I was interested to read a few days ago about a court battle between legendary rockers Pink Floyd and the band’s record label of more than 40 years, EMI.

Apparently, the Floyd took legal action after reportedly objecting to the way in which EMI has been selling their music online. To cut a long story short, the judge ruled in favour of David Gilmour and co and said: “Hey, EMI – leave them songs alone.”

As a big music fan – you won’t be surprised to learn that I’m particularly partial to a bit of Bach – I felt heartened to hear of the Floyd’s victory. Well done to them, I say, for standing up for their artistic integrity and refusing to allow their songs to be sold online individually without their permission.

Of course, the Floyd and their contemporaries are all products of a bygone age of music that we’re unlikely to ever see the like of again – and more’s the pity because most of what I hear on the radio these days makes me want to cut my ears off – so I for one was pleased to see them striking a blow for the old guard.

During the aforementioned court case, Pink Floyd’s legal team argued that, under the terms of their contract with EMI, their albums were seamless and should not be split up. They also claimed that they ‘wanted to retain artistic control’ over their material. And I think that’s right. Now I’m not for one moment suggesting that the advent of new technology is a bad thing; on the contrary. I think it’s great that we have iPods and the ability to download songs from wherever we want, but I think the artist has to retain at least some semblance of control. Using Pink Floyd as an example, their seminal album Dark Side of the Moon is more than a collection of songs, it’s an artistic statement. Yes, by all means make it available for download, but in the form that the Floyd wanted people to hear it. Can you imagine that album without ‘Great Gig in the Sky’ or ‘Us and Them’? Those tracks are part of something much bigger which simply wouldn’t be complete if they were missing.

And the record buying public shouldn’t be ignored either. Surely there are still music fans left in the world who like to physically go to a record store on the day an album or single by an artist they like is released and buy it there and then? So what if it costs you a bit more than ordering it on the internet, there’s still something special about having that new piece of plastic in your hands and then getting it home as quickly as you can to listen to it. But maybe that’s just me. Perhaps times have changed so much and the general quality of popular music is now so poor that there simply aren’t any artists worth getting that excited about. I sincerely hope that I’m wrong on that one, but I think it’s a major factor.

Now, we all know that the record business is like every other worldwide industry at the moment – there were even rumours recently that EMI may have to consider selling the iconic Abbey Road studios to ease the group’s financial problems – but that’s irrelevant as far as I’m concerned. Not everyone wants to download singles or albums and those people should be accommodated, alongside those who embrace all of the new ways of accessing music we now have at our disposal.

So come on, music industry, start listening. Music fans come in all forms – it’s your job to give them what they want – what they really, really want …

Up until a few years ago, the term ‘social media’ was unheard of. Today, it’s inescapable. If you’ve got a Facebook or MySpace page, a Twitter account, or you regularly log on to YouTube to watch videos, you’re taking part in the social media revolution.

The rapid rate at which the use of social media is increasing is astonishing. YouTube is now reportedly the second largest search engine on the internet with 2.6 billion search queries a year – an incredible statistic when you consider that it took radio 38 years to reach 50 million listeners. In short, you can’t ignore it.

There are many reasons why social media is becoming ever more important within the business community. Firstly, it’s an excellent way of reinforcing existing relationships. Many businesses which want to share information can do this easily on Facebook or via Twitter.

It’s also the fastest method of disseminating your information to a wide range of people. Corporate Twitter accounts are a great way of broadcasting company news quickly and concisely. If you post a Tweet, it’s there in the public domain immediately for everyone to see.

Twitter is also excellent for driving people to corporate blogs. By including teasers of your blog entries in your Tweets, you can generate interest and encourage your audience to view your blog in full.

And thanks to YouTube, incorporating video content into your operations can be done with the minimum of fuss. By simply creating a YouTube channel, you can host all of your videos in one place and invite your audience to come in and take a look. It also means you don’t have to slow your website down by using it to host 200 megabyte videos.

But how do you make it work for your business? By following a few simple steps, you can use social media effectively.

Plan ahead – Before you start incorporating social media into your business activities, think about why you’ve chosen to do it and what you want to achieve. Most businesses which are unsuccessful in integrating social media fail because they have no idea what they want to get out of it.

Measure your success – In the past, one of the main criticisms of social media was that it was virtually impossible to measure its success. However, it’s now much easier to do this by seeing how many friends you have on Facebook, how many followers you have on Twitter, or how many views your YouTube video has had. If you’re using social media to try to generate more hits on your website, you can use a programme such as Google Analytics to monitor website traffic.

Know your audience – It’s important to remember that online, people congregate around areas of interest rather than demographics, so ensure you know your audience and give them content and topics that match their interests.

Be different – By all means, look at what other people are doing in terms of social media campaigns but making your Tweets, Facebook page or YouTube videos different is the key to success. For example, if you’ve got a blog, choose an interesting subject to focus on which nobody else is commenting on. Better still, find somebody with an interesting take on a particular situation to write the blog.

Key words – Finally, it’s essential to include as many of your key words as possible in your descriptor on your social media pages as this will improve your search engine position. The more of your key words you can incorporate into your Tweets and Facebook status posts, the better. It’s also important to remember that you need to revisit your key word selection regularly and fine-tune it to ensure that your name stays at the top of popular search results.

A big pat on the back to you Meltwater News for finally standing up for us PR underdogs and fighting that unscrupulous and profiteering pack of hounds the Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA). It’s about time someone challenged their latest money-grabbing ‘link-tax’ scam to make us all pay for online newspaper content (material which PRs have written and supplied to them in the first place!).

I’m glad you are showing your teeth and taking them to Copyright Tribunal. I’d like to bite those no-good mongrels in the backside myself. The fact is, we should be charging you - NLA - for the privilege of using our copy! Without it you’d be out of business. I think the whole PR industry should help Meltwater win their case by boycotting NLA members. I’d like to see how long they would last without our press releases to fill their pages! Grrrrrrrrrr! You deserve a dose of your own medicine!

So, good on you Meltwater. I hope you win and if you need any PR help, give us a call on +44 (0)1747 871752. CIPR and PRCA take note, you should have done this for us years ago when the NLA was a toothless pup!

Q: I’ve had to cut my advertising budget due to the current economic climate but still need to promote my business. How can I do this in a cost-effective way?

A: If you’ve ever wondered why some companies are always in the news, it’s because they understand the value of positive public relations and they most probably have a PR professional driving their media relations.

Public relations deals with reputation management and building great relationships with customers, employees and other groups which interact with your business. Good PR drives sales and creates favourable attitudes by getting people excited and thinking positively about your company.

A professional PR company can help you in a number of ways, including for example preparing press releases to communicate your key messages in local or trade publications, producing newsletters or case studies to illustrate examples of your successes or managing your electronic communications such as your company website or email bulletins to clients.

Whether you are a start-up company or an established business, you do need to be revving up your PR and getting your name and messages out there. With more companies fighting for less work, you need to keep communicating with the outside world to win new business, and so that people will think of you first when the economy picks up.

This is what strategic PR does. It keeps you in front of your customers, and it’s the most effective way of boosting your image and your business. If you don’t have the professional expertise in-house, don’t waste time, resources and money trying to do it yourself. Too often, the job of communicating the company’s strategic messages is given to the office receptionist or director’s secretary who will not have the writing skills, journalistic training or media contacts to do an effective job.

PR doesn’t have to be expensive. For one or two days a month, a PR professional can create a cost-effective communications programme that puts you in touch with the people you want to reach. You’ll benefit from their expertise and contacts, and the publicity your company generates will quickly cover your costs.

And this approach definitely has proven benefits. As Microsoft’s Bill Gates famously said: “If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on PR”, and look what he’s achieved!

E=MC2 welcomes enquiries from companies who want to find out more about how low-cost PR can help them raise their profile and win new business.

One of the best ways of making people aware of your business is through PR.

It’s cost-effective and it can really create a buzz and get your name out there in the market. Here are a few tips on how to get it right:

1. Know what media your customers refer to for information and target those outlets.
2. Get to know the types of stories your target media are interested in using.
3. Research which journalists cover which stories. Sending information to the right person means it’s more likely to be used.
4. Tell readers something that will interest them or that they might need to know.
5. Make sure your message is clear, concise and has an objective: what do you want your audience to do?
6. Develop a relationship with the key media you are targeting.
7. Follow up your story with the journalists you’ve sent it to. It’s the most important factor in a successful PR campaign.
8. Think in pictures. Journalists love good-quality images so if your story needs a photo, make sure you provide them with a high-impact picture.
9. Ask everyone in your organisation to suggest ideas for PR stories.
10. When you generate good PR, make sure people in your organisation know about it – circulate coverage so everyone can share in the success.
11. Stay focused and stick to your plan. By doing this you will get a great deal of positive publicity for your business and at very little cost.

Q: How can my business get press coverage?


A: If a dog bites a man so what? But if a man bites a dog, well, that’s a great story!

Your news or information has the best chance of getting into the press if it’s interesting, quirky or unusual. It’s got to meet at least one of the following criteria:

Currency: news has a short shelf life. If your event is happening today, it’s newsworthy. If it happened last month, it’s history.

Human interest: the first, the best, the worst, the tallest, the shortest. If something stands out from everything else, it may be newsworthy. When a cat climbs a tree, it's not news; but when its 96-year-old owner climbs the tree to rescue the moggy, it is.

Impact: events that have an impact on people’s lives are always interesting and the more people affected by your story, the more significant it is.

Prominence: politicians, movie stars, star athletes, CEOs – anyone who’s in the public eye. The mayor is a prominent local figure, a story involving him or her opening your business is likely to make the news.

Proximity: if you want your local paper to run your story, make sure it’s relevant and interesting to those who’ll be reading it.

Eye-catching: a dramatic, unusual or quirky photo that tells a story is newsworthy if the quality is good. And a story with a good photo has an even better chance of getting used.

Q: My business is facing difficulties and I’m worried that this will attract negative press coverage. How can I protect our reputation?

A: Every organisation is vulnerable to a crisis and whether you are facing an office closure, a product recall or an accident on site, if the public perceives you as compassionate, competent and confident, they are far more likely to believe and support what you say.

The sensational stories we all read about in the tabloids are examples of what happens when communications go wrong. While no one can predict a crisis, with a little foresight and preparation you can protect your reputation and turn a potential PR crisis into a media opportunity that wins you customer and public support.

Here are some of my tips on preparing for a crisis and how to get the best out of a bad situation:

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail – If you can step back and make an honest assessment of any potential issues in your organisation, you’ll be better prepared when a crisis hits. A little assistance from a professional communications firm can establish a basic framework so you can respond effectively when something does go wrong.

Show you care – Show sympathy and concern. Put yourself in the shoes of the people you’ve affected and shape your messages to address their concerns first.

Have a PR strategy – Decide what you need to tell people and who you need to tell before you speak to the media. And, select the right spokesperson for the job. If your CEO isn’t media savvy, can’t communicate well, or doesn’t really know the issues, choose someone who does.

Get your facts straight and tell the truth – The easiest way to make a fool of yourself is tell your side of the story without knowing the facts. Double-check your information with more than one source. And remember, journalists need information quickly. If they don’t get it from you, they’ll get it from someone else!

Manage the message – Make sure your own employees, suppliers and clients are never surprised by information going out to the public. And make sure they know not to speak to the media, but who to refer media enquiries to.

Never say ‘no comment’ – ‘No comment’ is always a comment so don’t ever say it – people will think you are hiding something!