Author Archive

Business communications Bible – A what now?

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

The idea for a Communications bible came from the way some TV shows operate. They create a “Bible” for the show that describes the limits/boundaries of the universe where the show exists. It will cover the characters, their backstory and importantly their motivations. The idea being that when a writer is putting a script together the characters don’t do something that is out-of-character and it keeps continuity. (Yes it does sound bullshitty but it works!)

This is the Bible for Batman the animated series, this is the bible for Battlestar Galactica. (PDF)

As a business, what you want is a bible to show how your organisation communicates internally and externally and the limits of your staff and what they are able to do. The endgame for this communications bible could be to generate sales of your products, to increase awareness of what your company does, to improve a shitty reputation or to just make your interactions with customers better. You chose what you want.

Your Customer Profile

To interact with your customers well, you need to understand what they want from you but also what motivates them before, during and after the interactions with them. Good salespeople are those who understand people (not businesses) and can relate to them. Some questions to consider:

Who are your customers?

  • What are the different type of profiles for them? CEO, CTO, office staff, field engineers etc.
  • How do they “meet” your product/company? Via your sales team, exhibitions, online via blog and Twitter?
  • How do they use and reuse your products?
  • How long will the product for? Use once, use it daily, buy but not use?
  • How do you encourage them to use the product?
  • How do you convert (looking at diff profiles you listed) into a customer? – expert, impulse buyer, friend of a friend, online visitor … each one needs a different form of engagement.
  • What is there daily work life like? Will they talk about your products when in the office or on break?
  • How do you deal with people who realise your prodcuts are not for them? They can’t go away without something from you…

Non-customers

There are plenty of people who will contribute to the success of your business while never being a customer or spending a penny with you. They include journalists, politicians, fans, business leaders and your competition to name but a few. How do you tell your story to journalists, how do you know what to give them that they’ll find interesting? What is so great about your business (this includes remarkable staff) that makes non-customers want to go and encourage their friends to use you?

Figuring these “characters” out before we start communicating with them will make our jobs much easier. The hard work for communications is the prep and figuring out what to communicate. The action of communicating is the easy part. You don’t tell a potential million dollar investor how the decision engine under your web app is built for example but maybe you do tell the tech reporter.

What’s your story:

  • What does your company do?
  • (fit the answer in a Tweet too)
  • What is the story about your business that you know will be spread the most? e.g. a funny case study that makes someone want to retell the story again and again?
  • Why are your products needed?
  • How did you bring this idea together?
  • How is my world/the world better with this product?
  • How will it make my community better even if I’m not a customer? (Sometimes non-customers can evangelise the most)
  • Who are the team?
  • What are their backgrounds?
  • What do they do?

Interactions:

You now need to figure out the way a customer, now knowing their motivations, will contact you, what they could potentially ask and how it gets dealt with. Consider the numbers of ways one type of customer will contact and what they want and the number of people who could take in the request. Quite a lot of variations and so there is potential to drop the ball or communicate something badly.

Potential interactions:

  • Direct phone contact
  • Email contact
  • CEO met someone at a party, told you to ring her
  • Comment on a blog
  • Twitter message
  • How do you explain your product to Denis O’Brien who you meet in an elevator and have 90 seconds to explain it?

This idea of a Communications Bible will be covered more at the Online PR Course on the 23rd.

Fluffy Links – Tuesday January 12th 2010

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Not the Nuacht: Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has been acclaimed the “melting Messiah” after his mere presence in the country brought an end to the Big Freeze.

Best Irish Albums of 2009.

Dermot on leaving a big company and moving to a young startup.

New sports blog called Action81.com

Cybercom are looking for a Media Account Director. Is it you?

The theme of this blog is called Kubrick. It’s the default install of new WordPress blogs. It bothers too many people that I haven’t changed to another template all the years I’ve been blogging. Some history of the Kubrick theme.

Nice idea. The web census.

Tiger Woods Gatorade fun.

Wolfram Alpha gets into physical activity data. Nice take.

Monitor your sleep cycle with this iPhone app. Tip: Stick the iPhone on airplane mode.

Temple of the Dog – Hungerstrike

Sir Henry’s documentary – 120bpm

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

via Mr. T.

Rest of parts here.

Wiki for Sir Henry’s.

Fluffy Links – Monday January 11th 2010

Monday, January 11th, 2010

Unemployment map of Ireland over the past few years. The bad news map ):

Find a band has launched. It aims to be Irelands largest live music directory.

February 4th. Mediacontact are doing another Social Media Unspun (or Unspoon!). Starring yours truly.

New blog (to me) Eugene Loughlin’s blog.

Sing-a-long Sound of Music, Sugar Club, Sat February 6th. Facebook Page, tickets.

RENT. Cork Opera House, March 3rd to 6th. (Facebook Events link)

For the snowbound people. iPhone used as a hand heater. iPhone processor to 100%. Battery life probably 15 minutes.

Interesting to note that the Proposition 8 case in California will be recorded and put on YouTube.

Jónsi (lead singer from Sigur Ros) has an album coming out, really interesting to hear him sing in English.
Jónsi – Boy Lilikoi

Digital Festival, Dublin, Feb 24th 2010

Saturday, January 9th, 2010

There’s a conference on digital/social/earned media called “The Brainfood Store – Digital Festival” being run on February 24th. I got an email about it from the organisers. There seems to be a whole heap of these out there at the moment but there are three fantastic speakers that caught my attention:

Peter Kim, Managing Director, the Dachis Group.
Shel Israel, author – Naked Conversations & Twitterville.
Russell Davies, organiser of Interesting, blogger, author.

Tickets are €275 until January 31st, then they go up. I’m happily paying that to see these guys. I’ve seen Shel and Russell talk before, Russell’s blog is one of the blogs I click on first thing each morning and Peter’s company is changing the way businesses work by changing the way they communicate internally and externally.

OpenHW Audience
Photo owned by psd (cc)

The Dublin Tweasure Hunt

Friday, January 8th, 2010

Weather permitting of course. January 30th. 2ish. Ends 5ish. Note emphasis on ish.

Goblin 612
Photo owned by Everfalling – FREE GIRAFA! (cc)

Want to take part in a treasure hunt around Dublin City Centre? Powered by Twitter. Follow this Twitter account. Cash prize but the glory is the big thing, right? Clues sent out via Twitter so phone with a Twitter client will be handy. You may be asked to take photos while running about and send them back to HQ via Twitter too. Full details in the next few days. Prepping you for it now. Teams of up to 6 permitted. You can tag along without a team if you want though.

Massive thanks to Willie White , Project Arts Centre and Alexia Golez from Golez Heavy Metal Extractions for building this game.

Mulley events for January 2010

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Mulley events coming up this month.

The Marketing Institute Cork has a Marketing @ Night event on Thursday 14th January, 6pm . I’ll be giving a talk on business/marketing online.

On January 15th, staying in Cork I’ll be at the Press Council Privacy Seminar talking about: Blogging and Privacy. Jury’s Hotel, Western Road, 2pm onwards. Can’t find anything on their site.

I’m giving a free Online PR course in Dublin on the 23rd. Booked out. Queue of 40 for anyone that drops out. Stay tuned though as I’ll be making all the documentation for it free to download.

I’ve been asked to do a business blogging training course in Cork so that’s on the 25th. Limited spaces as it’s a workshop too. Takes place in Cork Airport International Hotel.

On the 27th I’m giving a talk at the Cork Chamber of Commerce on the usual suspects.

Fluffy Links – Thursday January 7th 2010

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

A must-read blog post from Sinéad on changing the world. Oh and she’s looking to intern in usability.

Blag nua. Advertising is dead. Not like blogging is dead, mind.

New blog. Harmless Noise.

Nice op-piece on Iran by Sandeep.

Motorocheck’s best selling car list of the past decade shows how rich this country was. Or debt laden.

The worldwide weblog awards have been canceled this year due to funding issues it seems.

Nancy Duarte blogs about the Alt-MBA programme. MBAs with clever people, without the pricey costs.

Wow, really geeky. iPhone controlled RC helicopter.

Thick ccents are making a comeback as a way to identify yourself or create an identity it seems. Wonder does an increasing mid-Atlanticising of accents cause this backlash?

No need to buy the first five seasons of lost. Summary in just a few mins.

And again thanks to Jim Carroll

Freelance Whales

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Jim’s show on Phantom last night played this band Freelance Whales, liked the song right away, caught a few more of their songs on their mySpace. Got the album. I hope they come to Ireland soon.

This is them live in a train station. Love the reaction of the girl to their sound:

And another fuller version:

Fluffy Links – Tuesday January 5th 2010

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

He’s gone. Sadsies. Manuel’s back. Gladsies.

A student at the Letterkenny Institute of Technology is doing a research masters in the area of social networking sites. She needs some help with her survey. Please take a short few minutes to help her by answering some questions.

Speaking of which, Facebook tripled in size in Ireland in 2009.

MediaContact (D: I do training events with them) are having a good news Friday on the 22nd. Send them good news and they’ll press release it for you.

Freedom of information requests show Minister Eamon Ryan likes his Cake.

Nice trends on Daddy Van Morrison and recent media coverage.

This is how you present like Steve Jobs.

Via YANP: Stream Contra, the new Vampire Weekend album from their mySpace.

Beach House – Heart of Chambers