We’ve secured a lovely piece of PR for a client. So far so good.

The interview is finished, the exclusivity deal is agreed and all that’s left is to send the profile picture…

And that’s where the trouble starts.

Other than snaps on their smart phone the client hasn’t got any up-to-date high res photos of themselves. Who does these days? But while those phone snaps might be fine for facebook they won’t cut the mustard for a glossy mag.

We could have a photographer nip over but they don’t really have the budget for a professional shot…

So, it’s time to DIY.

Over the years we’ve learnt some tricks that really help when you need to take a decent picture.

Hope they help you too.

7 Top Tips for Taking a Great Profile Picture

• Take it with a background like a brick wall or something that’s not too smooth or light in colour. It gives the picture some texture and is more forgiving when you haven’t got a full lighting rig set up.
• If you can, take it outside when it’s cloudy – so you don’t get a shadow but you do get the softer natural light.
• Don’t wear something too low as if the image is cropped too much you can end up looking naked…
• Stand slightly to one side and turn to look at the camera (but not so it’s really exaggerated). Try doing it from both sides – it’s very important to know your best side! If you stand looking straight into the camera you can end up feeling more self conscious and the picture won’t look as good.
• Try and smile but keep it natural – laughing with whoever takes the shots is great because you’ll be more relaxed. Get your kindly photographer friend to take LOADS of pics so you can choose the one you like –  some will be more animated and some will be you in repose. Just find the style that works for you and the medium that requires the picture.
• Get them to take the shot from a slightly higher level than you (but not so high you’re having to look up). Gives your face a good definition and avoids any risk of double chin – not that you have one…
• If you can take the shot with the camera held close up it will focus on your face and many cameras will automatically blur out the background – makes it look more professional. This won’t happen with the camera held too far away (unless you have a proper lens).

“Time for my close up Mr Demille…”

Having identified a new branded look and feel with a fresh design approach, Tees turned to us to help develop the content for their new website.

We started by crafting the right tone of voice, in line with the company’s core principles. Then moved on to writing over 200 pages of copy. For the sheer number of words generated, there’s no denying it was a huge project.

We worked with the Tees team over a period of several months – and learned a significant amount of law along the way.

The result is a unified site that brings together a diverse range of services – firmly establishing Tees as an approachable law firm that really listens to its clients.

We used to get quite cross about these.

There would be lots of “How did they get our number?” and “Who the hell do these people think they are?”

But we seem to have become immune. It’s part of our normal day – and, to be honest, some of them phone so often I feel like we are building a relationship. Albeit a one-sided one.

So, these days, our response to “Hello, can I speak with…” has moved on from a slightly aggressive “No” to “Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry that won’t be possible. Byeeee.”

Followed by a distant smile whilst carefully replacing the handset in its cradle and returning to the task in hand, with ne’er a hair out of place.

But.

Recently I’ve started to wonder what the next phase of the conversation might be.

Maybe we’re doing them a grave disservice and they really do want to help? Perhaps we have got a PPI claim on a long-forgotten loan – or suffered a personal injury in a terrible accident no one can remember. Amnesia, per chance?

The really sad thing is, I feel like their methods might be working.

I’m terrified that one day I’ll find myself embroiled in conversation with a terribly helpful person from the Indian sub-continent, giving them my credit card details with joyful abandon.

And the urge to respond is spreading.

Rather than snorting in ridicule (the only sensible response) I’ve been hovering the mouse, desperate to click on ‘One simple secret trick to lose 4 stone of belly fat in a week’. WHAT IS THAT TIP? And if it’s so secret, why are they willing to tell me?

Of course, I don’t click. And I won’t extend my calls with the unlikely named Sammy, Maria or Stephen.

Because I know it’s all a scam. And that, just like too much wine, marketing can be bad for you.

But every now and again a piece of marketing grabs you and makes you feel good about the world. Unfortunately it’s not Dance Pony Dance, but that’s another issue.

The new website launched a week ahead of schedule and on budget. The client is delighted and the feedback they have received within the industry has been excellent. See the whole site at www.spikesworld.co.uk.

They’ve also been delighted with their Twitter and facebook activity and have seen already that it has led to new connections with pet food retailers and animal welfare hospitals.

But I’ve always sat here…

For some people moving desks is a really big deal. They’ve created their territory, put up their pictures, moved their phone and adjusted the height of their screen and chair so they’re perfectly aligned.

All of this is a good thing. And should be encouraged.

But.

Becoming so entrenched in one space can become less like creating a home and more like building an empire.

It might sound a tad dramatic but it’s a common enough sight that people resist the filing cabinets or photocopier being moved because of NIMBYism – or they don’t want the new guy sitting next to them because they’ve always sat with Pete.

The trouble here is that in an environment where things rarely alter, the smallest change can become a major issue. Demanding the focus of too much management time and sucking the energy out of a team as factions form and people get frustrated over the pettiness of the issue – that very frustration being the thing that helps blow it out of all proportion.

And what happens when something big appears on the horizon and really shakes the status quo?

But what’s the solution? Well, you could just leave Pete where he is…

OR

Do it more.

Small regular changes to seating plans or team structures can help prepare people for how to tackle bigger issues. Of course, it’s essential that we don’t just change for change’s sake – the alterations need to have a purpose. And we all need some level of constancy in our lives. But, when people understand that change isn’t intrinsically ‘bad’, you can create a more fluid, adaptable and successful workforce.

For example, when a business sells to another organisation, the disruption to both workforces is immense and intense. Everyone feels threatened, uneasy, uncomfortable.To be honest, it doesn’t even matter if no one’s job is at risk or if little actually changes, bar the footer on the letterhead.

When things change we all, albeit unwittingly, move into Bruce Tuckman’s four stage forming, storming, norming, performing model. In a business it means we have to expend resources to help our people work through what’s happening around (and to) them.

We can’t avoid this. But we can make it easier to bear. We can make the stages flow quicker and encourage early adoption of new ideas.

Our own experiences directing the HR and brand management during mergers and acquisitions has shown this time and again.

Small change is key.

The organisations that help their people learn to adapt in an unthreatening environment are the ones that reach the ‘performing’ stage quickest. With forward planning they reduce stress, management time and conflict.

And they create effective, confident employees who can cope when the big stuff looms.

As Heraclitus said: “change is the only constant”. Things simply work better when we’re used to it.

Nash Matthews is a partnership of European Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys.

Thay are dedicated to providing a first rate intellectual property service, encompassing patents, trade marks, designs and other related rights.

The concept

We interviewed one of their key clients, John Clamp of Ultravision, to write a vox pop piece highlighting the key benefits of working with Nash Matthews.

The film forms part of a portfolio of client profiles in multi-media formats.

The conclusion

It was critical to adopt John’s natural language and create a script that he would be comfortable with.

By talking to John, and listening carefully to his tone of voice, we were able to create a piece that gets across the key points required by the client while ensuring that he still sounds like John!

The film was shot by a specialist media agency and is shown on Nash Matthews’ You Tube channel and their website.

You call them words, we call it copy. Whatever you call it, writing a website in a way that makes people engage with your product or service can be harder than it seems.

But worry not.

Even if you find it difficult to hit the high notes, the following will at least make your website sound in tune. And it will help ensure your audience is more likely to listen.

A picture tells a thousand words

Great websites generally have great imagery. But alongside taking a few classic snaps, there are some key points worth keeping in mind:

• Ensure your visuals are consistent and appropriate for your brand
• Be sure you have the right to share the images on your website
• Use a professional photographer if possible – even if it’s just for your main shots
• And make sure you’ve got the right metadata connected to your images – this means attaching key words behind them to get them working hard so Google and other search engines can find you.

But pictures don’t tell the whole story…

Read all about it!

Headlines. Use them.

Website users scan text rather than read thoroughly. So headings need to be effective as they are the first thing they’ll notice. Make sure you include some of your key words – it’s important for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

They need to catch people’s eye and give a hint as to what comes next. If they’re funny and/or clever then all the better – but be sure they’re not so obscure that only you and an intimate few can understand them.

And keep them short. And snappy.

Rules are there to be broken

In this age of mass multi-media communication, many of the language rules we learnt at school have gone out of the window.

Now, this don’t mean badly writings’ or; adding in – random bits of! Punctuation.

But, it does mean you can start paragraphs with but. And you can begin sentences with and.

Use the language to your advantage. It works when you break up text or create visual interest by using short sentences or one word paragraphs.

See?

What you mustn’t do is forget the rules that form the bedrock of good writing. Things like the correct usage of possessive apostrophes* or that classic of modern writing… the three dots.

It’s three. Not four. Or ten. Just three.

It’s not what you say, it’s the way that you say it

Your tone of voice (TOV) represents the personality of your brand/company through words.

One way to approach how to write is to think what your business would sound like if it was a person. How we express ourselves in words speaks volumes about us. If you met your brand at a party would you want to talk to them again?

Think about your competitors. What is their TOV like? Warm and chatty or rather formal? Decide which  approach appeals to you and apply it consistently. It forms part of your brand.

Obviously you will vary your TOV depending on who you’re talking to and the medium you’re using, but a single personality should still be coming through.

Be yourself

Finding the right voice gives all your communications their own distinct flavour and demonstrates congruence. Congruence is when how you behave and look matches what you say. Looking the part is only half the story. Your website needs to look the part and sound the part. That’s congruence and it helps customers trust you.

We often use brand values to help clients develop their distinct TOV. This is fine as far as it goes. But saying you’re ‘approachable’ and an ‘expert’ in your field isn’t enough. What makes you sound approachable and expert is about a subtle mix of your use of register, vocabulary and grammar.

Compare Newsround with News at 10.

They’re both seen as trusted experts. They both share the same news stories. But how they do it… that’s the difference.

Take the following example from a food company. One of their brand values is ‘delicious’.

To express this they use language like: mouth-watering, satisfying, indulge, fabulous, enjoy, lovely, ripe, juicy.

So… ’A lettuce, tomato and cucumber salad’ becomes… ‘Crisp lettuce and cucumber salad with juicy tomato.’

One sounds plain and drab, the other fresh and appetising.

For the web it’s crucial to remember that TOV mustn’t get in the way of writing good web-friendly copy. Usability and SEO rule the roost – but really good web copy manages to combine them all.

Write right

So you’ve got some good headlines and have decided how you want to come across. The next bit is the hardest of all. The stuff that comes under the headlines and explains the detail. The stuff you want people to read.

It’s a bit like doing the high jump at school. If you’ve seen the Fosbury Flop then you should be able to do it. But we all know how hard it really is to clear the bar. And the odds are there will be people who are better at it than you are.

Luckily there are some tricks you can learn to help you jump higher. And it’s the same for good web copy too.

Here are our top twelve web copy tips:

1. Get people’s attention. And keep it. Keep your text short and to the point. Optimum word count per page is around 250. Obviously this can vary but if you’re worried it’s too long it probably is.
2. Structure and format are crucial. Make it easy on the eye using distinct paragraphs with headings and bullets. People read websites in an F pattern. Make your key points clear and don’t lose them on the bottom right on the page.
3. Do sweat the small stuff – make sure paragraphs and images are all aligned correctly and don’t use random capitals or suddenly change fonts, colours or text size.
4. Think about sentence length. Try to keep sentences under 15 words, and no more than 20.
5. Paragraphs – again keep them short and to the point with 1 idea in each. Show don’t tell.
6. Research the key words people are using and weave this into your copy.
7. Look at what your competitors are doing. What do you like? What don’t you like?
8. Make the reader feel like you are talking to them – use ‘you’.
9. It’s crucial to be honest. Don’t try and be something you’re not.
10. Always think of your audience. Getting their attention is one thing. Keeping it another. Are you indulging yourself or engaging them? Remember that as humans we’re programmed to love a good story. You’ve got to sell the story. Stories sell.
11. Use the active rather than the passive voice to make things personal. [See comment about using ‘You’ above.]
12. Update your site often to keep content fresh for visitors. Google also likes this. One of the best ways of doing this is through a blog.

You’re brilliant

Of course you are.

That’s why you’re building a business and developing your brand. But even you can’t do everything. It’s always good to get a trusted friend (ideally several) to read through your site. Listen to them – without forgetting your opinion is finally what counts!

Or get a professional in. You can get someone to write the whole thing from scratch or just cast an eye over your finished piece and give it a light edit. Neither needs to cost the earth but it could really help you express yourself the way you want to sound.

And, finally, be your own best critical friend. Plan it. Write it. Review it. Cut it down. Tear it up. Have another think. Start again. And cut out anything that’s not absolutely necessary.

As Blaise Pascal said: “I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I haven’t had the time to make it shorter.”

Exactly.

Scampers are an award-winning natural pet store based in East Anglia.

They have recently remodelled their business and we have supported them throughout the journey to becoming the UK’s leading retailer of biologically appropriate pet foods – revolutionising the way people care for their pets.

The concept

For this part of the project, we were asked to produce a short stills film to show in store beside the RAW foods section.

The film needed to explain the key benefits of RAW feeding, one aspect of feeding biologically appropriate dog and cat foods, and encourage owners to find out more.

The conclusion

We used Norman and Fish, the owners’ dogs, as our models, as they are a recognised part of the Scampers team.

We wanted customers to relate to the film and to see the real benefits that RAW feeding has brought to dogs they know.

The film is shown on Scampers’ You Tube channel, their website and in store.

Right, so I know I need to start twittering but… what is it exactly?

We were recently asked to give a 10 minute social media blasterclass for one of our clients.

They knew they needed Twitter – at least, they’d been told they did and believed whoever it was they were talking to… They also knew they needed Facebook and had set up a page and then… weren’t really sure what to do with it…

So, we held hands, took deep breaths and helped them dive into the social sphere.

We talked about the importance of  listening to their market place. We talked about congruence and being true to yourself. We talked about not just using the social media channels as hard sales tools but to nurture followers to create a more subtle route to market. We talked about lots of things.

And, by the end of it all, they were happy to swim alone.

They’ve set up their Twitter accounts, they’re using their Facebook pages and they’re getting ready for their shiny new website (courtesy of us).

But, what we would have really liked is this. A perfect guide to social media – despite the doh!nut misspell.

All credit to Firebox (and David Donnan) for pointing it out on… yes, their Facebook pages.