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Limitless Public Relations

Hit your target: strategic communications done properly

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

From small businesses consisting of just one or two people, to large corporations of hundreds and thousands, there’s still a formula to follow that will ensure your communications have the desired direction and impact, meaning your messages hit the right target. If you’re creating a strategic communications strategy for the coming year, check out our advice here.

We asked four of our seasoned public relations and communications specialists for their top tips for strategic communications and the power of sharing a good story.

Power of Purpose

Greg Wilson - Strategic Communications - Limitless PR

Greg Wilson, on the benefits of authentic brand purpose:

“Having a true purpose is at the heart of any genuine brand story. And when you have an integral purpose, you have a great story to tell.

“Purpose includes an intrinsic set of values, that drives a business beyond increased annual profits or shareholder benefits.

“Let’s be clear about purpose and not let it become just another buzzword.”

Authentic storytelling

Claire Stephenson MCIPR, on genuine content and storytelling:

“Authentic storytelling can greatly impact your public relations efforts. Creating content that has a genuine purpose, but moreover, adds real value to your stakeholders/audience. Aim for this.

“People have had enough of cheap gimmicks and blatant sales pitches: they want fresh, honest and clever stories from brands they can trust.”

Claire Stephenson - Limitless PR - Strategic Communications

Internal communications

Limitless Public Relations - Strategic Communications

Michael Gregory MCIPR FRSA, on internal communications:

“Don’t forget the importance and power of internal communications.

“If you’re embarking on a strategic communications campaign, let your people know first what’s happening in your organisation.

“Don’t let them find out what’s happening in the media.”

Quality of content

Mark Sutcliffe, on the quality of communications content:

“The first step to posting higher quality content is to step off the treadmill and refocus time and resources on creating high-quality content that’s relevant to the target audience to achieve what we, in the trade, call ‘cut-through’.

“Giving greater care and consideration to what you post in terms of its appeal, relevance, usefulness, originality, distinctiveness and creativity is likely to achieve greater ‘cut-through’ than wishing all your followers a ‘fab weekend’ or ‘happy Tuesday’.

“Setting the quality bar higher will inevitably reduce the volume of content an organisation is capable of creating. Social media platforms will continue to reward frequency, but genuinely engaged audiences will appreciate the improved quality of the information you share.”

Limitless Public Relations - Strategic Communications

As always, we are here to help if your business needs a powerful strategy to ensure that your audience(s) are kept informed and engaged in the best way possible, driving your business forward.

Message us here or call 0845 625 0820 to see how we can help your organisation be known.

Crisis communications in business: 5 tips for navigating storms successfully

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

Claire Stephenson reflects on some of the recent public relations crises in the media. How can businesses be better prepared to weather emergencies through proper planning and strategic crisis communications?

With social media offering an instantaneous ability to share information – good and bad – crises are inevitable. Whether it’s a recalled product that is dangerous (currently, Home Bargains has placed a recall on a muscle-building product that has “potentially lethal” levels of caffeine in it), a public relations nightmare (think of the fallout over Huw Edwards), or a natural disaster impacting business operations, every organisation must be prepared to face challenges head-on. 

Top 5 tips

Effectively managing a crisis begins with a solid crisis communications strategy. Here are five key elements on how to prepare your communications for any kind of emergency.

  1. Proactive planning. Successful crisis communications begin long before a crisis actually happens. Proactive planning and risk assessment are essential to identify any potential vulnerabilities and help you to prepare for a range of scenarios. Conduct a thorough assessment of your business operations, supply chain, communication channels, and any potential risks. Create a crisis management team – including key stakeholders. Depending on the size of your organisation, this could include public relations specialists, a legal team, human resources, and operations management. Establish clear roles and responsibilities within your team to ensure any emergency is met with a strong and effective response.
  2. Timely communications. In the midst of a crisis, misinformation can spread rapidly – especially on social media – which can also make the situation worse. Make sure any response is swift and transparent. Acknowledge the issue as soon as possible, and furthermore be open about the facts. Hiding information or delaying communications will damage trust with your audience. Make sure all appropriate communication channels are used – this might be social media, press releases, or e-news – a dedicated crisis telephone line may also be required, depending on the severity of the issue.
  3. Compassionate communications. It’s important to recognise that some forms of crisis can bring a wide range of emotions, with individuals affected on personal levels. Demonstrating empathy and compassion in your communication can go a long way in diffusing tension and building stronger relationships with stakeholders. Show concern for those impacted by the crisis, whether it’s customers, employees, or communities. Offer support and solutions to address their needs and concerns. A genuine display of empathy can humanise your brand and encourage goodwill during challenging times.
  4. Consistent communications. When in a crisis situation, it’s important to maintain consistency in your messaging across all communication channels. Ensure that all team members and spokespeople are briefed on the key messages to be shared. Avoid any kind of contradicting statements or mixed signals that can lead to confusion and undermine credibility. A unified voice will convey a sense of stability and competence, reassuring stakeholders that the situation is under control.
  5. Post-crisis analysis. After the crisis has passed, it’s essential to conduct a thorough analysis and evaluation. Did any areas of communication work particularly well? What could be improved?  Obtain feedback from your stakeholders and use overall analysis to update and strengthen your crisis communications strategy. Remember, a crisis can provide valuable insights and also opportunities for growth and improvement.

Final thoughts

Crisis communications in business is not just simply about damage control: moreover it’s an opportunity to showcase your organisation’s values, integrity, and resilience. Further, by proactively planning, communicating transparently, showing empathy, and maintaining message consistency – along with learning from experiences, your business can effectively navigate through emergencies, safeguard your reputation, and become stronger for it. 

If you need any help in crafting a crisis communications strategy, please message us here or call 0845 625 0820 to see how we can help your organisation be known. 

When Public Relations goes wrong

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

Public relations, even in the hands of a skilled practitioner, can still hit the skids and go terribly wrong. There have been some absolute howlers over the years, from Ratner’s Jewellery fall-down to the corporate PR storm of United Airlines following a passenger assault and being dragged from an aircraft by UA staff.

Here’s three notable examples of recent PR and communications disasters:

Veganuary by Burger King

During the annual vegan challenge of Veganuary, Burger King launched their brand-new vegan ‘Rebel Whopper’ burger that very quickly became non-vegan, with it transpiring that the ‘plant-based’ burger was actually cooked on the very same equipment as the meat-based burgers, making it unsuitable for vegetarians, let alone vegans. There was also the addition of the non-vegan mayonnaise, which customers may not have been aware of.

More of a Huge Whopper than a Rebel Whopper, which resulted in a massive PR fail. Along with an advertising ban from the watchdog, the Advertising Standards Association (ASA). They stated that the accompanying small print on the burger advertisement “was not sufficiently prominent to override the overall impression that the burger was suitable for vegetarians and vegans.”

Dominic Cummings and his Barnard Castle Eye Test

Along with the 2020 onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, came the government PR arm swinging into action, bringing with it the famed ‘Stay Home, Protect The NHS, Save Lives’ slogan that was splashed across all media and every messaging opportunity possible, so that the general public had the message embedded into their consciousness. One disastrous communications fail which had huge public consequences for this message, was the then-advisor to the PM, Dominic Cummings and his famed eye-testing drive to Barnard Castle.

Cummings fled from London to Durham, with suspected COVID-19, and then drove to Barnard Castle with his family to ‘test his eyesight’. The Guardian described the evolving story as “evasion to evisceration”, with the PR fall-out of the scandal turning the heat up for Number 10’s comms team. Calls for Cummings to quit swiftly followed, along with a ministerial resignation and public condemnation. The resulting dip in confidence of the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic was later coined as “the Cummings effect”.

Wetherspoons

Tim Martin, the wealthy Wetherspoons boss, caused a huge public backlash after informing his staff members that they would be paid up until the date that the government forced pubs to shut, with no more wages until the furlough scheme kicked in. Shockingly, Martin then proceeded to send a video message to all of his staff, advising them to look for alternative employment at Tesco if they needed money in the meantime. The negative publicity around this damaging approach was across all media, with reputational damage on a wide scale.

Plan in Advance

Even the best strategic plans can go haywire. But whether your campaign or PR strategy has covered all the bases or not, you can quickly find yourself in a comms disaster where reputational damage can occur. And the ways it can go wrong can be unpredictable and challenging. Knowing how to respond and deal with difficult situations is part of the job of a professional communications practitioner.

An issues or crisis communication plan should be something that’s already in place for your business or organisation, preferably before the crisis happens.

If you’re looking for crisis management, help with creating a bespoke strategy or advice on what your business or organisation needs, we’re here to help. Drop Michael Gregory an email at michael.gregory@limitlesspr.co.uk

Want to know how the media works?

Posted on by Michael Gregory

Here at Limitless we can provide you will all the knowledge you need when dealing with the media. Our media training experts have all worked in major news organisations such as Sky, BBC, ITV including national and regional newspapers, so they know exactly what the media wants, particularly in our digital age.

We offer media training programmes to fit your exact requirements or we can deliver specific modules that focus on a particular topic, such as:

  • An introduction to today’s media landscape
  • Knowing how to get your message across
  • Preparing for media interviews in the Zoom era
  • Dealing with the media in a crisis

They are hugely beneficial in giving your team an advanced understanding of the media landscape and knowing how journalists work and what they need.

The sessions give you the confidence and skills needed when dealing with the media but can also help you with public speaking engagements and delivering sales presentations.

We offer 1-2-1 sessions or group workshops that can be either delivered online or in person.

If you’d like to know more, please contact Michael Gregory