DWPub Sporadic

Leeds Metropolitan University PR degree students embrace online PR

2009-10-29T09:09:31+00:00

My series of PR degree guest lectures continued with a return trip to Leeds Metropolitan University where the audience showed probably the best understanding of the changing world of media relations I've experienced so far.

That was probably partly a function of the fact that they were a combination of final year and post-grads which meant many had some work experience. A majority of these indicated that campaigns they'd worked on had a online PR element - albeit limited in many cases. It's also due to Leeds Met taking digital PR seriously on its PR degree course, which is to be congratulated.

As I have done before I tweeted live during the lecture, asking for tips for the students. The response was fantastic. But what was new this time was a few of the students actually tweeted back during the lecture - good to see. It prompted me to make the point that no self-respecting PR person should be without a mobile device that gives them decent internet access - like an iPhone or Blackberry.

Here's the advice the students saw on screen during the lecture (many thanks to all of you who replied). @10Yetis clearly knows what he is talking about, as does @James_Hatch (perhaps speaking from experience)! The reply from @stedavies was part of another conversation, by chance he was delivering a lecture at Newcastle University on the same day (students - check out his excellent blog at www.prblogger.com).The slides for my lecture can be found here.

Small business marketing - PR becoming more relevant

2009-10-20T10:20:00+01:00

A welcome symptom of the growth of digital media and the evolution of social media is that for the typical small business public relations (PR) is becoming much more relevant and potentially rewarding.

It wasn't that long ago that for many small business owners or managers PR was deemed expensive and of limited value. Hiring a specialist PR consultant to get you one or two bits of coverage in a local paper or trade rag seemed a gamble at best.

I's a different world now. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) - from startups to growth companies - can now do a lot more themselves. And regardless of whether or not they get those column inches in their local paper or trade magazine the online content created as part of even a limited PR campaign can be of real and sustained value.

There are plenty of guides to DIY PR around - not least my own whitepaper on how to write press releases. A bit of knowledge combined with online tools such as online press release wires and more generic social media sites gives small business much greater and enduring potential impact than that provided by a few lunches with the local business correspondent.

Issueing releases on a regular basis alongside a decent social media presence (things like a corporate blog, Facebook page, LinkedIn group and maybe a Twitter feed all linking back to a half decent company website) may not exactly be a sophisticated online PR campaign but it is certainly within the grasp of most owner managers or marketing managers within small businesses.

Instead of a backwater, I think many imaginative entrepreneurs will make small business public relations a sector of real innovation.

The Jackenhacks - the fallout

2009-10-19T17:20:36+01:00

Last's week's Jackenhacks event, a light-hearted networking evening for technology PR professionals, was yet another cheeky success.

Some may have made comments about the limited capacity at the venue (a symptom of the success of the event really) and the poor sound system (always tricky in venues normally geared for music only), but that misses the point a bit - it's a bit of informal fun and being rough around the edges is all part of it.

During the evening I discovered that some people had taken my last post rather literally. It was, of course, a spoof. I suspect everyone who read to the final paragraph would have realised as much. But as I know from my journalism days, people don't often read all the way to the end of a story! It was good for the blog though - most hits I've ever had in a day. Comedy can be very effective in social media - but you have to get the tone right.

On the subject of tone, you may or may not find the video below by Andrew Smith from escherman of a suitable tone for office or familiy viewing, but it shows what can be done with a very cheap pocket video camera and some quick editing. (By the way, I don't know who that Tim Hoang is talking to.)

Clarification on DWPub and the 'Jackenhacks'

2009-10-12T12:17:22+01:00

It has come to my attention that the organisers of a dubious event have been using the Daryl Willcox Publishing name in some sort of attempt to gain credibility.

The 'Jackenhacks' event for the technology PR community, occuring this Wednesday in an insalubrious part of London, has been giving the impression that Daryl Willcox Publishing is an official sponsor.

I'd like to place it on record that Daryl Willcox Publishing has no connections whatsoever with the Jackenhacks and wouldn't for one minute consider tarnishing our brand by association with such a clearly tasteless event. I am considering our next steps with the assistance of a firm of well-known libel lawyers.

I've been here before, only last year we were hoodwinked into sponsoring something called the 'Flackenhacks' which seemed to have the gloss of a professionally run networking event but turned out to be a wilful abandon of booze and cheap jokes, not to mention the rubbish PA system.

Anyway, quite how the very respectable Mr Waddington and Mr Earl from Speed Communications got mixed up with this latest 'Jackenhacks' malarkey is beyond me, though they suggest their involvement was an attempt at protection - which of course backfired.

If you take the questionable decision to attend this shady event and by chance notice my presence then I just want to make it clear my attendance will be purely for research purposes and does not imply any kind of endorsement.

Do our branding survey - and win prizes!

2009-09-16T10:30:00+01:00

I've put together a very quick - just three questions - survey about DWPub's branding, partly as an experiment in surveying our community and partly as a genuine examination of our brand recognition.
Anyway, having just mentioned it on my Twitter feed (@darylwillcox) we've already had quite a few people complete it and initial results are fascinating.
So, if you've not done so already, please take our branding survey before it closes on 25 September. If you give your email address at the end you'll be in for a chance to win a case of wine and I'm adding two runners-up prizes worth £19.99 each of the new revised edition of Online Public Relations by David Phillips and Philip Young, supplied by our sister site The Media Bookshop.
I'll share the results here after the survey closes, at least the stuff I think would be interesting to our community.

Journalists - changing behavior

2009-08-03T11:39:27+01:00

I've been on the campaign trail about the importance of digital media and how the PR industry must adapt for a couple of years now.
Things have changed a lot in this time, many PR professionals are now placing greater empasis on online PR techniques and, more crucially, are educating their clients or chief executives on the value of digital coverage.
However, there are still many PR professionals out there who reatain an obsession with traditional media or believe that online PR is a box you can just tick by setting up a Facebook group.
Well, even if you ignore digital media, you can't ignore the demands of journalists, and there is a great deal of evidence that even journalists on traditional media are adopting social media to help them get their jobs done (check out this recent post from Econsultancy).
It's important to understand that what is going on in digital media - and social media in particular - is important for PR professionals on two levels. Not just with regard to identifying and influencing a wider range of digital media outlets, but also to communicate with journalists in general.

Charities - a tough PR job

2009-07-01T16:54:11+01:00

I delivered a presentation on online PR yesterday at a Media Trust seminar.

The Media Trust exists to support charities in their use of media to promote what they do. Listening to the delegates it is clear that doing PR in the not-for-profit sector has its challenges - not least beacuse of the large number of stakeholders charity PR people need to keep happy. The other big challenge is budget. It seems many charities are happy to invest in 'chuggers' but not in PR, a real shame as often good comminications in charities can make a real difference - reaching out to victims and galvanising activity in addition to prompting donations.

Anyway, as I often do in my presentations I invited participation from my Twitter followers:
Many thanks @stuartbruce, @biggerpills, @lewiswebb , @justinhayward, @helenjbeckett and @ABridgewater (who tends to DM me). That link from @lewiswebb is http://bit.ly/1IMWn.

You can see my online PR presentation on Slideshare(for what it is worth, its pretty empty without me pacing around in front and adding some context).

The DWPub tractor

2009-06-03T12:31:52+01:00

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post - a little embarrassing for an exponent of digital media. My excuse is I moved house about a month ago. Not any old move though - I've done the rural escape thing and swapped my central Brighton pad for a neglected Sussex smallholding. And of course what would a smallholding be without an old tractor.

Anyway, while I was learning to drive the tractor, DWPub was alive with lots of exciting projects (and we have many more in the pipeline). Despite working on all this good stuff we've not been particularly good at communicating it, so we've launched a new email newsletter that will be going out to PR customers monthly from now on. If you've not seen it already check out the first issue of DWPub Extra.

And I'll try to be a bit more prolific on this blog too.

Borkowski's flair, grabbing the online PR agenda and a Wired future for print media

2009-04-02T11:29:07+01:00

Mark Borkowski's presentation at yesterday's Don't Panic Guide to Social Media event in London was exactly what the PR industry needs - an intoxicating mix of passion and showmanship.
However, the real power in Mark's gig was his message: let's embrace digital media and use it to push PR firmly to the top of the marketing agenda. Then we can all stand by and watch advertising take second place.
The rest of the day was a valuable mix of case studies, opinions and how-tos - there is clearly a great deal of good thinking going on in online PR. But I was suprised how little was made of the fall from grace of traditional media as a reason to focus on digital.
The copper from West Midlands Police, Mark Payne, made up for this by a giving one of the reasons for the force's ground-breeaking foray into online video (PCTV), podcasting (Plodcast) and other social media activities as the 'decline in local newspapers'. It's a powerful reason for a public sector organisation that has a mandate to connect with stakeholders and previously relied on regional media.
Which brings me on to this week's (re)launch of the UK edition of Wired. A print publication all about how new technology affects us? That's a contradiction, surely? Or is it. I think Wired may be a model of the future of print media. Elegant design, quality print production, outstanding photgraphy and copy that takes an analytical look at issues already discussed online.

Social media in my guest PR lecture at Leeds Met Uni - the best yet

2009-03-12T12:39:50+00:00

I've just finnished my latest PR course guest lecture, this time to 80 or so third-year public relations students from Leeds Metropolitan University, possibly the top PR school in the country.

As before I Tweeted live in the lecture, see the responses below - special thanks go to Mark Pinsent and Becky Kiely who completely upstaged me by making the students laugh out loud (not a titter for my jokes)!

I don't normally use slides in my presentations, but this time for a bit of colour I used a Flikr to provide a pictoral presentation before putting Tweetdeck on the big screen.

Here are the live Twitter replies during the lecture (and slightly after, couldn't help but leave that last one in from Hatch Communications):

Al good stuff, but I might try using a different social media plaform next time, I mean it's not all about Twitter is it?