TAG - pr

Public Relations, or 'PR',  for recruiters is all about the way you communicate with your target audience, promote yourself, and build a positive reputation.

When it comes to partnering with a PR firm, there are a number considerations to factor into decisions. However, quite often one of the questions we come across is whether a recruitment business should go for a generalist firm or a specialist agency. While there are benefits to both, for staffing companies in particular, having a niche expert on board can often provide the greatest return on investment.

Since being founded in February 2009 as a way for co-founder Jan Koum and his mum to stay in touch with their family back in Ukraine, WhatsApp has become the world’s most popular messaging app with two billion active users worldwide.

Hands up who watched the Apprentice last night and found themselves arguing with the TV? I know I did! Once again in typical Apprentice fashion we witnessed a team fail miserably in what should arguably have been a relatively simple task. And yet again, I have a crucial recruitment PR lesson to talk about.

Having been at BlueSky for close to a year now, and starting with next to no PR experience, I’ve definitely picked up a few things! So, here are some of the most valuable PR lessons I’ve learnt about pitching, one of the most important aspects of the job.

If there’s one PR issue that recruitment agency owners are arguably most concerned about it’s what to do in a crisis. Whether this be a breaking news story about some less than scrupulous actions from an employee or potentially detrimental information about your firm’s finances being leaked, implementing a damage limitation process at this time is crucial for businesses of all sizes. But it’s not an easy task. So how should you handle a PR crisis?

I’ve previously written on why public relations is an art, rather than a science. However, that doesn’t mean that PR skills training isn’t vital to the professional success of individual practitioners – and the media campaigns they develop and execute.     The benefits of professional development As a consultancy which specialises in the recruitment and talent management sectors, we often work with our clients to share stories around the benefits of professional development. Research from Guidant Group, for example, recently found that almost half of businesses (47%) believe that developing staff internally will be their greatest opportunity over the next three years. The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), meanwhile, often shares insight into the impact that CPD has on boosting staff engagement, motivation and productivity.  

“So, what is PR?” Sometimes I really dread this question when I go to networking events – it’s one of those things you know you’re going to be asked, but in many cases, my response is never quite believed. Whenever I explain what I do I’m challenged: “Well, that’s copywriting, isn’t it?”

Is your recruitment firm struggling to get candidates and clients interested in your content? If the answer is ‘yes’ you could be committing one (or more) of the cardinal sins of content production. So what are the top reasons your content isn’t hitting the mark? And, crucially, what can you do to fix it? You’re selling This is a big bug bear of mine, and something that far too many companies do. They use their content – whether that be a blog, newsletter or white paper - to sell their services instead of demonstrating their expertise.  Potential candidates and clients want to know that you are experts in your field, an agency that can help with their career or talent attraction strategies. Leave the selling to advertorials or a pitch meeting when you have got your foot in the door! You’re not adding value In the same vein, too much content doesn’t address the pain points of the intended audience. When planning content themes, it’s absolutely vital that they are based on the information your audience seeks. Think about conversations you have had with clients and candidates, what’s keeping them awake at night? What recruitment struggles are they currently facing? What advice can you give a candidate about their job hunt? The list is endless. However, the key is that your content encourages them to read on because it will add value to their current situation.

So, we are almost in 2018. Depending on the year you’ve had, you may be sad to leave 2017 behind or, quite frankly, be glad to see the back of it. In the PR world, there are definitely some people wishing that they could go a step further and get in a time machine to restart 2017 from scratch. Here are five of the biggest PR fails of 2017.

You’ve identified the ingredients for a perfect story, fired off a killer email pitch or picked up the phone and articulated your client’s experience, expertise and angle. The editor or journalist wants to cover the story Result! But where do you go from here? What are the essential steps when a reporter says 'yes'? Be clear on what the publication needs from you It may sound obvious, but be sure that your expectations are aligned. You may have thought that you were setting up an interview, while the commissioning editor had a 1,500 word, Harvard referenced, by-lined article in mind. Make sure you’re both on the same page.

We’ve all been there. You turn on the TV or open the morning paper only to see a story which is centred around your business sector splashed everywhere. You knew this story was going to hit the headlines months ago – why aren’t you being interviewed along with the other experts? Here are our top tips for becoming an effective media spokesperson: Be visible Becoming a thought leader takes commitment. If a reporter or researcher is looking for insight on GP shortages in rural Essex, for example, the obvious place to begin their search is online. Make a habit of sharing snippets of your expertise and opinions on the news across social media, your own blog and third-party platforms to increase your visibility. We’ve had clients appear on Sky News after TV researchers stumbled across opinionated blog posts. Lay the foundations and the opportunities may just come to you. Be a specialist

Updates to social media platforms are becoming a far more regular occurrence these days, as the companies behind them roll out various tweaks and new features in an effort to increase the number of active users on their sites. And the last 18 months has already seen three major updates with Instagram emulating Snapchat’s Stories feature, Twitter changing its timeline and Facebook rolling out chatbots for Business Pages. However, it looks like we are about to experience the biggest social media change in years with the news that Twitter has begun trialling a new 280-character limit – double the existing number – with selected users from around the world. This according to Twitter is because users tweeting in languages such as Korean and Chinese are at an advantage over those tweeting in English, for example, as they can convey double the amount of information in one character. http://twitter.com/Twitter/status/912783930431905797

Not many people outside of the industry know what PR actually involves. That means that fallacies and myths about PR are bandied around, often by advertising firms worrying about their ever decreasing market share. But what are the top 5 myths about PR? It’s all about the press release A quick search reveals that a worrying number of people think PR actually stands for press release, but it’s so much more than that. Yes, a release is an effective way of getting your brand name out there, but what if you want to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry? There are myriad options for firms to utilise when diving into the world of PR, the press release is just one of many including white papers, articles, surveys, polls, events and more.

I recently blogged on why PR professionals are unlikely to be replaced by robots in the near future. One of the reasons why is the human ability to craft copy to create impact at a time when content can no longer demand attention.   Here are my seven top tips to sharpen your PR writing:   Get to the point quickly   Whether you’re drafting a pitch, press release or article, ensure that your intended message is clear from the outset, or you’ll swiftly lose your audience.   Cover all bases   PR professionals should always attempt to answer the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘why’ in the first sentence or paragraph of every piece they draft in the interest of brevity.

One of the major gripes that many people have with PR is that it has historically been seen as overly fluffy and often challenging to prove a direct return on investment. For the financial professionals amongst you, that’s probably the number one thing you look for when investing in a service and admittedly, it has been one of the industry’s biggest weaknesses. Historically, the field has been more about creating positive sentiment and raising brand awareness rather than proving direct and measureable financial return from your PR investment.  So, how do you measure the success of PR?

The dialogue around robots coming for our jobs has been around for some time now. And as technology continues to advance, many professions have realised that this is the scary truth. However, despite the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reporting that 1.5 million people in England are at high risk of losing their jobs to automation - I’m confident to say that PR professionals won’t be replaced by robots.

BlueSky PR’s Tracey Barrett recently presented at the Recruitment Leaders Connect conference on “How to make money from PR,” followed by an afternoon of roundtables where we discussed the value of PR and content.   So what did we discuss?   Why aren’t more recruiters appearing in the press?   Often the answer was that they hadn’t been asked and don’t know how to approach the press themselves.  But pitching a journalist a story is no different than pitching a client a candidate – the worst they can say is no.   However, one of the key things we discussed that that PR isn’t just about the press   The press can be a good credibility tick because someone else is writing about you rather than writing about yourself – but everyone can become a publisher these days when we have access to blogging platforms and LinkedIn publisher.  So if you’re an organisation that doesn’t have the comfort of a marketing person to represent you to the press on your behalf, you can start just by publishing some posts yourself. It can be as simple as using your LinkedIn publisher platform to start sharing your opinions to stir up some comment and controversy.  

The Best PR Campaigns of 2016 Citizens advertising take-over service (CATS) A kick-starter campaign to get brands and agencies to think differently about the power of their influence. Why does this campaign deserve a place on the best PR campaigns of 2016 list? It’s visual.  It’s creative.  It’s unexpected.   Get fit with Kwik Fit A new tyre based fitness program designed to engage female audiences with the brand.

Few people hold back from airing their opinions on current affairs in person. And let’s face it, 2016 and 2017 have been particularly easy years for making small talk. However, while I’m sure you will have shared your firm thoughts on Brexit, Trump or The Great British Bake Off to anyone within earshot, for the majority, this insight will never be broadcast more widely. However, publicly sharing your viewpoints on relevant news stories online can be a fast-track to building your personal brand and, by association, your company’s corporate identity. You can’t become a thought leader without saying what you think While the majority of business leaders now realise the value of social engagement, the content that many organisations produce is formulaic, dry and uninspiring. Perhaps they are just playing it safe, or lack the confidence to open up about their thoughts and feelings, but while liking and sharing the posts of others is a step in the right direction, there really is no substitute for real thought leadership. Don’t just share a story that is of interest to your networks – if it’s really relevant, the chances are they will already have consumed it from the source. Instead, use your own blog, or a third-party platform, to put some meat on the bones. Speak directly to your audience and use your expertise to outline what it means for them specifically. What if my opinion is controversial?

We all know that content is king and that everyone should have a content marketing plan – and that is very much part of a PR and communications strategy but I would argue that media also needs to be part of that strategy.

With the New Year now upon us, one thing is clear, that the skills shortages experienced across a number of sectors over the last 12 months are likely to continue well into the coming year. Shortages across key economic sectors will undoubtedly continue to present significant opportunities for recruiters, but how can businesses differentiate themselves from their competitors to attract candidates and win assignments?   In one of our recent think tanks, ‘The Challenge of Marketing in Today’s Recruitment Sector’, all of the delegates agreed that the nature of the profession means there is little opportunity to establish a truly unique, tangible USP. The recruitment process is one with minimal room for adaptation, so instead of focusing on promoting a unique selling point, recruitment professionals should be concentrating on establishing and promoting a ubiquitous brand message.   Gaining press coverage in outlets such as national, regional, or industry specific publications, are all great ways to promote your brand. Providing comments for articles on current issues can also be a fantastic way of proving your expertise on a specific topic, especially in industry specific publications. This coverage could then subsequently be used in pitches to help you win further assignments.  

“© Depositphotos.com/yurizap” I remembered reading an article published more than 100 years ago which summarised different views of the future – the one we are living now. I must say that most of those predictions were spot on! People living more than a century ago expected technological advancements but the way things were going back then it was not too hard to predict that after Thomas Edison had invented the first viable light bulb in 1880, the product will only improve.   So now, out of a desire to be a step ahead of the game and also test our ability to predict the market, we’ve been asking ourselves how the PR industry will look in a decade.     I personally believe that in the next 10 years less developed economies will catch up on the PR concept and start using it accordingly. Probably not much will change in PR in the Western economies (at least not dramatically), but once countries like the BRICS nations begin to appreciate the benefits of PR like we do, we will be witnessing a true internationalisation of the industry. Ian Hawkings   ‘’ As the news industry continues to evolve from physical to online, from paid for to free and from in-house to freelance staff, press relations will increasingly be about building relationships with disparate individuals and building them across time zones. Companies, large and small, will only be more interested in winning top-quality press coverage globally to promote themselves in new and growing markets. This will mean PR’s that can appreciate and adapt to different cultural norms, whilst simultaneously maintaining a focus on their clients’ goals, will prosper -whilst those that can’t (or won’t) adapt, will die.’’ Tracey Barrett ‘’ PR will become more about content – already it is not enough just to be read, the objective should be for your content to be shared so when thinking about your PR strategies invest time in your content before investing money in SEO!’’

Antal International is a global executive recruitment organisation with 110+ offices in more than 35 countries. We caught up with Chairman and Founder Tony Goodwin to see how they use PR to achieve their recruitment goals.   Why do we use PR?   “In the B2B market it’s vital to place yourself as a thought leader in your industry. A good reputation comes through well considered and thought out views on the marketplace which is exactly what PR gives us. Advertising can often fail to hit the mark, I think it was advertising guru, David Ogilvy who said “50% of advertising is wasted; we just don’t know which 50%”. With PR this doesn’t happen. We know we’re hitting our target audience every time and providing them with meaningful content. Recruitment is an industry based on taking the initiative and sharing opinions and PR allows us to do this.”   How do you measure ROI?   “It takes a longer term strategy to effectively weigh the value of PR. But we’ve found that the continuity and consistency of our message pays back, which can only help in strengthening our brand. There’s no instant return like a betting company would expect to see from their half time advertising at football matches. But the overall value is much greater. I’m confident that over the course of two years we’ve seen up to a twenty-fold return on our investment. People are influenced by people and by positioning individual figureheads in the public eye we’ve created a voice that the company can base its message around. The results might not be immediate, but PR is a slow-burner and in the long term can do so much more for our business than advertising ever could.”  

Why do we use PR? We are a very busy trade association and consequently have a lot of interesting things that we feel we need to communicate out to the wider world.  APSCo is also a brand that our members are proud to be associated with and so it is important that we are seen to be participating in, and in many cases leading, the conversations around issues affecting the professional recruitment sector.  That on-going recognition of our brand is important to us – and important to our members. How do you measure ROI? Obviously we look at the number of relevant pieces of coverage we get in support of our various campaigns but also we look at the penetration of our brand within the different vertical sectors within which we operate.  We are lucky in so far as we have a large number of member events and so will often get instant feedback from members who have seen our press coverage and comment on it – that in itself is a good measure of the success of our PR campaigns.