Northern Lights PR newsletter – April 2013

New ebook for mental health practitioners; using social media to aid recovery and live well

Victoria Tomlinson of Northern Lights PR has co-authored a free ebook that provides social media guidance for health and social care practitioners working in mental health services, launched last week.

Written in plain English for ‘non-techies’ and packed with case studies, it describes how social media is already being used in day-to-day mental health practice, and backs this up with examples of good practice.

Victoria Betton, co-author and deputy director of strategy and partnerships for Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: “When discussing social media with mental health practitioners, I see a disconnect. Increasingly practitioners see the potential value of social media but many are fearful or don’t know where to start. This ebook will help them to use social media in clinic.”

Download here

Women and men senior leaders – similarities and differences

We have been working on a campaign with Mairi Eastwood of Praesta to identify some of the barriers women face in getting to the boardroom.

This latest research shows that many of the issues that women discuss in coaching are very similar to the younger generation of men working their way through corporates.

Download the full report here.

Read our latest blog posts

• Where should internal communications sit in your business? In HR or external comms?
• Google changed its algorithms – three steps to ensure your website is highly ranked
• How to build a successful intranet
• The genie is out of the bottle – social media is here to stay. Are you managing it or avoiding it?

Helen Robinson

We are delighted that Helen Robinson, who has worked with us as our associate for a number of years, has joined our team as account director.

Helen has worked in marketing planning and campaigns management for the past 8 years, in both in-house and consultancy roles and in sectors from leisure and culture to pharmaceutical and property. She is a strategic marketeer, particularly for companies undergoing organisational change, as well as being a strong copywriter and blogger – both thought leadership and strategic SEO content.

Update on Dubai

The mood out here is definitely that the economy has turned around and is beginning to thrive again. There is anxiety that as things take off, lessons should be learned from the past

• Hotel occupancy is more than 100% (achieved by late check-outs/late new arrivals)
• Dubai went all out in its pitch for Expo 2020 with Bill Gates backing their campaign – decision expected November 2013
• The impact of Arab Spring continues – treasury functions from countries such as Egypt and Bahrain are being moved to Dubai
• Chinese banks and businesses are opening branches in Dubai
• International corporates looking to expand into Africa and Turkey are using Dubai as their base. Seen as easier to get to Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania from Dubai than Johannesburg
• Many of the construction projects which were abandoned in 2008 are now being picked up and finished

NB Northern Lights PR is not an investment adviser – these notes have been gathered from Victoria’s recent visit, talking to a number of leading business people in Dubai. Please check out more information if you are investing!

Northern Lights has been appointed to work with Sheffield Hallam University. We are working on projects with the business school and C3Ri, the Cultural, Communication and Computing Research Institute.

Our activities include: setting up thought leadership blogs; training academics in blogging; and getting people to read the blogs. We are also creating a campaign to help the business school meet and work with chief executives and heads of talent at large corporates, particularly in facilities management, food and financial services sectors.

Dates for your diary

 Create personalised social media strategy and plan

 11 June and 25 June 2013 – in association with The University of York

 Two day workshop for businesses (over five weeks). On the first day, learn about and create a personalised social media strategy and plan for your business. Spend the next five weeks setting up social media and improving it with telephone support. The second day’s workshop will discuss progress and cover advanced social media to ensure it is maximised for your business.

Call Anna Hastie for more information or book your places here

Yorkshire Business Market

Free one hour seminar

29 April 2013 – at Pavilions of Harrogate, Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate 10:30 – 17:00

Create a blog to improve Google rankings, your reputation – and win new customers

Blogs should be at the core of any B2B social media strategy. This talk will show you how to create great blog content, get your blog read and shared and use it to engage with target customers. The speakers will look at how Google algorithms are changing and why a good quality blog can also improve your Google rankings.

Book your place here