21 Questions with… Deirdre Waldron

Welcome to the 13th (lucky for some!) of our Fuzion Friday series, where we put 21 devilishly difficult questions to a team member, giving you an insight that Freud would be proud of.

Next up is a fan of Tuscany and Sex and the City… it’s Deirdre!

Fuzion Communications Picture: Miki Barlok

1. Tell us something about you that nobody else in the team might know?

My first job, apart from working for my family’s business, was selling seagrass to pubs – I lasted half a day. On my worst day now, I tell myself ‘I could be selling seagrass!!!’

2. What film have you watched more than five times?

Sex & the City – and yes, both of them – sorry, not sorry!!!

3. What work are you most proud of in the past year?

Bringing the number of our team up to 20 this year.

4. Dream job?

What I’m doing now, but working from West Cork.

5. Favourite brand?

Everyone who knows me knows the answer to this – James Whelan Butchers. I love the way they take a product that is considered by many a commodity, and really celebrate it and make it so special – this shines through in everything they do and also those who know me will know I’m not just saying this cos the CEO is a client and a good friend.

6. Favourite Holiday Destination?

Tuscany.

7. Best lesson from your career

It’s not about the best idea or the biggest budget, it’s about having the tenacity to follow things through.

8. Eurovision or World Cup?

World Cup.

9. Who is the joker on the team?

Ciarán – Master Copywriter, which makes him first for the wittiest comment or observation.

10. Recommend a podcast?

Suppose I can’t recommend Greg’s #WinHappy Podcast? If not, just listened to Coupledom with Idris & Sabrina Elba – some of the episodes are really light; in one of the episodes they had a great chat with Ben & Jerry about their partnership and how throughout growing the business they remained through to their values – even now that they are no longer part of the business, their values have remained the same. I’d wish for the same for Fuzion.

11. Reality shows – Love or Hate?

Indifferent mainly – although I sneak the odd episode of The Kardashians when Greg isn’t looking!!!!

12. Dinner party with 3 people – dead or alive – who do you invite?

My brother Liam (I miss him), the iconic and original “Mad Woman” Jane Maas (I miss her), and Billy Joel to entertain us.

13. If you could be anywhere in the world – where would you be & what would you do?

Walking on a beach in West Cork with Greg and the dogs and as it’s a fantasy, the dogs would be so well behaved I could let them off the lead and run wild – oh and Greg too lol!

14. Who is your role model?

I have three, my mum, who was a tenacious business woman years before her time, Jane Mass, one of the first female copywriters/ad executives on Madison Avenue in the 1950s,  and the founder of the Rose of Tralee, Margaret Dwyer.

15. What was your first job?

Working in my parent’s restaurant “The Central Grill” in Tralee. Washing dishes and serving tables, when I was tall enough.

16. Death Row meal?

Dry Aged Burger with Truffle Fries…….lots of truffles……

17. Favourite book?

At the moment “Wounds” by Fergal Keane as he gives a shout out to my rebel of a grandfather Willie McCabe and the part he played in the War of Independence.

18. Your a grammar nazi oar not?

More a spelling nazi than grammar nazi. It’s a definite ‘no’ from me if someone applies for a job with Fuzion and they can’t get the name of the organisation right!!!

19. First album you bought or downloaded?

Does it count if Santa bought it to me? If yes, then it was ‘Arrival’ by Abba, in 1976 when I was 10 – must have still believed in him….

20. Work from home – or office?

Office …….. what’s that?

21. Most memorable ad slogans – why?

“I 💗 New York” – this was pivotal in getting people to look differently at the city – it worked back in the 1970s and is still relevant and used globally in so many ways.

Deirdre Waldron is a Partner at Fuzion Communications, full service marketing and PR agency, with offices in Cork and Dublin.

A Sliding Door moment for AIB

This week AIB announced 70 of its 170 branches would be turned into cashless outlets. The dogs in the street knew it was going to create havoc and a lot of negative publicity. It did…..

After the announcement, the Central Bank has suggested that AIB reverse their decision, even the Taoiseach on a state visit to Asia has suggested the same, and they have been “invited” to appear in front of the Oireachtas Finance Committee to explain themselves.

Looking at it from a reputation management point of view, AIB – you get 0 out of 10!! Afterwards, a half hearted statement came out from the bank, mentioning their future plans with An Post.

Looking at the AIB Press Office microsite, there is a press release announcing this partnership published Sunday 17th July. Two days before the cashless announcement, coming across as very cynical timing.

And speaking of timing, this morning when it’s wall to wall negative publicity for AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB have announced that they will not be passing on the ECB interest rate hike to its variable and fixed rate customers. 10 out of 10 for timing – basically they are saying “when the competition goes low, we go high”.

Note: The state retains ownership of 71% of AIB!

The Sliding Door Moment…
For me as a loyal AIB customer for over 20 years and as a communications specialist, AIB’s decision this week comes across as so cynical and ill thought out, and certainly with zero consideration of their customers in the areas affected.

I wonder how different it would be if they instead worked more on the partnership with An Post, celebrated it, communicated good news stories on the collaboration and built up “a bank” (pardon the pun) of positive stories, before they made this contentious announcement. This would at least nurture some trust and understanding for the decision, as they would bring customers, staff, politicians and even the Central Bank on the journey with them.

Looking from the outside in, with so much negativity, it looks like AIB did none of this.

The lesson – we all have Sliding Door Moments in our business – if decisions you are making could affect the way your team, your customers, media, stakeholders or the general public think of you, please get sound advice on how to communicate these changes.

Backing Brave?

Deirdre

Deirdre Waldron is the founding partner of Fuzion Communications and she heads up Strategic Communications and Crisis Communications at the agency, that operates from offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

Our wonderful friend, Frank Scott Lennon

This week we were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of our very special friend and mentor/advisor, Frank Scott-Lennon, founder of HR For Better Workplaces and I just wanted to share some of my own thoughts.

Frank came into our lives at a time of real turmoil for our business and supported us with such great advice and even greater friendship.

If it wasn’t for Frank, I’m not sure if I would have even continued in business as I was losing all faith in myself as a business leader.

Having Frank and his colleague Laura Powney, Assoc CIPD beside us, gave us great fuel to keep going and they really shared, and in doing so lightened our burden.

Apart from the ultra professional side to Frank, he was a pure gent, great fun and we are honoured to call him a really dear friend.

He has left all of us heartbroken, but what he has also left behind is a fantastic legacy with Laura and his daughter Sinead taking up the charge to make wellness in the workplace achievable for all businesses big and small.

Greg Canty always used to say to his kids when they were small, crying at the end of a really great holiday, when they had to go home – “The best of fun is the worst of tears“.

I’m thinking that right now.

One of the best things about Fuzion is the friendships we have made along the way – that’s the fun bit. And with Frank, he was one of the best friends Fuzion could ever have. This makes the tears flow so much more….

Rest in peace our dear buddy Frank and our love, prayers and thoughts are with Sinead and your heartbroken family xxxxxx

Dee

Deirdre is the Founder of Fuzion Communications

Greg had the privilege of chatting with Frank for his Win Happy podcast, and he had a full and fascinating – this can be listened to here.

Our UK Crisis Communications Partner, Alder

Fuzion Communications are part of a European crisis communications network with the core purpose of providing clients with a network of experts in crisis communications should a pan-European issue occur.

The Crisis Communications Network is an association of European owner-managed PR agencies with unrivalled expertise in Crisis Prevention and Communication. As independent agencies it is highly flexible and is able to react immediately to clients’ needs and where necessary co-ordinate across different jurisdictions in Europe.

At the time of writing there are experienced agencies in 11 countries as part of the CCNE.

To give you some insight into these international partners we have asked each of them to give us some information about their business, the local “hot topics” and their general approach.

In a previous post we provided an overview of the founding partner of the CCNE, our German partner agency, Engel & Zimmerman.

Today we focus on our UK, London based partner, Adler.

About Alder

Alder is a London-based crisis communications firm founded in 2010. Its team of consultants – known as Specialist Partners – have backgrounds in the worlds of journalism, regulation and public affairs and advise a diverse range of clients from individuals through to major companies. Schools, charities and healthcare organisations are also a key area of expertise. Given its focus on complex issues where litigation is frequently ongoing or imminent, Alder works closely with the UK’s leading law firms to deliver advice that is closely aligned with the client’s legal strategy. It is also trusted by many international insurance companies to advise their customers when an incident gives rise to a claim under their insurance cover. 

Crisis communications: Alder’s approach

Crises don’t just happen at a moment’s notice, they can also arise because of slow-burning issues that suddenly cut through to the public consciousness. In both cases, preparation is key in order to maintain discipline and control of messaging because the demands for information from stakeholders can be overwhelming, and any miscommunication can lead to reputational, legal or insurance difficulties.  

Time is the most valuable commodity in a crisis, and steps should be taken as soon as a problem appears on the horizon to plan for the most important elements of the communication strategy and to ensure the client’s lawyers are content with the approach.

The speed of people’s social media responses also means clients need to quickly get on the front foot in order not to be defined by a problem. Each situation is different, so regardless of whether a crisis plan is in place the response needs to be bespoke, and Alder’s consultants work round the clock to ensure communications are issued in a timely and calm way and do not create any hostages to fortune.

Dealing with a crisis can feel overwhelming for the individuals concerned. Alder advises clients to break the response down into three phases: before, during and after public scrutiny of the matter.

Briefly this breaks down as follows:

Before: planning and aligning draft communications and strategy with legal and insurance considerations.

During: roll out the plan, paying particular attention to stakeholder management; monitor coverage; intervene to correct any significant inaccuracies in ‘real time’.

After: embed organisational learning from what happened; take steps to clean up any negative online legacy; assess impact on reputation and take steps to address any residual problems.

The Irish Comparison

While the basics that we follow are identical; be prepared, identity potential risks, have a plan, have a great, experienced team that can handle a crisis and a client team that is trained to handle media with support – it is clear that there are special conditions in each country that you need to be aware of if you are dealing with a crisis and it is at these times that you need a local experienced, agile partner to help you navigate these challenges when they occur.

If you would like any information about our crisis communications service or the Crisis Communications Network Europe feel free to contact me at deirdre@fuzion.ie.

Deirdre

Deirdre Waldron, founder of Fuzion heads up the Crisis Communications team, which operates from offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland.

Crisis Communications & Lessons to be learned, The Ill Fated Announcement of a European Soccer Super League

The announcement of a new Super League for the top European soccer clubs, was one of the key news stories breaking this week across Europe and here in Ireland, even overtaking pandemic media coverage – a very welcome distraction for most!

It was an emotional issue for soccer fans and pundits across Europe – and a textbook communications disaster unfolding on a global stage.

Here in Ireland, even though the issue didn’t relate directly to Irish soccer clubs, most UK clubs would have Irish supporters clubs and reactions from spokespeople from these organisations was in line with fans across Europe – and all Irish soccer pundits and journalists were also uniform in their condemnation of the concept.  

It was very difficult for Irish media to find anyone that was in support of the initiative.  Even our Taoiseach Michael Martin expressed solidarity. 

In a Tweet he posted “I will engage with other EU governments about possible common action against this Super League Proposal. “

The reaction came as no surprise as so many people in Ireland have a strong affiliation for soccer – Irish soccer fans may have their own home team they support, but most would also have a close affiliation to an English or Scottish team as well. 

The announcement of the Super League was doomed as there was no consideration for their internal audience and when managers and players were not in the loop, the concept came across as flimsy, arrogant and ill-considered.  

In Ireland we love to forgive the repentant sinner – which is why Liverpool FC’s owner, John Henry’s apology directly to the fans “I let you down”, has dampened some of the flames at Anfield – if not elsewhere.  

“I’m sorry” – are such powerful words in a crisis.

This episode has shown once again how effective people power can be and the power of communications. 

From now on every step the football club owners, directors and football authorities take and any communication they make, must be seen to be with the fans in mind. They must be seen to be listening to fans and acting on fans wishes.  Grass roots communications and activity will be so important going forward and will help heal the wounds.

What lessons can other people in power take from all of this? 

Bring your internal audience on the journey with you. Test sentiment towards the change and adapt your messaging taking in these learnings. If making changes that will have a great impact, start with a grassroots approach and a very soft launch. Have relatable spokespeople using relatable language.

And, very importantly if you get something wrong, admit to it, communicate how lessons will be taken from the mistakes and move on.

Deirdre Waldron

Deirdre Waldron is the founder of Fuzion Communications, a full service PR, Graphic Design and Digital Marketing agency with offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

Choose to Challenge – International Women’s Day

On international Women’s Day 2021, there is a particular theme that was calling women to action with a very proactive ask, “Choose to Challenge” which came with an explanation:

A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change – So let’s all choose to challenge!

With this “call to action” there were some other specific asks of women as outlined further in the IWD website:

How will you help forge a gender equal world?

• Celebrate women’s achievement.
• Raise awareness against bias
• Take action for equality.

Within Fuzion we encourage a challenging environment for all of the team, which is part of our core values, Bravery.

In every job description that we write, you will see it written and to us it is an important attribute, every bit as important as the basic skill sets required for each role.

We challenge each other, our opinions, our views and our ideas and we will challenge our clients to think differently and not to be afraid to disagree when we believe something is going in a wrong direction – you get that with us!

So, with all of that in mind I asked the team to record an episode of the Win Happy podcast to mark this years International Women’s Day, to discuss the theme and the different elements and to see how they felt about them.

For the record, I did offer to pass the hosting duty to anyone else and in the spirit of Fuzion, everyone, male and female were invited to participate but due to workload issues (and maybe a little shyness!) this episode featured Dee (Deirdre Waldron), Suzanne Meade and Niamh Lawlor who are all part of our Communications team.

The conversation was really interesting and revealing.

The team loved the “bold” call to action and spoke about how women can often be more reluctant than men to challenge.

They spoke about emotional leadership, a huge strength that women can bring to any organisation, Dee’s work and initiatives as President of Network Ireland, the huge role of mothers and friends as influencers, that men should be part of the conversation and not excluded, and thankfully they have not experienced bias in their careers.

However, they did acknowledge that the industry that we operate in might lend itself to that.

It makes for good listening.

Click on the link here or search for Win Happy on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts – we will be there!

For the record, some of the very best people that I work with are women and if I thought for a second that they were not prepared to challenge there would be something very wrong.

Just this morning on our weekly “hello” Monday morning team Zoom call, we had a very robust conversation about an opinion that I shared and they came at me in force!!

….if I told you what it was, I could have a busy day getting nothing done except arguing!

So today, I salute the brilliant women that I work with and the many brilliant women that I deal with on an ongoing basis. In particular, I salute my mum who is just incredible, such a positive driving force – you have no idea!

#ChooseToChallenge 

(you won’t find me wanting!)

Greg Canty 

Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion Communications who offer Marketing, PR, Graphic Design and Digital Marketing services from our offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

Remote Meetings – Rules of Engagement

Over the past few weeks from toddlers to elder lemons, we have all had a baptism of fire when it comes to remote meetings.  

While we are well used to them at this stage you can see already an A to Z of how people are great or not so great using them so I thought it was worth writing this as we can all get a little bit better – it’s all about Communications!

Love them or hate them, they are here to stay, so I have some tips that have helped me through this new way of working and could help you as well.

For us at Fuzion, it gives us the opportunity to say that we are very much open for business, sleeves up and ready to help. And it’s working for us – we even have won new business for the first time ever without ever having met the client face to face!

When the lockdown was announced first, we thought that was the end of all of our Social Media and Media Training as well as our Brand and Communications Workshops, but we quickly adapted and we have been busier than ever thanks to Zoom.

Remote meetings will never replace the valuable face to face connectivity but if we can get remote meetings right, think of the time we can save, not to mind the benefits to the environment and our pockets. 

It could mean that when the world “reboots” if we embrace remote meetings we will be far more productive and effective as individuals and as organisations and we might even win back some more quality of life.

Here are some of my learnings since conquering the fear of my laptop camera!!

1. Be mindful of your image

Treat remote meetings as if you are all in the same room.

Wear work appropriate clothing and be mindful of your backdrop. If you have a home office, how about using one of your company’s pop ups, or if that’s not feasible either have a blank wall, or a backdrop that is clutter free.

The first week I just wore my gym gear – who cared…. It turns out I did. 

Part of my ability to thrive and not just survive during this time is keeping to my rituals and that includes giving myself time to look well every day – that way, if there is a last minute meeting – well I’m ready for my closeup!!!

2. Turn your camera on – don’t hide

Pre Covid the majority of people kept their camera off and blamed the wifi! Now it’s becoming less acceptable to have your camera turned off.  

Now most people almost resent it where people leave their camera off.  You almost feel that they are hiding something, or that they don’t want to engage with you fully.

In most cases no one will say anything but they will see you (or not at all!) in a different light if you are the hidden one.

3. Have the right light

Don’t sit with your back to the window or to strong lighting – all people will see is your silhouette. Use soft natural light to illuminate you in front or to the side. 

If you don’t have good lighting, invest in an LED Ring Light – They are great value, can plug into your laptop and offer a variety of lights and strengths depending on the natural light in the room.

In my room, I work with the light behind me, so I have positioned my laptop on books to the side with one of these LED lights behind the camera, so when I’m on a Zoom call, I turn the light on and it really softens the lighting.  

4. Frame the camera correctly

Try out a number of positions/locations for the camera – which may also change during the day depending on light. 

Show all of your face. Place the camera at eye level or higher. Looking up at the camera makes you look more engaged (so they say!!)  And look into the lens, not at the screen. That’s where the people are, and that is how you make eye contact.

I have been on one or two meetings, where the other person’s camera was pointed at the ceiling, which is definitely worse than not having the camera on at all!!!

5. Drown out noise

If you are in an environment where there are other people working near you, or there might be other distracting sounds you might consider using headsets. They could be the typical ones that come with your phone.

I’m working in an office on my own so I find the mic and the speakers on my laptop work fine, however some colleagues that run workshops and webinars prefer to use headphones or a headset with a mic.

Click this link that I found on the Zoom help resources on best cameras and headsets. 

6. Sit up straight and proud

Don’t slouch, sit on a chair, rather than a couch if possible, so it feels more like a meeting setting. Don’t move as much as you might during an in-person meeting, and stay within the camera frame.

Saying that, I work from a couch, with cushions supporting my back as I work. 

I have my laptop to my side, connected to a big screen on a coffee table in front of me and my cordless keyboard on a tray on my lap. Very comfy as as it makes room for my new work colleagues – my dogs Honey and Bert either side of me!!! 

When it comes to meetings, I lean toward the edge of the couch, sit up straight, turn towards the camera which is to the side, so that the backdrop is the wall rather than all the cushions surrounding me. It keeps me focused sitting at the edge of the couch and I have my cordless keyboard and mouse on a tray, so I am able to access the screen if I need to.

7. Look engaged

Remember it’s not a mirror, so don’t go fidgeting with your hair, or don’t click away on your computer keyboard while someone is talking. If you really have to click away or if there is any external noise like the dogs (or the kids) acting up, then mute when you are not speaking.

I was at a meeting the other day, where one of the ladies kept on tying her hair up and then down. She forgot that everyone could see her.

I think I preferred her hair down lol!!!

8. Be on time

And that means joining the meeting a few minutes before the start time, to make sure your connection is working OK.

It’s sort of like getting the meeting room ready for the meeting. When I worked in the office, I’d always make sure the room was in order before the meeting and this is my way of making sure I create the best possible impression by being on time and that everything is working properly.

9. Keep Meetings Short

Some people find remote meetings more draining than face to face meetings. So try and keep them to less than an hour. After the meeting walk around for a few minutes, grab a coffee or give the dog (or kid) a treat for behaving during the meeting!!

I find that I have to focus much more during remote meetings. I want to be sure I hear what everyone is saying and that I’m 100% engaged. So afterwards I feel really drained, but I find it helps keeping them to under an hour if at all possible.

10. Go Zoom

I know there were some security issues regarding Zoom during the first week or so of the lockdown, but we find this platform really reliable and the quality of audio, visual and screen sharing functionality really good. 

It’s free to use to host meetings if they are under 40 minutes and it’s also free to use if you are just joining in on a meeting. You just need to download the app the first time you use it.

Their website is really great as well for tips on how to use the platform as well as general help with organising webinars, meetings or just working from home. Click here for a blog post from them I found really useful – tips on how to meet like a pro while working from home.

The biggest reason for using Zoom at this stage, is that it is quickly becoming the standard. People are becoming very familiar with it and if it is a meeting, a training session or a webinar make it as easy as possible for them and don’t place any barriers to entry, such as another platform they may not know.

So, that’s all from me – I hope you find these simple tips really useful, and you never know I could be meeting you soon, on Zoom or even better in person!  

Deirdre 

Deirdre Waldron is the founding partner of Fuzion Communications, a Marketing, PR, Graphic Design and Digital Marketing agency with offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

 

Covid-19 Communications and Staying Safe

The recent news of Covid-19 or coronavirus coming to Ireland is of concern to us all. I am sure you are as glued to the quickly evolving story as we are. 

The HSE is advising the risk of catching Covid-19 in Ireland is still low to moderate, but this may change. However, most people continue to go to work, school and other public places, as usual.

While this advice is still in place, it is best practice to introduce some measures in your workplace such as hand sanitiser at entry points and clear advice about hand washing,  to keep your team and workplace visitors safe and to avoid any possible spread of the virus.  

It is also advisable at this stage to review contingencies around remote working, if this is feasible for all or some members of your team. Another practical approach would be considering remote business meetings, using tools such as Skype, Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, so that travel is kept to a minimum. 

Our design team in Fuzion have created an infographic based on the HSE advice that you can use in your office to encourage good hand hygiene. You can get a high resolution version of this poster here

As well as the potential health impact of Covid-19, we are already seeing economic implications of the virus and your business could be affected during this time of uncertainty. 

The Department of Business, Enterprise  Industry have developed a Business Continuity Checklist that is well worth checking out here.

The Role of Communications

If your business is at risk of being affected, you may have a possible communications crisis issue. In this scenario it is best to ensure you follow the below important steps that we have shared with all of our clients. 

When a crisis occurs, the need to communicate is immediate. Simple steps to ensure this happens can streamline this process:

1- Agreed Spokespeople

When a crisis occurs, it is best to choose spokespeople most suitable for the situation. Identify your key spokesperson and brief them on what’s happening as well as how your organisation is going to move forward. Then move quickly to respond internally with those messages to your employees. The point here is to quickly alleviate any internal fears or concerns in the workforce. 

2– Set up a group on email or Whatsapp only reserved for the crisis with key spokespeople

Crises tend to happen when you least expect them so Whatsapp is recommended so spokespeople can be contacted out of office hours. This group should only have the spokespeople and appropriate decision makers. 

3- Act as soon as possible

If it is not possible to give a comment immediately, ensure the journalist is asked for a deadline and the organisation will get back to them asap. 

If required, Fuzion can assist you with the response to a crisis, or act as a “gatekeeper” for you with the media.  The earlier Fuzion is contacted, the better in order to effectively respond to a crisis or a journalist query for a statement and minimise any damage a crisis can create. 

4- Agree a response/Statement as soon a crisis occurs

In the case of Covid-19, it is best to have a statement prepared so your business demonstrates it is ready and prepared for such a serious issue. This statement should outline how the business has prepared for the crisis and plans to move forward. 

5- Social Media

If appropriate, share your statement on social media and if a crisis happens on social media, it is advised where possible to take the conversation offline and discuss matters either on direct mail or email. 

6- Create a means for monitoring

Once you’ve determined the channel of distribution for your message, monitoring responses is equally critical. 

Careful planning and preparation should encourage readiness for any possible crisis.

However, situations will arise in organisations that may require expert advice and in this case, you can contact Fuzion’s Crisis Communication team here. 

 

Advice on Covid-19

Advice on Covid -19 from Public Health bodies such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Health Service Executive (HSE) is to minimise infection risk thorough hand-washing, isolating ourselves if we are ill, and avoiding touching our faces. More information on personal care can be found here.

While the period ahead is uncertain, if we can calmly prepare for the unexpected we will be in a much better position to face any possible escalation of the crisis. 

Stay safe and with best wishes

Ciara Jordan and Deirdre Waldron on behalf of The Fuzion Team

 

Show Me The Money!!!!!

My poor colleagues (you know who you are!) over the last few days have had to put up with me and a gripe I have re certain Social Media Influencers.

Working in communications, I know that Social Media Influencers can be such an important part of the marketing mix and such an effective way to reach target audiences. We work with celebrities and influencers constantly and achieve great results working in partnership with them and they deserve to be rewarded for the work they do for clients – it’s their livelihood!

But for me, a professional in this industry a long time, I think sometimes with certain influencers, when there is budget involved, it often comes across as inauthentic and mercenary.

An typical example – say we have a client organising a sports day – we pick an influencer that we know has a keen interest in this particular sport; pay them a four figure sum to participate in the event – and then we are told that their limit to social media engagement is “One static Instagram Post”!!

So basically they are saying, even though it is something that would be of interest to them, they won’t (really) engage digitally with the event, or the client or the people attending the event, who could be followers or potential followers. 

I think by not connecting authentically and being so rigid, in the long term it will cost these influencers in revenue, clients and followers.

It reminds me of the days back before social media.

We were working with an amazing Danish female fashion brand, who had really beautiful collections, totally current fashion, which were available nationwide. The brand provided us with high quality fashion and product images every season and budget to spend on advertising and PR. We got amazing PR coverage for the brand as the images as well as the price points were really attractive.

We had a five figure sum to spend with one of the high end fashion magazines, but for many seasons the title never took any fashion or product shots or editorial from us for the brand – but the title was more than happy to publish the full page adverts our client were paying for.

I spoke with the editor to see if there was anything she could do, to be told that the brand didn’t suit their editorial content, so I advised my client to pull the advertising!

Basically, the editor was telling me that my client’s brand was not of interest to their readers, and obviously we were fools spending the advertising budget there as well.  

Of course that was before the economic crash and the age of digital – when print titles perhaps could afford to act like this.

For me this Social Media Influencer is saying the same thing as the magazine did.

By only agreeing to do “One Static Instagram Post”, they are saying that my client’s event is not really relevant to them or their followers. 

I don’t expect or want them to bombard their followers with lots of posts and updates about the event, but it would be nice to think that they would want to tell their followers that they were going to attend , perhaps on their Instagram Story, share a live update while they are there and then post some nice photos of the special day out, meeting their followers and new people at something that is relevant to them.

If it’s just “One Static Instagram Post” then forget it!

They are saying to me clearly that they really are there just to collect the money, not to engage digitally with the brand or the people attending on the day.  

I’m at this too long now to compromise. 

I really want to work with authentic people and brands and that includes the third party suppliers and influencers we introduce and recommend to our clients.  We always go the extra mile for our clients and we expect the people that we recommend to do likewise.

So, in this case I advised our client not to go with this influencer and instead to work with Influencers who have already connected with the brand organically, who have shown that they are connected and willing to really be part of a very special day. 

My client’s four figure cheque will be addressed to one of them if I have anything to do with it……

Deirdre 

Deirdre Waldron is the founding partner of Fuzion Communications, a Marketing, PR, Graphic Design and Digital Marketing agency with offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

The end of the Business Card?

I was having a chat yesterday with a businessman who was saying how LinkedIn was his new business card – that when he meets a new business contact, instead of handing them a business card he connects with them on LinkedIn, so he has that electronic connection.

This is a perfect use of social media tools for business, but I think he is missing a big point of the business card.

For me my business card is an opportunity to showcase my brand to a new contact “Look who I am and where I work”, ““Look at what we can do”, “Look how well we look”.

I just love the Chinese and Japanese culture around business cards, how it is considered rude not to present your business card properly and then to examine a business card respectively and carefully when you are presented with one.

They almost have a ceremony around business cards – how they present it with two hands and you are expected to receive it in both hands, study it and put it beside you if you are at a meeting with them. The business card is considered to represents the person.

I remember 20 years ago when I first started Fuzion Communications, I didn’t have a fancy office, I was working with a borrowed laptop, but I invested in my branding and my business cards, as out and about meeting people, my business cards were my shop window!

Even in our digital age, I still like to present my business cards – and I always watch how they are received. I think it’s a great way to judge if someone is actually engaging with you, to see how they react when you hand them your business card.

So next time you present a card to someone, see how they receive it – and when someone gives you a business card, accept it with honour – you never know, they might have read this blog post too!!

Deirdre 

Deirdre Waldron is the founding partner of Fuzion Communications, a Marketing, PR and Graphic Design firm with offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland