6 Facebook tips to protect your reputation

By Tracy Jones

Facebook can be a booby trap for people in the public eye. And you don’t have to be famous to get caught out. I’ve seen public servants, senior executives, front-line staff and company representatives all find themselves in hot water with a simple slip of the mouse.

1.       Check your security settings regularly. Facebook is constantly changing its security settings. You need to stay on top of what you are and are not allowing others to see. Pay particular attention to the Timeline and Tagging settings, which control the level of privacy on what others are saying about you.

2.       Ditch the funny profile photo. I know of a case where two men were killed in a tragic accident. The media sourced photos of them from their Facebook profiles and plastered them all over the news – one posing in his uniform and the other obviously taken during a long Sunday-afternoon session with the boys.

3.       Be careful what you Like. Yep. That new Facebook page “I think the Government sucks and should be thrown out at the next election” was really funny. It’s just a shame you’re a public servant and your boss doesn’t agree. You might also want to think twice before Liking “I’m not an alcoholic – I’m Australian” or “If I could punch you without getting in trouble, believe me, I would”.

4.     Keep track of your friends. Remember your second cousin’s ex-girlfriend who befriended you on Facebook a few years back? She now works as a journalist for the local newspaper.

5.     Your friends have other friends. It’s a great lark when you and your friends share a “private” joke about what you got up to on the weekend. Just be aware that they have other friends who may not see the funny side. You particularly need to watch for this one if you missed point number 1.

6.     Don’t drink and drive. Don’t drive a car, a keyboard or a mouse.

The Language of Creatives: Our Simple Glossary

What do all those words that creative people use mean? We often have to help our clients get through the industry jargon, so we created this simple glossary of commonly-used words.

AUTHORISATION TAG: During election periods, some advertising and marketing materials is required to be properly authorized under the Electoral Act and officers should inform themselves of these as serious penalties apply for breach of the legislation.

AIS: Aboriginal Interpreter Service. A Northern Territory Government service that provides interpreter and translator services throughout the Northern Territory. Visit www.nt.gov.au/ais

BLEED: An extension of colour beyond the edge of the artwork so that once your artwork is trimmed you get clean colour all the way to the edge of the page. ‘No bleed’ means that the artwork is the exact same size as the finished printout. If artwork with no bleed is printed on a colour copier or office printer there will be a white margin around the outside.

CAD APPROVAL: TV commercials receive classifications just like all other television programming. The classification tells the stations at what times they can air the commercial. For example, PG-rated commercials cannot be played during G-rated programs. When a TV commercial has been rated and approved by CAD it receives a CAD approval number. TV stations need to know what the CAD approval number is before they can air a commercial. Production houses will generally coordinate the CAD approval process on behalf of their clients. For more information about CAD approval visit www.freetv.com.au/Content_Common/pg-CAD-About-CAD-Numbers.seo

CMYK: See Process Colour.

COLLATERAL: Collateral, or promotional collateral, is all the printed promotional and information resources associated with a campaign. For example, a campaign about teenage binge drinking might include the following collateral: posters, A4 fact sheets, wallet-sized cards with emergency services contact phone numbers and a pull-up banner. Radio and TV commercials are not classified as collateral.

GSM: The weight of paper. Standard copier paper is 80GSM. Lower numbers indicate lighter, thinner paper and higher numbers indicate thicker paper or card. Different paper brands measure GSM differently so whenever possible ask your printer to provide a paper sample to confirm the weight. When you get printing quotes, check the GSM specified to make sure you are happy with it. GSM should not be confused with coating. Coatings include matt, satin and gloss.

HEX: Short for Hexadecimal colours, Hex is a formula for web-based colours and is represented by a series of 7 digits, such as #000000 (the formula for black) or #FF69B4 (hot pink). There are certain colours recognised as being “web safe” and able to be replicated accurately on most web browsers. You should ask your designer to recommend web safe colours if this is important to you.

IMAGERY: The photos and pictures included in campaign artwork. Does not include logos and graphics.

KEY NUMBER: An identification number allocated to every TV or radio commercial produced. Production houses provide key numbers for their commercials. The key number is supplied to TV or radio stations to a) help them identify the commercial in their system and b) confirm that they are playing the correct advertisement. Each time an advertisement is updated, the key number will change. The new key number will ensure that the stations are playing the correct version of the commercial. It is good practice to allocate key numbers to all commercials, including print and online.

LOADING: This is an extra amount charged on top of a standard advertising placement cost for placement in a preferred location. Some examples of preferred locations that will incur additional costs include:

• Press: Front page, early general news (generally pages two to nine), or right hand page
• Radio: Just before or after the news, playing the commercial at a specified time or at exactly the same time each day. Also, different times of the day cost different amounts. Breakfast (6:00 am – 9:00 am) and drive (4:00 pm – 6:00 pm) are generally more expensive.
• TV: Just before or after a specific program, playing the commercial at a specified time or at exactly the same time each day. It also costs more to air your commercial during popular, highly-rated programs.

MEDIA SCHEDULE: A plan identifying when a TV or radio commercial will be played (including dates, times, programs and channels) and when a press advertisement will appear in the newspaper or magazine (including date, loading and schedule). The media schedule may or may not also include a breakdown of costs.

OFFLINE EDITS: Early editing to a TV commercial before any of the special effects have been applied and before the sound has been added and edited.

ONLINE EDITS: Edits to a TV commercial that has been finalised and is ready to go to air. Edits at the online stage take more time and resources because the sound and special effects need to be updated to match any changes to the commercial’s footage.

PANTONE: A brand name for a colour matching system that is recognised throughout the world. The Pantone colour system provides an accurate way of ensuring the colour you want is replicated time and time again. You will often see Pantone colour represented by the letters PMS and a unique number. There are several different Pantone systems available, the most common being coated (C) and uncoated (U). Examples include PMS289C or PMS 1345U. Pantone provides formulas for both spot colour and process colour. See also RGB, Hex, Spot and Process Colour.

PAPER SIZES: There are standard paper sizes used world-wide. All paper sizes in the A-series (A5, A4, A3 etc.) are based on a standard ratio. Each smaller size is created by halving the preceding size. For example, A4 equals half of A3. You can find out more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_sizes#The_international_standard:_ISO_216. DL is not part of the A-series standard paper sizing. It is roughly the size of a business envelope, or exactly one third the size of an A4 page.

PRINT-READY ARTWORK: Graphic design files that have been set up ready to be professionally printed. Files are only supplied as print-ready files when they are ready to be supplied to the printer. They will often be a larger file size because all the pictures will be crisp and clear with higher resolution for professional printing. Print-ready files will also include bleed marks, crop marks and trim marks.

PROCESS COLOUR: Also called CMYK colour or four-colour. Files set up as process colour go through the printing press four times. Each time a new colour is added – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK. This allows the output of every possible colour combination. You need to use process colour if your artwork includes colour photos or pictures. See also RGB, Spot Colour, Pantone and Hex.

PRODUCTION HOUSE: A company that produces TV or radio commercials, videos, DVDs and other audio visual materials. A production house has the facilities to create an audio-visual tool from start to finish including filming, sound recording, editing, adding graphics, outputting final files to CD or DVD, arranging CAD approval and sending (Adstreaming) commercials to TV stations. Production houses generally do not write scripts, advise on media schedules or channels or book media placement.

RGB: RGB is a formula used for screen-based graphics. It refers to the relative saturation of Red Green and Blue in the colour and is expressed as a series of three numbers, such as RGB 176:214:138. HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) is also sometimes used, although RGB is regarded as the industry standard. RGB colours cannot be used for printing. See also Process Colour, Spot Colour, Pantone and Hex.

SCRIPTWRITER: A professional with experience writing scripts for TV, radio or DVD. A scriptwriter will have experience writing scripts that are suited to being read aloud and scripts that will fit within tight timeframes if required.

SPEND: Commonly used to refer to ‘media spend’ – how much of the budget has been allocated for playing the commercial on radio or television or placing the advertisement in newspapers or magazines.

SPOT COLOUR: A single colour that is created using one ink, dye or paint. Can include shades but only as a percent opacity of the original colour. Collateral produced with one spot colour can only include white and the spot colour. Newspaper ads produced with one spot colour generally include black, white and the spot colour. Printing in spot colour used to be cheaper than printing in process colour however that is not longer always the case.

STORYBOARDS: A series of pictures with captions underneath each picture. The pictures are sequential and tell a story. Storyboards are used for developing TV commercials. The storyboard will outline the visual concept, the script and may include notes about special effects, sound and music.

STYLE GUIDE: A document that outlines rules for producing documents. A style guide will generally include rules for using the logo, specific fonts for use, rules for grammar, capitalisation, acceptable abbreviations and more. Many organisations have their own style guide. If you don’t, use the Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers, commonly known as the Commonwealth Style Guide.

TALENT: Any individual whose voice or person appears in photographs or filmed footage used in a campaign or kept on file for potential future use.

TALENT RELEASE: A legally approved form signed by talent authorising the use of their voice or images or film of their person. Talent release forms must also clearly outline any restrictions for the use of the image or voice. Children under the age of 18 years must have their talent release signed by a parent or guardian.

TVC: TV commercial.

VOICEOVER: A voice recording in a TV commercial that is played over an image and is spoken by a person who is not seen on the screen.

Watch out in coming weeks for our other glossaries: The Language of the Media and The Language of Social Media.

Is your advertising dollar buying you new business?

Advertising can be one of the most expensive elements of marketing your business. It can be highly effective, but the return on your investment will vary widely depending on your business, product and audience targeted.

The Benefits

• It is highly visible and seen/ heard by a lot of people
• It reaches customers who don’t already know about you
• Imparts new information to those who do (such as special offers and discounts)
• If done well, can have high recall
• Places you into people’s consciousness, even if they don’t need your services right now.

The Pitfalls

• It can be expensive to make the ad and then run it (depending on the media chosen)
• It will not reach people who are not watching and listening to the place where your ad is.

Is advertising for my business?

Before you consider advertising, you need to have a thorough understanding of your target audience and what they watch, read and consume. Try asking some of your existing customers where they heard about you. Have they seen any of your latest advertising? What magazines do they read? What radio stations do they listen to and when? What other advertising have they noticed?

Which advertising works best?

There is no easy answer to this question. It really depends on where your customers are at. But some media is better at some things than others, as shown below. We've used examples of Northern Territory media to demonstrate.

Newspapers: Examples include the NT News, Darwin and Palmerston Sun, Centralian Advocate and regional weeklies such as the Katherine Times, Territory Regional Weekly and Eylandt Echo. Newspapers have a short shelf life but high circulation. Depending on the publication, they can be really cheap to advertise in. You pay more for Saturdays and Sundays, colour and specified pages. Be aware that public notices cost more per column centimeter than regular advertising and the ad size is smaller. At the same time, public notices offer highly qualified traffic – people looking in the cars section are actually looking for cars. Newspapers are best for imparting lots of information. Design and layout of your ad will be an additional cost of between $100-$500 depending on size and style.

Magazines: Examples include Darwin Life, Resident, Intensity, fishing magazines and Top End Arts. Magazines generally have a longer shelf life, which means your ad is seen for a long time. Most magazines are also directed as specific target audiences, so readers are better qualified. Some magazines also offer complimentary editorial if you buy advertising. Design and layout of your ad will be an additional cost of between $400-$1500 depending on size and style.

Radio: Examples include HOT 100, MIXFM, Territory FM, KIKFM, Larrakia Radio, 8HA and Sun FM. Each individual advertisement on radio is relatively cheap, so you run a lot of ads. Set a budget and ask the radio station to design a campaign for you. Production of your ad will be an additional cost of between $100-$1000 depending on style, voiceover, music and sound effects used.

Television: Examples include Channel Nine, Southern Cross, Imparja and Channel Ten Digital. Television advertising can be expensive, but ask your salesman to work to a Budget. Less watched shows can be much cheaper to advertise in, along with morning and daytime timeslots. Production costs vary wildly – from as little as a couple of hundreds of dollars to over $100,000. Most businesses can make a simple but effective advertisement for $1000-$3000. Beware of special approvals needed for TV advertising and allow plenty of time for production.

Online: Examples include news websites like www.ntnews.com.au, Facebook and Google AdWords. Online advertising is cheap to produce and run. With improvements in targeting, they can also bring you very qualified inquiries. First consider whether your audience is online.

Don’t just blog it – think about it.

I recently read a blog that suggested PR agencies were not practicing what they preach because only a quarter of them had blogs.

As a PR agency with a blog, you might expect me to agree with this line of thinking. But I don’t.

Blogging is just ONE strategy that a PR agency – or anyone else for that matter – may use to communicate with its target audience. Others include Yellow Pages, advertising, networking, media, newsletters, e-newsletters, website … shall I go on with my list?

My own agency has a blog but we don’t use Yellow Pages or hard copy newsletters. I know of other agencies that do use newsletters and advertising but not blogs. We each choose the right tools for our product and our audience.

Similarly, we strongly recommend that some of our clients use Facebook but not others. We recommend TV advertising for some campaigns but not others.

Not every tool is appropriate in every circumstance and blogging is no different. So how do you choose?

I always start with the same questions:

· What do you want to achieve?
· What are your key messages?
· Who do you need to talk to?
· What will push their buttons?

Don’t waste your money on activities that won’t achieve your goals. Put your time and energy into ones that will.

10 New Year's Resolutions not to break

1. I will update my corporate profile. A good company profile is essential to selling your services to new clients and to attach to tenders. Make a point to update yours this year to save you time later.

2. I will finally do that media training. Don't wait for a crisis before you learn the basics of dealing with the media.

3. I will do my forward plan for the year before the end of March. Actually, I'd be happy if you managed to get it done before September.

4. I will update my website and remove profiles of the staff who left three years ago. Most of us are guilty of letting our websites get out of date. One of the ways to avoid this is to remove information that dates easily.

5. I will learn how to use Facebook, Bebo, Tagged, YouTube or LinkedIn. If not, make sure your children show you one of them.

6. I will schedule at least five networking functions with my peers and colleagues. It's easy to lose touch with peers and colleagues in the heat of doing business. Put them in your diary like every other important task.

7. I will subscribe to at least three newsletters, blogs, forums or publications that will help me learn more about my industry. Don't lose touch with the latest trends and news in your own industry.

8. I will check the news every day. Know what's going on in the world around you. If you can't catch the TV news, read a paper, listen to the radio or get your news online.

9. I will keep an eye on my competitors. After all, they might be doing something good that you can do better!

10. I will try at least one new marketing idea that I haven't been game to try before. Go out on a limb. Take a chance. Get creative. You might be surprised at your success.

Making the most of the classified ad

The classified ad is the staple of newspaper advertising departments.

From a consumer point of view, the humble classie does the sorting for us, allowing us to find exactly what we are looking for in a predictable place.

I love classies for a lot of reasons. But I do want to urge advertisers to use them for what they are good at.

First the pros…..

- Classies reach a very targeted audience: We’re constantly telling our clients to target their messages and classies do exactly that. When I am selling a car, my ad is going right in the place where people who want to buy a car are looking.

- Classies are accessible to everyone: You don’t have to be a big advertiser to place a classie. A small classie can cost as little as $20 or $30.

- Classies are sorted by subject: You don’t need to wade through every page of the paper to find what you are looking for. You simply flip to the Whitegoods section and there are all the secondhand fridges in one convenient place.

- Classies can be very clever: I’ve seen some brilliant marketing campaigns built around the classie. By using a series of small, cheap classies, you can leverage frequency to build a whole campaign at a very reasonable price.

Now the cons ….

-Classies cost more per centimetre: The classified advertising rate can be $2 or $3 higher than the standard display advertising rate.

- Classie centimetres are smaller than a display centimetre: A standard tabloid news page is seven columns wide while a classified page is eight columns wide. The page isn’t bigger – the ads are just skinnier.

- Classies don’t attract volume discounts: Big (and even medium-size) advertisers get discounts off casual rates on their display advertising. These discounts generally do not apply to classies (but ask anyway, as you never know what deal you can do).

- Classies don’t always have the same flexibility as display: You need to stick to fairly standard sizes with a classie. For example, you can’t have a three-column classie in most sections – only two or four (or more). Still, ask for special shapes because your rep may be willing to go out on a limb.

- Classies don’t account for passerby traffic: Just because you’re not looking to buy a new TV doesn’t mean I can’t tempt you with an ad cleverly placed in the sports section. Not everyone who will be tempted to buy a product will be looking for it in the classies.

All in all, use classies for what they are good for and use display advertising when it shines.

And don’t be afraid to talk to your marketing consultant, media buyer or newspaper rep about doing special deals and making special sizes.

Newspapers have come a long way over the past few years and you’ll be surprised at the range of advertising options available.

News Limited has developed a website specifically looking at the creative use of advertising space that is packed full of case studies, celever ideas and challenges to the traditional use of print media. You can visit the site at http://www.newsspace.com.au/

If you are in the Territory, get in touch with the NT News or Centralian Advocate and ask to see the publication Think Outside the Rectangle for a fastastic range of ideas.

New ways to reach your NT audience

Posted by Janelle Rees

I’ll let you in on a little secret – up to one third of the NT’s potential free-to-air audience isn’t being reached by the traditional channels.

The introduction of Channel 10 in May 2008 and the upcoming introduction of regional advertising footprints by SBS will permanently change the face of Territory television advertising.

So what does that mean for your business?

To borrow a few clichés, by jiggling your advertising budget around even just slightly, you can borrow from Peter to pay Paul and reap some of the following benefits:

- Get ahead of the crowd. No everyone is doing it. This is your opportunity to get out in front and expand your reach beyond your competitors.

- ‘Brands look bigger in a small space’, says the SBS marketing tagline. SBS has the shortest ad breaks on commercial TV, giving viewers less time to get bored of ads and tune out. Channel Ten is growing its client base, but those ad breaks with vision of the Territory and annoying music everyone talks about are a sign they’ve got plenty of ad space available for you.

- Talk to someone new. Channel 10 primarily targets a younger audience than their competitors. SBS reaches more tertiary educated professionals and managers than all the other channels. Start a conversation with a more targeted audience – they’ve probably been waiting for you to get in touch.

- Spend less to get more coverage. At the moment, the cost entry points for SBS and Channel 10 are lower than their competitors and it is potentially easier to get sought-after placements during primetime.

While Channel 10 is only available in Darwin, SBS will be offering two advertising footprints: Darwin; and SA+NT, covering the remainder of the Northern Territory. Almost half of Territorians live outside Darwin and Palmerston, so the SA+NT footprint might be handy for reaching your consumers in some of those out-of-the-way places.

And now something for those who are impressed by statistics – or who need help selling it to senior management. Across regional Australia*, SBS’s regional audience share is around 5 to 6 per cent, depending on which survey period you are reviewing. Channel 10 enjoys an audience share of 15 per cent. That’s a total of 20-ish per cent out of a total 64 per cent of people watching commercial, free-to-air TV on any given night. Or to put it another way – a third of your potential viewing audience.

So should you do next? Think about integrating SBS and Channel 10 into the advertising mix for your next campaign. Expand your current campaign to include these channels. The sooner you get onboard, the sooner you will be able to start enjoying the results.

*Regional Australia: Australian viewing audiences outside the five capitals, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Want more information?

Free TV Australia:
http://www.thinktv.com.au/

ABS NT population statistics:
www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/851BBD844853978CCA2574EF001387AA?opendocument

The Power of Positive Speech

Some friends of mine have just returned from a magnificent round-the-world trip and spent some time regaling me with their holiday stories.

They finished the conversation with this classic: “It was one of those holidays when everything that could go right did go right.”

Hang on – did I hear that correctly? Everything that could go RIGHT?

In PR, we’re always telling our clients how important it is to develop messages that are positive, not negative. “Keep the focus on you,” we tell them.

This story illustrates that point very clearly. Imagine if the story my friends told me was about everything that went WRONG? What would it leave me feeling at the end?

“Typical airlines … I’ve had just that experience with them before … can’t be trusted … who’d go to that country anyway … for the amount you pay you’d think the hotel could at least be clean …. “. And so on, and so on. My focus would be on all the companies and people who had made this holiday a bad one.

Negative messages can divert our attention from the main game. Instead of focusing on the key points I am trying to get across, by being negative I risk leading my audience down another path.

So what happened when my friends told me everything that went RIGHT? What did I feel?

“Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving couple …. good on them …. what a great holiday …” And so on.

Whether you are talking up a product or fending off a developing issue, positive language can be very positive in getting people on side. It builds confidence with the listener and keeps them focused on you and your message.

Think about this scenario: You are the chairman of a company that has had a food product tampered with. You’re facing a media conference. Which of the following messages is going to do the most good for both you and your customers:

a. We can’t believe anyone would do such a terrible thing.
b. We’re going to find this criminal and make him pay.
c. We will stop at nothing to make our food safe for customers.

Think positive, talk positive. It’s the key to clear communication.