Putting yourself back together when the black dog comes knocking...

Last week was Mental Health Awareness Week, which inspired me to revisit the below blog. I actually wrote it a few weeks ago but I questioned whether I should publish it.

Last week saw thousands of people open up about their experiences with mental health, and it’s really good to see how things have changed over the years and that people feel more comfortable being more open and honest.  So here’s my two cents worth…

A few months ago, I was really struggling with my mental health but thanks to the support of friends, family and colleagues, things are looking up.

This horrible dark shadow infected every part of my life – my family, my relationships and my work. As someone who always strives to work hard and be the best press officer I can be, seeing my work slip was devastating. So I got medical assistance and told my boss – two of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

Mental health will affect one in four of us at some point in their lives, so I’ve jotted down a few points to consider if you‘re a PR professional (or indeed anyone) struggling with your mental well-being in the workplace.

This is entirely based on my own experience and I’m not a medical professional of any sort – this is meant to offer food for thought and a bit of support to anyone who may need it.

Tell your colleagues
When I told my colleagues what was going on, I was surprised to discover how many of them had had similar issues themselves. Initially I was terrified they would think less of me, but everyone was very supportive and together we looked at ways to make my working life easier.

Shout if you’re struggling
For me, the worst thing about mental ill-health is that there are no physical symptoms, unless you count uncontrollable weeping for no reason. There’s no limbs hanging off, no horrible cough, no nasty rash - you look just as you always did. This can make it hard for colleagues to know if you are struggling, unless you tell them. The hardest thing for me was opening up about what I was feeling and whether I needed to work from home for a day or two, but once it was out in the open, it all started to feel OK.  

When someone tells you they are struggling, don't be the person on the right!

Talk to your GP – when YOU’RE ready

This is a tricky one. I didn’t ask for medical help for a long time, but something clicked one day and I went – I’m so glad I did. This is probably something anyone dealing with a mental health issue should do, but it’s something you have to be ready for. No-one can force you to go until you’re ready. If you’re not ready, don’t worry, but when you are, just go – it can be the first step to getting better.

Be kind to yourself
I found this very difficult. Not only did I feel like I had no right to feel the way I did, I also felt I had let everyone down by letting it get as far as it did before I sought help. Hindsight is a beautiful thing, but you can’t spend your time wishing you had done anything differently. Imagine if your friend told you they were depressed or anxious, you would immediately rally around to support them and offer kind words of encouragement and hope. Try and do the same for yourself. Don’t beat yourself up – you’re only human.

And finally, always remember....

Supernatural Dean Winchester GIF from Supernatural GIFs

An update from Bedfordshire’s press office

Being a communications officer with writer’s block can be an absolute nightmare. For my first blog of 2018, I was really struggling to think of something to blog about, which is annoying when you make your living from writing!

So I have decided to fill you in on what I have been doing in recent weeks and write about some of the stories I’ve been working on.

I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely Mental Health Nursing student called Fern, who has been shortlisted for not one, but two awards in this year’s Student Nursing Times Awards, which is a huge achievement.

Congratulations to @uniofbeds student @Fern45075972 who has been shortlisted for two Student Nursing Times Awards! #SNTA @NursingTimes pic.twitter.com/535yfVtf3M

— UoB Press Office (@uobnews) February 27, 2018

While on a placement, Fern did a great deal of work on helping young people in CAMHS services transition into adult services. I worked for a mental health trust in a previous life so I’m very aware of how difficult this transition period can be. It’s fantastic to see that Fern has been a driving force for making things better for her service users.

You can read more about Fern here.

Bedfordshire students seem to be on a roll at the moment when it comes to awards. Students from the TV Production and Media Production courses have been shortlisted for accolades in this year’s Royal Television Society’s (RTS) East Student Awards.

We have had students shortlisted in five categories which is absolutely amazing, and testament to all their hard work, and to the dedication of their tutors. I’ll have everything crossed for 15 March when the students will find out if they have won anything.

If you get a chance, check out the students' work here.

I also got the chance to do something a bit different and go along to watch a live interview with Hollyoaks actor Duayne Boachie. Duayne was studying at the University when he got his big break into acting a few years ago and it was great to see him return and share insight into his career and offer tips and guidance to current students.

I have also been preparing for our graduation ceremonies taking place in March. I always enjoy covering these and this year I’m really keen to find some fantastic student success stories to share with the wider world – watch this space!

At our Luton campus today @Hollyoaks actor and former Beds student @DuayneBoa gave a masterclass to Media Performance students, here's a snippet of his Q&A pic.twitter.com/tKuaqckyW4

— uniofbeds (@uniofbeds) February 14, 2018

How to get media coverage during ‘silly season’

As it turns out, this is my last blog post of 2017. Where has the year gone?!

As some of my fellow PRs will know very well, this time of year is affectionately known as ‘silly season’ – a time of year when journalists far and wide have run out of stories and content.

Journalists take annual leave and leave their newsrooms short-staffed and their websites lacking in news. Anything that pops up in their inboxes is more likely to get their attention now than at any other time of year, simply because they are desperate for content.

So I thought I would pull together a few tips on how press officers in universities (and other organisations for that matter) can take advantage of this time of year to get some publicity.

Be creative

With so little news around, this could be your chance to flag up ideas that might be overshadowed at busier times. A funny story, an inspiring case study, some quirky research – all these things might grab a journo’s attention.

Piggy-back on stuff

There may not be much news around, but as we all know, that can change in a heartbeat. Has an airline gone bust? Pitch out your tourism academics! Specific health issues making the headlines? Dig out your researchers who can offer some words of wisdom. Even if it’s just a line in an article, it’s better than nothing!

Be a journalist’s best friend

A mentor once told me that we as PRs provide a service to journalists, and as such, we should provide the best service we can. If you can’t help a journalist with their enquiry, direct them to someone who can – even if it’s a competitor. There’s nothing in it for you, but the journo will remember the kind gesture and may come to you again in the future with something you can help with.

Get festive

Don’t underestimate the power of a good Christmassy story. Whether you’re fundraising for charity or encouraging colleagues to wear daft festive jumpers, all these are potential news stories, especially if you’ve got good images to go with them.

Pester your SU

Students’ Unions are a brilliant place to find news stories, especially around Christmas. I have found that quite often SUs are rushed off their feet with other things, so if you can give them a helping hand to get some media coverage for their festive events, they’ll love you forever!  

With that said, there’s nothing left for me to do but wish you all a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year, full of excellent PR opportunities and lots of media coverage!

Reflecting on last week’s Graduations, and why I didn’t go to mine

Last week we had graduation ceremonies at the Luton campus, which are exciting and hectic in equal measure.

Though not as busy as the summer ceremonies, the November graduations as just as important for recognised the achievements of our students, and we attend as many as we can to capture the joy and excitement of the day.

Here's a few snaps yesterday's #BedsGrads - the full album can be viewed here: https://t.co/0ShBKihNyo pic.twitter.com/DQ0sEvWP3a

— UoB Press Office (@uobnews) November 17, 2017

I‘ve sat in on countless graduations, tweeting (using the hashtag #BedsGrads), writing down quotes for the press release later, and there is always a danger of forgetting how special the day is to the students graduating, as well as their family and friends, especially when your head is down and you’re furiously scribbling away.

Then you’ll hear a name you recognise. When you look up, there is a student you interviewed for a press release a year or so ago collecting their degree. It’s during those moments that I feel a sense of pride, especially if I know they have been through a tough time to get to that ceremony and collect their degree.

I detested my graduation –I begrudging went to the ceremony after I got my degree, but refused to go to the one after I finished my Master’s. Sometimes I regret, mostly I don’t!

It was mostly because the year I spent doing my Master’s at Kingston University was one of the hardest of my life so far, so much so I nearly quit. So when it came to the end, I was glad to see the back of it.

But whenever I go home to see my parents, there are two photos on the wall you can’t fail to notice. The photos are of my sister and me in our graduation caps and gowns (my sister graduated a few years before me from Southampton Solent.)

Both my parents had very successful careers - my dad was an air traffic controller and my mum until recently ran her own business. Neither of them went to university. They were from working class backgrounds in a time when going to university was just not an option for them. So the fact that both their children went through Higher Education must mean an awful lot to them.

My point is that behind every student at graduation is a family – parents, guardians, partners, children and friends – a small army of supporters willing them on to succeed. And every student has fought their own battles to get their degrees, many of which were probably fought in private.

Congrats to the @uniofbeds #Classof2017! #BedsGrads 🎉🙌🎓 pic.twitter.com/GJZUxhN2YZ

— UoB Press Office (@uobnews) November 16, 2017

So to the Class of 2017, I salute you!    

By the way, our press releases about graduations are now online, so please do take a look.

One year on and I’m still here!

So this week it’s my turn to write the blog. It conveniently coincides with my one year work anniversary. That’s right, I’ve been back at the University for one whole year! I can’t believe it either – where has the time gone?

How did I celebrate my work anniversary? Covering graduations of course! Last year I had been on the job for just over a week and I quickly had to get to grips with live tweeting and getting the message out to our local press contacts that the ceremonies were happening. I’ve now become a bit of a pro at the old live tweeting, which has saved me time and a whole lot of stress!

Last year may have been a baptism of fire, but it meant that this year, I knew what to expect and I was able to plan media activities and tweeting in advance. As a result, the engagement from @uobnews went through the roof. I think James Bay might have had something to do with that – check out what he had to say about receiving an honorary award.

And our hard work on promoting Graduations has paid off. Our efforts on 2016’s campaign have earned us a spot on the shortlist of this year’s CIPR PRide Awards. For those of you who don’t know, these awards celebrate the achievements of Public Relations professionals from across the country, working in a huge range of sectors.

We made it onto the shortlist of the Best Low Budget Campaign, which is extremely pleasing, seeing as our only expense for Graduations is photography, although we do pay for it with lack of sleep and frayed nerves sometimes.

So proud to been shortlisted for Outstanding In-House PR Team #PRideAwards @CJacobi16 @claudia_mayr1 https://t.co/E9UkcVFnl4

— UoB Press Office (@uobnews) July 21, 2017

I am over the moon with this nomination on a personal level as I worked hard on this campaign, having only been in the job for a matter of days, with the support of my fabulous colleagues of course. Their guidance was essential in helping me pull it off and at least give the illusion that I knew what I was doing!

We also made the shortlist for the Best In-House PR Team award, which is amazing news. Last year we were a team of two and a half people. This year, we were only two. We may be small, but my God we are mighty. To have our efforts acknowledged by our PR peers is an amazing feeling, even if we don’t win.

The awards ceremony takes place at the end of September – hopefully I will have a positive update for you then!

#PRideATC Outstanding In-House PR Team shortlist is @EastNorfolk @uobnews #PRideAwards pic.twitter.com/8wBYrPSnRC

— CIPR Awards (@CIPR_Awards) July 21, 2017

Is all publicity good publicity?

Recently I have been focusing on the social media for the Business School, generating content for the School’s Facebook and Twitter accounts (don’t forget to like and follow ;). 

As part of the daily research activity I stumbled upon the responses to the Protein World’s “Are You Beach Body Ready” campaign reactions. There were a number of incidents where people have made their own corrections to the ads found on London Underground, making the hash tag #eachbodysready popular across social media networks.

At first I was very excited, motivated and inspired to see such movement against people’s beliefs as I thought it shows “people power,” gives a voice to the audience and empowers the community. People argued that the adverts promote an unhealthy body image, and a petition against the campaign has collected over 40,000 sign-ups. 

Later I read that “despite the negative response to the adverts, sales of the company’s products had increased”, and I thought isn’t this buzz actually helping the publicity of the company and its products? I guess that it might be true that any publicity is good publicity. 

According to Stanford Business (2011), “Negative publicity can increase sales when a product or company is relatively unknown simply because it stimulates product awareness” (Protein World was formed in 2012 so it is relatively new). Even now to write this article I am looking for more information about the company, so that proves the point above. 

How the response is handled is another topic. Protein World has not been that diplomatic in their social media responses, which probably created even more buzz about the brand. Who knows, it might turn against them later. 

So there are 2 main points for me in this story:

1. The power of the society, and community empowerment; I am impressed how many people have jumped on the #eachbodysready campaign and supported the message of being comfortable in your own skin, no matter how you look.
2. If you are a new organisation, do not get put down by some negative publicity as in reality, it actually might be positive for your brand.