Member Article

bdaily meets the brains behind Kate Slater PR

After spending many years working in the media, Kate Slater knows the power of the spoken word. However, it was only when a marketing company informed her of the impact social media could have on her business did she finally get hooked on tweeting.

These days, Kate is a self-confessed expert on the subject. Through her PR agency she is constantly encouraging her clients to go online to generate new business by integrating social media into their marketing campaigns.

“Businesses have got to consider the fantastic benefits getting involved in social media – the quality of relations, the value for money of the product and the potential to reach existing or potential customers.”

Kate now believes that the market has evolved to such an extent that consumer opinion has a more important role to play than the marketers themselves

“Gone are the days when you would irritate people by selling to them,” she said. “These days you need to be agreeable to the public by reaching out online and building sustainable relationships with them.”

She’s clearly done her homework on the subject as she rolls out statistics: “80 percent of social media activity is done via mobile devices, meaning that people can post their reactions and opinions in real time.

“Furthermore, when people have a good experience they only tell two people, whereas when they have a negative one they tell 11 – which can be bad news for businesses.”

While she is full of success stories – “One London lawyer I persuaded to join Twitter was asked to write journal articles on the basis of what he had tweeted,” – she also highlights the need for businesses to exercise caution when going signing up to social media.

“Before you start using Facebook or Twitter you should have a clear reason why you want to use it and whether it fits into your business plan. When you start using it you need to keep it up or it looks sloppy”

“Its also better to allow only one person to access social networking accounts or things could get messy – its vital to remain professional at all times.”

Despite flagging up the dangers, she is keen to promote online social networks, which Kate believes can be advantageous to almost any business.

“47 years of YouTube film is viewed via Facebook everyday – when something is clearly that powerful, there is no excuse for businesses not to get online.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kate Slater .