You may not be a football fan, but I'm sure you will have heard of the great success of the Welsh team at Euro 2016. They've been a remarkably close-knit group, superbly coached by MediaMaster Chris Coleman. In my view, he's been a fine example of a coach who knows how to get the best from his players, and delivers the best to the media. Fifteen years ago, a car crash ended his football career, and since then he's worked tirelessly to become a great coach. He took over the Welsh team in awful circumstances after the death of his childhood friend Gary Speed, and he's done his old pal, and his country, proud. I hope he stays in his post.

Supermarket Tesco receive this week's MediaMaster gong for rather poor handling of a complaint on social media. Aaron Swift bought carrot batons in Tesco. He tweeted "As some may know I am somewhat a carrot aficionado and it has to be said that these @Tesco batons are the WORST.". The Tesco Twitter team sprang into action and asked him to provide full details of his complaint privately. He did. But in public. He photographed and analysed each baton individually, concluding that only two of them were 'decent' whereas others were 'watery', 'yellow' or 'mostly skin'. Another was described as 'infested', but it doesn't beat the label which reads: "This one actually squelches - also has white mould." Tesco responded with a refund. Aaron replied that he's buying more carrot batons to photograph and analyse.

ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE

Introducing a speaker sounds the easiest thing in the world. However, there are some simple guidelines which make things much more professional and efficient for everyone concerned. Here are some do's and don'ts if you are called on to make an introduction.

Don't:

• Mention their name until the very end
• Give away their best story
• Use slides
• Mis-pronounce their name or title
• Read out a long, rambling introduction
• Act as though you've never heard of them

Do:

• Ask the speaker in advance how they would like to be introduced
• Let the speaker know who you are
• Prepare a brief note, on a card, of the key points
• Organise a technical rehearsal
• Walk through the movements on stage
• Smile
• Make sure that the last thing you say is the speaker's name. e.g "Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to our main speaker - Alan Stevens"

A good introduction is brief, gains the attention of the audience, and prepares them to listen. Your job as introducer is to be a catalyst, not a performer

HOOK, LINE AND SINKER

HOOK - Nothing is news unless it's of interest, If it's of interest, there will be a reason why. That's the hook. You need to find the news hook for every media release you send out. Opening a new branch in West London is not a news hook. Running a social media survey with your clients and potential customers to find where to open a new branch is a news hook. It needs to be unique, innovative, startling or memorable (or a combination of the above). You'll know when you have a news hook, since a person you tell it to will say "Wow, really?" (or words to that effect)

LINE - your organisation (which may be just you) should have a line on every issue that may affect your business and/or your customers. Everyone in your organisation should know what the line is, and the way to deliver it. It's all about consistency. If different people from the same organisation offer opposing views, then that becomes the news story. That's not what you want.

SINKER Tens of thousands of media releases are sent out every day (PR Newswire alone delivers 1,500 releases daily) Most of them sink without trace, never generating any publicity at all. There are a number of reasons why your press release may sink. It may be sent to the wrong targets, the timing may be wrong, it may be overtaken by a bigger news story. But the main reason is that it's just not newsworthy.

Make sure you have a HOOK, and a consistent LINE, so that your PR efforts don't SINK.

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHANNELS

The new Harry Potter play and book reminded me that some people curse social media. Here are some spells to help.

1) Listenium

Take time to find out what is being said about you, your brand and your sector of the market. Set up alerts, monitor chatter, and use software tools such as socialmention to get a feel for what is going on.

2) Engageamus

Get involved. Join the debates, and offer your advice and opinion, without over-marketing yourself. It's all about engagement, and being part of the community.

3) Assisto

Be helpful, without thought or expectation of something in return. Either offer direct advice, or point to somewhere else where good information can be found (not necessarily your website). If you promise to find something out and report back, make sure you keep your promise.

4) Regularius

Visit your favoured social networks often, and become well-known there. If you post blogs, send out ezines or upload podcasts, make a commitment and publish regularly.

5) Expertorum

Become known as an expert in your niche. Do your research, demonstrate the techniques you recommend, and stay ahead of the game by sheer hard work. Find a small niche and own it.

OK, wizard, you can take your wand and go now.

My good pals Owen Morse and Jon Wee are known as The Passing Zone. They are not only great speakers, but world-class jugglers too. Here they are on America's got Talent.

Best to be prepared.

The information in this ezine may be freely re-used in any online or offline publication, provided it is accompanied by the following credit line - "This information was written by Alan Stevens, and originally appeared in "The MediaCoach", his free weekly ezine, available at www.mediacoach.co.uk."