How do opinions get infuenced?

Six things people say that drive me nuts

Although I grew up in the Maritimes where people are often made fun of for their diction and pronunciation, I have to say, I was taught to speak rather well. I remember my grade two teacher in particular, telling us to pronounce the “r” in February (and I still do) and to open our vowels when we speak so that “our” doesn’t sound like “are”.

While I’ll admit that I have fun slipping into Cape Bretonese on occasion, the pronunciation and grammar lessons of my youth are fully ingrained in my every day speech and were solidified even further when I became an English teacher. Grammar and pronunciation have always been important in my world. I guess that’s why hearing the incorrect use of certain words and phrases penetrates my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

Take the term, “anyways”. OMG! There is only one way! The word is an adverb. It cannot take a plural or possessive form; hence, no “s”. I remember when I first met my husband he used to tack an “s” on “anyway” when he was speaking. I couldn’t stand it so I wasted little time correcting him. Since his mother had been quite a grammar fanatic, he considered this was correct. I challenged him to find it in the dictionary, and of course, he couldn’t so he had to humbly retreat and start using the term correctly. I love it when I am right.

Another confusion that people make is using the term “unsatisfied” instead of “dissatisfied”. Here’s the easiest way to tell the difference. Dissatisfied is an emotion, as in, “I was dissatisfied with his performance.” In other words, it made me feel unhappy or disappointed. Unsatisfied can only be used when you are not referring to an emotion. “His hunger was unsatisfied.”

Regardless of what you believe, “Irregardless” is not even a word! It is a word that is so commonly misused, uneducated people believe they sound intelligent if they use it. Can't you see they don't?

“Orientated” is another one of those common non-words that people use. The proper term is “oriented” which refers to finding your direction or position. It can also refer to the way someone thinks. One might say, “I am very business oriented” or “I had to re-orient myself after nine hours of travel”. Remember, the word has four syllables, not five.

If you say, “I could care less”, then you are not even thinking about what you are saying. You probably mean, “I couldn’t care less”, which of course means that it isn’t even possible for you to care. Think about it. If you could care, then you have the ability to care. If you couldn’t care, then you do not have the ability to care. Trust me. I am right.

“Myself” is a reflexive pronoun. What that means, is you can only use it when you are talking about doing something alone. “I will do it myself.” In this case you are the subject and the object of the sentence. You may also use “myself” for intensity such as, “I, myself, have witnessed such atrocities.” If you are planning a meeting with another person, then you cannot correctly say, “Jerry and myself will be holding a conference call at 8:00.” If you took Jerry out of the sentence, you would have to say, “I”.  It is sadly very common to see corporate announcements stating, “John Smith will be reporting to myself.” The correct pronoun to use in this case is “me”.  It’s pretty simple, really, so stop referring to yourself in reflexive form when you are sharing space with another person.

Renée Cormier is a Communications and Public Relations Specialist, published author, former English teacher and sales/marketing strategist. Renée can be contacted through her website at www.reneecormier.com

The value of CSR: Show me the money!

Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives can be challenging. Many companies find that even though they like the idea of doing something to benefit the world around them, the cost of implementing and sustaining such initiatives is prohibitive. To the untrained eye it may be difficult to see the return on investment around such initiatives, but there are many different ways to calculate this once you understand all of the areas of your business that are positively affected by CSR initiatives.

One of the greatest benefits of a strong CSR campaign is employee engagement. According to a 2012 Towers Watson Global Workforce study, CSR is among the most important drivers of Employee Engagement. Provided the campaign is perceived as being valuable to all stakeholders (internal and external), a strong commitment to CSR instills company pride and makes the employer more attractive to potential job seekers. If you can attract and retain good people, your company is making money. If those good people continue to be engaged at work, then you are saving money through great customer service, reduced turnover and absenteeism. Furthermore, your employees will put in a much more productive day than their disengaged counterparts. That’s the simplified version of the benefits of an engaged workforce. Engaged employees can save you millions of dollars.

Another place to measure your return on investment with your CSR program is to measure how your program affects sustainability. For example, if you have a CSR program which supports green efforts, then you will naturally want to reduce your carbon footprint. Replacing business travel with web based meetings and training sessions, can significantly reduce the amount of money your company spends on travel. How much paper are you wasting? Factor that in as well.

Building a strong public image through CSR increases brand awareness and ultimately sales, so that is another measurement for you to consider when calculating the ROI of your Corporate Social Responsibility program. It is a fact that people buy from people and organizations they trust and they will remain loyal to you as long as you continue to be trustworthy. Your CSR campaign is an investment in your relationship with the public. A recent Cone Communications Echo Research study states that 90% of consumers claimed they would stop buying products from a company if they learned it was using deceptive or irresponsible business practices. It also found that over half of those people had stopped buying a product or service in the past 12 months because of such behaviour. What is your reputation doing to your business?

These are just a few simple things to monitor as you embark on your CSR campaign. Corporate social responsibility is definitely good for business. Any mid to large sized company can implement a successful campaign and make it worth their while. Even small companies can engage in activities that will positively support the world we live in and build a loyal following. Who do you buy your products from? What charities do you support? All of this matters. It matters to employees and to consumers alike, and it matters to business.

Giving the gift of content: Don't harm your reputation!

 

Content marketing is a wonderful way to engage your customers and build your brand’s credibility. I love the idea of being able to give customers tools to educate themselves in order to entice more business. Some organizations do this very well; others do not.

 

One of the pitfalls of content marketing is that some who use this approach do it badly and make people wonder if they are going to be duped into buying something useless. If the offering is not presented well, and not highly useful, then you are doing more harm to your business than good.

Here are some things to bear in mind as you develop your content marketing products and strategies:

1. Avoid having your customers read through long, convoluted messages or watch long videos that make no valuable point. I see that a lot among those trying to become gurus of their profession.
2. Make sure you deliver the information you are promising!
3. As you develop your “gift” ask yourself if what you are giving away is genuinely useful to your customer.
4. Don’t be afraid to help your customer more than yourself. It goes without saying that the product you are actually selling will be much more valuable than the one you are giving away.
5. Try to offer something unique. This can be a little tough sometimes, but if you are able to do what nobody else is doing, your offering will automatically be perceived as having more value and your credibility will rise as well.
6. Don’t use your offering as a way to collect email addresses and spam people endlessly. Ask people if they would like to receive regular email from you and let them choose the frequency. If you respect your customers, they will respect you.
7. Avoid using hyped up language urging people take action. Find another way to generate excitement. Hype will lead people to doubt your credibility.
8. Be creative! Content marketing can be everything from videos, games, e-books, charity drives, microsites and more! Even your blog can be a form of content marketing. The more unique your approach to content marketing, the better.
9. Check out this site for some really cool examples of content marketing! http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp- /uploads/2013/05/Ultimate_eBook_mayrev.pdf

Go forth and engage!

For years, I tried to teach employers how to engage their people through effective leadership practices. When I decided to change careers and get into Communications/ Public Relations, I thought I would have to let my passion for creating engaged work environments die. Fortunately, I wasn’t very far into my studies before I realized that as a communicator I could still support and influence organizational change.

 At the risk of sounding like I have no life, I have to say that it’s exciting for me to know that the role of a communicator in supporting employee engagement initiatives is extremely important. What’s more, when you work in an area of business that is not directly tied to something as measurable as sales, it is extremely important to be able to justify your existence to your employer. God knows, it is easy for both HR and PR people to seem superfluous in a sales driven environment.

The secret for Communications professionals (and HR people too) is to be able to link their efforts with the results of employee engagement surveys. Since employee engagement is directly tied to the bottom line, your supporting efforts must be part of that measurement.

According to Gallup Management Journal, disengaged employees cost American companies over $300 billion each year. This is largely due to things like poor customer service, turnover, absenteeism, manufacturing waste, lost sales opportunities, etc. Being able to reduce losses in any of those areas could make a huge difference to a company’s bottom line.

Here are a few ways communicators can contribute to employee engagement efforts and boost overall business results:

·         Work with Human Resources to promote mentorship and career development programs

·         Produce newsletter articles about how to give effective feedback to employees and bosses

·         Developing and promoting workplace social activities

·         Promoting and encouraging participation in company charity initiatives

·         Publicly recognizing employees for doing quality work

·         Keeping the mission, vision and values of the company top of mind for everyone

·         Developing employee feedback systems that management is committed to embracing

·         Rewarding employees for contributing toward process improvement

It is important to know that all employee engagement efforts require a communal commitment from management, human resources and communications. We cannot do it alone, but every bit of effort counts, so go forth and engage!