Page 16 - 10052 WORSH Marketor Issue 79.indd

Hayley Goff
INSIGHT: How can PR support sales? &KLHI 2SHUDWLQJ 2IÀFHU :KLWHRDNV

For a number of years now, Whiteoaks has supported the PR efforts of our Company. Recently, they ran a
Twitter chat on PR. This is an interesting and useful way to gain insight into aspects of marketing, and in this
case, PR. Hayley Goff from Whiteoaks shares these here.

There’s little doubt of the synergy Which PR materials should sales be towards the same business
between PR, sales and marketing. using to help generate leads and objectives and approaching the
7KLV UHODWLRQVKLS \LHOGV VLJQLÀFDQW build relationships? same target audiences with
EHQHÀWV IRU WKH RUJDQLVDWLRQ DQG WR PR coverage aids business consistent messaging. Sales will
get the most out of it we should development, increases favourable provide critical insight into prospect
focus on ensuring it’s productive, visibility with audiences, builds priorities, challenges and areas of
achieves the required outcomes and credibility and helps highlight that a interest, which allows marketing to
that everyone involved is aligned company understands the market it be much more targeted. Marketing
with these objectives. But just how far operates in. Coverage gives you will then arm sales with compelling
does this synergy extend? exposure, yet the real value lies in how assets which create credibility and
In a recent Twitter chat, we explored you use it! Sharing coverage directly generates positive perceptions.
the power of PR, and how it reaches with prospects and customers, utilising Do you feel that sales should be
beyond marketing and into independent quotes from press, using active on social media in this day
supporting sales efforts. Here are VWDQG RXW FXVWRPHU VWRULHV LQ SLWFKHV and age?
some key insights from our Q&A: and proposals and amplifying results Absolutely, social media should be
What type of PR content resonates across social media will impact used by sales teams to engage and
best with a sales department? perceptions. LQÁXHQFH SURVSHFWV WR JHQHUDWH QHZ
Content which educates and helps How important is it for a B2B marketer business. Professionals who use social
customers and prospects, not sells to to work closely with sales to ensure selling techniques will increase their
them. By providing audiences with you’re all working towards the same sales pipeline, improve engagement
valuable information (for free), it will OHDG JHQ JRDO" with customers and will be more
build trust supporting the sales process. Vital – marketing and sales need to motivated.
Articles, blogs, guides and white work closely together. The best results To take a look at the full Twitter chat,
papers are all great tools to do this. I see is when both teams are working search #WOinsights on Twitter.

Jim Surguy
I can make you famous Past Master

The old sales patter always used to be: “Do you want to be rich – do you really want to be rich?” Sorry I can’t
help here and anyway such pitches are usually and quickly seen through as being hollow. Today of course
HYHU\RQH ZDQWV LI QRW WR EH ULFK WKHQ WR EH IDPRXV $QG WKLV , FDQ GR IRU \RX <HV , FDQ +RQHVWO\ , UHDOO\
really can show you how to become famous.

This is all thanks to the wonder of people who ‘follow’, ‘like’ or ‘friend’ more than 200,000 customers
social media. Now a lot of people you. And you do this like so many including reality TV stars, professional
think social media is all about RWKHU ,QÁXHQFHUV %HFDXVH VRFLDO athletes, comedians, TED speakers,
communication and indeed this is PHGLD LQÁXHQFH WUDQVODWHV LQWR and models. Sometimes it’s the PR
true. But it’s actually more about fame... So then, how many followers companies who do the buying on
making connections: having a lot of would you like? How many to really behalf of clients. This scenario, as
followers, a lot of ‘likes’, being an put you on the map – 100,000; Donald Trump might say, is an
LQÁXHQFHU ,I \RX FDQ UHDFK WKH VWDWXV 250,000; 750,000? More? alternative reality.
RI EHLQJ DQ LQÁXHQFHU EHFDXVH D ORW So, here’s the trick. You go on to a The issue is greater than simple
of people follow you, then you website like followersgain.co.uk or deception. Not all your new followers
become famous. Models, vloggers, GHYXPL FRP EX\ WZLWWHU IROORZHUV RU are actually real people. A great
79 VWDUV ÀWQHVV JXUXV FKHIV HDUQ VPPSRLQW FRP EX\ WZLWWHU IROORZHUV many of them of course are simply
fortunes through sponsorship. Yes, the URL gives the game away. A bots pretending to be people. But a
Because brands want to connect large number of people are at this ORW RI WKHP DUH ULS RIIV RI UHDO SHRSOH
WKURXJK WKHVH LQÁXHQFHUV DQG DUH game – it’s cheap to do, if you have The fraudsters simply latch on to, say,
prepared to pay to do so. The bigger a mind to do so. You can acquire a a Twitter user and use their name,
your following on social media then huge following on almost any SLFWXUH DQG SURÀOH GHWDLOV EXW VXEWO\
the more important you are. platform by simply buying it. If you DOWHU WKHLU H PDLO DGGUHVV ,W·V LGHQWLW\
You know all this already, of course. want followers on Instagram try theft and the false identities can be
But I’m now going to explain to you socialenvy.com or DIYLikes.com. Sites used and used and used again. In
how you too can elevate yourself into such as these sell followers and November Facebook admitted that
the big league; become a person of retweets to anyone who wants to up to 60 million fake, or automated,
VWDWXV DQG LQÁXHQFH <RX GR LW appear more popular or famous. And users are on the site.
obviously by having a vast number of many many people do: Devumi has Now – do you still want to be famous?

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