PR professionals have a reputation for being a friendly, unflappable bunch but like anyone, they too experience moments of frustration. Here are 10 things every PR professionals secretly wishes you knew but are too professional to tell you.

Being experts at navigating social relations doesn’t make PR professionals immune to the everyday frustrations that inevitably crop up in their work. Though your gracious PR rep may be well-equipped to handle anything that comes their way, there are things that drive even the most seasoned PR professionals batty. Here are 10 common things PR reps wish their potential clients knew:

1.          PR is a non-negotiable part of business

“If you think PR is negotiable or a ‘nice-to-have’, you’re dead wrong,” says Jordan, a PR specialist from Sydney who regularly works with fledgling brands. “If your business is trading you are already in the business of PR. Everything you do plays a part in crafting your reputation and public relations is just the applied way to build and manage your brand.”

“PR is one part of a holistic and integrated marketing and communications plan. Often small businesses see the outcomes of PR and instantaneously want to emulate the same for their business,” says KK Projects Director Keri Kitay.

“It’s important as a small business to realise that it’s a marathon and not a sprint. Before engaging in a PR campaign, it is essential that you have everything in place, such as your sales channels to capture leads generated by PR, an e-commerce system that can support enquires and sales, customer service, all your purchasing, refund and shipping policies in place and enough product in stock to support sales. In addition, it is important for a small business to recognise that PR will generate awareness and provide leads to your website but it is equally if not more essential that your website is optimised to convert the sale. “

2.          Have realistic expectations

“It’s important to understand that PR isn’t instantaneous and it can take a few months to see results. Your agency needs some time to build relationships with key media on behalf of your business, and some publications are working to an editorial calendar, so you may not be relevant to what they’re working on at the moment,” says MHPR Director Meg Harris, “This is why we always recommend new clients give us a minimum of 3 months to build the momentum and start to see coverage coming through.” 

3.          Measurables won’t give you the full picture

“We can report on KPIs like media coverage, engagement or web traffic but PR is more of an art form than an exact science,” says Jordan, “Measurables don’t always give you the full picture of how a campaign is going, especially to measure how consumer sentiment is changing over time. Instead of being fixated on particular numbers or metrics, it pays to think of what your overall brand strategy is and look at what measurables will truly reflect its progress.”

4.          Please get back to PR professionals quickly!

“We want to be fully prepared to take advantage of every opportunity that comes up,” says Sydney based agency rep Siobhan, who works in corporate communications. “When there’s missing information or a slow response from our clients it means that sometimes we miss out on great opportunities to promote their brand. In media timing is everything.”

5.          It’s all about relevancy

“What you think is interesting or relevant may not always resonate with everyone else,” advises Katie, who enjoys working with clients to identify their best-selling points in her role as an account manager at a Melbourne PR agency. “That’s where we come in to do the research and advise on what angles work best to promote the client.”

6.          Social media is here to stay

“Social media gets a bad rap from some corners, but what some businesses don’t realise is that it’s a really budget-friendly and effective way to get your name out there,” says Katie. “It’s not just a place for teenagers to hang out. Lots of people use social media to learn about products and get recommendations; any business can use social media to build a relationship with customers and get valuable insights.”

7.          Have a plan

“To execute a PR campaign effectively, small businesses need to allow adequate time for agencies to audit the business, the market and the PR opportunities before putting together a strategy,” says Keri, “A well thought out PR plan requires detail and research. Similarly, the time to execute a PR plan and generate media coverage and results does not happen overnight. There is a lot of detail in a plan and considerate execution, which your PR agency or publicist has spent many years crafting, building relationships with media and developing their IP to produce results.” 

8.          PR is not the same as advertising

“Part of the value of PR is that media coverage is so much more powerful than straight-up advertising because consumers place greater trust in independent reviews,” says Siobhan, “But obtaining coverage is not as straightforward as paying for an advertising slot. A lot of patience is needed but the results are worth it.”

9.          Pay attention to presentation

“High-quality assets can be the difference between being featured or not,” says Meg, “If you can afford to, arrange to shoot a variety of high res imagery such as simple product shots on a white background and lifestyle images so you have a greater chance of being able to provide for different publications’ needs.” 

“More journalists are mindful of the environment these days so extravagant product send-outs with excess packaging are no longer necessary to secure coverage. It’s more important to really research who your business is relevant to and send them a personalised pitch with your product and the key information.” 

10.   Listen to us

“My dream clients are clients who really take my feedback on board even if they don’t agree with me,” says Maya, who has spent most of her career working with corporate clients from her base in Sydney. “A trusting relationship is essential to achieving the best results; at the end of the day, I feel most appreciated when I feel listened to. My expertise is hard-earned and being able to put it to good use is its greatest reward.”

Director of Millennium Communications, Cassandra Hili says you should expect transparency and honesty saying, “Just like in any good relationship, this goes both ways. By having these two values at heart, it will make your experience with your PR so much more enjoyable and won’t allow for any miscommunication or unmet expectations.”

“When it comes down to PR, it really is a team effort. So make sure you’re open to the ideas and angles that are presented to you.”

Written by Mary Nguyen at HM&M

Read the Small Business Answers guide to understand more on how PR can help grow your business.

In our recent guide Wi-Fi Extender to improve your Wi-Fi coverage, we looked at what a Wi-Fi extender is and how it can improve productivity in the office by increasing internet speed and coverage.

A new product the D-Link AC1200 Mesh Wi-Fi range extender, the DAP-1610, took our fancy as it ticked all of the boxes we mentioned in our guide. The only exception being that it does not support Wi-Fi 6, but most readers will not have Wi-Fi 6 products yet. 

If you struggle to get Wi-Fi in areas of your business, then for $125, this will be a game-changer.

3 key features to buy a D-Link AC1200:

1. This extender can be used as a wireless access point.  This means you can go to Officeworks, buy a 25-metre ethernet cable ($45) and connect one end to the extender and one to the router. Assuming you can run this cable to the area you are having trouble getting Wi-Fi, you now have a Wi-Fi network in your blackspot on the same network.
2. Support for a Mesh network means that if you have a Mesh router and the extender is in range, you can increase your Wi-Fi coverage using the same network name and password. Thus your smartphones, PC etc., will just work without further configuration.
3. Simple setup with a signal strength indicator. Start by pushing the WPS button on the router and extender. Your extender is now active. Now try the extender in different locations taking note of the three signal strength lights on the front of the unit. This makes the placement of the extender simple to get the best results.

Other features that tick the boxes include Dual-band (2.4& 5GHz) support for speeds up to 867Mbps and foldable antennas, which means the unit is just as happy plugged into a wall socket as a power board. If you register the product with D-Link, you get a 3-year warranty, and 24/7 Technical support is available.

This simple Wi-Fi fix is available now from major electrical retailers.

Synology, the leading NAS storage vendor talks to small Business Answers about their 3-2-1 backup strategy.

To understand more about why you need to backup read Small Business Answers Guide to backup first.

Have at least 3 copies of your data

Keep these copies in 2 different types of media

Store at least 1 copy offsite

A backup in your place of work is the 1^st step in protecting your data. To improve this further, store copies on different drives (media – hard drives, storage cards or thumb drives) to protect against any single point of failure. For example, backing up your PC to a Synology NAS.

The final step is having a copy of your data offsite. Have a copy of your data at home or at someone else’s home. This is extremely important, as local backups do not protect against fire, natural disaster, or theft of all your hard drives. Simple ways to backup include having a copy of your data on a portable hard drive or back up to cloud storage.

If using a Synology NAS, the backup strategy procedure would be as follows:

Step A — Back up your devices to a NAS

Start by backing up your documents, photos, and videos. A Synology NAS is easy to set up and maintain and a great place to back up all of your devices.

To back up a Windows PC to a NAS, you have two options:

1. Select and protect individual files or folders. You don’t need to protect the entire computer. Using Synology Drive software, you can synchronise folders and add backup and restoration points to your most important files. Meaning you can easily roll back any accidental or malicious modifications.
2. Back up your entire PC. With Synology Active Backup for Business, you can protect your PCs with full-device backups of your files, programs, and settings. Flexible restoration lets you recover only files and folders or replicate the entire device onto a new one.

Step B – Back up your NAS to another location

Now that you have centralised your backup, you must add one more level of protection. A Synology NAS is designed to maintain data integrity and security; natural disasters or theft can still impact you. Thus the need for an offsite backup solution. Options include:

• To another Synology NAS.  Here your data is duplicated to a second remote location as an exact copy.  You will have options of whether this is real-time or periodically.
• To cloud services. The likes of Google, Amazon, Dropbox and Synology themselves offer commercial backup solutions to duplicate your data on their servers.
• To external devices. The cheapest solution is a USB connected hard drive. Which can be configured to trigger a backup of your NAS anytime it is plugged in. (Remember to take the drive offsite and bring it back for regular updates)

Synology is offering a free webinar to learn more about Upgrading your backup solution to meet modern backup challenges
Thursday, 7 October 2021 | 14:00 – 15:00 AEDT (Sydney, UTC+11)
Register Now

ePac Flexible Packaging (ePac), the industry leader in digital printing for small run food packaging, has launched in Australia, with its first manufacturing facility opening in Melbourne in the fourth quarter of 2021. 

Built entirely on breakthrough digital printing technology, ePac serves local brands of all sizes, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized businesses producing snacks, confections, coffee, natural and organic foods, pet food, and nutritional supplements.

ePac provides a five to 15 business day lead time, focuses on small and medium run-length orders, and enables brands to order to demand and avoid costly inventory and obsolescence.  

ePac’s first production facility will open eight kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, at the new Newlands Road food manufacturing hub, located in the heart of Coburg’s thriving industrial district. 

Jack Knott, ePac Flexible Packaging CEO, said, “We’re very excited to be expanding ePac’s growing international footprint into Australia. We are focused on bringing the same great ePac experience to our customers, helping small and medium-sized businesses grow and achieve big brand presence.”

Jason Brown, ePac Flexible Packaging Managing Director, Australia, said, “ePac helps local brands grow into major contributors within the community, with a unique offering for brands to rapidly go to market with great packaging. Opening our first facility at Newlands Road is an exciting milestone for ePac Australia, and we’ve already had a great response from the community.” 

ePac was established in the US in 2016 to provide locally-based consumer packaged goods companies with the ability to compete with large brands with great packaging, give back to the communities it serves, and contribute to creating a more sustainable, circular economy. Since the opening of the company’s first manufacturing facility in 2016, ePac’s mission has been clear – to help small brands obtain big brand presence and grow.

About ePac flexible small run food packaging 

ePac is the first company created entirely on breakthrough digital printing technology from Hewlett Packard, the Indigo 20000. This technology platform enables the company to provide fast time to market, economical short and medium run length jobs, customization, and the ability to order to demand to avoid costly inventory and obsolescence. By harnessing the true power of digital printing, ePacConnect enables brands of all sizes to take advantage of the growing trends in connected packaging. ePac’s digital platform is inherently eco-friendly while offering several sustainable film options. 

Website: epacflexibles.com.au

As the quality, reliability and security of Wi-Fi becomes increasingly important, D-Link A/NZ has launched their new DAP-1610 AC1200 Mesh Wi-Fi Range Extender and DAP-1530 AC750 Mesh Wi-Fi Range Extender, both encompassing the latest WPA3™ wireless encryption.

The DAP-1610 is a portable plug-in wireless extender that lets you extend an existing wireless network, giving you powerful Wi-Fi throughout your home and eliminating Wi-Fi dead zones.

With high-speed, dual-band 802.11ac wireless speeds of up to 1200Mbps – that’s 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 900Mbps on the 5GHz band – the DAP-1610 ensures a fast and stable Wi-Fi experience for all of your connected devices.

The DAP-1610’s dual-band technology also helps reduce interference from any nearby wireless transmitters and provides backwards compatibility with older connected devices that run on previous Wi-Fi standards. What’s more, if you wish, you can use its Gigabit Ethernet port and your home’s existing wired Ethernet cabling to extend wireless coverage without having to worry about signal strength.

The DAP-1610 also provides you with flexible Mesh choices for your home network when you pair it with a compatible D-Link Wi-Fi 5 Mesh Router to create a seamless whole-home Mesh Network built on industry-standard Mesh technology. The DAP-1610 seamlessly picks up the same Wi-Fi name as your existing network and allows you to enjoy a Mesh connection throughout your entire home

Meanwhile, Mesh Smart Roaming allows your devices to intelligently switch to a stronger Wi-Fi signal as you move around the house. You can also pair with other Routers or Extenders which support the 802.11k/v standard to enjoy Mesh Smart Roaming throughout your home at all times.

Setup of the DAP-1610 is simple, either via the single-touch WPS button to join the Extender to the existing network, or alternatively, you can set up and manage the DAP-1610 just as easily with the free D-Link Wi-Fi app directly from your smartphone or tablet.

The DAP-1610 also has a useful LED signal strength indicator that allows you to identify where the strongest and weakest Wi-Fi signal spots are around your home, helping you find the best possible location to place the extender for optimal network performance.

Like its bigger sibling, the DAP-1530 AC750 Mesh Wi-Fi Range Extender is a plug-in Wi-Fi repeater that lets you extend an existing wireless network. You can place it anywhere in your home to increase the range of your wireless network. It may be tiny, but it is powerful, supporting wireless AC speeds of up to 750Mbps, despite fitting neatly in the palm of your hand.

Like the DAP-1610, the DAP-1530 enjoys dual-band 802.11ac technology, an LED Signal Strength Indicator and a one-touch configuration making it both easy to set up and easy to use. The DAP-1530 will also automatically configure itself and even includes a built-in setup wizard should you want finer control of either wired or wireless settings.

You also still get flexible Mesh choices for your home network and the ability to pair with other Routers or Extenders which support the 802.11k/v standard to enjoy Mesh Smart Roaming throughout your home when you need it.

Pricing D-Link DAP-1610 and DAP-1530

The DAP-1610 and the DAP-1530 are available now from www.dlink.com.au (RRP AUD$129.95 and RRP AUD$99.95), and from all authorised D-Link Partners and Retailers.

To understand more read Small Business Answers guide on Wi-Fi Extenders.

Leading global Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) company, Zip Co Limited (ASX: Z1P), has today announced the official launch of Zip Business ‘Tap to pay’, a new feature enabling small business owners to buy now, pay later anywhere that accepts Visa and shows the Contactless Symbol at checkout. 

Zip Business Trade Plus already provides SMBs with access to a simple, interest-free and flexible line of credit of up to $150,000, which can be used to pay any bill or invoice, or can be spent at its network of more than 35,000 merchants including Tradelink, Holcim Australia and Paramount Liquor. In an extension of the ‘Tap to pay’ consumer feature launched in 2020, Zip Business ‘Tap to pay’ significantly expands the number of places Trade Plus customers can use their credit, for an easier and smarter way to pay. 

In line with social distancing mandates and the rise of contactless services, use of digital wallets has skyrocketed. In the 12 months from March 2020 to 2021, the number of monthly digital wallet transactions increased by 90 per cent, with the number of transactions rising from 36 million to 68 million. Over the same period, the total dollar value of digital wallet transactions more than doubled, with the value of monthly transactions rising to $2.1 billion, up from $1 billion.

While the global pandemic saw a huge uptake of business-to-consumer (B2C) pay-by-installment services, there continues to be a substantial gap in the business-to-business (B2B) BNPL market. Zip Business ‘Tap to pay’ addresses and solves this crucial customer need for Australian SMBs. 

With over two million small businesses in Australia, the universal pain point is cash flow and access to capital – this has only been compounded by the pandemic. Some of the industries hit particularly hard include on-premise retail, hospitality and construction. The Australian Bureau of Statistics Business Conditions and Sentiments Report revealed that 25 per cent of Accommodation and Food Services and 23 per cent of Retail trade businesses are finding it difficult to meet their financial commitments. 

‘Tap to pay’ harnesses the latest digital wallet technology for contactless payments, so Zip Business customers can pay for goods and services beyond the Zip merchant network, enabling both SMBs to pay easier and a world of new merchants to accept Zip payments.    

Geof Alexander, General Manager of Zip Business, said: “Small businesses are the lifeblood of the Australian economy with entrepreneurs taking incredible risks to create a business around what they are passionate about. Now facing the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, entrepreneurs are fighting hard and putting everything into finding a way forward – and at the moment, they need support. 

“At Zip Business, we’re building the pieces to help Australian entrepreneurs to manage cash flow – supporting them with fair, transparent and flexible payments options to give them longer to pay and make their lives easier.  

“Adding another layer of functionality to our Zip Business Trade Plus product, ‘Tap to pay’ brings award winning experiences to small businesses, helping to boost cash flow and fund growth, whatever the world decides to throw at them. In the first week since launch, we’ve seen Zip Business customers use ‘Tap to pay’ 4.5 times on average. 

“We know what it’s like to grow from being the little guy and we want to give our customers the tools to fulfil their business dreams.”

In order to be eligible for a Zip Business Trade Plus account, businesses must have an active ABN or ACN, have been in business for six months and generate at least $5,000 in sales per month. Small business owners can apply for a Zip Business Trade Plus account here. Zip’s lending criteria applies.

To understand more read the Small Business Answers guide to BNPL.

EPOS, the premium enterprise and gaming audio and video brand, has announced the launch of the IMPACT D Series – a lightweight range of comfortable headsets designed to provide peerless audio performance and powerful wireless reach. This headset Series is optimised for Unified Communication and has a streamlined, functional design suitable for all-day use.  

Perfect call clarity for 100% focus

Even in modern times, with customers increasingly embracing many different digital interactions, automation, and self-service, the human voice remains the most trusted form of communication. The IMPACT D Series has been developed to meet the requirements of professionals in energetic office and contact centre environments where clear audio, comfort, and ease of mobility are an absolute must.
 
Making full use of EPOS’s unique in-house technologies, such as EPOS Voice technology™, which focuses on the human voice to produce a rich, natural sound experience, the IMPACT D Series helps business professionals communicate effectively throughout their working day by eliminating the frustrations and distractions caused by bad audio.  
 
Our cutting-edge solution augments the conversation experience, reducing the prominence of unnecessary ambient noise and allowing for 100% customer focus, whatever the situation.  

A secure solution 

In today’s digital world, companies are more exposed than ever to hostile online threats. Wireless networks offer great potential for exploitation, so security is paramount when choosing a wireless headset solution. The IMPACT D Series keeps data safe and secure with protected pairing– meaning company security is never an issue.

Streamlined functional design

Keep desks tidy with a streamlined design ideal for hotdesking when agents need plug and play functionality at every workstation. With one base station that serves both monaural and binaural wearing styles, a superior docking experience and single connectivity to PC or phone, the IMPACT D Series makes high-quality wireless DECT headsets accessible to all.

Wireless freedom

No one wants to be chained to their desk, surrounded by tangled cables. The IMPACT D Series has a powerful wireless range so that users have the freedom to walk and talk and be mobile without compromising on perfect call clarity.
 
With simple, single connectivity to PC, hybrid users can connect their headset wirelessly and enjoy the mobility of a powerful wireless DECT headset throughout their working day.

Theis Mørk, Vice President, Global Product Management at EPOS comments: ‘‘The IMPACT D Series uses cutting edge technology to give professionals in energetic work environments true wireless freedom. With enhanced security features, powerful wireless reach, superior audio and natural listening experience, the IMPACT D Series is the premier solution when talk matters.’’
 
Learn more about the IMPACT D Series here.
 

Product availability: 

IMPACT D Series: August 31, 2021
IMPACT D Series MSRP: $399 – $499

Read Small Business Answers Guide to headsets for business to understand what is right for you.