BYN: Messy comms, and timeless skills
Helen Reynolds
Unboring comms training that taps into your creativity, grows your confidence and helps you make a powerful impact
"Embrace the mess. That's where the good stuff lives."
A quote from my new TV fave, Only Murders In The Building, that I binged on last night. It's the advice is given to one of the main characters, who has told an expert that they don't want to mess things up.
But to get anything done, we need to make a bit of mess.
I sometimes beat myself up for mess, mistakes, disorganisation - then remind myself that actually this is all part of the process.
You can't make a wonderful, delicious cake without getting flour all over the kitchen top and butter on your nose (just me?).
You can't do comms without a bit of chaos and a few cock-ups along the way. It's how it goes.
And sometimes in that mess, there are lessons, laughs, ideas, and pivots that help you do an excellent overall job. Have a messy week comms pals. And on to the BYN...
(BTW, if you're new here, welcome! You can get a feel what this Big Yellow Newsletter business is about by browsing some back issues.)
A 15-second favour...
We're curious to know what kind of brands our lovely comms community work for. Please tick a few boxes to satisfy our nosey instincts...
Comms Creatives content of the week
COTW comes from the London Ambulance Service on Facebook.
A lot of us (rightly) get excited about new stuff like TikTok & AI, but there are some timeless comms skills that will work no matter how social media and the world moves on, and this demonstrates that beautifully.
This is a textbook example of an engaging recruitment post!
Of course, potential candidates for the job want to hear about the salary and job description - the important facts they need to know.
But when trying to hire people, there’s no better way to pull them in by seeing somebody already in the job who loves it and is thriving.
Giving the audience an emotional reaction to the post.
The emotional approach builds trust with your audience: they believe and can relate to a smile and real words from somebody in the job - more than what they read about your brand values and corporate words committing to being a fair employer.
Comms tip: Show, don't just tell
Don’t worry so much about beating the algorithms because creative comms and writing skills will work in any format.
Want to promote a job? Find someone who loves their job and tell their story.
I won a social media award for doing this on YouTube in 2011 (yes I'm old). The principle is the same on any channel, in any era.
No need to use a professional photographer or a lengthy case study.
Just a photo or video and a single sentence from someone who loves their job will do the trick! A glimpse of something human.
As, always, if you need support on implementing advice like this in your work, join the Comms Creatives Academy for year round inspiration, training and resources.
Online courses
Online Masterclass: Facebook strategy and tactics for comms professionals
Recommended by LinkedIn
📅 1pm - 3pm, September 12th 2023
This course helps communication professionals learn how to use Facebook more strategically and creatively. Strategies, tips, tricks to increase the effectiveness of your brand's Facebook channel.
Online Course: Social Media Expert Programme
📅 9x 90 minutes weekly starting Wednesday October 4th 2023
Learn and implement the techniques used by the world’s best social media managers. The Social Media Expert will transform how you think about social media and comms - and get you amazing results too.
Find out more on the Social Media Expert Programme page.
We'll be your wing women! Big love to Social Media Expert, Stephanie, for sharing her experience over on Linkedin.
Internal Comms Expert Programme
📅 10 x 90 minutes weekly starting Thursday October 5th
Join internal comms legend, Jessica Roberts, for the best learning, strategies, tips and tricks to boost engagement, reach all your internal audiences, and plan like a pro. It's the complete programme to make you a confident IC expert!
Creative comms courses: we have loads of great ones, take a quick look
Comms Cartoons
Cool comms and social media jobs
Each week, Caroline and I scout about for great jobs and share a selection of them on Linkedin. Makes my YEAR whenever I see lovely people in our community get jobs they saw here.
Here's a list of potential fresh beginnings:
Got a lovely job you'd like us to consider for inclusion in the weekly roundup? Connect with Caroline and drop a message on Linkedin.
Have a lovely week comms friends,
Hel
Award-winning PR / Marketing & Commercial Agency, Penn Commercial▪️Freelance PR & Marketing Consultant, RJ Communications ▪️Visiting Fellow of Public Relations at the University of Suffolk.
1yI was once told ‘Embrace the chaos’ in a senior comms role. Fair enough, I get the concept, and it can breed creativity and enhance responsive skills, but equally, it can encourage a wilful disregard of reporting lines and allows egophiles to take over the asylum! Everything in moderation, perhaps…