Expert insights on storytelling and PR

Mynewsdesk attended PR Moment and Ketchum's Storytelling conference on 19th September.  The speakers gave some fantastic insights into the most effective ways to tell your brand's story which we'd like to share. So, we created a Storify of the Twitter activity and have compiled a list of snippets below.

Clare Francis, Editor in Chief, Moneysupermarket.com

1. The key to successful content is no longer “keywords.”  Content must be high quality, relevant and resonate with your audience.  It should be a good story which reads naturally and fits your audience’s needs.

2. Their in house content team is larger than many newspapers' business/finance desks.

3. The Content, PR, SEO, Social media, CRM and Branding teams work together to ensure that all messages are consistent and timed to amplify the message.

   
   

Tom Barton, Head of Communications, Capgemini

1. In a crowded marketplace it is incredibly difficult to differentiate yourself from your competitors.  In an attempt to do so Capgemini relaunched their website and overhauled their communications strategy by placing their employees at both the heart and forefront of their organisation.

2. Their employees are expected to dedicate 2 hours a week to social media and blog on behalf of the company. Each blog is sent to the communications team where it goes through an editorial process. This process is not heavy handed as speed and authenticity are vital.

3. Capgemini’s internal experts have been paired with social media partners to help them get the most out of social media.  

   
   

Stephen Waddington, Digital and Social Media Director, Ketchum

1. The tablet is taking over the web.

2. We engage with screens for 4.4 hours of our leisure time every day.

3. PR is shifting, organisations have their own forms of media and are moving towards a “social business” model.

4. Ketchum has dissected Oreo’s communications strategy as they admire it. They have identified the newsroom model as the way organisations should be working. This essentially supports the “social business” model.

5. The modern PR team, whether in-house or agency team, needs to remodel and operate more like a newsroom.  Listening, producing, publishing and evaluating.

   
   

Kevin Hoy, Web Manager, Greater Manchester Police

1. Greater Manchester Police produced their own app to break down the barriers between the police and the community.

2. All content is geotagged when it is uploaded to the website’s CMS, allowing their app to use location services.

   
   

Dee Cotgrove, Director of Communications, Met Office

1. The Met Office has has identified relevant organisations to form partnerships with, such as the NHS, to embed their content onto their website. This improves their brand’s credibility.

2. The communications team identified key cultural, national and sporting events to create specific content for this audience, such as bespoke Glastonbury forecasts. This brought the Met Office to a new audience.

   
   

Richard Bagnall, Chair AMEC Social Media Group, Member CIPR Social Media Panel

1. On measuring content and social media: "avoid chart porn".  It might look pretty but it isn’t useful.  Are you counting what is easy to count or are you counting what really matters?

2. Klout, Kred and PeerIndex measure popularity not influence. An example being Big Ben was identified as being influential on drugs as it repeatedly tweeted the word “bong”.

3. ‘Sentiment’ in social monitoring systems is only accurate 30 - 60% of the time.

4. For a story to go viral it often has to be humorous but it must be always be relevant and resonate with specific communities.

   
   

Emma Hart, Head of PR and Kristian Lorenzon, Head of Social, O2

1. O2’s approach to social media is to enthuse, inform and provide a service.  They aim to use humour whenever it’s appropriate but avoid making jokes about sensitive issues, politics and the royal family.

2. When a crisis hit and the O2 network went down for 2 days, the communications team responded to every single tweet - 120,000 in total.  They responded humorously to some very angry and explicit posts and as a result they gained support from a large proportion of their following, turning the crisis into an opportunity to show their brand as personable and humorous.

3. They have a "resident comedian" in their communications team!

If you would like to have a look at a Storify summary of the twitter activity during the event then click here.