DIY PR by Penny Haywood Calder

Good to see Edinburgh Castle on Google for St Andrew's day

Labels: Google, Scotland

PHPR had a serious new biz approach at the VIBES awards - proof that VIBES (Scotland's top environmental award) is good for biz.

We were at the awards ceremony because we'd been shortlisted for the 2009 VIBES Scotland awards - Scotland's top environmental awards. Companies on the VIBES shortlist & the winners are recognised by multiple agencies and the Scottish Government for exceptional environmental performance.

We think that we are the 1st Scottish PR agency to reach the shortlist. The organisers have confirmed no PR agencies have been cited in the last 5 years (VIBES has been going for 10 years).

VIBES is a partnership between the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Environment Protection UK, Environwise & Netregs.

Labels: boosting your business, environmental award, PHPR, PR agencies, Scotland, VIBES

Small budgets rarely stretch to the really effective levels of advertising. Unless you already have strong design skills, you'll need to buy those in. And ads need to be repeated often to achieve impact. That's the bit most small businesses forget. Many small businesses stop at one insertion, but most people don't notice the first three times an advert runs in most publications.

But what do you do when you need to shift, for example, loads of beds in a hurry? Unless Mary Queen of Scots slept in all of them, they will need to be advertised in the local media on and offline. The clever PR alternatives would just take too much time.

TIP: Google sometimes gives away vouchers for £30 of free AdWords. Mine arrived by post after I registered my business on Google Maps, but sometimes these offers falls out of business magazines.

It helps to have a well-written, optimised site that anticipates the information a buyer might need, and answers that, ending with a clear call to action on every page.

You'll save a lot of money if you think about who you need to reach. Can you reach them any other way?

• Would an in-store event work, with treats and discounts for invited existing customers?
• Or a leaflet drop?
• Can you ring round guest houses and hotels offering a bulk deal (and take away the old ones to minimise the hassle?). Can you offer matching bedside tables and wardrobes?
  

Advertising does work if you have a large budget and top creative skills. It can be an expensive first resort for those with smaller pockets.


This is the fourth in a series of posts re-visiting the 30 low cost or free publicity techniques featured in PHPR's founder's best-selling book: DIYPR, the small business owner's guide to 'free' publicity by Penny Haywood. The 30 techniques are a mix of digital and offline sales, marketing and PR tools because you need to work all three disciplines (sales, marketing and PR) to effectively boost a business. As the series develops, choose a few to trial for a few months. The aim is to work up to 10 varied publicity techniques that work for you and your business to create a rolling PR Plan for success.

Your feedback is most welcome and may be included (with proper attribution) in the forthcoming revised edition of DIY PR.

Labels: advertising, DIY PR, PR

Small budgets rarely stretch to the really effective levels of advertising. Unless you already have strong design skills, you'll need to buy those in. And ads need to be repeated often to achieve impact. That's the bit most small businesses forget. Many small businesses stop at one insertion, but most people don't notice the first three times an advert runs in most publications.

But what do you do when you need to shift, for example, loads of beds in a hurry? Unless Mary Queen of Scots slept in all of them, they will need to be advertised in the local media on and offline. The clever PR alternatives would just take too much time.

TIP: Google sometimes gives away vouchers for £30 of free AdWords. Mine arrived by post after I registered my business on Google Maps, but sometimes these offers falls out of business magazines.

It helps to have a well-written, optimised site that anticipates the information a buyer might need, and answers that, ending with a clear call to action on every page.

You'll save a lot of money if you think about who you need to reach. Can you reach them any other way?

Would an in-store event work, with treats and discounts for invited existing customers? Or a leaflet drop? Can you ring round guest houses and hotels offering a bulk deal (and take away the old ones to minimise the hassle?). Can you offer matching bedside tables and wardrobes?

Advertising does work if you have a large budget and top creative skills. It can be an expensive first resort for those with smaller pockets.

This is the fourth in a series of posts re-visiting the 30 low cost or free publicity techniques featured in PHPR's founder's best-selling book: DIYPR, the small business owner's guide to 'free' publicity by Penny Haywood. The 30 techniques are a mix of digital and offline sales, marketing and PR tools because you need to work all three disciplines (sales, marketing and PR) to effectively boost a business. As the series develops, choose a few to trial for a few months. The aim is to work up to 10 varied publicity techniques that work for you and your business to create a rolling PR Plan for success.

Your feedback is most welcome and may be included (with proper attribution) in the forthcoming revised edition of DIY PR.

Labels: advertising, DIY PR, ecommerce, PR, PR Edinburgh, public relations, publicity, small businesses, SMEs

If you're into being green, look out for Nissan's 'Leaf' in 2010 - an all-electric car doing 100 miles on a single charge and a top speed of 90mph.

Labels: environmental award, green car

It's reported that Xbox Live will integrate Facebook and Twitter directly into online gaming, bringing a whole new audience to Twitter.

Labels: Facebook, social media, Twitter

Klout now lets you see the most influential Tweeters on a topic so you can build a Twitter list of the results. The Klout Twitter app measures the influencing powers of individual Tweeps to "find the people the world listens to"

Labels: ecommerce, influence, influential, Klout, online PR, social media, Twitter

Is the real cost of 'free' social media our friends' data?

Labels: marketing, online PR, social media

"The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." Stephen R. Covey. Brilliant!

Labels: schedule priorities, Stephen R. Covey

"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing" Stephen R. Covey. So true in a creative biz like ours!

Labels: creative, Stephen R. Covey, the main thing

Looking forward to giving 30 lo-cost PR tips at 4networking.biz in Leith, Edinburgh on 24th November. £10 inc breakfast.

Labels: 4networking, DIY PR, Edinburgh, PR

Social Media Trends for 2010 from David Armano in Harvard Business Review: social media will be more popular, more mobile, and less social.

Labels: online PR, social media