A year of sparkle

It doesn’t seem possible but it’s a whole year since I set up We Are Sparkle with my business partner Nicola Little. That’s 12 months. That’s 52 weeks. A whole 365 days!

We were so excited about We Are Sparkle back in March 2013. And we still are.

We Are Sparkle is our communications company and is driven by our shared ethical outlook, a desire to connect, and a clear creative edge.

We genuinely care about what we do and above all, we are about connecting our clients with the right audiences and generating the results that they want.

We have very complementary yet different skills (Nicola talks, I write, we both think).

And that’s why we decided to set up We Are Sparkle. We want to work with like-minded business rather than just take on work for the sake of it. We want to be seen as being a bit different and as girls making a difference – we’re very ‘sparkly’ full of ideas and energy and really care about what we do.

Over the last year we’ve grown the business steadily and have been lucky enough to bring on board some really lovely and interesting clients.

During this time we have recognised that we work really well together and importantly for us have a shared set of values – we care and want to help decent businesses that we believe in do well by helping them to connect and communicate.

We only work with like-minded businesses that share our values.

It’s astonishing how quickly time passes when you’re having fun! Here’s to the next year of sparkles.

Staying on trend with social media

I’ve been in two minds whether to post on social media as it’s covered enormously elsewhere, on more established authoritative blogs.

But it’s a subject close to my heart, personally and professionally, and after speaking to friends and colleagues I know I’m not the only one who can sometimes find it tricky to stay abreast with the ever-changing social media landscape.

All too frequently I find myself faced with yet another social media offering just as I’d thought (hoped) I’d cracked it.

Last year alone saw the stratospheric rise of Instagram and Pinterest in social media. It’s fair to say that both have been wonderfully successful and have reaffirmed that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Meanwhile existing familiar social media sites continue to tweak and introduce new features, which inevitably enrage, excite and confuse users.

Facebook especially is constantly adding often baffling and unannounced new features while, so far anyway, Twitter remains steady and continues to grow at an extraordinary pace.

It’s the nature of social media – it’s dynamic and fast paced. Indeed, a true reflection of the PR industry.

My common concern when considering a new social media site is centred on longevity and whether it will last the distance and become a staple in the communications armoury. I remember Yahoo! Buzz for instance. Scrapped in just three years; a great example of a social media fail.

So how do you decide which, if any, new social media sites to use?

I guess you need to take an informed decision. Keep your ear to the ground and follow social media experts and leaders but more importantly, I think, make some time and play with it to really get to grips with how it can help you reach key audiences in an effective targeted way.

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is my recommended first stop for further help. It offers a range of quality training, from formal qualifications to workshops and briefing events and not all just for members either. Visit the website and while you’re there check out the informative ‘In Conversation Blog’ too.