Social Enterprise - Be the News: Free PR media workshop to help local enterprises raise their profile

Social enterprises in the West Midlands are being invited to a free event to help them raise their profile in the local media.

Social Enterprise – Be the News is an afternoon of speakers and discussion organised by Birmingham’s John Taylor Hospice and Social Enterprise West Midlands.

The event on 2nd July 2015 at the Priory Rooms in Birmingham will feature talks, forums and a question and answer session with media specialists including Alun Thorne (Barques), Anthony Tattum (Big Cat) and Ravinol Chambers (Be Inspired Films). Book your free place here

Aiming to give social enterprises the skills and confidence to share their stories with the media, the afternoon event is open to all social enterprises in the West Midlands.

Groups and individuals attending the event also have the chance to win a tailor-made media workshop by taking part in an online competition. Delegates simply need to tweet why they are attending the event in a headline news style with the hashtag #socentnews and tagging @jthospice and @_SEWM to be a potential winner.

John Taylor Hospice, which was founded in 1910 and became a social enterprise in 2011, has won awards for its media work including the SE100 Storytelling Award and the SEWM Prima Award for innovation.

Hospice head of brand and media Diane Parkes said: “So many local social enterprises have great stories to tell and, together with Social Enterprise West Midlands, we are looking to encourage them to build up positive PR.

“At the hospice we have so many lovely stories about the people we care for, their families and our staff and we are always keen to use all news channels to share those experiences with people who may not have experienced the great work we do.”

Social Enterprise West Midlands is the regional network for social enterprise, social value and its supporters. SEWM’s objective is to grow the social economy and the impact as a result of the business its members do. Social enterprises are businesses like any other - it is what they do with their profit that makes them different. Social enterprises trade in all industries from catering to counselling, accountancy to arts and apprenticeships, website design and weight management services as just some examples.

SEWM Marketing Manager Claire Reynolds said: “We want social enterprises to raise their profile in the media showing the quality of their products and professionalism of their services. Purchasing decisions are made based upon what a customer needs but there is so much that can be gained through buying social, supporting the community impact that social enterprises create.

“There are so many inspiring stories that come from our members; all involve people who often are the most excluded in our society and struggle to get into work. Many find social enterprises are able to give them the chance they need, this workshop will focus on making sure we can use the media to raise awareness of how and why we do our business differently.”

Social Enterprise – Be the News takes place at The Priory Rooms Meeting and Conference Centre in Bull Street, Birmingham, on July 2 between 2-4.30pm. Book your place here