AURATALKISSUE NO. 1AURA-PR.COM

F O R S M E s T O S T A N D O U T

PHOTOGRAPHED BY LAURA SUTHERLAND - MITCHELL LANE, GLASGOW

One of the biggest challenges for PR andSEO is assuming either everyone knowseverything or no-one knows anything

Amplify your message by supportingevents with PR. We look at the Hello,

My Name is Paul Smith exhibition

PR has changed and now uses paid, earned,shared and owned media to form plans anddemonstrate a return of your investment

INTEGRATE PR & SEOONE STEP AT A TIME

PR & EVENTS:HELLO MY NAMEIS PAUL SMITH

WINNING INMODERN PR

EDITOR'S NOTE

Laura SutherlandE D I T O R - I N - C H I E F

As a PR firm we're always looking to find new and engagingways to create and use content. Content is what audiences

seek, whether news, information, videos, 'how-to's' or tips andviews. We then got around to thinking about our own content

and what our audience will be looking for.

A blog sometimes isn't enough. Yes, we're all over Twitter,Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube, but sometimes simplifying

things is required. We've now turned to a handy magazine.

We want SMEs to smash PR and digital marketing. We wantthem to grow and we want to help them achieve success.Through a series of articles and guides we hope to help.

We would of course be delighted to hear from anyone whorequires a PR consultancy who can create and deliver

awesome results. E: hello@aura-pr.com

W W W . A U R A - P R . C O M

YOU CANNOT BOREPEOPLE INTO

BUYING A PRODUCT;YOU CAN ONLY

INTEREST THEM INBUYING IT.

DAVID OGILVY:

Source: Q

uotesg

ram.com

INTEGRATEPR & SEO

I T NEEDN 'T BE A HEADACHE . I TNEEDS TO BE SCALABLE

PR and SEO can and should exist side by side

One of the biggest challenges for PR and SEO is assuming eithereveryone knows everything or no-one knows anything. First tip –

understand what people know and don’t know!

Google’s algorithm updates present an opportunity for PRpractitioners, mainly because we’re constantly generatingcontent and we’re feeding Google with quality stories and‘honest’ and relevant links. The updates discount spam andpeople trying to cheat to get ranked higher.

Objectives should be the same for PR and SEO – everythingneeds to sit centrally, including strategy, reporting and evaluation.Reporting is about reporting, not targeting. Everything has avalue and whilst we’ve come away from meaningless AVEs andmoved onto Barcelona Principles, simple wording on the value ofthe activity could help people understand why it’s important.

Top tips for integrating PR and SEO

N O M A D I C | 2 4

Develop a year plan which allows the online and offlineactivity to work together, including social and email marketingtooDevelop a process for news announcements – timing iseverything and it’s also nothingIf possible, break your support material up into a few differentposts e.g. one for news, one for a blog, one for a video, one forimages from ‘the activity’ – Google likes a drip feed of contentGet to know how to construct a great release which is SEOfriendlyKeep your media and influencer lists up-to-dateBuild relationships with influencers – define, evaluate andengage with them

PR &EVENTS

Amp l i f y t he message .

Hello, My Name is Paul SmithThe Lighthouse, Glasgow

STRATEGIC EVENTSExpert advice for exhibitions and events

September is a busy month for exhibitions in London as it tries topromote itself as the design capital of the world through theLondon Design Festival. 350 events and installations are stagedby hundreds of different studios and individuals from around theworld in many venues across the city.

In particular we remember all the commercial interiorsbusinesses exhibiting new products and designs at 100% Designand Decorex. The vibes at these events are fantastic. Years agowhen the recession hit, we thought 100% wouldn’t last manymore years. Exhibitors and visitors were in serious decline. But ithas bounced back and is now even bigger and better, attractingsome of the biggest names in design and interiors globally.

Here’s our top success tips for a great exhibition experience:

Know your visitors

Understand who your visitors are. You should know this beforeanything else! The more knowledge you have about theaudience (the people who attend the exhibition), the morerelevant and informed strategic decisions you’ll make.

Prepare your strategic goals and KPIs

Your strategic goals will match your overall business objectivesand comms/PR plan. Don’t just turn up to be seen. Exhibit to gainsomething for your business. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

will assist you in figuring out how to measure your goals.

Briefing designers

Successful stands communicate with audiences quickly andeffectively. The key to attracting people onto the stand is to haveinteractive things for people to do – screens with video, ipadswith apps etc.

Keep text to a minimum. Make sure your concept is in-line withyour wider PR and comms strategy which will of course besupporting the business strategy.

Brand and product positioning is important but keep your standfree-flowing and open. It makes people feel like there is room forthem!

Other things to consider: audio, hashtag, URL, marketingmaterials, place to hide staff personal belongings!

Choose your team wisely

Well groomed, approachable, good listening skills,knowledgeable about the brand and product/service…

Make sure your team are ‘social’ and proactively using theplatforms that your customers use to engage them whilst they areat the exhibition and from afar. Photos, video and live blogging isall great!

Make sure you use the official hashtag of the exhibition as well –this ensures you are visible to all attendees following the hashtag,not just your immediate audience.

Ensure you capture data

Data capture is the golden nugget since addresses were used fordirect mail. Now, email marketing can be particularly effective forboth current and prospective clients. It’s a way of keeping yourbrand front of mind and presenting an opportunity that’s only aclick away.

Make sure you prioritise the leads as you capture the data.

Tell everyone you’ll be there

If you don’t tell them, they might not know!

Make sure you’ve submitted images, video, press releases andsocial links to the exhibition organisers for the website andexhibition programme. This is free promotion and marketing, partof your exhibitor rate.

If you’re including your own advertising in the lead up, ensure youtell people your stand number on all your adverts so they can findyou.

Send an email to clients and ensure your social activity followsthe stand build, the exhibition build-up etc keeping everyone up-

to-speed with the exciting developments.

Choose relevant and branded merchandise to giveaway

Don’t just buy a product for the sake of it. Really think about how itrelates to your stand concept and how it will make the personreceiving it feel and use it.

On-site press office

Press Offices are great for leaving press packs for press that pickup a bundle of press packs, but make sure yours stands out!Journalists can be picking up 50-100 press packs so yoursneeds to stand out and it should also be really easy to manage!

It’s a good idea to make all your press appointments in advanceand if possible, on the stand. Make sure you have actual news forthem and it’s not just the company background you’re handingover. The press also love samples and invitations to one-to-oneappointments in showrooms.

Be sure to invite them to any events you have organised aroundthe exhibition. For example a launch or wrap drinks party.

Follow up

This is critical and should be personal. It might be in a traditionalletter or a personalised email campaign.

Make sure there is a call to action for the reader too. You cantrack opens and clicks and shares with a platform like MailChimpor your CRM may be capable of this.

This gives you a flavour of the level of detail and attention youneed to pay to have a stand out exhibition stand. Our expert PRand marketing advice for a successful exhibition will stand you ingood stead. However, there are many other activities we couldgo on to discuss, such as integrating digital in exhibitions. We’llleave that for another issue!

Lotus CarsInternational first drive of the Lotus Evora

West End Festival, GlasgowThe Electric Gardens

8 WAYS TODEVELOP YOUROWN CONTENT

N E V E R B E S T U C K A G A I N F O R I D E A S

It’s something many bloggers andPR people find difficult to beinspired by – a blank contentcalendar! Turn it into a positiveand follow these steps. Content,after all, needs to be relevant toyour audience, so where better tostart?

#5 Ask your audience! Create a Twitter poll or askyour audience directly, what they might want to readabout

#6 Similar to the above, but using someone else’scontent, ask someone to write a guest post for you –

someone who has credibility and can add value toyour site

#7 Think of other ways of presenting your blog – forexample, if there is a meaty conversation you hadwith someone about a specific topic, invite thatperson to do a podcast with you, or perhaps a video

#8 Reading books other blogs and papers can reallyliven your thoughts and indeed own opinions abouttopics and news. Always keep a pen and notebookbeside you for those ideas

#1 Imagine what your target audience might search for on Google. What key words would they betyping in? Right them down! These key words will be great for helping your SEO in your content

#2 Listen to your customers, staff and clients – a source of topics from the staff room to your socialchannels

#3 What’s the latest in your industry? Is there a topic, such as a scandal, that you can comment on? ForAura, this blog is useful to clients we work with to help develop content for the online and socialchannels

#4 What are your peers talking about? You don’t want to be behind! Subscribe to similar blogs, emailsand set up a Google Alert

WINNINGIN

MODERNPR

Modern public relations no longer focuses on how much presscoverage we can achieve and it also no longer continues tochurn out content that's boring and irrelevant.

If you think about it, public relations has always been aboutbuilding relationships with public/audiences and maintaining thereputation of a business or organisation.

Aura has been working over the last few years to try to educateclients about the importance of research, planning and having astrategy which supports business objectives.

It's essential to have goals and to measure the success of anywork.

News, purchasing and information is now all done usingsmartphones and tablets. Our bespoke strategies reflect whereyour audiences are and what they are talking about.

Our digital marketing and PR services take this into consideration.Your business objectives are at the heart of any activity whetherit’s raising awareness or generating leads.

We work with clients to understand their business, immersingourselves in every aspect. Our PR services start off with people,understanding, planning and preparation. Strategic goals andkey performance indicators are essential in every strategy,otherwise, what’s the point?

The way in which PR operates has developed significantly overthe last decade. Our PR services now use the PESO model,covering paid, earned, shared and owned media. PESOdemonstrates a proven return of investment.

What Aura does know about you – you are looking to build arelationship with trusted, respected and results-driven people.

We know that MDs and Chief Execs of SMEs are often time-

starved and looking for a partner which can add value to thebusiness and deliver results in-line with business objectives. Thisleaves you to get on with your own job.

You also probably need solutions rather than problems beingthrown at you every day. That’s where we come in!

We get to know you and your business and we come up withsolutions, answering questions about USPs, the market and theopportunities. We’re proactive (and reactive when we need tobe), and we’re always creating opportunities, whether it’s throughgreat content for your website, developing email campaigns foryour customers or working on something creative across media,digital and web.

With SMEs it boils down to money! You want a return on yourinvestment. We want to demonstrate ROI on every activity weundertake.

We understand that cash is king! We work in a flexible way,allowing you to either pay a project fee or a retainer – whicheverway is easiest for you (and us) to manage. It’s a two-wayrelationship.

We will have a clear plan as to what we are trying to achieve, whowe are speaking to and how we will do that.

Modern PR isn't rocket science. It's moving with technology andresponding to customer demand.

Aura's office in the west end of Glasgow

aura-pr.com

Aura works across the UK with a wide range of clients, large and small. We'd be delighted to hear from youshould you have any enquiries.

T: 0141 337 6712 E: hello@aura-pr.com Tw: @AuraPR