Happy Monday!
Got your cuppa ready?
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Comms Creatives content of the week
'Authenticity' for me is about not pretending to be something you're not.
You know what I mean: when the tone sounds all pompous and formal, but it's been written by an ordinary comms pro like you or me.
When we pretend like the brand is perfect, never cocks up and knows everything.
Two posts on social media I wanted to highlight this week sum up authenticity in action.
The Black Country Living Museum
"We ay half had a bostin' day in the sunshine today"
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If you're an organisation that operates in the Black Country, why wouldn't you use local language like this?
It clearly hit the spot on Instagram.
Why this works
Local phrases and slang terms are part of our identity. They're a gift to the communicator who has an audience based in a specific area.
Those phrases we heard since we were kids, they comfort us with nostalgia, they connect us with others who know the phrase, they make us smile.
Back in the day when I worked for a council in South Wales, I'd describe things I liked as 'lush'. Because I wanted people to know a real person was there, showing genuine enthusiasm for the place.
It sounds like a person said it, not a committee of officials.
It's authentic.
If you don't want your brand personality to be a dry as a cream cracker, local language can be an easy win.
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Alexander Mills from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue
In this article, Corporate Communications Manager, Alexander Mills, shares some of the comms flops, booboos and turds he's worked on.
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You'd never think it, if you just relied on listening to conference talks and reading CVs - but ALL of us make mistakes, have campaigns that tank, and persist with ideas that don't work.
Why this works
There are some fab lessons in there.
And while we might think it's brave to be open about these unsuccessful projects, it's actually hugely beneficial to Alexander and the brand he represents.
It's not brave - it's confidence that you know your stuff enough to not hide the 'downs', and only ever mention the 'ups'.
In this article, I can see evidence of a highly strategic and creative mind, and an organisational culture that doesn't squash innovation.
Those mishaps, false starts and lead balloons he mentions have taught his team what works for SYFR's audience, and what doesn't.
You don't get that stuff in a textbook.
For each of the failures, there are probably 20 or more successes. Not trying anything new or creative will never get that kind of pay-off.
Why be embarrassed by sharing the harder parts of your story?
Ultimately, the brand and Alexander himself come off as way more competent and likeable - because it's refreshingly truthful.
We feel better about our own struggles when we see role models face obstacles too. We trust that what is being said has value, because it's not a glossy, aspirational misrepresentation of reality that we're used to.
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SYFR's comms is on fire 🔥, or should I say - their comms has caused 'a thermal incident'? 😂
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Thanks for joining us for lunchtime creative antics
It was chaotic, funny, stress-busting - and just brilliant!
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We were mightily impressed by your creative ideas, writing and drawing.
Special thanks to our creative glamorous assistants, Lynne Wham, and Matt Batten, who not only produced some cracking content during the challenges, but also took us into an enjoyable and fascinating world of Star Wars and Campari based cocktails.
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EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT: 30 FREE places on Comms Creativity Summer Camp
Have fun, make cool stuff, connect with the Comms Creatives Community
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DIARY MARKER: Wednesdays in August from 12.30pm - 1.30 pm
In August running Comms Creativity Summer Camp - with four lunchtime creativity sessions, useful creative resources, inspiration for your work and life and there will also be an after-work cocktail meet-up! I'm off booze, so mocktails for me 🍸🍹💃
It's about:
- Learning
- Stretching yourself to try new things
- Doing it with friends who are on your side
No more feeling stuck in a rut!
This is not just another bunch of webinars, we're are going to change you in one month to become the most creatively confident comms pro you can be.
We have these summer camps for our Social Media Comms Academy Members, but GUESS WHAT?!
YOU CAN TAKE PART FOR FREE!
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It was Lesley's idea to give more comms pros access to this programme as a present from us.
a) Because we love you.
Obviously.
b) Too many of us are working from home with not enough breaks, a feeling that work never stops, and minimal opportunities to let loose and have fun.
It's easy to get in a creative rut when you're snowed under. So we are offering some fun as a public service, you people need some relief from your important and often exhausting work!
c) We want to share with you a taste of what it's like to be part of Social Media Comms Academy.
Because you don't just get incredible access to all the social media training you need, on-demand. It's also a year-round professional development programme, confidence and assertiveness coaching and a community of comms pros who have each other's backs.
Maybe after Summer Camp you'll join the Academy for more. We hope so. But no pressure, we know not everyone has access to a training budget, so at least we can work with you more cash-strapped orgs in August. |
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Comms skills that aren't comms
Would a comms job description include dog training, parenting, theatre performance, mind-reading, and singing?
Probably not. But these are all great transferable skills mentioned in answer to my Linkedin question this week:
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Comms Cartoons
Last week I had loads of chats with really cool people about what makes an organisation good at social media.
(One such chat was with the remarkably talented Natasha Calder for her #CoffeeBreakWith series.)
Anyway. I thought I'd doodle my thoughts on this. It's about moving from traditional corporate behaviours to a more human approach that suits social media.
It's 'social' media: the clue is in the name.
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BOOK NOW: How To Use Comedy On Social Media
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WEDNESDAY 30TH JUNE, 1PM - 3PM
Being funny on social media doesn't have to be just for the big consumer brands.
Not-for-profits like councils, charities, & housing associations can use a little humour online to get huge reputation wins, masses more engagement & positive media coverage.
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We'll look at:
🔶 How be be a funny brand on social media (without messing it up)
🔶 Creative communications lessons we can learn from comedians
🔶 Easy wins to make your audience smile
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Social Media Comms Academy members get to come to the comedy masterclass, and ALL our training for free 😊
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Thanks for keeping Comms Creatives alive and kicking butt
In an ideal work we'd work with everyone for free, but we have mouths to feed! Our business is based on giving real value - which for us means transforming the way you work and giving you the skills and motivation to get amazing social media results.
But this March and April last year, Lesley and I didn't know what would happen with our business, if we'd survive the pandemic meaning nobody had time to do any training.
Would anyone book?
Luckily lovely comms pros kept joining us, and it turned out the universe was on our sides.
I was shielding and we wanted to find a small way to thanks the NHS, so as well as clapping on our doorsteps, we gave some free places on our social media expert course to NHS comms pros.
It was kind of selfish because the best bit of our year was seeing some of those fabulous busy professionals use out training to have more impact at work and help people in the UK when we needed it most.
We liked how it felt (hence the free Creativity Summer Camp!).
ButI want to take this moment to address those amazing people who choose to spend their training budgets with us, to say THANK YOU. It means the world to be able to do something that I love and help people do their best work. We love working with you.
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