ADAPTERS: Perth Media Launches Media Mentoring Sessions

Perth Media founder Cate Rocchi is a Media Mentor

Do you have a media question, big or small? Or do you need help identifying your best ‘story’ or social media campaign ideas? For the first time, Perth Media now offers one-hour media mentoring sessions on publicity and media.  WA businesses and organisations can access advice on global trends as well as take part in practical training if needed.

Sessions will focus on continual improvement, with the aim of clients eventually winning new customers, members and/or stakeholders.

You would be working with Perth Media founder and managing director, Cate Rocchi. She is a PR strategist and content creator who is recognised internationally for her ethical and modern media practice.

Ms Rocchi established Perth Media, in her hometown in Western Australia, after working overseas for some of the world’s largest financial publishing houses, primarily in London and Hong Kong. She has built long-term connections with international journalists, bloggers, TV and radio producers.

“Sessions combine skills in public relations and content such as blogs, podcasts and films with social media. Content must be strategically woven through all parts of an organisation’s communications and assessed constantly.” Ms Rocchi said.

"Our Media Mentoring ‘learning-by-doing’ model ensures the adoption of new knowledge and skills, so companies and organisations can take charge of their own media and digital footprint.

“We have more than two decades of practical experience - we know what type of media work generates business leads and customers, how to create momentum and how to hold an event that is well attended,” says Ms Rocchi.

“Many business owners have a number of great ideas for news stories and we will help refine their strategies and target their campaigns. For example, we can upgrade a media release they have already drafted in-house or sit down and plan a film script or even talk through why a firm should consider filming as part of a yearly marketing plan.

“Films and video content are now standard media tools - for distribution on social and are key for public relations. We recently made a corporate film for a feature Australian Vanadium and I believe the film was key to achieving better coverage and more media results for the company, particularly in terms of TV coverage.”

Perth Media keeps up to date with global trends, and we pass on that expert knowledge to our clients. This week Ms Rocchi met with OCTO, an innovative digital media platform for the UK investment community, based in London. She also toured offices at The Nest in Tower Hill and visited the Cherryduck Studios. In a few weeks’ time, Ms Rocchi will return to work with animation experts in Delhi, India.

“We are a WA media company with expert global knowledge, and we want to work out how to help you capitalise on your opportunities,” she said.

One Perth client – Cath Ashton – reported the new service was excellent saying, “I left the media mentoring session with a clearer plan forward and valuable new options to consider.”

Perth Media mentoring sessions are $200 for a one-hour session at our office, 10/117 Broadway, Nedlands. You can book your spot on the Perth Media website here with sessions starting from Monday January 27, 2020.

Alternatively, if you have some great content ideas but no one to help realise them, Perth Media can supply photographers, writers and videographers, and craft stories like the one you are reading now. Perth Media’s ADAPTERS product provides a range of services from event coverage, photography of all kinds, social media campaigns and more. Our most celebrated ADAPTERS product was an article showcasing the ‘Empowering Communities Program’ at Sudbury House, a Mirrabooka-based community house, in Perth. It is one of many featured in the ADAPTERS, series in WA Business News exclusively for Perth Media clients, profiling news of innovative small businesses, start-ups and not for profits.

For ADAPTERS related inquiries, please contact Perth Media’s Sophie Minissale sophie@perthmedia.com.au

Adapters: New Empowering Communities Program Begins at Sudbury House

Virginia Aden, Chief Executive of Sudbury Community House

Photo: Perth Media‘s Sophie Minissale

Mirrabooka-based Sudbury Community House, in Perth, has an innovative new empowering program to encourage public contributions and engagement.

Budding entrepreneurs, local firms, socially-minded people and those skilled in arts and crafts such as cookery and embroidery will have a role to play in the new five-year Empowering Communities Program in Sudbury House.

Virginia Aden, Chief Executive, says the new initiatives take a holistic approach that can lead to successful treatment of mental health issues, alcoholism, drug dependence, crime and domestic violence.

“It’s about humanising people who need help the most,” she says. “We are trying to move away from a deficit model of poverty and helplessness. We want to empower people to have a strength-based approach to make them respect and believe that every individual is more than capable of contributing to their own development and wellbeing and that they have the solutions to their problems. Sudbury House just needs to offer support.”

Already, a student from Perth Modern School is utilising modernised kitchens at Sudbury House to prepare edible cutlery as part of a project targeting mental ill-health.

Ms Aden is excited by the developments happening so early in the life of the program, which launched in July this year.

 “Just seven per cent of our running costs at Sudbury House come from public funds,” says Ms Aden who revitalised the 33-year-old facility after her arrival in 2011. “Seventy per cent of our clientele are refugees and migrants. When they arrive, they already have been traumatised in refugee camps.”

Sudbury House's main source of income is a modern early learning centre run by qualified staff catering for infants from six weeks of age to six years. Revenue generated by the facility's Learning and Development Centre pays for open-door services that include the drop-in centre, support groups and an information and referral hub.

Yet it is not enough to meet demand for services that Sudbury House provides as an organisation in the not-for-profit sector.

To rectify that scenario, the centre successfully applied for funding from the Department of Communities’ Empowering Communities Program, and received $1.5 million for distribution over the next five years to 2024. Funds will:

·         Stage year-round activities in The Mirrabooka Square, to raise awareness of partner organisations and demonstrate the community’s self-belief.

·         Act as an incubator for small groups to meet in safety to discuss day-to-day needs, supported by mentoring, coaching, computers and photocopying.

·         Hold annual workshops to share community ideas about evolving needs. Some will be developed into programs, supported by partner organisations.

·         Tackle unemployment by registering local skills such as cooking, artwork, craftwork, dance and music; then look at micro finance and social enterprise.

·         Offer grants to five community members to help plan and implement poorly resourced grass roots projects and ideas affecting streets and suburbs, with a view to raising finance.

Ms Aden says Sudbury House demonstrates that problems are manageable by collective action. “Let’s start a conversation that leads our people to their own solutions, giving them a solid base from where they can flourish and grow into their place in the community. We can literally give power back to these people,” she says.

“Our Sudbury family includes people of Aboriginal descent with whom a strong relationship has been respectfully built through their Elders.”

Ms Aden said program outcomes would be measured against impact, not attendance in hope to address two critical questions – have we changed anyone’s life and are they any better off?

Ms Aden oversaw the transformation of Sudbury House from a single room drop-in centre with a childcare annexe on the verge of closure in 2011 to a thriving community hub whose presence is so important to many. Ms Aden has worked with the peak body, Linkwest, and the Department of Communities (formerly known as Department of Local Government and Communities) to see SCH take shape as a multi-purpose facility renowned for a welcoming atmosphere.

This article is one of many featured in 'Adapters', a series in WA Business News exclusively for Perth Media clients, profiling news of innovative small businesses, start-ups and not for profits.

Adapters: Exceed Customer Expectations, says Perth’s Captivate Connect

Mark Horwood of Captivate Connect

Not all Australian companies understand the importance of customer experience, warns Perth entrepreneur Mark Horwood who is changing how businesses around the world relate to clients.

He says customer experience quantified a person’s emotional response in dealings with a company or organisation, and most major US corporations had hired a director of customer experience.

 “We need to look at some of the reasons that this is important, that a customer ‘feels’ an emotional attachment to a business,” Mr Horwood said.

His firm, Captivate Connect, developed new technology to defeat frustrating on-hold phone calls by helping organisations to interact with consumers who were waiting to speak to a staff member.

Mr Horwood says businesses and organisations must exceed consumer expectations to enjoy the benefit of positive customer experiences.

He noted the evolution of commerce with disruptors, such as Uber Eats and Amazon, and commoditisation, in which products or services became indistinguishable from similar ones.

Mr Horwood continued: “Do you ’feel’ any emotional connection to Amazon or the Uber Eats delivery person? Nope. Can you remember the name of the restaurant from which the Uber Eats bag emanated? Nope.”

He said commoditised products had thin margins and were sold by price, not brand. Typically, ever cheaper and common technology was sold by more suppliers who lower prices even further.

“So, when a business does not want to be seen as ‘the same as everyone else’ – chasing prices to the bottom and squeezing margins – what can it do,” Mr Horwood asked.

“It must make the business different in the mind of the customer,” he explained.

“To do this, it needs to create a connection – not an Uber Eats bag type of relationship, but one where the customer forms an emotional connection. One that is memorable long after price is forgotten.”

Mr Horwood said a five-star restaurant that met customer expectations had done just that. But a pasta joint in the suburbs that exceeded customer expectations might be more memorable.

“Which of these two restaurants are you going to bother rating on Google,” he asked. “Which will you tell your friends to go to?”

He went on: “Larger corporations have the most to give and the most to gain from improving customer experience as generally they are not too good at it.”

Mr Horwood singled out being kept waiting on a telephone as a pet hate. “Why do they do that in this day and age of modern technology when there are so many caller preferred options,” he asked.

Captivate Connect’s world-leading phone technology offered entertainment to people on hold as well as information, a quiz, several genres of music and, importantly, a podcast, download of the company app being called and option to be called back.

The internet helped Captivate Connect establish a bigger customer base in the US than Australia.

“From a business perspective, you gain from this new service not only from having improved customer experience, but higher Google ratings and, of course, the business database grows from every number that requests the quiz or app or podcast link,” Mr Horwood said.

He said customer experience differed from customer service. The latter concerned human interaction and directly supporting customers but was only one aspect of dealing with customers.

“Customer experience is the sum of the entire customer journey with your business,” he said.

For more information go to: www.captivateconnect.com

This article is one of many featured in 'Adapters', a series in WABN exclusively for Perth Media clients, profiling news of innovative small businesses, start-ups and not for profits.

New Perth Media Office: 10/117 Broadway, Nedlands

Come in and see us!

To celebrate our new office opening!

For the next month, we are offering exclusive Media Release writing services. For $500 (plus GST) we can draft a tailored media release/blog for your company/organisation with one of our experienced consultants.

Reaching 40000+ Readers: Perth Media Clients and Partners Feature in WA Business News' Adapters Column

Perth Media clients and partners are continuing to reach 40,000 plus audiences by being incorporated in WA Business News Daily e-news bulletins.

Here are the first couple Adapters, spreading innovative news of Perth Media, its partners and  small business, start-up and not-for-profit clients.

https://www.businessnews.com.au/article/Joondalup-Bike-share-Planning-for-Success

https://www.businessnews.com.au/article/Perth-Media-Official-Partner-for-Energy-and-Mines-in-Perth-June-27-28

The opportunity is only available to Perth Media clients. Terms and conditions apply, it is only for clients on monthly retainers.

Blogging Tips: Media Training with Denmark Chamber of Commerce

Last week, we spent several days in Denmark in the remote south coast of Western Australia - one of the state's most beautiful spots. More than 20 came along to a Perth Media training session (facilitated by the Denmark Chamber of Commerce), and here are some of the tips we shared. Happy blogging!

1.     Go with your strengths: vlog, pics, individuals in the team strengths, photos, writing.

2.     The power of great writing is immense, to draw followers/customers.

3.     Positivity important.

4.     Sell your experiences.

5.     Promote events. Events generate news/customers/drives economic development.

6.     Design your blogs with your preferred social media in mind: instagram; twitter; facebook; linkedin..They all have different needs and different audiences, you can't tell/force your customers which social media to use.

7.     Work out how to share your content.

8.     Create content/blog calendar with deadline. Includes testimonials (3rd party endorsements); FAQs (frequency asked questions); video; long and short blogs. Blogs do not mean long columns. There maybe only one long blog each year, but make it a good well-written one.

9.     Content strategy has to be responsive; constantly changing; has to be flexible, and needs to respond to audience.

10.  Content strategy, needs to be seasonal. IE Christmas/Easter/Winter (bonfire themes; bushwalking); writers festival; Denmark Experience; Long table lunches; poetry/music festival, are examples. Festivals provide multiple ideas for content IE performer profiles; acts; reviews; insights of different skills for experiences, IE botanist walks; indigenous experts; cooks; films. Film tours/content on the back of Tim Winton’s Breath. Holiday packages around Breath tours.

11.  Look into possibility of outsourcing editing. Don't be delusional about your own copy/editing skills. It will impact on your brand.

12.  Quirky stories, are gold. ‘For outsiders everything is interesting,' says Creative and Digital consultant Andal Shreedaran at Perth Media. What is wonderful of Denmark and your own individual businesses?

13.  Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration. For blog distribution and sharing the load for events.

14.  Always check facts.

15.  Understand copyright.

16.  Build your own collection of images.

17.  Use press release/presspack stories as blogs.

18.  Read, read, read. Seek out good writing, understand the difference between good, mediocre and bad.

19.  Read your own writing aloud. Make every word count. Be strict cutting, and work on making writing clear. Be descriptive but not flowery and over the top.

20.  Volunteer for charity to get experience as a blogger. You can write the stories of those that need assistance, while you polish your craft.

21.  Identify your passions, your strengths, your interests.

22.  Tell only best stories, and start with the very best one first. Focus also on the opening para.

23.  Understand google rankings and the reason blogs impact on business sales.

24.  Develop relationships with other companies/bloggers/publications.

25.  Understand importance of themes in content creation and promotions.

26.  Do something every day, as part of your BD.

27.  Appeal to different target markets of your products. IE kid friendly; backpackers.

28.  Content strategy: incorporate key words, such as ‘Denmark’ ‘tourism’.

29.  The only thing stopping you writing and promoting your business is you.

Or too busy, call Perth Media now. We can help with a content package right now! cate@perthmedia.com.au

Our International Women at Perth Media

Perth Media would not be the company it is right now but for the valuable input of three creative, smart young women. Andal Shreedaran, who among many things is a podcasting expert and content trend researcher and presenter. Andal has recently joined us from Bangalore (India). Laura Murphy has brought a keen eye for graphics and love of writing. Laura hails from Ireland and is working on research into Instagram effectiveness and ideas.  Chanelle, originally from Perth, has started a Perth Media internship and is currently preparing research into Facebook trends in social media, and has already offered technical expertise. Thank you team, it is a pleasure to know and work with you.

Cate Rocchi (CEO of Perth Media)