Ronke Lawal was recently invited on to The PR Hub podcast, hosted by Adam Tuckwell and Jon Wilcox. PR Hub is a PR & marcoms podcast which spotlights special guests discussing the world of communications and the role it has to play across business and society as a whole.
Along with other Black PR Professionals I was asked to share my thoughts and experiences as a Black PR professional in the UK. I have shared my thoughts in the past on my eponymous website but it was good to share some more thoughts in this PRWeek piece.
I think there's an assumption that I started my business because I was rejected by a big agency. In fact, I started my business because it was a dream of mine to do so – much like many of my white counterparts who start micro agencies/consultancies.
In the summer of 2020 the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police brutality and persistent institutional workplace racism with the death of Belly Mujinga saw a resurgence of Black Lives Matter protests on a global scale. This resurgence saw brands around the world release statements and post black squares pertaining to how they would do the work to dismantle anti-Black racism. I was asked to share my thoughts on the PRWeek website.
I am mindful of the fact that many of these major corporations have spent years bringing us reports and reviews about their own internal lack of inclusion and diversity and that some do not even pay their Black employees equally to their white counterparts or honour them in the workplace.
So while statements are good, they must prove to us that they mean what they say in all areas as it pertains to Black people, and that includes the people they serve and the people who work for them.
Tune in to Robert Muruli’s Rise of The Achiever Podcast to listen to his interview with Ronke Lawal and her journey to building Ariatu PR and her business lessons learnt over the years. Robert brings stories of individuals from known and not-so-known backgrounds who are self made and who have built their path to achievement brick by brick. In this episode we spoke about the changing landscape of public relations and what businesses can do to stay relevant and stay mindful during a crisis.
At the time of writing this piece there are regions of the world that are in lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This means that individuals and businesses with something to sell or offer are finding new ways to communicate to their audiences and video is becoming more and more popular. Even those who have been good at using various digital platforms are increasing their activities to ensure that they remain visible. Personally while I can understand why people do this, it isn’t always necessary to churn out content if it doesn’t align with your strategic goals. If your business brand suddenly starts creating content or undertaking livestreams without a purpose other than to be seen, it can be overwhelming. During a time of collective trauma it is absolutely OK to take a step back to recalibrate. This is a global crisis and the last thing you and your team (if you have one) need right now is to put more pressure on yourself. If, however you have taken a step back, looked at your communications strategy and can see why you need to communicate with your customer base / audience using video, then take the time to consider which video platforms are right for you. What do you need to think about before choosing a video platform?
Who are you communicating to? Undertake an audience assessment; who are you trying to reach or engage with? If your customers or clients use Facebook or Instagram or even Twitter to actively engage with your brand use the livestream modes on those platforms. There is little point in creating a series of IG lives when you customers engage with you the most on Facebook. Meet them where they are; it not only allows for more authentic communication but also ensures you have a more captive audience when communicating. If you have stakeholders or employees then you will have to change tack and use a platform that allows for more intimate communication like Skype or even WhatsApp Video calls.
What type of message are you communicating via video? If you are conducting a virtual conference or webinar you might decide that Google Hangouts or Zoom might be more suitable as they not only allow for audience participation, multiple participants and presentations they are relatively cost effective. If you just want to have a conversation or simply create an experience with your customers in real time IG Live is a very good platform to use for this. Some of the best uses of the platform from a personal brand perspective have been fitness pros and entertainers (DJs/Musicians). Consider being creative with your livestream - you don’t have to simply sell, you want to maintain trust and reassure your customers.
Is a livestream necessary? You don’t have to host a livestream. In fact it might help not to do one so that you don’t overwhelm yourself or your audience. If you film your videos you can post them in your own time on any of your social media timelines as well as on YouTube, IGTV and Facebook watch for your audience to watch whenever they want. Remember there is already a lot of content “bombarding” people at present - there’s no reason to rush to get attention especially if you know what your goals and intentions are. Engagement matters! if there are lots of livestreams happening at the same time via IG live for example it can lead to some social media users becoming disinterested or bored.
Is it safe? It is really important to take the privacy of yourself and your audience into consideration when thinking about using video platforms; especially livestream conferencing platforms like Zoom. So do some reading and assess the pros and cons of the platforms you wish to use and take regulations like GDPR into consideration.
What are the costs? Some platforms come with a cost, even the free platforms aren’t necessarily free. Let’s not forget that even our data has value. Undertake a cost analysis of all the platforms you wish to use and also consider which equipment you might need, most smartphones and laptops are good for standard videos but you might consider investing in lighting and even a camera depending on your budget and frequency of use.
Why are you using video? This is probably the most important question to ask. Don’t just jump on the video trend simply because everyone else is doing so. Videos are a great content creation tool and a great way to communicate with your audience but you have to ensure that the content fits into your overall strategy. At the same time don’t overlook it just because you don’t feel comfortable using video. Find the right resources to help you to become more comfortable with video. Here is a great video on how to look good in videos.
After you have taken the time to think about what platform makes sense for your business then take the steps to start creating content that adds value in an authentic way during this time and beyond. Don’t forget to share your content; recording videos isn’t enough if you have to share, share and share again and of course let your audience share your content too!