Pema reveals her favourite holiday: Business New Year

The New Year is one of my favourite times, filled with hope and the excitement of what’s to come…Granted, the financial New Year hasn’t got the same hype as December 31^st but I prefer it. Rather than the normal doom and gloom of January- with its miserable weather and feelings of inevitable failure- April, with its first taste of summer flavour, helps maintain the excitement of the night before without incurring the next day hangover. April marks the beginning of the Business New Year and this year Wordville is making some business resolutions.

Giving up … In today’s world it’s not easy being heard amongst all the chaos and noise. Audiences are constantly bombarded with information and messages and it’s easy for yours to get lost. Now more than ever the ability to cut through the noise is what’s required of PR. Originality has got to be our lifeblood. Regardless of the communication channel - social media, traditional print, online media, broadcast, or the next big thing - powerful, targeted, original PR is what’s going to have an impact. We’re always looking for new ways to widen our clients’ audiences and work to individual’s strengths, ensuring we continue to deliver the most effective campaigns. So we’re giving up the unoriginal, the obvious and the mundane.

Getting fit … Wordville has always understood the importance of measurement. If you understand where you are, it’s easy to set clear goals and decide where you want to be. Measurement allows us to understand what does and what doesn’t work. It offers transparency to our clients about what we do and how well we do it. This year we’re implementing new performance reporting on all our accounts – it’s not just about the cuttings and the message pull-through – we’re aiming to have the ‘fittest’ PR in the business.

Getting together … As a PR agency, we communicate- whether that’s with the media, our clients or between ourselves. It’s surprising how people often overlook the importance of good old fashioned talking and the results it can achieve. It creates bonds, encourages creativity, increases productivity and most importantly it creates a positive working environment full of laughter and fun times. I have no doubt that this coming year there will be plenty more.

For the first time ever, I am confident that I won’t break my New Year’s resolutions. It’s time to get louder and truly make our mark. Happy New Year.

Five years with Facebook

I was one of those super early adopters of Facebook. I was in my early 20s, impressionable and highly excitable. I liked to talk about how exciting my life was, and always had a giggle about my latest social antics. When a friend told me about something called Facebook – basically a place you could talk about how exiting your life was and share silly photos of random nights out but for the world to see – I was instantly sold.

2007 was an eventful year. I visited the local pub in the town I’d lived in for 20 years on at least 50 occasions; I learnt to cook about ten different varieties of pasta dinners; I lost – and found – my cat twice and I got upset with traffic jams and late trains almost every other day. I also swapped proper human conversations with friends in favour of ‘poking’, ‘giving bear hugs to’ and ‘throwing sheep’ at them. I suddenly found I had over 200 friends – much more than I ever imagined. An obligatory part of going out involved making sure I got a new profile picture, meeting at least one new person I could add to my Facebook tally, and giving the world a running commentary of how much fun I was having.

Fast forward to 2012, and having once been an avid Facebook user, I can feel its novelty finally wearing thin. As much as I enjoyed the antics of 2007, I feel they had their day and were best left buried deep in the abyss of cyberspace. Yet suddenly, they’re available at a single click thanks to Timeline. I also used to use the Facebook chat facility, until several of my random 400 “friends” tried to stalk me every time I went “online” to talk to someone else. Speaking of randoms, I have acquired about 350 of them thanks to my relentless 2007-9 popularity contest. Now, each time I go to update my status, I think of how many types of people are in my “friend” list; ex-employers, relatives, school friends, colleagues, my ex-next-door-neighbour’s friend’s dog… Is there really anything I have to say that I would be happy to share with everyone? Ok, Facebook has introduced ways to pick and choose how you share information. But who has the time these days to sit and adjust the security settings on each and every post?

The final straw came for me when Facebook “checked me in” at my own home. There, for the world to see, was a map showing exactly where I live. Not something I really want to share, and certainly not something I knowingly authorised. That – along with the re-emergence of thatembarrassing photo from 2007 – is enough to make me pack my virtual bags.

The lesson learnt from all this is of the importance of closely managing online reputation. The same theory applies for business users as for personal users – sometimes it is best to take a step back. It is imperative to understand the capabilities of social media and the internet; it is now easier than ever for people to discover all sorts of things about you, even if you think these things are hidden. Managing reputation will only become more difficult as social media and technologies evolve and, as PR professionals, we need to take a leading role in getting this right.

By Jess Matthias

P is for Pinterest

In the social media playground, Pinterest is most definitely the new kid on the block. Yet with a 145% increase in visitors to the site since the beginning of this year alone, it has become contagious. Launched back in 2010, the site now has a whopping 13 million users, making it one of the fastest growing in history.

Unsurprisingly for a website that is largely dominated by adorable pets and a vast array of tasty treats, in the States at least, 68% of Pinterest users are women. The UK however presents a different story. Males account for the majority of activity but have a different agenda, using the site for web stats/analysis and blogging services. It is theorised that this gender discrepancy is the reason for the launch of manteresting.com

So why is Pinterest so interesting? Is it the fact you need an invite to join and therefore it’s more of a VIP social network?

As with all social media networks, criticism of the website abounds. There is a vocal group of Pinterest sceptics who comment on the lack on imagination exhibited by its users. Although it is true that there are a healthy array of cakes, puppies and wedding dresses on show, the website’s use extends beyond its capacity as a virtual mood board.

Companies such as TED Global, Sony Electronics and vacation rental service, HomeAway, are all ‘pinning’ and there’s no trace of kittens or bouquets on their pinboards. In fact, such businesses are using Pinterest in an intelligent and innovative way, driving traffic to their websites by exposing Pinterest users to images of sparkly new gadgets or jaw dropping holiday homes.

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest allows people to organise chaos and visualise dreams and aspirations of what they would like their lives to look like. The added bonus of people being able to re-pin your images makes you feel special. The first image I placed on my pinboard was a poor earless bunny. Within the first hour I had 2 repins, 1 like and 1 comment – not bad for someone who’s been a member for a week and has 0 followers. Not so happy about the latter.

So what’s in store for the website? In recent weeks the site has been facing issues surrounding copyright and because of the simplicity and intuitive interface, it’s been reported as an easy target for scammers. The website’s future may be unclear but its development will certainly be pinteresting.

By Stephanie Rock

Watch Word of the Month

Fortune favours the bold; seize the day; who dares wins. There are countless mantras, repeated throughout time, which extol the virtue of fearlessness whilst warning against reticence. We all reference them occasionally but how often do we actually set aside our inhibitions and step outside our comfort zones?

Recently, I was lucky enough to hear a speech given by the CEO of Cosworth, Tim Routsis, on the future of creativity in business. Tim’s speech held one prevailing message; now is not the time to be timid. The economic climate may have us all quaking in our boots but for those with guts and tenacity, the opportunities remain endless. Everyone is still looking for innovation, the next big thing. If fear of an unknown outcome threatens to stifle our creativity then the answer in obvious- we must be bold.

Tim’s words struck a chord with me, not just because of their refreshing optimism, but because they seemed peculiarly relevant to Wordville at this time.

In recent months Wordville has not only stepped outside its comfort zone; it has leapt the fence, swum the river and headed for the hills. In the February- March period two new recruits joined the Wordville team, one of which was myself. Embarking on a new job is a daunting prospect and so it is not difficult to recognise how Tim’s words resonated with me on a personal level.

Nevertheless, our whole-hearted admittance into the Wordville fold also represents the fearless attitude of the team. After all, company expansion is a bold statement of success. It provides a promise to existing clients of fresh ideas and even more efficient delivery, as well as a declaration of readiness to take on new business.

As a new, young and enthusiastic team the future’s bright for us. We’re eager to have our metal tested and prove our worth. Our watch word for this month in bold- because fortune never favoured the timid.

By Polly Robinson