fascinating developments and far greater power for those who know what to do with it.

Although the new platforms on offer are massively empowering they can also be a little confusing, a touch overwhelming, and often a bit involved. So that is why we have decided to share our knowledge and help make the new power PR tools more accessible.

We have produced a range of quick and simple, no-jargon tutorials, called ‘SHOUT About’s’, aimed at increasing knowledge and confidence on key marketing, design and pr -based topics.

The series kicks off with the hottest topic of all – Social Media Marketing. This   takes you on a whistle-stop tour of the most important social media platforms, their benefits, what they should be used for, and how to get started. Future ‘SHOUT! Abouts’ will cover topics like ‘Twitter for Beginners’ ‘News Distribution’ and ‘Building Your Website’

Read more

Downloads are free initially via our Facebook page

A Quick Twit Tutorial

Welcome to the SHOUT! quick introduction to Twitter – designed for all those who want to know more, but somehow just can’t seem to find the time or inclination…

Whatever your reason, if you are not yet on Twitter you could be missing out… on reading the latest business news… monitoring public opinion and getting to know an organisation or individual…on attracting more website visitors…sharing your work… sharing your news – the list of benefits goes on…

1. Go to www.twitter.com and set up your account.  All you need is your name, a twitter ‘handle’ (this can be an alias or your real name again), email address and to set a password – it takes about 3 minutes to do!
2. Type a few words about yourself to create a profile statement, for example: include what you will be writing about or write an intriguing statement that sums you up – this is intended to encourage people to follow you.
3. Start by following a few people (Twitter will make some suggestions) – for example, search for friends, colleagues, a celebrity, organisation or journalist you like and click ‘Follow’..
4. Look through their past tweets to see examples of things they say and do, and their profile statements. This will give you an idea of Twitter etiquette!

Quick Twit  “How-To”:

To reply publicly to somebody else’s Tweet:
Hover over the Tweet and click reply. Your reply will appear in your timeline and the timeline of anyone who follows you and the original Tweeter.

A reply to Stephen Fry. Double click to enlarge.

To reply privately:
Click on the writer’s Twitter handle in the Tweet, the profile will appear – click on the envelope icon and type your reply or private message, then send.

The envelope icon will give you the option to direct message.Double click to enlarge.

To re-Tweet:
Hover over the Tweet and click re-Tweet. The name of the person that re-Tweeted is is visible in the Tweet (see bottom picture).

Re-tweet to share with your followers. Double click to enlarge.

Re-Tweet icon and @username appears on all re-Tweets. Double click to enlarge.

To quote re-Tweet:
Hover over the Tweet and click quote re-Tweet. If you have characters left, type in your introduction message or comment then click send. All re-Tweets are prefixed with RT and the name who re-Tweeted is is visible in the Tweet.

To hashtag:
Within your Tweet put a hash symbol before any word/s you want to use as a #hashtag. No spaces between words and use sparingly.

Have a look how #hashtags and @symbols are used. Double click to enlarge.

To add a photo to your Tweet:
When you’ve written your Tweet, click on the camera icon and then select your image from your computer file. This will show as in your Tweet as a link.

Click on camera icon to add a photograph. Double click to enlarge.

To add a link to your Tweet:
Copy and past the full web address of the page you want to share into your Tweet (including http://), Twitter will automatically shorten this to limit your character use.

Copy and paste your link into your Tweet.Double click to enlarge.

Using the @ symbol:
If referring to another user publicly, precede the username with the @ symbol. This then becomes a link to that user’s Twitter profile and he/she will be notified of your mention.

Quick-Twit Tips:

• Keep Tweets short and succinct – you only have 140 characters to use, including any links and spaces, anyhow – so use them wisely.
• Following more people will lead to more people following you back (especially if they like what you write about and share)
• Share good links, news, insight and photo’s – it makes you more interesting!
• Consider downloading a Twitter phone app or desktop client. Strangely these are often more versatile than using Twitter on your web browser. We recommend ‘Twitter’ for iPhone and Android and Tweetdeck for Mac or PC

Quick-Twit Terminology:

• Timeline – the main list of tweets on your home page.
• Reply – Your reply will only appear in the timeline of those who follow both you and the original Tweeter, but is visible to anyone checking out your tweets via a search.
• Re-Tweet – if you like something somebody else has Tweeted you can share it with your followers. They will know you re-Tweeted it.
• Quote re-Tweet – add a short message before re-Tweeting to your followers
• Hashtag – (Prefix a key word/s with a hash symbol for added ‘searchability’) This groups Tweets for easy searching and trending.
• Add a link – to link your message to a Facebook page, photo album, web page or any online destination.
• Direct Message – replies privately via the tweeter’s profile in Twitter – or within your Timeline if you are using a third party app – such as Tweetdeck or the iPhone app.  This is only available to mutual followers.

D.I – Why Risk It?

Nobody can be in any doubt, and certainly not those of us directly involved in trying to run a business, that these are tough times. Our localised take on the current situation offers up a forecast of ‘grim to ghastly’.

Much as we want to subscribe to the theory that we have talked ourselves into this recession and we can talk our way out, we are based at Ransom Wood Business Park, not on Planet Bongo. These are hard times and they do call for drastic measures. We all need to keep a close eye on the outgoings, and shape our businesses to withstand the economic battering currently being handed out.

There has been an avalanche of advice on adopting austerity measures, and I have to say that some of the domestic hints and tips could be seen as an exciting little challenge. The ‘make do and mend’ approach can save a copper or two and award you with a green halo at the same time. But I would strongly recommend that you don’t become a DIY convert in all areas of your life.

Yes it’s fine to become a painter for the weekend and fettle up that dingy kitchen ceiling (author last seen weaving a path through the woods Benny Hill-style pursued by paintbrush wielding members of the Guild of Master Decorators), but it’s all a bit different in business, and it’s definitely a different thing when we are talking about your company or organisation’s reputation.

I can almost taste the collective anticipation as this blog’s followers begin to sense a point is being neared, and the point is… D I Why?? – there’s never been a more critical need for investment in marketing expertise. Why would you run the risk of damaging your company’s hard earned reputation and track record of professionalism by becoming a ‘have-a-go hero?’ We all know what can happen to fearless vigilantes don’t we?

Fair enough, you may not get blasted with a sawn-off shotgun, or coshed with a baseball bat, but the beating your company can take by ill-advised, poorly planned and badly delivered communications activity can be very painful indeed – the dreaded blow to the bottom line.

Of course it’s tempting to take an axe to the marketing budget and place an order for ‘PR and Design for Dummies’ as a new cascade of doom and gloom deadlines splatter across our news feeds, but please DON’T! You’ve probably noticed, it’s more competitive than ever out there and if you opt to employ an amateur and the competition don’t – guess who’s going to miss out.

Q.R U Ready?

Some of you may have noticed strange little black and white boxes appearing in print recently. For those of you who are still unsure – these are QR (Quick Response) Codes – the latest buzz in smart phone technology.

Having downloaded a scanning App on your smart phone – you scan the code to launch a web page, phone number, SMS prompt or plain text message. Simply put, the little black and white boxes lead you directly to a destination chosen by its creator!
Special Offer:
To help businesses to embrace this technology, SHOUT!PR has an introductory price of £75 to create your own exclusive QR Code for use on digital or printed promotions.

Included in this price:
Creation of your exclusive QR code. We will provide 3 visual options – for example incorporating your logo/corporate colours if required/suitable.
Supply of print ready/digital artwork.

We are also happy to discuss your ideas and help you make the most of your QR code within a campaign or promotion.

Protecting Your Domain – a little tip from SHOUT!

We recently had a cry for help from a client that, out of the blue, lost its website and all email access. Completely baffled they called on their friendly marketing and PR company…
To cut a long story short, the client’s domain name had expired and nobody had informed them because they were not logged as the official registrant.
As is quite usual, the registrant was the web builder. In this instance his company had disbanded over two years ago and he was well and truly now ‘off the radar.’
Our client had no idea the domain had expired, and no rights to take immediate control of it in the absence of the registrant.
You see, whoever purchases the domain name is ultimately in complete control. If that individual becomes unavailable for any reason – and hasn’t shared their domain supplier’s log in/ownership details with them – you are in a sticky situation:

• There is a waiting period of 2 months to renew a domain that has lapsed and is out of your control.
• If the domain registrant has passed away or moved on and unable/unwilling to help, your only option other than to wait two months is to take legal action.

Our advice:
Ensure you have full control of your web domain name. Set up an account with a provider such as Fasthosts and have your design or web company transfer your domain name/s to your account. Keep the account details safe, and ensure you share them with a third party or keep a record somewhere.

Talk to us if you’d like to know more.

Digital Printing with Variable Data

Variable data has been around for a few years now and is, I think, massively under used. This is possibly because of added cost but also because of the lack of simple information accessible to Marketing teams and MD’s.
So what is it? Variable data basically means you can make every single page of a print run different by programming predetermined data changes into artwork before sending it to print. You can change just about anything – address details, colours, images, text – including the actual content of images (see below).

The bp connect promotion above shows the name of the addressee drawn into the soapy car. This name and message can change on every print of this mailing. Images and copy are ‘customised’ through extremely clever software, and as you can see, it opens up some amazing possibilities to produce uniquely targeted mail outs.

You can apply variable data to flyers, invitations, calendars, mail outs, bespoke magazine covers, and anything where that personal touch is required.

Of course, there is a cost increase on standard print, this is due to the input and set up of the data and can vary depending on just how sophisticated you’d like your personalisation (add approx 12% to usual price), but if you are looking at making an impression variable data printing is a relatively low cost option that will certainly hit the mark. A recent personalised mailout for GK Ford was reported to have had a 33.8% response, compared to 6% for the previous standard print mailout.

Variable Data – key points:

• Adds approx 12% cost increase on flat piece print, using a stock image and simple data changes
• Over 2000 stock images are available to use with up to 13 variable characters of your choice
• Mailout returns are boasted of up to 4 x the usual direct mail response rate

If you have an idea for a personalised mailing, we’d be happy to quote, please contact us.

PDF’s – Press D to Reveal All!

Did you know that a PDF has an identity? 

Have you have ever looked at a PDF and wondered who created it, how you could contact the creator or what the font was you saw in the PDF? 

The answers can be revealed at the push of a key.

If you’re on a Mac press Cmd+D, or on a PC Ctrl+D and you will be presented with a Document Properties box. Provided the creator of the PDF has filled in some of the information, you should be able to find out who created the PDF, what software was used, and when it was created. You can also see all the fonts that have been used in the document – useful if you see a font you like, or want to request a font to use in another document.

You can also see what, if any, security has been applied to the document. 

All of the above information is available to users of Acrobat Reader 9. If you have a full version of Acrobat you have access to even more information – detailed description including keywords, camera data for photos, full contact details, address, website etc, (providing the creator filled these in) and DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) information.

We always try to fill in document properties on all of our files because it helps when filing or adding to a content management system. If you use software like Adobe Bridge the document properties are displayed under the IPTC* Core tab.

Subtle shift for SHOUT!

SHOUT! has unveiled its new identity, demonstrating subtle changes to its established brand and reflecting the joint emphasis on PR and design work, while simplifying the offering.

SHOUT!PR has become simply SHOUT! with the revised descriptor ‘PR & Design’, dropping, as the team describes, the dreaded ‘M’ word – Marketing.

“It’s a subtle change but one that we believe better reflects our services, and will mean much more to our clients and potential clients,” explains, Creative Director, Sarah Monsoon.

“Public Relations has always been key to our service offering – it’s literally at the heart of everything we do – and graphic design, well, it is involved in around 70% of our work too.”

“Feedback told us that the term ‘Marketing’ was creating a barrier to a growing section of potential clients, due to the perceived costs associated with the old-school ‘marketing consultants’ who talk a lot and do little, so we decided to remove it and focus on our core service offerings and highlight our commitment to delivering tangibles.”

“Although ‘PR’ is now sharing equal billing with ‘Design’ that in no way suggests it has become less important to us – on the contrary, robust reputation management provides the foundation on which all of our work is built, we are particularly keen to demonstrate this in the fast-growing world of social media,” she concluded.

The team feel it’s a timely move, as the changes present the new face of SHOUT! as new elements are added into the portfolio of services. These include social media management and integration and a new range of affordable, fully bespoke content-managed websites.