Facebook fans will remember the bizarre bra status update craze that swept the social networking site last year. Users went through a phase of updating their statuses with just their bra colour “red” “black” “pink” to raise awareness for breast cancer.
It wasn’t long before the trend had gone viral and the media soon picked up on the story.
That’s one way to hit the headlines, but what else does it take to gain publicity for such issues, and indeed the charities which work hard to raise awareness of them?
Social entrepreneur Anthony David King recently shared his tips for how communications staff can get the media talking about their charity and what it’s been up to. On his blog, Sociolebrity.com, he suggests thinking about whether anything you’re working on relates to something the media is already talking about. Gaining celebrity support is another way of getting journalists’ ears to prick up, he suggests, as well as shocking statistics.
Even if resources are scarce, there are plenty of ways for charity PRs to give their campaigns a professional touch, says director of Illuminate Communications Helen Beckett. In a recent blog for the Guardian’s Voluntary Sector Network she suggests using pro bono and free resources such as NFPtweetup which puts PR staff in touch with like-minded charity communicators through online networks and regular events.
So, if you think you’ve got what it takes to raise the profile of a charity, or to keep cool in a PR crisis, we’ll be taking a closer look at charity communications careers in a live Q&A. With a panel ranging from big names to smaller charities, join us to find out more about how it all works and the skills you’ll need on Thursday 21 July from 1pm.
To keep up-to-date with our regular Q&A sessions, you can now sign-up for our newsletter here.
Our panel:
Steve Palmer is press and public affairs manager at the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE). For the past eight years, Steve has worked for charities dealing with substance misuse, mental health, learning disabilities, volunteering and wider social care. Before that, Steve was a journalist at the BBC.
James Ellaby is communications officer for the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, working on the trust’s media relations, website, magazine, e-newsletters and social media.
Peter Maple is course director of the MSc Management in Civil Society, Marketing and Fundraising at London South Bank University.
Elizabeth Hudson is a PR officer at environmental charity BTCV. Her role involves media relations, campaigns, social media and marketing.
Ben Matthews is a freelance digital PR consultant specialising in tech, media and charity sectors. Ben is the founder and director of Bright One, a volunteer-run communications agency for the third sector. He is also a board member of Charity Comms, the professional body for charity sector communications.
Chris Mitchell has worked in the charity sector for six years, in both professional and voluntary capacities. He is now press and communications officer at Action for Sustainable Living (AfSL).
Susan Simmonds is an experienced charity CEO and trustee. Susan has worked in PR in the not-for-profit sector for more than 20 years, providing strategic advice and implementing communications programmes. She is a member of the CIPR Fifth Estate committee, which is the special interest group for charity communications professionals.
As PR officer at Media Trust, Jessica Culshaw is responsible for the management and delivery of press and PR activities across all Media Trust’s products and services, including national television channel Community Channel.
Kirsty Marrins is communications manager at spinal injury charity Aspire. Kirsty has worked for a number of years in the charity sector.
Diana Mackie is PR manager at the Institute of Fundraising and is responsible for communicating the work of the institute to charities, donors, the general public and all other relevant audiences through the media.
Simon Morrison is director of marketing and communications at the Institute of Fundraising, with responsibility for promoting the organisation, its work and reputation.
