Blog Archives - Page 19 of 21 - Mutant Communications

6 things the Oscars taught us about content

Every year, billions of people around the world cozy up in front of their TVs to watch rich people receive a gold award shaped like a man for their achievements in acting like other people. At its core, that’s what the Academy Awards is. So, what makes it so compelling?

The famous people are part of it, as is the glitz and glamour that has surrounded the night for nearly 90 years. But my personal view is that the night gathers so much attention because of the story being told. From the red carpet and the behind-the-scenes shots, to the speeches and the post-awards interviews, the media (with the help of social media) loves crafting stories around what is essentially a gathering of otherwise boring, rich people.

From a marketing point of view, there are dozens of lessons to be learned – but more specifically, there are a few strong points to be made about how we use, create and share content.

So without further ado, those lessons are… (drum roll please)…

The right message spreads a long way

True content marketers understand the importance of unique content, but sometimes it’s less about an exclusive message and more about it being timed just right.

This year, the two speeches with the most buzz were by Patricia Arquette and Graham Moore, who called for wage equality and raised awareness about depression respectively, garnering hollers from the crowd (mainly Meryl Streep, let’s be honest.)

Why were the speeches so good? Because they were authentic. You can tell Arquette truly cares about the issue of wage equality, while Moore drew on his own experience with depression and nearly taking his own life to get his message across about being true to yourself.

People everywhere can see right through the “I wish for world peace!” message, but will stand up and take note when your content and its message is genuine and heartfelt.

Content isn’t just about words, it’s visual

What gets the most attention at the Oscars? Is it the movies? The speeches? The musical performances? Nope. Rightly or wrongly, it’s the pre-show red carpet, where people ogle and judge celebrities in their designer garb, snapping photos and posting images to social media and blogs all over the world.

Incorporating visual elements into your content marketing strategy is crucial. Humans are visual beings, so think about where you can include pictures and infographics into your articles and overall strategy.

When content is unexpected, it works even better

Constantly pumping out content (correction: good content) is necessary to gain traction in any campaign, but sometimes it’s good to shock people. Lady Gaga used to shock the masses by wearing dresses made of meat, but at the Oscars she shocked by, well, just singing.

After dropping off the radar for months, Gaga appeared as if from nowhere to sing an incredible tribute to The Sound of Music and its star, Julie Andrews, and floored everyone. Her performance was a far cry from the Gaga we know, and she got a standing ovation for her stellar efforts.

The lesson here? Surprise people! Create content your audience won’t expect – you have a platform to create anything you want, so go Gaga with it.

Storytelling matters

Okay, so I know I’m supposed to be talking about this year’s Oscars, but the 2012 awards presented such a fantastic example of storytelling that it can’t be ignored. It was the year The Artist, a completely silent movie, took home Best Picture. It was the first time in 83 years that a silent motion picture scooped the big award. It was (and still is) a big deal and an incredible example of the importance of storytelling.

The movie stood out not just because of the acting, but because of the love story. With content, we are lucky we can use words to tell a story – but it’s all about how you craft the narrative, report, press release, blog or information you’re trying to use to engage your audience. Tell a story people can identify with!

Know what your audience wants

The hashtag that is still trending since the Oscars is #AskHerMore – a call to action for red carpet correspondents to ask female celebrities more compelling questions than “who are you wearing?” The trend was started by the Representation Project and is supported by Smart Girls (an organisation headed by Amy Poehler), and it gained massive traction on Twitter in the lead up to the show to ask about the work, not the dresses.

When your audience is asking for something, it’s your job to give them the information they need. Know what they want and cater to it in a creative way.

(P.s. E!’s ‘Mani Cam’ – a camera that focuses on what the stars’ manicured nails look like – was axed for this year’s awards after the #AskHerMore campaign highlighted its absurdity.)

In the end, good content always wins

JULIANNE MOORE FINALLY WON AN OSCAR. Yep, after four previous Academy Award disappointments, Moore finally took home a golden statue for her portrayal of a linguistics professor with early-onset Alzheimer’s in Still Alice.

Although Moore has won countless Golden Globes and other awards in her late-blooming career, she’s held out for the Oscar and finally got it (YAY!) proving that sometimes an entire body of works speaks louder than a one-hit wonder.

With content, your results aren’t going to show overnight – and that’s okay. What’s important is that the entire campaign and strategy is strong, consistent and carefully managed to ensure you get what you need out of it.

Get in touch with us at [email protected] if you’re interested in creating compelling, meaningful and targeted content for your business.

138624_0188 image by Disney | ABC Television Group is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Finding talent: Set your sights on social recruitment

Firstly, if your organisation is relatively new to the social media recruitment game, a warm welcome.

Secondly, what took you so long?

Chances are you’ve been involved in some sort of social recruiting for a while now. As recruiters, business leaders or burgeoning start-ups, you will have been “making connections” all over the place with people whom you deem to be ideal talent for your company. But the problem isn’t about connecting, it’s about connecting with the right people, in the right places and at the right times.

As part of a well-rounded recruitment strategy AND a strong marketing strategy (yes, sometimes the two go hand-in-hand), social media can offer a wealth of tools to help your business find the talent it so desperately needs.

If you’re not sure whether your efforts are on track, read on and ask yourself whether you’re really optimising the true benefits of all things social.

First, decide on your social approach

Social media is a beast, and it can’t be controlled with ad hoc posts, links, images and status updates. If it were as simple as “I think we’ll launch a company LinkedIn page today”, a lot more businesses out there would be successful with their social media game.

The ones who do it well are those who have a plan. They have taken the time to answer questions like, who are we targeting? What’s our ultimate objective? How will we respond to people who engage with us? What will our key messaging be? If you don’t have a business-led purpose behind your social media strategy, you’re not going to get the most out of your efforts or find the talent you’re ultimately hoping to reach.

Where do your future employees hang out?

A social media strategy is about quality, not quantity. Well, it can be about quantity on a carefully selected number of social platforms, but it shouldn’t be about opening an account on every single social space and ramming how wonderful your company is down people’s throats. Do you want to spam people? Because that’s how you spam people.

To avoid diluted messaging and jumping into social sites just because they’re new or popular, you need to understand where you can reach your potential candidates online. Companies searching for executive talent, for example, are going to have a much higher success rate focusing on LinkedIn, while firms looking to fill dozens of service jobs on short notice will have more luck on Twitter and Facebook.

It’s about who you are, not what you do

Your employer brand is everything. Your employee value proposition – what you offer talent (other than money) in exchange for their hard work – is what sells you to candidates. But this doesn’t necessarily need to be spelled out for them. Instead, it should be part of an organic, genuine and carefully-planned strategy which utilises social media to showcase your people.

Don’t tell people on your company Facebook page how awesome you are – show them. Use videos, articles, employee Q&A and more (by the way, this is where content marketing comes in very handy) to exhibit your business as a great place to work.

Use calls to action, fresh content and interesting visuals

If you’re on Twitter, you know how fast it moves. If you’re on Facebook, you know that you stop scrolling once you come to a post you’ve already seen. Social recruiting needs to stay fresh, with interesting and new content to keep people engaged.

Original, value-added material produces better results than anything else. If you have data to share, why not create an infographic? Is that article you want to link to only interesting to you, or does it resonate with targeted talent you’re trying to reach? Why post a boring old job ad when you could write articles about the benefits of working at your company, which ultimately leads them to ‘like’ and ‘follow’ you. This interaction is so much more valuable.

Is your CEO social?

If you work at a big global company, chances are you have a well-known leader who has somewhat of a large online presence. But if your CEO isn’t well-known…well, why not?

Positioning businesses heads as thought leaders is an ongoing strategy as part of a wider content campaign, but it’s one of the best ways to directly engage with talent you want to attract. In fact, it doesn’t even need to be your CEO, and they don’t need to post heavily.

Laszlo Bock, Google’s head of people, is the man who hires and fires at the tech giant (which makes him the ultimate connection for every Google wannabe). He’s an influencer, but he doesn’t post heavily on LinkedIn – in fact, he’s only done 5 posts to date – but he has more than 130,000 followers and his most-read post has been seen more than 2 million times. Why? It’s partly because what he says matters to people and adds value, but also he’s created wonderful dialogue around recruitment, HR and working at Google. He is interesting and genuine, and he shares data, company “secrets” and strong, well-thought out opinions and advice.

Immediate and direct engagement is everything. Think about how you can use your country heads, managing directors and CEOs to help you reach the people you need.

Above all, be authentic

It’s a talent’s marketplace, and when it comes to choosing a job and career path, they have the power. In Asia, low unemployment means a tight labour market, which means if you give potential candidates any reason to believe you’re not as genuine as your competitor, they’ll pick up on it right away and take a job elsewhere.

Even worse? They do take a job with you, only to leave six months later because it wasn’t what they were promised. In whatever social interactions you have with talent via social media, don’t overpromise. Don’t pretend to be something you’re not and, for goodness sake, don’t lie.

An authentic and ‘real’ employer brand voice can speak louder than all the chatter on all the social media platforms put together. A genuine message is where your talent efforts should begin and end.

Need help with social media? Drop a message to [email protected]

The dos and don’ts of media interviews

When it comes to publicity, as Richard Branson once said: “A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad”.

And it’s true – a good PR story is what every person, professional and business wants. But understanding how that story is crafted and the role the interview plays in the entire PR process is where people lack an incredible amount of knowledge.

The media is your best friend and your worst enemy. Understanding how journalists operate and what editors want is essential to building your story. Members of the media, like you, have their own objectives and – let me absolutely frank here – none of their goals are around helping you build your brand. However, if you’re able to understand what they want and how to position your story in a way that will interest their readers, then you’re light years ahead of most people.

If you are prepared, you can turn the interview into something truly beneficial for yourself and your business.

If you don’t know why your story is newsworthy or how to present this to the media, then perhaps it’s time for you to hire a PR expert. But in the meantime, here are a few tips to broaden your understanding.

DO understand what “off the record” actually means

Rule number one: If you have just finished the interview and turn to the journalist and say, “by the way, that stuff I said about XYZ was off the record”, I have some news for you: it was absolutely, 100% NOT off the record. If you have a good relationship with the journalist and you’ve just realised you let something confidential slip, then you might have a chance to retract it, but otherwise… you’ve effed up.

Stating something is off the record is a game of trust; it doesn’t legally require any journalist not to publish something, or absolve you of responsibility around something you said. That being said, most journalists will honour the request if you state beforehand which comments are off the record.

DO also understand the importance of exclusivity

Press conferences are great, but sometimes a journalist is looking for something new and exclusive from you when they approach you afterwards for comment.

If a journalist has spent time gathering information about something and then asks you about it – and you answer them – don’t then go and tell every other journalist you know what their fresh story angle is. Honouring the fact the journo has done the hard work is something that goes a long way to build trust in an on-going media relationship.

DO your research and come prepared

You should do your research on the publication and the journalist interviewing you. They may not like it, but it’s all part of the game (and they’ve done all the same research on you, of course.) Often, your PR agency or internal communications will do this for you, but if not, just give them a quick Google.

Go into the interview understanding the kind of stories the newspaper or magazine runs, the tone of the articles the journalist writes and their interview style. If you can get an idea of whether the journalist is a total ball buster or a more friendly interviewer, you’ll have a better idea about how to prepare any responses.

DO learn how to answer the same question three different ways

Some journalists love to do this thing where they’ll ask the same question a number of different ways to try and get as much information out of you as possible. It’s an effective tactic, and it also lets them know of any holes in your facts.

Unless what you’re being interviewed about is controversial or scandalous, you don’t really need to worry too much about this, but it can’t hurt to practise a few different ways to answer the hard question you know they’re going to ask you.

DO keep your emotions in check

A sudden angry outburst or stream of emotion is never a good thing in an interview. Keep it professional – even if it’s difficult. Some journalists will probe knowing full well it is frustrating you, but absolutely nothing good comes from letting them see the steam coming out of your ears.

DO have a PR professional on hand

Public relations staff are there to act as support during an interview, so if you need to, use them. However, journalists hate it when an interview subject repeatedly turns to their PR person for direction, so avoid using them as a crutch. Instead, practice your answers ahead of time and work together to have a clear idea of how you will (or won’t) approach certain questions.

DON’T turn down an interview with no reason given

If a journalist calls you for an interview and you’re not interested, don’t turn them down without giving them a legitimate reason. Legitimate. If you keep fobbing them off because you “don’t have time”, they won’t buy it, but if you say you can’t speak at the moment because you’re bound by an internal communications policy, then tell them that. And always, always honour their request as soon as you are able to talk.

DON’T tell the journalist what kind of questions to ask

There’s nothing a journalist hates more than being told how to do their job. Think about the times when someone might have questioned your credibility or ability to operate – it’s not nice, is it? At the end of the day, it will put the journalist in a bad mood and could sour the relationship. One day, you might want them to ask you certain questions about a new product or a positive business story, and maybe they just won’t.

DON’T argue if they change their line of questioning

Journalists are often asked to provide a line of questioning ahead of an interview. Some will do it, others absolutely will not (in Asia, this practice is more common, but in other regions a journalist will scoff if you ask for their questions ahead of time.)

If they have given you questions, be aware these are only a guide. Depending on the flow of the interview, how well you answer questions and the direction the conversation goes, a journalist will almost always change their line of questioning or ask additional ones. Don’t point out that they’re not sticking to the plan – or they’ll stick you the middle finger.

DON’T answer with “no comment”

If you can’t or won’t answer a question the journalist really wants an answer to, be prepared for them to source the information from elsewhere.

Where possible, it’s not recommended to respond with “no comment”. It leaves your position vulnerable and the subject matter open to discussion on the basis that they have sought a right of reply from you (for a fair and balanced article) and you’ve simply told them you’re not interested.

If you cannot comment, tell them why. Legal reasons and confidentiality agreements are legitimate answers (provided they’re true) and if you simply don’t know the answer, let them know. Tell them you’ll look into it and get back to them, and then honour that commitment.

DON’T lie, spin or ‘tweak’ the truth. Ever.

Lies have a way of being exposed, and your reputation will be hugely damaged if you were found to be fudging information. Not only will the interview have been a complete waste of time, it will make you and your company look dishonest, unprofessional and foolish.

Need help with media interviews? Drop a message to [email protected]

Ex-Human Resources Editor Rebecca Lewis calls Mutant home

Mutant Communications is absolutely thrilled to welcome Rebecca Lewis as account director of our HR practice! Formerly the editor of Human Resources magazine, Rebecca will spearhead our expanding HR practice, which offers specialised public relations and content marketing services for HR and recruitment clients in Singapore and wider Asia.

Rebecca’s addition is part of our exciting growth strategy focused on expanding our three key practices –human resources; luxury, lifestyle and events; and media and technology.

As a mutant, Rebecca will play a key role in business development – introducing Mutant’s services to leading recruitment firms and HR providers, whilst managing important client relationships and leading accounts. Her strong editorial background and extensive knowledge of Asia’s media landscape gives us a strong edge as a PR and content powerhouse.

Rebecca definitely has street cred – she was editor at Human Resources magazine for three years, where she helmed content creation for the publication’s print and online assets across Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. She is a frequent host of HR conferences, roundtables and events for senior industry professionals, and boosted the magazine’s online reach by more than 300 per cent during her tenure. Rebecca has also served as editor of leading expat publication ANZA magazine and reported for the Herald on Sunday, one of New Zealand’s leading newspapers.

A quick word from Rebecca:

“I’m thrilled to lead the fast-expanding HR practice at Mutant, an agency that differentiates itself with quality content and public relations know-how for specific industries. Mutant is set to grow twice as large in 2015 and we’re poised for solid business expansion.”

Say hello to Rebecca at [email protected] or follow her on LinkedIn for her thoughts on marketing, PR and HR industries.

Top 5 tips for an effective PR campaign

How is it that it’s already September? More than half of the year has passed, and with it, came along bittersweet, monumental events. The World Cup, for instance was a month long, nail biting competition that was full of emotions, surprises and… phenomenal opportunities for PR and marketing firms to get creative with their campaigns.

That Suarez biting saga for instance, triggered F&B creative agencies to jump on the bandwagon, creating viral campaigns out of the situation. Meats Category Director of Mattesson, a UK based processing meat company, candidly made a public offer to Suarez for the job as a meat taster. Similarly, Snickers chocolate bar came up with a tagline, “More satisfying than an Italian”, while a trending hashtag of #bansuarez began to trickle down the interweb’s grapevine.

While it is evident that timeliness and trends add a little “bite” in your campaigns, what really makes you stand out and reach your intended audience?

With that being said, here are a few hot tips to consider.

1. Get those creative juices flowing

Creativity is the key to success. It is important to effectively exercise creativity in a digital space. A good PR campaign is thought provoking, and reaches out to your target market without coming across as too try-hard. It easily communicates with people, enforcing a natural response to your brand, allowing people to embrace it rather than having it forced on them.

2. Don’t underestimate the real power of social media

Social media is one of the most cost effective methods, and one that shows no signs of slowing down, especially in Southeast Asia (for tips on how to communicate your brand in this region, read our posthere.)

It is easily one of the best ways to interact with a mass audience across the globe. For instance Calvin Kleinlaunched a campaign, encouraging users to post a ‘selfie’ wearing an item from the brand with the hashtag #mycalvins. The campaign reached around 250 million people, successfully engaging directly with their core demographic.

3. Visually stimulate through video

Video engagement proved to be the highest activity online, especially among Singaporeans, so don’t be shy to get in front of the camera and show the world what you can do. In addition, with the rise of video mobile apps introduced to the market, like the latest Hyperlapse from Instagram, creating a short clip can now be done at the flick of a button, being a lot more accessible and powerful than ever.

The recent viral explosion of the Ice Bucket Challenge across social media has taken the interweb by storm. As an effort to raise awareness of ALS disease, participants (including many celebrities and influencers) were encouraged to dump a bucket of ice on one’s self, donate to the charity and then nominate others to partake.

4. Bring meaning to your campaign

The ice bucket challenge has definitely gotten its fair share of attention, and naturally, debates have also swelled. Skeptics have argued about the messaging getting lost within frivolity of the act. With this in mind, it is crucial to not have the message be too disparate with the brand’s campaign. On the flipside, an interesting article on Forbes by Matthew Herper defended the movement with some pretty valid points.

Participation and likes may lose its appeal quickly if the messaging is weak. Proving the real worth of a campaign is through meaningful ROI. Bring more value by educating and gaining some insight into your audience.

5. Consumer Trends

Lastly, keeping abreast with the latest trends, from new apps, to the latest publications, and even current affairs, enables you to better understand consumers and the media. This greatly helps in being able to communicate your message across more efficiently landing your brand the recognition it deserves.

Got an announcement to make about your brand? Let the people know through a press release, download our checklist on crafting the perfect media release here.

If you’d like to discuss your public relations approach, get in touch with us at [email protected]

Hy! Berlin Summit 2014 image by Heisenberg Media is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Why your startup needs public relations

Plunging into the fast-paced, high-risk world of startups and entrepreneurship is exhilarating and nerve-racking — and it takes more than guts and grit to make it and be the next big thing. If you’re equipped with a groundbreaking idea and your product’s ready to hit the market, odds are you’re doing everything to spread the word: telling everyone you see about your startup, and making your rounds in networking circles to meet fellow entrepreneurs, potential clients, and scooping up an investor or two along the way.

What many startups fail to recognise at this stage is how much of a game changer public relations (PR) can be. PR is particularly crucial and most effective when a startup has just launched, and smart PR can directly impact your brand perception, company revenue and investor opportunities.

Some entrepreneurs we meet don’t see the need for PR. They believe a good idea will sell itself through word-of-mouth and personal networks. That’s definitely important, but it’s hardly enough. Public relations — and media coverage in particular — will provide you with a far wider reach than you can imagine and act as a launch pad for your big idea. Here’s why PR should be taken seriously, whether you take a stab at it on your own or get some help from industry experts.

1. Introduce your brand to the public
Media coverage in key news outlets will introduce your brand to the public. In Singapore, think The Straits Times, TODAY, The Business Times, Channel NewsAsia and other tech sites like e27, ZDNet Asia and more that are the perfect gateways to public recognition. How often have you read about a new company while flipping the newspapers or browsing news sites? Your startup could be recognised in the same way.

Public relations is essentially brand outreach to the public and your stakeholders through various media channels. Yes, you’ll still want to rely on word-of-mouth, and yes, social media should be an important element of your PR campaign, but what happens when these are combined with media coverage? Brand recognition increases by leaps and bounds.

2. Be searchable
Have you ever Googled a company, brand or product, only to find it’s not a top hit, and then give up digging for more information? With news features, potential clients searching for you will find your brand across a slew of media coverage, rather than a lonely link low on Google search.

For your startup to do well, you’ll want to build on your search ranking through search engine optimisation (SEO) to help people easily find your brand online. SEO isn’t a quick fix and takes concerted effort. Media coverage is a great way to boost your SEO, particularly online news articles that link back to your website, weaving strong backlinks. You should also ensure you have SEO best practices in place early on – here are some tips from Mutant.

3. Gain credibility
Consumers today are smart and informed. Before your potential clients buy your products or use your services, they’re researching your brand — they’ll read reviews and look into your online presence before making a purchasing decision. News coverage in reputable news sites and publications will give much-needed credibility to your services and products, particularly when you’re relatively unknown.

If journalists buy into what you’re offering, their favourable reviews will be the best endorsements. Many of them are influential, with loyal readers who treat their words as gospel truth. And news articles that quote your product users who speak to its awesomeness will add even more credibility.

4. Investors see you
Every startup needs funding — and PR will increase your chances at striking the VC lottery. Venture capitalists, government entities and rich folks are on the lookout for investment opportunities in the news. Positive coverage highlighting your business proposition and growth potential is bound to turn a few heads.

A startup we recently helped to launch in Singapore is an entrepreneur’s dream come true. Combining an excellent product with dedicated PR pushes, we secured news coverage in national newspapers The Straits Times and TODAY, popular news sites such as e27 and Yahoo! Singapore News and more, which led to calls from a major government research agency keen to invest in the app and a major client who wanted to roll out the service at scale. When you hit the media that matter, you’re going to get noticed.

5. Become a thought leader
The establishment of trusted brands goes beyond good products and services — the best ones establish themselves as a thought leader and knowledge expert in the field. As a first step, you should craft opinion pieces for targeted media and land your commentary in industry news articles. When your brand starts to get recognised, you could speak at industry events to share your insights with stakeholders.

Building thought leadership is a gradual process, and you’ll want to start working on it soon as possible. If I’m an investor or consumer looking to invest my hard-earned money in a startup and its services, I’m far more likely to trust a startup with a business leader who’s knowledgeable, rather than any other brand who’s merely jumping on the startup bandwagon for the ride.

6. Receive valuable feedback from journalists

Many journalists, particularly those focussing on technology and startups, are knowledgeable about the industry and they’ve seen many startups make it and break it. Some might think of journalists as writers who’re only out to catch them off-guard for a sensational story, while others see journalists purely as mouthpieces for their brand. Don’t treat a media interaction purely as transaction, especially in Singapore where journalists are open to conversations.

Along with your interview, make an effort to sit with them over coffee and find out what they think about your products and services. Have an honest conversation and pay attention to what they have to say. You might be surprised at their suggestions, which could help you re-consider loopholes you’ve missed.

PR complements your startup’s initial launch and can be really impactful in driving growth. Not every news article is going to land you a million dollar investment, but every PR step you take in the right direction will persuade your potential clients, add credibility to your brand, and boost your online presence to eventually establish you as the startup to look out for.

This article was first published 14 July 2014 on e27.

If you’d like to discuss your public relations approach, get in touch with us at [email protected].

Startup Live Vienna image by Heisenberg Media is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

So you want to write a blog post, here’s how you can do it well

So you want to write a blog post?

Step one, tick, you have the will.

You might also have a bit of an idea. “I want to write a blog post about blogging and why you should have a blog.”

Step two, tick, you have an idea.

The next question to ask yourself is why anyone should want to read your blog.

There are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of blog posts about blog posts. Yours will be one of them. We’ve shared tips on keeping a good, optimised blog, but how can you make yours more interesting and valuable than any other?

Through storytelling.

Which brings me to step three, nailing the purpose of the blog post.

The Mutant team writes blog posts on behalf of a number of B2B and B2C clients and we work with them to identify fresh angles to topics we know their target audiences are interested in. The key is to narrow down onwhat your audience is looking for online, and what fresh insights you can give them to assert your authority on the topic.

So, for example, if you were appealing to business bloggers, your post might be about how new blogging tools could boost the searchability of business blogs in 2014.

There you go – you have a topic that is interesting, newsworthy and that will demonstrate your own ability to think ahead and to offer guidance in this very competitive, and constantly evolving digital world.

Before sitting down to type out your post, figure out what you’re going to say. Old school mindmaps still work in the digital age and this is how I recommend you begin.

Step four is to write down the ideas you have around the topic and then organise them into sub-groups of ideas. These subgroups will form your paragraphs.

Number the paragraphs in order of how you want them to flow in the post – there’s your skeleton!

You’re now ready to put pen to paper – or fingers to keyboard – and move on to step five, telling a story.

Storytelling is not just the fabric of fairytales. As a blogger, you need to think of yourself as the Aesop of the business world – sharing messages in a way that resonate with readers. Rather than circulating a bullet-pointed to-do list, you want to be drawing parallels with your readers’ everyday life, painting pictures they can relate to.

In order for them to both enjoy reading your piece and walk away feeling like they have learned something, you also want to make sure you build a cohesive argument.

Start with an engaging opening paragraph – or introduction – that develops a rapport with your reader. You might like to start with something controversial “breakfast is not the most important meal of the day”, or with a question “despite what we have been raised to believe, is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?” Sometimes it works to paint a picture – “whether it was grandma serving stewed fruit and porridge on school mornings, or your mother handing you a banana as you rushed out the door, we’ve been lead to believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However, new research shows that…”

Move through your points seamlessly, as if you were engaging your reader in a conversation, and make sure that every sentence you write contributes to the purpose of the paragraph, and that every paragraph reinforces the purpose of the post.

You’ll want to wrap the post up with a sentence that wraps up your argument and leaves the reader feeling pleased they made it to the bottom. You might also like to add a call-to-action to download more information or a contact (find out how inbound marketing techniques can boost your business here).

The idea of a blog is to both demonstrate your thought leadership and hold your readers’ attention on your website. Pepper your blog with links to other posts or pages on your site, or on other sites. This will not only offer your reader a chance to deepen their understanding of the subject, but also boost your SEO as visitors will be spending more time on your site.

Understanding the function of the blog on your site, as well as the purpose of your sitting down for an hour or more to write it should be clear right from the outset, and right through the post.

If you do it right, you should get to the end and find you sitting nicely between the golden 600-800 word count, and have created something that entertains, informs and boosts your brand’s presence.

I’m at 778 words now. Over and out.

If you’d like to discuss your blogging / content marketing strategy, or if you’d like help crafting riveting blog posts, get in touch with us at [email protected].

Human Writes Performance Installation at UN Geneva image by United States Mission Geneva is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Common myths of Public Relations – and what we really do

Public relations gets a lot of flack. It often stems from a misunderstanding of what is actually required in the role. From hedonistic party animals, to the bane of many journalists’ existence, PR people have been brandished with many negative stereotypes.

I will try to banish the common myths associated with PR by sharing a basic rundown of what actually gets done in the office (besides the daily tipple or two, and hanging out at the VIP section of the club during the weekends).

The Bad Spin

“Without PR, Cinderella was just a drunk princess who lost her shoes at a party.”

The PR spin is often mistaken for deceit, when it really is quite the opposite. We pride ourselves on conducting thorough research and coming up with creative story ideas to help enhance your brand’s credibility. We are honest storytellers with sincere motives and we are keen on sharing with the public what our clients do.

Never say no

Our aim is to run a campaign that meets our clients’ needs, and this leads to the next misconception – that we are pushovers incapable of saying no. Which leads to the accusation of incessant and irrelevant pitching. (For our fellow PR friends and marketers, here are some tips on pitching gracefully to the media).

In actual fact, we first listen to our client’s needs, then consult with them on a suitable media strategy, and establish clear expectations on what we can deliver. We foster confidence and reassure clients that sometimes, the story they want to tell is not going to fly with the media or public. It’s our job to help them craft a message and strategy that will be valuable and of interest to news outlets.

Sticking to the old school

Some traditional PR methods still stand the test of time, but as consumer trends evolve, so does PR. Old PR approaches would include writing a press release and pushing it to media. These days we’re looking at all the channels available to a brand to reach out to their audience. This means staying on the pulse of changes in marketing, social media, search engine algorithms, inbound marketing and much more – these trends provide fascinating user insights that will complement traditional efforts.

Good PR is more than hardselling stories to journalists or glorifying brands to sway public perception – we are about telling engaging, newsworthy and truthful brand stories across the most suitable platforms. Only then will the media and public start trusting a brand and its products.

To find out how Mutant can help with your PR efforts, drop us a line at [email protected].

Disney – Cinderella Castle Mosaic Selective Coloring image by Joe Penniston is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

How to spring clean your website and improve your search ranking

So, you want to come up first on Google?

That’s great! And it’s definitely possible. But first there is a lot of spring cleaning and forward planning that needs to be done.

Old social media pages

Remember that Bebo page? And your Myspace account? So does Google. But if you don’t want to associate with them any more, they need to go.

Let’s call these your social media ghosts. Any old social profiles, any spammy links you might have bulk-purchased back in the day when companies sold you links to boost your SEO, and any rogue URLs. Delete, delete, delete.

Google Webmaster has some great tools to determine the quality of your site and flag any duplicate content – sign yourself up and then use these to do a clean up. Do that now, and don’t come back to this blog post until you’re done.

For a free website audit with Mutant, click here!

Look and feel

Ok! Next step – UPDATE. Just as we update our wardrobe for a new season, we need to update our sites for search (and look and feel – get rid of any nasty 90s WordArt or strobe-like flashy ads while you’re at it).

Tags

It sounds technical but it’s really not. Ensure every page is pushed as much as it can – we call this optimisation – to boost your search rankings. You may have seen the fields in the back-end of your website – now’s the time to fill them in. The most important ones to keep in mind:

Title:
Meta description:
H1:
ALT Tag:
Content

Check the basics first – is your contact information, services page and client list up-to-date? Do you need to take some fresh pics of your team?

Now look at the copy on your pages, and your blog. You might have laid out your top predictions for 2013 – go back and evaluate those predictions. Were you on the mark or not? If your “latest trends” piece was published back in 2007, change the headline to something a little more retrospective, then write a new post bringing you into the new age of 2014.

Internal linking

Then set about creating internal links between your old blogs and the pages on your site. The more of a web you create, the more likely you are to keep readers on your site. So, if we go back to that Latest Trends piece, update your commentary to 2014, compare and link to your 2007 blog, and make sure you also create links throughout your site, perhaps to your Services, Contact, or home page.

You are likely to feel a wave of nostalgia as you read through your old blogs. Use it! This is your chance to use the #throwbackthursday #TBT hashtag on Twitter or Instagram and share it on Google+.

Next steps

Now, that you’ve had your website spring clean, it’s time to LEVERAGE all the tools and connections in your arsenal.

There are actually a lot of free tools out there that have a big impact on your searchability. You should have an updated profile on Google Places, your details should be correct in the Yellow Pages, and you should set yourselves up on business review site Yelp.

Having an active Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Google + account will also boost you up the rankings – again, it goes back to building that rich web in which to trap searches.

You should also leverage existing relationships you have with clients, clubs, chambers of commerce and tradeshows.

Customer stories are excellent “social proof” of your quality. Ask your clients if they can write a testimonial for you to display on your site, and offer to do the same in return for a link. If anyone mentions your brand or displays your logo on their page, encourage them to link to your website, and if you can write something for them – like a guest blog – make sure it links back to your business.

Now you can set about LURING your audience in with exciting content that will entertain and enrich anyone who comes across. Remember, the ultimate goal is to get people to your site, and to keep them there.

Take some time to sit down with your team and map out your audience profile to determine who you are talking to, what they are looking for, and what content you can create that will attract and engage them. Then start blogging!

N.B: A point to note on guest blogging:

Guest blogging should not replicate text on your own blog as you can risk compete for authority, meaning, their site might trump yours in search, and Google might then punish you for “copying” their content. Also make sure the site you are submitting to is authoritative, relevant and trustworthy – you don’t want your guest blogging to be detrimental your brand.

To find out about Mutant Communications’ content marketing packages for businesses, drop us a line at [email protected]

How to approach bloggers and establish good relationships

Bloggers of our day have been bestowed with something that even stirs the jealous bones of news teams – loyal, trusting readers. Pictures of newly-adopted kittens, short articles about food, and event reviews filled with selfies and one-too-many canapé pictures – which would be considered taboo for traditional news outlets – live flamboyantly on blogs and entice countless readers.

What we’re seeing today is a shift of consumer preference, and oftentimes trust, in the content they consume. Rather than professionally written news pieces, many are seeking entertaining, picture-filled blog posts drizzled with humour, sarcasm and written in simple English. Consumers look to blogs to form their purchasing decisions and the marketing impact of a persuasive, well written blog post is undeniable.

Many blogs are functioning with structured editorial teams in place, but they still work differently from newsrooms, which is why brands need to do a little homework if they hope to land a spot on popular web logs.

First impressions do count, and it’s important to start off on the right foot when you approach bloggers. But how can brands actually start approaching these digital wordsmiths?

By now, you would have done your research and compiled a comprehensive list of potential bloggers who you feel best represent your brand.

While bloggers in the past might have accepted impersonal notes from PR and marketing executives, they are less appreciative of it today. Make sure you write a personalised note to each blogger, building rapport and clearly stating what your brand offers and how you’d like to partner with them. Keep in mind that they are not obliged to rave about your product or write a story off a generic press release, even if you give them a freebie.

It’s not a ‘numbers game’ anymore, so avoid the automated approach of mass emails to hundreds of people (which will likely end up in the spam folder, and result in your email address getting blocked). Focus instead on building an actual relationship with the relevant bloggers in order for them to understand and trust your product or service. Only then will they become true brand advocates.

While everyone wants the big and famous blogs with a massive following, credible smaller blogs are often easier to approach and work with, and can spur the larger blogs to take notice.

Before reaching out, start following them on social media and reading their blogs to get an idea of how they tick. Better still, become a genuine fan of their blog – start reading, sharing, and commenting on their posts. That way, you’ll understand how your brand can fit in with the blog’s narrative and come up with suitable angles.

Take the relationship from cyberspace to real life after you’ve personally written to the bloggers – nothing beats human interaction. Have a chat about your brand and make sure you highlight anything that could be of interest to their readers. The quality of your product or brand is going to inspire the blogger to write about it, much more than your tenacity or gift-giving.

Bear in mind that the aim is not to receive unpaid advertising – bloggers truthfully share their experiences about products and services. If you want to buy a sponsored spot on their blog, it will be highlighted as such.

Bloggers have real impact and genuine points of view, and genuine interactions will always yield much greater results. So get creative, and get personal! It’s time to hit the blogs.

For more information on how Mutant can help with blogger engagement, get in touch with us at [email protected]

Chase Jarvis and fiercekitty – Photowalk Gnomedex 2009 image by kris krüg is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The Golden Circle – Focusing on the ‘Why’ in your communications

Google dethroned tech darling Apple on the 2014 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brand ranking released days ago. The departure of their charismatic leader, business choke-ups and perceived lack of innovation in recent times likely played a part in Apple’s gradual decline – but few will disagree that Apple is still one of the most important and trend-setting companies in the world.

This news reminded me of a spellbinding TED talk by business guru Simon Sinek and his concept of “The Golden Circle”. While no brand remains at the top forever, Apple is the perfect example of a business that has exceled by functioning differently. Sinek related a simple truth – the most successful brands in the world live by “The Golden Circle”. It’s a simple shift in thinking towards your business approach, but will completely change how your business communicates.

The Golden Circle is divided into three parts – what, how and why. Every business knows ‘what’ they’re selling, some know ‘how’ they do it and their USP, while few think about and communicate the ‘why’, essentially the purpose of their business.

Most businesses communicate outside in. They tell people what they’re selling, how the product works and what’s special about it, but few touch on the core purpose of their business with each product. Here’s Sinek’s revelation – truly visionary brands, like Apple, communicate from the inside out. Every communication opportunity highlights why they’re doing what they do. Apple is about innovation – creating user-friendly products that make people’s lives better. The iPhone, iMac, iPad and all their products are a result of their core purpose. This is what makes people coming back for more. They believe in the company’s vision and transform into loyal brand evangelists.

Just think about the behemoth brands – Nike hasn’t found success merely selling running shoes. ‘Just do it’ is what we can relate to. The sense that it’s time we got started, time we pushed ourselves to our limits, and the innate ability we all have to succeed if we just try. Tech giant Google is so much more than the world’s number one search engine. They want to impact how the world collects and perceives information at every level.

But this isn’t all marketing hogwash, and Sinek delves into the science behind his theory. When brands communicate leading with the ‘why’, they speak directly to the limbic system, the part of the brain that affects behaviour and accounts for our gut feeling. This influences purchasing decisions more than appealing to the rational of our brain, achieved when brands communicate the ‘what’ of products and services to consumers.

Not too long ago, I had a chat with our fearless Mutant chief, Joe Barratt, about why he started Mutant Communications. While I’m sure our team wouldn’t mind a little fame and fortune, Joe spoke about his passion for helping businesses grow, be it startups trying to find their footing or established businesses hoping to grow their presence, and that’s really what forms the basis of Mutant’s work and why we do what we do. How do we do it? We tell great stories that build winning brands. What do we do exactly? We create content and help brands communicate across different outlets and media platforms to get the word out.

So is your company telling a story framed around the ‘why’? Do your customers understand and subscribe to the same beliefs that drive your business? Have you been affecting purchasing decisions with communications that spell the purpose of your business, or have you been repeating the ‘what’, like most other businesses?

There are likely a number of companies out there that sell similar products and provide similar services, a few that define themselves with a USP akin to yours, but not many with visionary business beliefs, and who communicate that well.

Now is a great time to review how you’ve been narrating your brand story and your approach to every communications decision, starting with the ‘why’.

For ideas on how you can communicate the ‘why’ in your business, get in touch with us at [email protected].

Why? image by BuzzFarmers is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Screen capture of Simon Sinek’s TED Talk, How great leaders inspire great action

More bang for your blogging buck: How to keep a good blog

One of the things I love about PR and marketing is how aware we have to be of consumer trends, and I’ve come to realise how differently consumers act in a social-media / technology-led era compared to the past. Engaging the crowd is now a more sophisticated affair and requires being fluent in the language of content marketing, SEO, web analytics and of course, blogging, among others.

There were one million blogs in 2004 and a whopping 152 million in 2013 – that’s one blog being created every half a second, according to a HubSpot webinar on blogging. Blogs are truly a phenomenal force and if well managed, can definitely help build a connection with the audience and generate leads.

Competition is stiff and you’ll need to be smart about your approach to stand out. Develop the habit of staying up-to-date on the blogosphere’s evolving trends to ensure you stay relevant and write interesting blog posts that gel with your ongoing marketing and PR efforts. HubSpot recently shared a few tips on successful blogging, which are bound to boost your blog readership and generate leads.

Long Tail Keywords.

Since the introduction of Google’s Hummingbird search algorithm, searches are now more effective with additional keywords and more context. For instance, Google “coffee shops” and you’ll get more results that you can handle – looking for that good ol’ cuppa joe is not so simple anymore. Being more specific and typing “coffee shop Singapore”, “coffee roasted beans Singapore” or “chill café Singapore” will yield more favourable and useful results.

Instead of specific, singular keywords, the focus has shifted to long tail keywords, phrases that are a combination of keywords to deliver targeted results (think Chinatown chicken rice stall or Tuas chemical factory, for instance) and keep in mind that the longer, more specific keywords are less common, individually, but add up to account for the majority of search-driven traffic.

So start brainstorming long-tail keywords that can help people find your business and include them in your blog posts.

Sharable content.

Your blog content needs to be accessible. People enjoy sharing news through social media – be it Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Google+ – and news feeds are broadsides of the digital sphere. Social media and content depend on one another, and content that is enjoyable, shareable and insightful – and better still if it’s viral – results in higher visibility as it makes its way around the Internet.

Encourage comments.

The comment box used to be spam bait, but is now regarded as an important tool to help foster relationships and stimulate discussion. If you haven’t already, set up a comment box and get readers involved. Encourage them to voice their thoughts, listen to their suggestions and complaints, and respond diligently. Always remember, it’s a two-way communication.

Guest blogging.

Guest bloggers with wide appeal might seem like a great idea but approach this with caution. Yes, the links can increase your SEO rankings and visibility but only if the blog post is unique. Duplicating posts from your own site could actually drop your own search ranking if Google reads you as having copied from another more popular site.

Topical vs Evergreen content.

Topical posts are trendy, time-sensitive content that include press releases, announcements, and lighthearted photos or memes on social media. While it helps to spike page views, you will need to push content regularly to maintain the numbers.

Evergreen content is relevant today, tomorrow and for a long time to come. This relevance ensures a steady stream of readers who can always refer to the content for insights, regardless of how long the article has been published. Writing tips, advice on changing engine oil in an automobile, or suggestions for a personal savings plan all fall under that category. For a healthy balance, it’s advised that 80% of blog content should be evergreen, and 20% topical.

Content Calendar.

Plan what topics you’re crafting and when you’ll be putting up your blog posts. We find this easiest with a spreadsheet clearly defining the topics, targeted upload date, listing specific owners and deadlines. Ensure that you’re uploading content at least once every week for the next six months.

One voice.

Whether it’s a blog, a Facebook status update, Tweet, or thoughts regarding a news article shared on LinkedIn – make sure you use a common voice that applies across all platforms. The audience will grow to relate to and trust this voice and more importantly, start connecting with you.

All this seems like a long list, but will soon come as second nature with practice. I find it helpful to go through these points as you review your newly written blog posts. You’ll optimise your content by heaps and ensure your brand is associated with quality by every reader and potential lead.

If you’d like to discuss your blogging / content marketing strategy, or if you’d like help crafting riveting blog posts, get in touch with us at [email protected].

7/52 – ghosts in the night {life on pause} image by PhotKing ♛ is licensed under CC BY 2.0.