They are so different but we want them all the same.

We have everything from the quiet followers to the ranters, and the deal seaker to the loyal fan. Take a look at this infographic for 7 Popular Types of Social Media Fans.

But no matter what kind of fan they are, a brand’s job is to make them happy. The best way to do that is to be consistent with content and to address concerns and questions as they arise.
Continue reading »

What makes a great campaign? We as PR professionals spend hours upon hours in brainstorming sessions, trying to come up with something different and ‘out of the box’ for our clients.

And being a Public Relations agency in Dubai, we constantly make sure that our messages are culturally relevant to the Middle East while exhibiting universal appeal. But enough about us, here’s a campaign that we found very amusing:



And to answer the question: what makes a great campaign?

A great campaign is one that makes you stop and pay attention.

Seen any great PR campaigns lately?

After reading the book in school, watching the Gatsby after 10 years I found myself extracting interesting PR tactics from the movie and the script.

Be confident in yourself. Nick Carraway was certain of his honesty and stated in the movie that he is one of the few honest people he’s ever known. Assert your qualities and virtues and be confident in them. Once you acknowledge facts about yourself people will acknowledge them in you and associate you to these traits.
Continue reading »

Since I’ve started working for C&B, I’ve been tasked with writing a monthly blog – great for personal development and a nice change from writing about clients, and about something that interests me.

But the problem starts when I don’t know what to write about. Not just that, how can I be sure that people will be interested in the topic and the way I have approached it? Above all, am I giving the reader valuable information?

The most important part of the blog is the information it contains and if it’s explained properly and clear for the readers to understand.

Is it answering their question?

Is it a topic that they want to know more about?

What have others written about the same topic?

How is my approach any different?
Continue reading »

Should you follow the instructions of your leaders blindly?

This is a question that starts from the day we are born. We learn to listen and obey our parents (well less and less in today’s times), then we move onto school where we are expected to follow the instructions of our teachers before heading out into the ‘real world’ and following our bosses’ every whim.

But should you?

A good leader is not one that expects ‘Yes’ men, but one that encourages innovators. People that think above and beyond the constraints of their day to day role are the ones that will lead to innovation.
Continue reading »

We grew up studying the likes of Shakespeare and Dickens. They join many more great writers whose words still live on generations later.

But times have changed, people have changed and the ways we communicate have changed.

While I personally remember thinking: “Why do we have to decode the words of Shakespeare when his words make little plain sense to readers today?” I also remember arguments of keeping history alive.

Fair enough. But we speak differently now. Some will even say we have butchered the English language. With children growing up communicating through texts and social media, slang and shortcuts have overtaken proper English. Continue reading »

Something so simple – we all write so many emails a day, but we can soon forget the basics when it comes to writing a professional one.

Take a look at this checklist and use it as a refresher course to make sure your emails are on the right track.

1. Keep it simple. No one wants to read a chapter or even a long paragraph for that matter. Stick to your point and get there quickly.
2. Don’t use strange fonts and crazy colours. It doesn’t matter how quirky your personality is, this is just not professional. Keep to standard business fonts in black or blue. Continue reading »

There is a reason why. Twitter has developed into a great way to share are reshare information. Many of us get our daily dose of news on the social media platform, and yet others use it to find out interesting information that they never knew they never knew.

Many of us Tweet and many of us simply ReTweet. Both forms of using this tool are acceptable, but for those of us who Tweet, let me ask you this: What good is a Tweet if it doesn’t get a ReTweet?

A ReTweet is a sign of acceptance, a sign that the information is worth sharing and an even further sign that people see you as a reliable source.

But for some, people just aren’t ReTweeting. Why?
Continue reading »

I recently watched an interview with the President and CEO of a global high-end hotel company about how he further developed his business through moving the headquarters from the US to China just for a month. That got me thinking of the importance of other companies in different industries, as well as a local PR company, to venture into such similar opportunities.

As we expand our consumer database, win accounts that want to make it on the global level and strive to win international clients; we should not underestimate the power of exploring public relations around the world and on different levels.

Moving his senior management team across the world, the CEO states that the risks he assumed, investments he made, and the challenges he faced managing workload and understanding the market, were all made worthwhile by the indispensable learning experience he was exposed to.
Continue reading »

We probably could never talk enough about how important it is to have a good relationship with the media. Our work depends on a mutual partnership with the press and a great firm will have account handlers who have built great media relations with those that matter for the industries in which their clients operate.

Above all it’s about creating personal relationships. In today’s digital world, it has become increasingly easier to take out the first step of a physical introduction and get down to the dirty work. It goes without saying that back in the day meeting a journalist face to face was a pre-requisite, but today it’s a step that makes you stand out from the crowd, so go old-school for better media relations.

Beyond making personal connections, it’s also important to avoid pitfalls that can annoy journalists. Things like irrelevant pitches, obsessive calling, not taking ‘no’ for an answer and complaining about coverage can all get under the skin of our journalistic friends.

Think of it this way, if it would annoy you, it is probably annoying them.

How are your media relations?