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Can nature teach you to be a better communicator?

When you spend a decent amount of time in the bush like I have, you find a clear head for thinking and reflecting on things close to your heart.I love to explore our great outdoors. Hiking is my happy place (followed by a nice glass of chardonnay and hot shower of course!).Nature is a great teacher to anyone who cares to listen.I’ve learned a lot about life and communication, from arguably the best communicators around – trees and birds!Here’s what nature has taught me about being a better...

Conducting a website audit for your business

This week, Cushla shared how we conduct a website audit and the reasons why you should be doing a regular website audit for your business, too. Check out the video below.Consider these steps:Run your website URL through a site audit tool. At Belle, we use The HOTH.Find technical errors.Identify SEO problems.Analyze design and UX.Assess website content.Generate a checklist of all site issues and recommended fixes.Make these changes to improve your website.Check out the bloopers over on our Instag...

Noplace: The New Social Media App for Gen Z

At Belle PR, we’re always looking for new industry trends that have the potential to transform the way we connect and interact with others. Enter from stage left…. Noplace: make new friends, a new social networking app that’s captivating Gen Z users around the globe and promises to ‘bring back the awesome’.In fact, over the last week, it has hit the top spot in the App Store. It aims to take on companies like X and Threads.Noplace has been developed to reinstate the essence o...

The art of crisis management and why communication is key

Lessons from real-life failuresEffective communication is more than just exchanging information—it's how organisations and brands build trust and loyalty, maintain a positive reputation, and ensure operational success. During my time as a public relations professional, I’ve seen numerous communication mishaps. Plans have gone askew, leading to full-blown crises that require effective management and recovery.Crises are unexpected, disruptive to business, can involve loss of life or injur...

Curious about Gen Z? Insights into a Gen Z mind

What are the unique and important attributes of Gen Z? Will these affect the success of your business?Well... As a Gen Z female myself and a keen digital gal at Belle PR, you’re getting the information straight from the source. I was born in 2002 and grew up being completely exposed to the online world, which was brought into schooling at a young age and now influences society's daily life.I am aware that marketing to my generation is unlike marketing to any other generation. It isn’t just a...

How Meta Business ads can boost your brand

In today's tough digital world, businesses are always trying to get noticed, connect with their audience, and grow. Meta Business Ads are a great way to reach customers, stakeholders, and communities. But first, you need a digital marketing plan to target ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.With these ads, your business can reach a wide and varied audience, making sure the right people see your messages about your services, projects, and deals. Here are some tips to start off.Tip #1: Us...

Is social media still relevant?

Have you heard anyone say their 2024 New Year’s resolution was to decrease their screen and scrolling time? Team Belle have heard this a lot!However, research shows we’re not backing down just yet with our consumption of social media. According to the Datareportal January 2024 global overview, we can see that social media growth has continued to increase:·       More than half of the world now uses social media (62.3%)·   &nb...

Network, network, network!

With “relationships” being one of our core values and the basis for our approach and how we work, networking has become an important tool for us to position our brand and support our clients.We devote time to networking every week, whether it's attending a Cambridge Business Chamber event, heading along to a fortnightly Venus women in business meeting, attending a PRINZ event, or meeting clients, stakeholders or partners for a friendly coffee catch-up and chat.Networking can sometimes take t...

Can ChatGPT write all your business content for you?

Are you using ChatGPT to write social media posts, blog posts, media releases, website copy or news stories? Stop what you’re doing, right now.Artificial intelligence is completely changing the way we go about our desk jobs. With its advanced language processing abilities, it can generate high-quality content in a matter of seconds, so it’s no surprise it’s being used by individuals as a powerful tool to write a range of things.By now, most of you reading this blog have probably used ChatG...

5 ways you can kickstart your planning for a successful 2024

We’re well and truly into 2024, and if you’re like us at Belle PR, you’ve hit the ground running and are already immersed in your day-to-day priorities.The beginning of a calendar year is always the perfect time to stop, reflect, and take stock of what worked well in the past 12 months, and what could have been better. It’s also a time to identify areas where you can focus your energy and resources in the upcoming year.When you’re busy, marketing, public relations and communication eff...

Is PR a cost or investment?

Imagine this: You are sitting at your desk on a Friday afternoon, with the breeze drifting through your office. As you near the end of a busy week and look forward to heading home, an email with the subject " Invoice " pops up in your inbox. It instantly casts a shadow over your Friday afternoon. Another bill to pay!With cost increases hitting many businesses, paying additional invoices that could impact our profitability can be a dreaded task. If you're like us at Belle PR, you're probably care...

Leveraging LinkedIn for your professional development

With over 930 million members on the largest professional social network, many professionals are not aware of the benefits that LinkedIn can provide to yourself as a professional and any business you are involved. It is common knowledge that social media platforms are an easy way to connect, engage and build networks and relationships, so why not take advantage of this by boosting your LinkedIn profile and understanding all that this platform can offer?In this blog, we will explore how LinkedIn ...

Three hacks for engaging social media content

This week Cushla has shared three quick tips to help you create engaging social media content that will increase your followers....

What is a PR consultant? And why use them?

I was chatting to my husband's 85-year-old grandmother on the phone the other day, and she said, "Charlotte, I read an article in the paper the other day about PR consultants and why businesses use them, and I finally understand what you do now!" Laughing and thinking it was very cute, I wrapped up the conversation and hunted for the story online. A quick Google and Esther Taunton's Stuff article popped up.I must admit that I thought it would be the usual swipe at communications and public ...

How's your reputation going?

Reputation is everything in business.Warren Buffett, the renowned American business magnate and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”Whether your business is experiencing good times or bad, reputation management should always be a top priority.Proactive reputation management in good timesWhen things are going well for your business, it can be easy to overlook the imp...

PR matters in times of economic uncertainty

As we move into the new financial year, your business may be grappling with a feeling of uncertainty around a looming recession and what the remainder of 2023 and 2024 will hold.To offset a potentially shaky economic future, companies are likely reviewing their budgets and making cuts where they can. For anyone working in public relations, advertising and marketing, times like these can be especially tough and its widely expected the sector will take a massive hit.As we move forward into the com...

How to be real and why authenticity matters

Let's face it, in today's world, it's easy to spot fakes. Consumers and audiences are becoming increasingly adept at cutting through the crap to find the real deal and get to the crux of the issue at hand. No matter your business or public relations goals, it's more important than ever to be truly authentic.In this blog, I’m getting real about why authenticity matters in public relations and will share some tips on how to be real in a world full of fakes.First off, what does it mean to be auth...

PR benefits for SMEs

Many small business owners assume that public relations is only for large, multi-million dollar companies or government organizations. That's a common misunderstanding.Here’s an example. I recently wrote a letter for my parents, who were selling their business in Taupō and wanted to thank their customers for their support over their four decades in business. They also wanted to ensure their customers were handed over seamlessly to the new business owners, so they published a copy of the lette...

How ChatGPT could change the way we engage with communities

There's been so much talk recently about ChatGPT and the future role of AI in public relations and communications activities. In early April, Waikato University professor and director of the AI Institute Albert Bifet will be sharing his insights on this topic with a group of PR practitioners, which I am really looking forward to as the possibilities absolutely blow my mind.In the meantime, it got me wondering what role ChatGPT would have in the future in community relations and engagement, and w...

The difference between public relations and marketing

People often ask me what the difference is between public relations/communications and marketing. it is fair to say the lines definitely cross, and I often work in the marcomms space. but here's the difference between marketing and public relations if you ever need to know.Marketing and public relations (PR) are two distinct disciplines, although they both share the goal of promoting a company, brand, product, or service to a target audience.Marketing is a broad term that encompasses all the ac...

The PR campaign essentials

Public relations campaigns are an essential tool for businesses, organisations, and individuals looking to build their brand, enhance their reputation, and communicate their message to the public. But what are the keys to a successful PR campaign? Here are some essential elements to consider:Clearly define your goals Before launching any PR campaign, it's essential to clearly define your goals. What do you want to achieve? Is it increased brand awareness, improved public perception, or something...

Six PR campaigns from 2022 to take note of

A successful PR campaign hinges on a strong communication strategy that’s well-researched, shows a good understanding of the target audience, has clear and measurable objectives, memorable key messages, and a tactical plan that covers a range of different channels.PR campaigns usually have very specific goals, such as driving website traffic, gaining respect or credibility, getting a new product noticed, or drawing attention to a cause.In a world where audiences are overwhelmed by sales m...

Let’s talk about privacy

ACC is in the spotlight around privacy and it's not good news. Back in October 2021, RNZ revealed a group of call centre staff had shared client information in a private Snapchat group of employees working at ACC’s contact centre in Hamilton. Clients' injury descriptions and images were posted to a private Snapchat group called "ACC Whores". Cringe! One image included the name, contact details and injury suffered by an athlete who has represented New Zealand on the world stage. ...

Never underestimate great internal communication during uncertain times

New Zealand’s swift move back to Alert Level 4 on 18 August due to the latest COVID-19 community outbreak has bred uncertainty and emotional disruption for many kiwis.   In times like these, people need timely and consistent information. They need an understanding of what’s transpiring and what they need to do. In the workplace, employees need transparency, guidance and help to make sense of what is happening. The words and actions of leaders can help make people feel safe, more comfort...

The art of balancing openness and privacy

Public relations practice is a widely misunderstood profession, and has been since I’ve been in the biz.  The words ‘spin doctors’ still seem to rear their ugly heads from time to time, implying public relations is all about giving a favourable interpretation of events or a situation to the media. From my perspective, public relations professionals describing themselves as ‘storytellers’ doesn’t help this false impression of what effective communication is all about.  ...