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Clairemont Celebrates 13 Years!

January 13, 2023April 4, 2023 Dana PhelpsRaleigh PR Agency, The Clairemont TeamClairemont Communications, PR Agency, Public Relations, Raleigh PR Agency

In honor of our 13th anniversary as a Raleigh PR agency, we are sharing 13 blog posts that represent the everyday work of an award-winning PR agency, as well as some moments that make us laugh to remember or especially proud.

Vita Vite Nominated for the News & Observer’s 2022 Best of Raleigh

Ingersoll Rand Donates to Ukraine

What Does a PR Agency Do? A Royal Media Event

Clairemont Receives National and Statewide Recognition

What Does a PR Agency Do? Ingersoll Rand’s Equity Grant Celebration

What I Learned My First Year As a Business Owner

A Spicy Peek into the 11th Pepper Fest at Briar Chapel

What Does a PR Agency Do? Il Palio at the James Beard House

219 Award-Winning Inspirations

What Does a PR Agency Do? Hoedown Showdown at Wendell Falls

Clairemont Secures Byline Coverage for Club Car

Postcards: The Original Twitter

Happy 30th Anniversary Post-It

We are so excited to be celebrating 13 years and cannot wait to see what the future holds! Follow us on Instagram to keep up with our adventures as a Raleigh PR agency!

Clairemont Communications 2022 year in review

December 21, 2022January 31, 2023 Olivia NolesPublic Relations, Raleigh PR AgencyClairemont Communications, PR Agency, Public Relations, Raleigh PR Agency

From winning awards and working with amazing clients to revamping our look and speaking at conferences, 2022 has been a fantastic year for Clairemont Communications. Read the Clairemont 2022 year in review to learn more about our year.

Clairemont 2022 year in review:

Clairemont won awards:

Clairemont earned five gold awards and three silver awards at the 2022 Sir Walter Raleigh awards.

clairemont communications year in review

We continued working with our amazing clients:

As PR professionals, our day-to-day work ranges from creating communications strategies to writing articles and blog posts to designing social media calendars and creating content, and we are so lucky to work with such great clients! Check out this post to learn more about what we do for our clients on a day-to-day basis here at Clairemont Communications!

And worked on special projects:

Clairemont worked in partnership with Ingersoll Rand on its 2021 global sustainability report.
Clairemont was hired to design an executive visibility campaign to help position a statewide small business resource as the leading small business resource in North Carolina.
Clairemont and yellowDog : creative worked together to name a foundation, design the logo and develop the perfect tagline.

We secured coverage for our clients:

Clairemont secured byline coverage for Club Car in Patch Neighborhood News, AZ Big Media, Senior News GA and Lifestyles After 50, resulting in a total reach of 525,000+.
Clairemont secured coverage for Parkside and Wendell Falls, Spectrum and Wendell Falls and Arden at Wendell Falls in the Triangle Business Journal.

Revamped our branding:

The Clairemont logo got a new look! yellowDog : creative revamped our logo and branding, and we re-designed our website to match. More on this process coming soon!

Spoke at conferences:

In November, Dana Phelps, founder of Clairemont Communications, led a session, Growing from Communication Technician to Strategic Counselor, at the 2022 NCPRSA Strategic Communications & MarCom Conference.

And joined new PR Groups:

Clairemont became the Raleigh, NC affiliate of PRConsultants Group, Inc.

We are so thankful for a great 2022 and cannot wait to see what 2023 holds! Follow along on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn to keep up with us!

What does a communications account coordinator actually do? A realistic look at what it’s like working at a communications agency

December 7, 2022January 31, 2023 Olivia NolesEntry-Level PR Job, Professional Development, Public Relationsaccount coordinator, Clairemont Communications, communications account coordinator, communications job, PR Agency

It seems like every time I tell someone I’m a communications account coordinator, they either nod their head in tune with a short, confirming comment that ends the conversation, or they ask, “what even is that?”

When I was in college, the overall perception of communications was that it was just an easy major people chose when they didn’t know what to do and that it wouldn’t be beneficial. I didn’t major in communications, so I can’t speak to how easy the college courses are (and I’m sure it varies depending on the person and school), but I can tell you that communications involves a wide variety of marketing, content creation, planning, writing, media and social media skills. This means that a communications major could prepare you for a variety of careers and that communications professionals can come from all backgrounds and skill sets.

Take me, for example. I majored in fashion management with a concentration in brand management and marketing and a minor in journalism (people said the same critical things about my major), and now I work as an account coordinator at a PR agency. My major and my career may not seem to line up, but in reality, I learned a lot of skills in my marketing, consumerism and journalism classes that prepared me for my career in communications.

What does a communications agency do?

As a full-service, strategic public relations and marketing communications firm that focuses on blending traditional communications and social media, Clairemont offers a variety of services, including:

Content Strategy and Creation
Communications Strategy and Corporate Positioning
Community Relations
Crisis Communications
Event Planning and Execution
Executive Thought Leadership
Internal Communications
Media Relations, Publicity and Promotions (Traditional & Social)
Message Development and Spokesperson Training
Professional Award Writing
Social Media
Writing and Editing

What does an account coordinator do?

As a communications account coordinator, my job is to help clients communicate their brand, values and products to customers, employees and the public by executing strategic communications plans that help our clients meet their goals.

That sounds pretty vague, so to put it bluntly, every week I am responsible for roughly:

1-2 client blog posts
1-2 client articles
2-3 client Facebook posts
Facebook community engagement
1-2 company blog posts
1-2 company social media posts on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
1-2 client calls, or more, if needed

Every month I am responsible for:

Creating and shooting content for Facebook
Creating monthly trackers to report what we did for our clients that month
Updating blog calendars with new ideas
Maintaining awards calendars

And we also have short-term projects or unplanned projects that pop up throughout the year. Other tasks I perform as an account coordinator include:

Sourcing influencers and creating campaign guidelines
Assisting in the process of naming organizations and writing corresponding taglines
Designing strategies, campaigns and content plans for clients
Writing and pitching news releases
Writing video scripts
Vetting and documenting speaking opportunities
Creating reels
Writing award entries
Drafting LinkedIn posts

… and pretty much anything else our clients need! But that’s what I love about working at an agency – getting to work on a variety of projects and using my wide range of skills every month. There’s always something new and exciting waiting around the corner, and I can’t wait to find out what our next project will be!

In need of someone to up your communications, media or social media game? Learn more about our services here and contact us!

The Ultimate Guide to Batching and Getting the Most Out of your Content | How to Stay Consistent on Social Media

November 29, 2022March 10, 2023 Olivia NolesFree Advice, Social Media + Influencer Engagementbatching content, content creation, Social Media, social media management, stay consistent on social media

In a day and age with so many social media platforms, it can be extremely hard to keep up. We’ve gone from a social climate in which we strive to consistently post to our grid, to a social climate that requires us to show up on TikTok, Instagram stories, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Pinterest- the list goes on and on. In this post, you will learn how to batch-create and optimize content so you can stay consistent on social media.

Shoot content quicker

My first tip that will help you stay consistent on social media is to shoot content quicker. Tools like Lens Buddy, an app that allows you to take hundreds of self-timer photos in only a few minutes, can help you effectively and efficiently batch content. While shooting content in public with a tripod may be embarrassing, and will definitely prompt every passerby to comment, it is very effective if you are on a tight schedule or do not have a team readily available to help you shoot.

You don’t need new content for every platform

Don’t overthink sharing the same content on multiple platforms. Yes, certain content may perform better on certain platforms, but there is so much content that can also be repurposed. And nobody will notice (or care) if you share repeat content here and there. They probably don’t follow you on all platforms and wouldn’t get every single piece of content pushed to their feed in the first place.

Repost video content across platforms

When Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest saw the success of TikTok, they launched similar verticals called Reels, YouTube Shorts and Idea Pins, and Instagram Reels are also pushed to Facebook. The types of videos that should be posted on these platforms are essentially the same as the videos you post on TikTok: short-form, vertical videos that follow trends, use sound clips, give a glimpse into your life or showcase your product or service in an effective way that is true to your brand.

Film content on your phone or camera rather than in social apps

Instagram doesn’t want to see the TikTok watermark all over its platform, and the same goes for TikTok and YouTube Shorts. You can easily repurpose content across these platforms by filming and editing outside of the TikTok/Instagram app. My favorite editing platform is iMovie, a free application that comes will all Apple computers. Filming and editing outside of social apps allows you have to a clean, watermark-free copy of your video.

Pro tip: If you are wanting to use features within the TikTok app, such as the greenscreen tool, film in the TikTok app and screen-record your content to obtain a non-watermarked copy. When typing your description on TikTok, just click the top right corner to preview your video and screen record!

It’s no secret that algorithms are tough to crack. One thing we know to be true about algorithms is that they like new content that utilizes the app’s tools and features. After filming and editing your content outside the apps, use text, stickers and sound options within the app you are posting on to make your content more favorable to the algorithm.

Use the same footage multiple ways

My next tip that will help you stay consistent on social media is to use the same footage multiple ways. By filming on your phone or camera, you have the ability to repurpose clips or even bring old content back to life. For example, if you filmed a “get ready with me” with a clip of your outfit, you can then reuse that clip in an “outfit of the week” video, or a clip used in a “cook with me” video could also be used in a “day in the life” video.

Turn photo content into video content

Instagram photos can easily become reels or TikToks by setting the photos to a trending sound. Try creating photo dumps or trying out whatever the trending TikTok video style of the week is.

Did you know that live photos can also be converted into short video clips? You can easily transform a still photo into a video by opening the photo app on your iPhone, selecting live photos, clicking the “Share” button and selecting “Save as Video.”

Film your podcast

Optimize your podcast by also filming it and uploading the video version to YouTube or Spotify. Filming your podcast will make it more personable and will give you the opportunity to include photos or video clips. You can also clip key moments of your video to be uploaded on TikTok, Reels or YouTube Shorts.

Pro tip: Mention clips or photos you have inserted in the video version in the audio version of your podcast. This will encourage listeners to also check out the video.

Share your TikToks and Reels as Instagram Stories… or turn your Stories into reels

Reposting TikTok and Reel content on Instagram stories is an easy way to make sure your followers see your content, and it’s also an easy way to stay consistent on stories.

Instagram recently launched a feature that allows you to turn stories into a Reel with the press of a button. Instagram loves when users utilize their new features, so the algorithm may reward you for using it. If you plan on using this feature, be strategic with your stories so they will flow as a reel.

Post photos on Pinterest

I know we have focused a lot on video content in this post, but Pinterest is also a booming social platform for photo content, especially if your goal is to direct people to your website. While traditional pins take a little longer to gain traction than idea pins, they can be scheduled in advance through the Pinterest Scheduler and can link back to your website. The process of creating and scheduling pins in the Pinterest Scheduler is rather time-consuming, but it may be worth it. Several bloggers and business owners have reported Pinterest as their number one traffic source.

Don’t get too bogged down by the details

I personally spend way too much time trying to perfect every detail in the content I post. Content doesn’t have to be picture-perfect. In fact, more authentic, less curated content often performs better than content that takes hours to edit. And besides, the tiny thing you are sweating probably isn’t even noticeable to the viewer.

Hire help

Our last tip for how to stay consistent on social media is to hire extra help. With so many platforms on your plate, it can be easy to burn out. Hiring people that can help tell your story and share your purpose will only benefit you in the long run. If you are in need of social media assistance or management, let us know! We offer content strategy, creation and social media management services that will help you stay on top of your social media game. Contact us today!

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5 Time Management Tips You Need to Know

November 4, 2022February 27, 2023 Olivia NolesFree Advice, Professional Developmentincreasing productivity, time management, time management tips

When you have an ambitious to-do list, it can be a challenge to accomplish everything. If you’re feeling like there just isn’t enough time in the day, it may be a sign you need to improve your time management skills. As someone who struggles with time management, these tips help me stay on track and increase my productivity. Here are our top tested and proven time management tips.

1. Create a to-do list

Writing down everything you need to accomplish at the beginning of the day clears your mind before diving into work and ensures that you won’t forget any of your tasks. Making to-do lists is one of the best ways to stay organized, and it’s also incredibly satisfying to see items get crossed off throughout the day.

2. Set a timer

If you often find yourself losing focus or getting hung up on a task, you may benefit from setting a timer. Setting a timer for each task tricks your brain into being more productive because you feel like you only need to stay focused for short periods of time rather than hours on end. Giving yourself a deadline keeps you motivated, allowing you to power through the task.

Setting a timer not only helps you complete tasks more efficiently, but it also gives you a realistic look at how long it actually takes you to complete something – a fantastic reality check for people who struggle with time management skills. Realizing how long items actually take will help you with our next suggestion: time blocking.

3. Practice time-blocking

Now that you know exactly how long each task should take, try time-blocking your day. Time-blocking is a game-changer because it reinforces the benefits of using a timer and allows you to effectively organize your day, which prevents you from wasting any time and helps you complete all your tasks on schedule.

4. Don’t fight yourself

If you cannot stop thinking about a certain task on your list, accomplish that task first rather than trying to force yourself to work on something you’re not connecting with at the moment.

For example, if you are working on one project, but cannot stop thinking about the ideas you have for another project, switch to the one you cannot stop thinking about and get all your ideas out so that when you come back to the previous task, you are able to focus.

5. Stop multitasking

You may think you’re getting a lot done when multitasking, but in reality, each task is probably taking longer and is probably not resulting in your best work. Focusing on one task at a time allows you to complete each task more effectively, and most likely, more efficiently.

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