#WeArePR: Advocating change is like being alone in a tunnel...

Christine Silfversparre is the 3rd interviewee for the #WeArePR series, an exploration into the evolving world of communications through #PRTech. Christine has been working in diverse industries for a number of years.

What tools do you use at the moment for planning your PR strategy?

Today I’m working with an agency so I can’t make any comments regarding to the planning phase. I work with Mynewsdesk to send out press releases and so on. Then I use social media to talk about our product and engage our brand ambassadors. I use Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, but I don’t have any special tools for it.

Is there anything you feel you just can’t achieve at the moment, with the tools that you’re using for your PR, day to day? Is there anything that’s just a real hassle?

I’m focusing on executing. Anything that could increase my efficiency would be great. I just wish for more working time creating content.

What was a big breakthrough that you had with the tools and techniques you use for PR?

There was a big shift to social media at Castrol that I actually managed. They didn’t even have a Facebook page for the Nordic regions, so I set that up. That was big. It took quite a lot of research that I put together and presented to my managers. I highlighted how we needed to start communicating through social media and I was right. I did all the analysis, planning and strategy. I managed to get a yes from my manager and we started an Instagram and Facebook for the Nordics.

We also used the Castrol Edge Football Ranking tool explained which is a live match tracker measuring each player and the whole team’s performance. In this tool you could see which team where most likely to win. It covered the European Leagues and in this way we could provide stats that generated press coverage in the biggest newspapers and tabloids in the Nordics. You can imagine that this tool set emotions going between agents!

Where do you think you get the best information and intelligence about how to do a good job in PR and marketing?

I actually find LinkedIn quite useful. I follow people there that are publishing different reports and sharing different stories. I am fluent in three languages so I keep track across these different languages as well, it’s quite interesting to see trends and differences.

How do you find it effective to build enthusiasm in your team around new tools and products? How do you make sure they’re actually being used and useful?

It’s challenging. Everything is a challenge because if you are an advocate for change, then you’re in a tunnel alone. You’ve entered the tunnel, and after a while you see the light. But then you’re on the other side of the tunnel from the people you need to convince.

When I was working at Castrol our technical teams were really going down this tunnel about social media. They couldn’t see the light, and it was dark and confusing. So many questions arose; What if you say something, and it’s wrong? What happens? What reaction will we get from the audience? Who are the audience members?

My tip if you find yourself in this situation is to realize it’s part of a process, that people will have a lot of questions as they’re going through this tunnel. I think realizing that was something that helped me through it. Everything that is new and challenging makes people a little bit afraid and not really accepting the new way of working straightaway.
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Read more from Christine on PR measurement, learning from mistakes and more