BBC Radio 1 has announced a major overhaul of its schedule, with weekend programming now starting on Friday.
The new Friday line-up starts with Radio 1’s Weekend Breakfast at 6.30am on Friday morning, hosted by Dev and Alice Levine; followed by Radio 1’s Greatest Hits with Maya Jama; then Mollie King (of The Saturdays) and Matt Edmondson filling the early afternoon slot 1-4pm; finishing with Scott Mills, who will ‘fulfil a lifelong dream’ by presenting The Official Chart 4-7pm.
The existing Saturday and Sunday schedule is unchanged.
Ben Cooper, controller, BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network, said: ‘The weekend will start here at Radio 1 on a Friday morning, giving our young audience that feel good factor a day early. It’s our job at Radio 1 to reinvent the way young people listen to the radio, to disrupt traditional thinking and to look for new ways in which to grow audiences.’
The knock-on effect is that weekday presenters, including Nick Grimshaw, Clara Amfo and Greg James, will now only present on four days. As the BBC reports, this is the first time Radio 1 has scheduled a four-day week despite Chris Evans famously making a request to have Fridays off when he presented the weekday breakfast show.
This new schedule cements Mollie King’s position as a permeant presenter, after her recent stint as a guest presenter with Matt Edmondson. She said: ‘The only person more excited than me is my mum, who is delighted I finally have a proper job. I’ve had so much fun working with Matt over the past few weeks, and I’m so glad I’m no longer just “Mollie from The Saturdays” but “Mollie from the Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays”.’
It is unclear what effect these changes will have on any of the presenters’ salaries, though presumably the weekday presenters will take a hit and the weekend presenters will get a rise.
The new schedule comes into effect in June.
All shows are kept up to date in the Vuelio Media Database – along with presenters, staff and contacts.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Mollie-King-and-Matt-Edmondson.jpg430760Phoebe-Jane Boyd/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngPhoebe-Jane Boyd2018-04-11 09:03:232018-04-11 13:11:43Radio 1 switches to a four-day week
Abigail King is the blogger behind Inside the Travel Lab, which is among the top luxury travel blogs in the UK. Abi was a doctor before she started travelling the world and now writes about the culture, history and food of amazing destinations for an audience that cares about the people and places they visit.
Abi told us about the best destinations for both new and seasoned travellers, the importance of her iPhone and her favourite way to work with PRs and brands.
What makes your blog successful? Now there’s the million dollar question… Who knows, really!?
I think it’s because I write for an underserved audience and show the world from a different perspective; it’s luxury travel but for people who want to understand a place. Readers are professionals who are passionate about travel, reading, watching and consuming content but they’re not always the chattiest kind. Many of them work in fields that explicitly forbid them from commenting online and so many travel blogs ignore them.
What’s better, luxury travel or travel on a shoestring? It’s not the price tag that matters but the quality of the experience. So, often that does mean luxury travel is better but of course, as the cliché goes, the best things in life are free.
What destination would you suggest to first time travellers? America. You’ve half travelled through it already on screen and you don’t need to worry about water or healthcare.
What about seasoned travellers? Ooh, now that’s a different one because by then people have really honed the kind of things they like to do. So, in part, I would challenge seasoned travellers to try something new.
Madagascar remains relatively unexplored yet its wildlife and landscape are exceptional and the history is fascinating, especially around World War Two. The beaches are beautiful, too, which always helps…
Is there anywhere on your bucket list you’ve yet to visit? Plenty of places because the list keeps growing the more I travel!
I long to see polar bears in Churchill, hike across Iceland, taste the flavours of Bali and peer into a volcano on Hawaii.
There are the salt lakes of Djibouti and the rock churches in Ethiopia. The swirling rock in Arizona and the quiet water of Kerala.
Then the old cities I love like London, Paris and New York keep adding highlights to their itineraries and former trouble spots like Belfast reinvent themselves!
I’d better stop. I could go on and on…
If you could only take three items with you when travelling, what would they be? iPhone, iPhone, iPhone.
Or iPhone, charger, spare battery. Maybe a scarf.
So many travel details live on my phone, together with entertainment for long journeys, top editing software from Adobe, music, translation apps, currency conversion tools. It contains about half of what my luggage used to be.
What should PRs know about you? Inside the Travel lab reaches an affluent, educated audience who love to travel and do so frequently. It’s been described as one of the best travel blogs in the world by Lonely Planet and National Geographic Traveller, and celebrates its 10th year in business next year.
As for me, I used to work as a doctor so I’m used to tight deadlines and getting things done – accurately. I love to work by email instead of phone so that I can work more flexibly around travel and my young daughter.
What’s the best PR/brand campaign you’ve worked on? Happily, over the last seven years, I’ve worked on so many good ones that it’s difficult to choose. However, the stand out one remains a project with Eurail where they acted as ‘artistic sponsors’ and invited me to create a trip to inspire other travellers.
I travelled from Istanbul to Berlin, zig-zagging back and forth across the former Iron Curtain, trying to understand the past and exploring and enjoying the present in each of the modern cities.
What do you call yourself (blogger/influencer/content creator)? I’m old enough to still be saying ‘writer’ but as I now professionally create photos, videos and broadcast for Lonely Planet, a broader term is definitely needed. All of the above?
They certainly don’t all fit my niche but I find something interesting or inspiring in each one.
Abigail King and Inside the Travel Lab are both listings on the Vuelio Database, along with thousands of other influencers including journalists, bloggers, MPs and SpAds.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Inside-the-travel-lab.jpg430760Phoebe-Jane Boyd/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngPhoebe-Jane Boyd2018-04-10 09:00:372018-04-11 12:39:39Inside the Travel Lab with Abigail King
Vuelio talks to bloggers, vloggers and ‘influencers’ a lot (which means we know most of them don’t use the word ‘influencer’). We publish spotlights and, as part of these, we get amazing insight into the blogger/PR relationship – what works, what doesn’t and what it takes to be successful.
Every blogger is different, but there are fundamental ‘rules’ that crop up again and again that can help every PR and brand with their influencer outreach and campaign building.
Here are 5 tips, from some of our top blogger friends, on what makes the best campaigns.
1. Find something bloggers are passionate about
The best bloggers will only work with brands and companies they genuinely believe in. No matter how much you pay, few will go against their fundamental beliefs. But if you’re the right fit, then it can lead to stunning collaborations.
For Tamara Kalinic, who heads up the top fashion blog Glam and Glitter, sometimes loving a brand means she doesn’t require payment:
‘My team and I are proud to only accept campaigns with brands we truly love; previously, we’ve worked with brands for free, because it was a natural fit. Some of the projects I enjoyed the most are ones with Cartier, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Louis Vuitton.’
Mike Huxley, Bemused Backpacker, believes the best campaigns he’s worked on are those that tap into his own passions:
‘One of my all-time favourites was the RIGHT tourism campaign with the charity Care For The Wild International. I absolutely loved that because it was a cause that was so close to my heart, and ethical wildlife tourism is something that I still campaign for today.’
2. Make their dreams come true
Everyone likes to be treated well, and special campaigns can really stand out and improve your coverage.
This is true for the Best Women’s Lifestyle blogger Lily Pebbles:
‘Last year I went to New York with Bobbi Brown to help promote their new lipstick range. I love NY, I love Bobbi Brown, I loved the new lipsticks… it was a dreamy job!’
And for Angie Silver, who writes the number one London Lifestyle blog Silverspoon of London:
‘Last year I worked with the Mayakoba resort in Mexico. They flew me out to stay at the Rosewood Mayakoba, a spectacular luxury hotel, in order to create content for them. It was honestly a dream come true!’
For top mummy blogger Clare Minall, who writes Mudpie Fridays, luxury treats that produce family memories are the foundation of the best campaigns:
‘We were gifted a Land Rover Discovery for a weekend adventuring in Cheddar Gorge. The reason it’s my favourite is that I will never forget my husband’s sense of satisfaction driving said car and Monkey’s pure excitement about being able to see over the hedges. It was the moment my husband finally ‘got it’.
‘The special memories created by time together as a family are what I hold dearest and the collaborations that mean the most.’
3. Challenge them
A press release and guidelines for posting can stifle creativity and make your campaign instantly forgettable. The reason you’re working with bloggers is because they have independently grown a loyal audience, who they know inside out! Take advantage of this – let the bloggers contribute to the campaign plan and find something to challenge them.
For Fiona Maclean, founder of London-Unattached, this approach is vital:
‘I really enjoy being given a challenge and creating something to use a specific ingredient or to pair with a specific wine.’
And for Becky Moore, owner of Global Grasshopper, challenges produce content that’s good for brands and bloggers:
‘We were challenged by Vauxhall to see how much fun we can have in 48 hours in their newly launched mini SUV. So, accompanied by Gary (the team videographer) I took a road trip to the surfer’s paradise: Newquay in Cornwall. We were really lucky with the weather and the scenery was so beautiful and, combined with Gary’s drone footage and creative talents, the video instantly took off on Facebook and YouTube – going viral.’
4. Think long-term
When you work with a blogger, you’re tapping into an established brand’s reach and influence. If you do a one off, that’s going to have less impact than working with someone again and again over a period of time, effectively turning them into a brand ambassador.
Angie Silver, who writes the number one London Lifestyle blog, Silverspoon of London, wants you to think long term:
‘I prefer to work on a long-term basis and develop a good working relationship and trust, rather than one-off campaigns or reviews.’
Kimberly Duran, who writes the Best Interior Design Blog Swoon Worthy, also wants the relationship to last:
‘I like to have an ongoing relationship with brands and continuous collaborations. My ideal scenario is having a brand that’s a great fit for my blog so that if they have something in particular or new they’d like to promote, they’ll think of me because they know my audience will respond well to it.’
5. Pay your way
There is still a lot of confusion around bloggers getting paid for collaborations. Firstly, they’re not journalists – they’re not on a salary getting paid whether they cover your campaign or not. Secondly, some are professional – which means they need to be paid – and some are hobbyists, which means they might be happy to cover an experience or product for the joy of it.
Remember, it’s not up to you to decide if a blogger decides to charge and you shouldn’t expect professionals to work for free. Often to work with the best bloggers, you will have to pay – but the rewards can be huge!
Craig Landale, responsible for the Best UK Blog – Menswear Style, makes his position on payment clear at the beginning of a relationship:
‘Some brands come through and they know exactly what they want, and they’re up-front about budget – making it clear if they’re willing to pay or not. I always ask about budget to make sure we both know how to work together.’
And Kate Williams, of top arts and crafts blog Crafts on Sea, wishes people would stop offering freebies:
‘In order to pay the mortgage each month you need to know everything about the latest changes in social media algorithm, what hosting companies are the best and be able to code; it’s not just a job about making pretty stuff. I would love people to stop asking to pay me in craft materials – at risk of sounding rude, I have more paints and paper than the average craft store!’
The Vuelio Database lists thousands of bloggers, and other influencers from the worlds of media and politics including journalists, editors, MPs and their SpAds. Each listing includes a detailed profile, with pitch tips and PR preferences, to help you make the right relationships in the right ways.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/5-top-tips-for-successful-collaborations.jpg430760Phoebe-Jane Boyd/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngPhoebe-Jane Boyd2018-04-09 10:01:102018-04-09 11:58:155 top tips for successful collaborations
Michael Huxley is an author, nurse and founder of travel blog, the Bemused Backpacker. With hints, tips and advice for travelling the world, particularly those on gap years, Bemused Backpacker has built a loyal following with its stunning destinations and travel reviews.
We spoke to Michael about travel blogging, particularly how he likes to work with PRs and his personal pet peeves when it comes to PR/blogger outreach.
What makes your blog successful?
My audience without a doubt. There are other factors of course: integrity, tenacity and sticking with it for a long period when many others have given up; treating it as a business and not a blog; and trying to differentiate myself from everyone else out there! But I wouldn’t be anywhere without those who read what I write and say every single day. I have built up a lot of trust and a strong relationship with a good core of my regular readers and that just keeps growing.
How easy is it to become a great blogger?
It isn’t. It is easy to start a blog and call yourself a blogger, but there is a vast difference between that and being successful at it.
What’s the best destination for new travellers?
I used to say Thailand, because it was such a traditional go-to backpacker destination with all the traveller infrastructure any backpacker or traveller would ever need, and it still is to a large extent, but now I would say Indonesia too. Or Malaysia. Hell, just south east Asia in general really!
What’s the best destination for seasoned travellers?
Anywhere they haven’t been yet!
Where haven’t you been that you’d still like to visit?
I’m still waiting for that opportunity to trek across Antarctica!
If you could only take three items with you when travelling, what would they be?
My camera, my notepad and a pen. I’m assuming I still get to keep my passport with me!
What should PRs know about you?
That I am not just a travel blogger, I am a professional with a business. I have set – and fair – rates for a variety of marketing services and offer a strong ROI for all of them. And I never work for free, so please don’t ask.
What are you favourites campaigns you’ve been part of?
I have been part of so many good ones it is hard to choose. One of my all-time favourites was the RIGHT tourism campaign with the charity Care For The Wild International. I absolutely loved that because it was a cause that was so close to my heart, and ethical wildlife tourism is something that I still campaign for today.
And I was one of the first bloggers to work on the Trip Of Wonders Campaign with the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and that was an amazing trip, but I am proud to have worked on it because of how successful it was, and continues to be.
I have worked on many more but those are two that really stand out. At the moment I am currently working alongside Bug Off, a national campaign to promote awareness of insect-borne diseases and how travellers can protect themselves, and as a nurse as well as a blogger that is something I am passionate about too.
What shouldn’t PRs do?
There are so many things that PRs do that immediately get bloggers backs up (I am sure there are just as many unprofessional bloggers who do the same for PRs) and I could create a very long list, things like spamming us with endless and largely irrelevant press releases (we are not traditional journalists who need copy and it is not our job to report news/product info in that way); sending irrelevant mass phishing emails (we really don’t care if the initial email isn’t personalised, we understand that you need to send it out to a lot of people but at the very least do a little research. My travel blog is not going to be interested in a fashion show in London or a book on how to cook the plants in your garden!); moving jobs and disappearing halfway through a campaign; approaching us for campaigns and then never responding when we answer back; or getting snarky when we ask for payment and trying to tell us how to do what we do.
And please recognise that our websites are our websites. We are very careful about what we put on there, what we link to and we control how things work. We don’t care if the brand has a list of demands and expects their logo to be front and centre on our homepage; we decide what services we offer and how we execute those services. Our readers trust us, we do not give that influence up easily, and we know how to market to them, so please trust us to do that.
But the primary thing is do not approach us without a strong budget in place to pay us (we know there is a budget in place, that is how you are getting paid, you or the brand just don’t want to allocate any of it to bloggers), and do not expect us to work for free. Or tell us any part of our hard work is at ‘no cost to us’.
Many professional blogs are run as businesses now, mine included, and we expect to be treated as such. Bloggers are experts in what we do, we have built up strong and highly engaged audiences (in many cases as large as a lot of traditional media and in many more cases a lot more targeted with higher reach and engagement), we know exactly how to market to that audience and can give a strong ROI for any brand that we work with. The blogging world IS changing and this is becoming the norm. The freebie grabbing hobby bloggers will always be around but ask yourself what value are you really getting from them?
And please just show us a little respect too. We are the ones at the end of the day that you need to complete the brief from your clients. You know the power of influencer marketing, you know the reach we have and just how powerful a marketing force we can be for the brands you work with, so respect that. Bloggers want to work with you and brands alike, so please build up relationships with us, develop those relationships, and work with us to promote your clients.
What do you call yourself (blogger/influencer/content creator)? I call myself the founder of a travel website/business. I hate the term influencer (if you have to call yourself one you probably aren’t), but do use blogger occasionally, especially within the industry because that is just a widely recognised and easily generic term. But to be honest I don’t think any of those labels describe fully what professional ‘bloggers’ are any more.
What other blogs do you read?
I read so many blogs from a whole range of different genres and interests, but sticking to travel blogs I read Teacake Travels, TravelBreak and Nomadic Boys amongst many, many others.
Mike Huxley and his blog Bemused Backpacker are both listings on the Vuelio Database, and include detailed requests for how he likes to be contacted by PRs.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Mike-Huxley.jpg430760Phoebe-Jane Boyd/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngPhoebe-Jane Boyd2018-04-05 10:14:572018-04-05 10:14:57Travelling the world with Michael Huxley, Bemused Backpacker
Top Pet blog, Adventures of Monty Dogge, is written by Mark Sanders and follows Monty – the large white-and-black Newfoundland. Monty was recently invited to the world’s greatest dog show, Crufts, and has very kindly agreed to let Mark tell us all about it!
In what capacity were you at Crufts? Monty has been going to Crufts for the past four years as a dog blogger. He was invited by the Kennel club to report on the show from a dog’s perspective and it’s very much Crufts unleashed. He particularly enjoys explaining to the ‘hoomans’ who follow the blog how the show is through his eyes, which is usually pretty different from how we perceive it.
Was Monty recognised at Crufts? Every year people travel to Crufts specifically to meet Monty. It’s amazing how many times you get stopped walking around the show with people wanting to meet him. You hear people saying, ‘That’s Monty’ or ‘Look, it’s Monty Dogge’. As time goes on we meet new friends and it’s lovely to meet people in person and hear how the blog makes them smile and gives them a boost. We hear some very moving stories.
What’s the best thing about going to Crufts (from both your and Monty’s perspectives)? Easy from Monty’s perspective – it’s the amount of treat stalls around the venue. It’s like watching an antelope graze as he goes from stall to stall fluttering his eyelashes and reaping the rewards. For me it’s an amazing opportunity to promote ourselves to a huge audience of dog lovers. We met with quite a few companies this year who are looking to work with us so it’s good chance to network as well.
What was your favourite product/stall/company at Crufts?
Monty would say any treat stall but in particular Sea Treats, becayse he loves fishy treats. He also has to pay a visit to the Canine Massage guild every year as he gets his pre-show massage and they see how he’s doing. He’s been going every year since we began going and they look forward to his visit. I love going to the dog charity stalls as we really enjoy supporting various animal related causes, like Hounds for Heroes and Canine Partners, throughout the year and it’s a nice chance to catch up.
Who was your favourite winner? Well this year a Newfoundland got through to best in show which was lovely to see but for us, a puppy that we bred was competing for the first time. Merlot is two and was the only puppy that survived from the only litter we ever bred so she’s pretty special. She lives in Scotland with a friend and it was lovely to see her again. She came a very creditable fifth in a strong class so she was our ‘winner’.
What’s Monty like around other dogs? Monty is very good around other dogs. He’s particularly good with small dogs and puppies and usually lies down so they can be the same height. It’s not uncommon to see a little dog jumping up trying to give him kisses. There’s no doubt though that his favourites are the ladies, he’s a big flirt. He does get strange reactions from some dogs who are just totally phased by his size and aren’t sure what to do.
Is Monty a future winner? Monty will never be a show dog, he’s just too lazy. He’d lie down during the show and if he doesn’t want to move it’s pretty impossible to make him. He trained as a water rescue dog when he was younger but doesn’t like swimming because it’s all a bit too much like hard work. I think his future lies in his continuing school visits and charity work where he can take everything at his own pace… slowly.
How did you use social media during Crufts? We did some live video this year for the first time, which was very popular. We set up a ‘Crufts according to Monty Dogge’ Facebook page that we use to build up to the show. We do things such as interviews with celebs with dogs and Monty’s explanation of the breeds and groups, which go down very well. This year we were featured as one of the dogs of Instagram and Monty appeared in the Daily Mail, which increased his profile further. I use Twitter quite a lot during the show as it gets quick responses and you can easily @ people or companies and get some good traffic.
What’s the next event Monty is visiting? The next major thing will be the book launch for our third children’s book, Monty and the Poppit Dragon. The two previous books were launched in Waterstones but this time we wanted to do a bit of a book launch tour in Wales, where the story is based. We will then be at the inaugural Dog Lovers show in Glasgow in September. They have invited us to go up and have an area where we can read stories to the children and they can meet Monty and Cookie, the stars of the books. We will then be at the Family Pet Show in Manchester in October and in between they will be visiting plenty of schools, so it’s a very busy year.
Adventures of Monty Dogge (and Mark Sanders) are both listings on the Vuelio Database along with thousands of other leading bloggers, journalists, editors and outlets.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Monty-Dogge-1.jpg430760Holly Hodges/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngHolly Hodges2018-04-03 13:06:322018-04-03 13:06:32Monty Dogge at Crufts
Angie Silver writes Silverspoon London, the lifestyle and travel blog which has been ranked as the UK’s number one London Lifestyle blog. Covering the finer things in luxury London, Angie covers retail experiences, restaurant reviews and uncovers hidden gems! We spoke to her about the best places in London, how to run a successful blog and how she likes to work with brands and PRs.
What makes your blog successful? Even though blogging has changed so much over the years, the key to a good blog has always been content. I work incredibly hard on my content and produce around three blog posts a week. Photography was never my forte but I’ve worked very hard to get it to where it is today and I’m very proud of it.
Another key to blog success is relationships. In the four and half years I’ve been blogging, I’ve forged very strong relationships with brands and PRs who have returned to work with me again and again. My relationships and friendships with other bloggers has been one of the most significant aspects of the development of my blog. Not only do they provide a support network but we share each other’s content and champion each other’s blogs.
Finally, I’ve always kept it real! Stuck to my brand identity and kept my content authentic.
What’s the long-term aim of your blog? When I started my blog it was a fun hobby but eventually it turned into so much more. It’s given me opportunities that I never dreamed of, I’ve met incredible people and I’ve been able to be my own boss and make my own hours. Honestly, my long-term goal is to keep being happy creating content and exploring beautiful destinations.
Where is the best place in London? It’s hard to say the best place but the current popular places are the beautiful Instagrammable cafes. Top choices are Peggy Porschen, Saint Aymes and Aubaine in Selfridges.
Where is the best place to eat in London? It depends what food you like and what atmosphere you’re looking for but here are my top three:
For Michelin fine dining, Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester is the absolute best in my opinion.
Hakkasan is one of London’s top Chinese restaurants but it also has a buzzy and lively vibe.
Bob Bob Ricard is somewhere that will please everyone. The food is hearty and delicious, the décor is beautiful and there’s even a ‘Press for Champagne’ button at every table.
What’s the best attraction? Well you can’t miss the obvious such as Buckingham Palace, The London Eye and St Paul’s Cathedral but I’d definitely take the time to explore the more hidden side of London. I know a few people who specialise in coffee house tours or chocolate tours, which give a different perspective on the city.
If not London, where would you like to live? I love London but the busy pace of life can be overwhelming. When my husband and I visited Australia a few years ago, we fell in love with Melbourne and discussed how it would be lovely to live somewhere so laid-back. The food and the coffee scene there is outstanding too!
How do you work with PRs and brands? I absolutely prefer to meet face-to-face to establish a more personal connection. I also prefer to work on a long-term basis and develop a good working relationship and trust, rather than one-off campaigns or reviews.
I also think it’s very important that the blogger chosen for campaign is the perfect fit for the brand and market – that way everyone will get a return on investment.
What are your favourite campaigns that you’ve worked on? Last year I worked with the Mayakoba resort in Mexico. They flew me out to stay at the Rosewood Mayakoba, a spectacular luxury hotel, in order to create content for them. It was honestly a dream come true!
I also worked with Classic Collection to promote their trips to Santorini which was a dream destination for me.
What do you call yourself (blogger/influencer/content creator/writer etc)? I’m first and foremost a blogger because my blog is my main platform. However, I do think the term content creator is becoming more and more applicable to people in the industry.
Angie Silver and Silverspoon London are both listings on the Vuelio Database along with thousands of other leading journalists, editors, bloggers and outlets.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Angie-Silver.jpg430760Holly Hodges/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngHolly Hodges2018-03-28 08:00:312018-03-28 11:45:58The No.1 London Lifestyle Blogger: Angie Silver of Silverspoon London
Adrian York is a contributor to London Unattached, the London Lifestyle blog that recently ranked in the top 10 London Lifestyle Blogs in the UK, and author of The Hedonist. We caught up with Adrian to talk everything London, from the best place to eat, from the best spot to stand at night to see the city lights. We also spoke about blogging and working with PRs.
What makes your blog successful?
Firstly, London Unattached is a contributor blog with a really strong team of specialist writers who are experts in their subject area. I know I want to transmit the excitement I feel to our wonderfully loyal readers when I go to an inspiring concert, eat a wonderful meal or have an amazing trip. Secondly, our boss, blogging ‘legend’ Fiona Maclean, navigates the blogosphere with style, wit and grace and holds the whole thing together brilliantly.
What’s the long-term aim of your blogging?
To share fantastic experiences with our readers. At London Unattached we are given opportunities to sample the best of London, the UK and the world, and the mission is to give an honest and accessible view. On a personal note, I enjoy the process of writing about food, lifestyle, music, men’s fashion and culture whether it is for London Unattached, my own blog The Hedonist, or for online news portals such as The Conversation, The Independent or The Huffington Post. I’d like to keep on doing it and raise my profile as critic and cultural commentator. It provides a different space for me to operate in away from my day job as an academic and jazz musician.
Where is the best place in London?
I love to stand on Waterloo Bridge at night and look at the river and the lights illuminating the greatest city in the world.
Where is the best place to eat in London?
I’ve been eating out in London since the 1970s and have seen a huge change in the range and quality of restaurants. I love how London has become a major player in the global gastro scene so choosing one place is always going to be hard. I’m going to choose a tiny new place in Hackney called Nest that epitomises cutting-edge trends in fine dining.
What’s the best attraction?
The whole city is the attraction. See it all from the top of The Shard. Experience cutting edge theatre at The Young Vic, immerse yourself in the street hustle and small plate restaurants of Soho, soak up the glitz and designer fashion of Bond Street and enjoy incredible Indian restaurants in Southall.
If not London, where would you like to live?
Somewhere warm! I’d love to be an urban nomad spending a few months staying in a place to really get under the skin of a city and then moving on. Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, New York, Madrid, Athens, Rome, Tokyo and Lisbon would do for starters!
How do you work with PRs and brands? We are contacted by PRs who reach out to us when they have a product, event or launch that they want to publicise.
It’s important only to work with brands that relate to the demographic that you serve. At London Unattached and at my blog The Hedonist we focus on elements that will appeal to Gen X and baby-boomers.
What are the best campaigns you’ve collaborated on?
I really enjoy cultural and gastronomic trips around the world. I visited Hamburg for the ElbJazz Festival set in the city’s shipyards. I ate my way around Athens on a gastro walking tour of the city and explored the food and culture of Lake Garda in Northern Italy.
What do you call yourself (blogger/influencer/content creator/writer etc)?
I’m a blogger and writer.
Adrian York, London Unattached and the Hedonist are all listings on the Vuelio Database along with thousands of other leading journalists, editors, bloggers and outlets.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Adrian-York.jpg430760Holly Hodges/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngHolly Hodges2018-03-28 07:30:352018-03-28 12:18:56London Lifestyle spotlight with Adrian York
Marianne Calnan, recently appointed senior reporter at The Grocer, talks to Vuelio about her new role, balancing her time and how you never know where the best stories will come from…
How are you settling into your new role as a senior reporter at The Grocer? Can you describe a typical working day for you? It’s been great so far and very full-on – I really feel like I’ve hit the ground running. The day will usually start with news hunting, followed by writing and interviewing for most of the rest of the day for a wide range of articles. Either that, or I’ll be at meetings with industry contacts or events.
What do you enjoy the most about your job? What are the main challenges you face? I’m really enjoying learning more about the FMCG industry, and my challenges include balancing my time between my writing and event-attending duties.
How do you decide what content to focus on? The editorial team has pretty much constant discussions about what to cover and what to prioritise.
Do you have a good relationship with PRs? What advice would you give to PR professionals who want to work with you? Definitely, and I would say send me anything and everything you think may be relevant to my remit, as you never know where the best stories could come from.
What type of press material are you interested in receiving? Mainly press releases and background info about any new developments or changes.
[testimonial_view id=13] Marianne Calnan and The Grocer and her blog are both listings on the Vuelio Database along with thousands of other leading journalists, editors, bloggers and outlets.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Marianne-Calnan.jpg430760Christina Pirilla/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngChristina Pirilla2018-03-27 14:01:162018-03-27 14:55:00Journalist Spotlight: The Grocer’s Marianne Calnan
Logan Paul thrust vlogging into the global spotlight, with a controversial video making him headline news around the world. The post led to a huge backlash against the millionaire vlogger, with YouTube changing its rules about monetising content and booting Logan Paul off its elite preferred ad programme.
But who is ultimately responsible? Should vloggers be regulated like journalists?
Lucy Wood, vlogger, blogger and freelance journalist, will guide us through the confusing world of brand collaborations on YouTube and outline best practice for everyone.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/webinar-image.jpg7491018Vuelio UK/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngVuelio UK2018-03-27 09:33:222019-02-27 15:48:33Vloggers, YouTube and Brands - Who is Responsible
London-Unattached is a multi-author blog covering a range of lifestyle topics, with a strong focus on food and travel. Founded by Fiona Maclean, London-Unattached covers topics of interest to Generation X and up. Fiona told us about her best travel experiences, working with PRs and meat fruit.
What makes your blog unique?
London-Unattached is a contributor blog or blogazine – I work with six talented individuals, each with a different focus. So, for example, I have one writer who specialises in theatre reviews – she’s an actress and theatre coach for her day job; another is a university lecturer in music and jazz musician. We are all Generation X upward (over 45) so we address a niche that I believe is under represented but has a high disposable income and wants to explore. We all cover food (restaurant reviews and recipe development) and travel.
What’s your biggest aim with the blog/what would you ideally achieve with it? I’d like to get to the stage where we have, say, a quarterly print magazine to complement the online content.
What’s your favourite location in the UK? The Scilly Isles – I went last year and the islands had a wonderful Enid Blyton feel to them – very unspoilt!
What’s your favourite trip abroad? As always, it’s my most recent trip! I’m just back from Rodrigues, a tiny island the size of Jersey, 150 miles north of Mauritius. Although it lacked the ‘resort luxury’ of some of the other destinations I’ve visited, it made up for it in a big way by having totally empty beaches, coral reefs, a plethora of wildlife and some fantastic food (French Creole with a seafood bias)
What’s the best thing about blogging about your travels? Finding places like Rodrigues that I’ve never heard of but which are astonishingly beautiful – and then having the opportunity to share them with other people. Or finding a special feature that I know will be a hook for my readers – in St Lucia for instance, I’d have to highlight the luxury of the resorts as well as the activities, while in Bruges, for me, it was that the food was more than a match for the heritage and architecture.
Best meal you’ve ever eaten? Last year, at Dinner by Heston (sorry to be so obvious – but I still dream of the Meat Fruit!)
What one thing should PRs know about you? I’m more cautious on paper than I am in real life. Generally, given a bit of encouragement, I’ll have a go at things I’d say no to if you asked me ahead of time.
What are the best PR/brand collaborations you’ve worked on? I love doing recipe development projects. I really enjoy being given a challenge and creating something to use a specific ingredient or to pair with a specific wine. I’ve done one recently with Spanish Sherry and a couple with Grana Padano and Prosciutto di San Daniele including this set of festive canapes.
I also like working with a country destination on a long-term basis. One of my first press trips was to Portugal and I’ve subsequently been back every year and now have a wealth of content about a country I love. Last year, I worked with the Czech Republic for the first time, went on two trips to Prague, Pardubice and Brno, produced six blog posts and won their ‘Blogger of the Year award’. I think it takes time to get to know a destination well – so being given the opportunity to go back really helps.
What do you call yourself (Blogger/influencer/content creator)? Freelance writer (I do work on a number of other writing projects, from website development through to writing newsletters and blogging for other people).
What other blogs do you read? Too many to list. For quirky blogs I wouldn’t normally come across, I love the ‘Big up Your Blog’ group. It’s full of passionate and lovely people like Jill Creighton who writes Midlifesmarts and Suzanne Vickery who writes about her experience travelling the world as a House Sitter.
Fiona and her blog are both listings on the Vuelio Database along with thousands of other leading bloggers, journalists, editors and outlets.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Fiona-Maclean.jpg430760Phoebe-Jane Boyd/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngPhoebe-Jane Boyd2018-03-26 15:06:092018-03-26 15:06:09Food and Travel: Fiona Maclean, London-Unattached
Five Things You Shouldn’t Have Missed this week includes Facebook’s latest woes, political parties using data, Brand Ant & Dec, Count Dankula and Bumble swiping left on Tinder.
1. Facebook’s $50bn comms disaster
The news that Facebook allows companies to collect and use personal data for commercial gain should be surprising to no one; it’s literally the company’s business model. But the story this week that data firm Cambridge Analytica bought data from a Cambridge professor’s Facebook app to create 50 million profiles – which possibly contributed to Trump’s presidential victory – has hit the public like the elephant in the room on a rampage. We’ve explored the ways in which Facebook has suffered, and covered the four crisis comms mistakes it made.
The biggest of these is the initial absence of Zuckerberg and then his eventual explanatory Facebook post, which has been described as ‘totally insufficient’. (Facebook has now published open letters in a number of newspapers, possibly emulating Bumble, story below).
The alleged breach led to Facebook’s share price taking a big, $50bn-dollar hit – but is this the end of the social giant? (Probably not).
2. Political parties exclude themselves from new data laws
Talking of data being used to profile people for political gain without the individual’s knowledge or consent – the Independent has reported that UK political parties are excluding themselves from the new data laws so they can still use personal data ‘to find out how people are likely to vote’. The Independent directly linked this story to the Cambridge Analytica debacle, but the public outrage (obviously via the front pages of national papers) hasn’t followed.
The Independent reports, ‘All the major parties have agreed to the exemption from new data protection laws, arguing it clarifies their widely recognised right to canvas voters in order to target possible supporters.’
If you’re not a political party, and you’re worried about complying with the GDPR law, check out our comprehensive guide (which is a form-free download).
3. Brand Ant & Dec
Ant McPartlin was charged with drink driving this week after he was involved in a multiple-car collision. The troubled star is back in rehab, leaving his significant other, Declan Donnelly, to present the final two episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway alone. This is an historic moment for brand Ant & Dec – the pair that work exclusively as a duo to the point that they always stand the same way (Ant then Dec), are temporarily split up. Brand Saturday Night Takeaway has to continue for the final episodes, as the finale is competition winners in Orlando (Cat Deeley has been mooted to stand in as co-host, but probably not as Prozac the giggle fairy).
Brand Suzuki has ended its contract with the duo, but will continue to sponsor the programme (family friendly automotive brands generally avoid drink driving ambassadors).
Brands Britain’s Got Talent and I’m A Celebrity are later in the year so may continue as normal if Brand Ant & Dec recovers. Which, as long as Ant gets better, is almost a certainty. In terms of crisis comms, Ant has done everything right: he has been honest, admitted he’s struggling, and gone to rehab. Everyone is communicating about the situation and working together for the best outcome. Ant & Dec’s place in the nation’s hearts seems to be secure.
Long live Brand Ant & Dec.
4. Count Dankula and the free speech debate
Ah free speech and social media. This week the endless debate has a bizarre advocate – YouTuber Count Dankula, who was convicted of making a ‘grossly offensive’ video after he taught his girlfriend’s dog to react to phrases such as ‘Sieg Heil’ and ‘gas the Jews’. The UK doesn’t have free speech laws like the US*, but globalisation (spearheaded by the rise of American-based social media sites) has created the illusion that we do. Count Dankula, real name Mark Meecham, was considered to have committed a crime in line with existing UK law on offense. Open and shut case, right?
Wrong. Conservative West Yorkshire MP Philip Davies is now demanding a debate on freedom of speech. Davies said: ‘We guard our freedom of speech in this House very dearly indeed…but we don’t often allow our constituents the same freedoms.
‘Can we have a debate about freedom of speech in this country – something this country has long held dear and is in danger of throwing away needlessly?’
Once again, the responsibility of YouTube as host of such content is being overlooked. Perhaps Logan Paul and Cambridge Analytica didn’t actually happen.
5. Bumble swipes left on Tinder
Tinder and Bumble are at loggerheads, with Tinder’s owner, Match Group, filing a lawsuit for alleged intellectual property theft. In what is partially a PR war, Bumble has come out fighting with a stinging full-page advert in the New York Times titled ‘Bumble swipes left on Match group/Tinder allegations’. The open letter to Match Group continues the Tinder-swipe theme: ‘We swipe left on you. We swipe left on your multiple attempts to buy us, copy us and, now, to intimidate us.’ [bold text as printed]
Bumble has also scored PR points for making their women-first approach (the app’s USP is that women have to make the first move) very clear: ‘We – a woman-founded, women-led company – aren’t scared of aggressive corporate culture’. The letter uses the alleged ‘bullying’ by Tinder to describe how their platform is designed to be safe for women.
This is a master stroke by Bumble, and even using a traditional newspaper ad to run the advert, is a touch of genius – tying this modern tech company with tradition and therefore traditional values (oh hey Facebook). Obviously Match Group is massive, but Bumble has ensured the ball is firmly in their court (hopefully next week’s Five Things will include an incredible response!).
*For example: offensive comments, inciting hatred, inciting someone to commit a crime and legitimate threats are all illegal in the UK.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/23-March-.jpg430760Phoebe-Jane Boyd/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngPhoebe-Jane Boyd2018-03-26 08:40:342018-05-31 11:21:00Five Things: Facebook, the GDPR, Ant & Dec, Count Dankula and Bumble swiping left
Karen Beddow writes Mini Travellers, the family travel blog that frequently gets ranked among the best in the UK. We caught up with Karen to talk about the uniqueness of her blog (according to the views of her readers), the best PR and brand collaborations she’s worked on and working with her kids to make the blog amazing.
What makes your blog unique?
I actually asked this question of my readers a few months ago and I got some lovely replies, a couple of my favourites were: ‘Makes people realise that it is possible to do cool and interesting things as a family’, and, ‘I love the fact that you cover everything from Rwanda to Disney and days out at home; something for everyone’. They put it much better than I could do myself.
What’s your biggest aim with the blog/what would you ideally achieve with it?
In fairness it has already done it as the blog has allowed me to work from home, take the children to school and collect them, and have all the school holidays off to travel.
How do you plan your travels? We plan our travel around flight deals, meetings we have had with PRs, reading lots and lots of other travel blogs that inspire me and sometimes just a gut feel that we have to go somewhere!
What’s the best place you’ve ever been to?
This is a really really hard one. Probably for the experience Rwanda – the whole trip was incredible and we’re off to Malawi as a family at easter as it worked out so well. For relaxation, a villa in Sivota, Greece with Simpson Travel as it just worked on every level.
How do your children feel about the blog?
They absolutely love it and are really proud of it. They know that it brings them great opportunities.
What one place haven’t you been that you want to?
Chile and Argentina – I’ve had two trips that I’d booked that had to be cancelled for different reasons so it is very high up the bucket list.
What’s the best day out in the UK? Oh I think that’s a tough one to answer, so many but for so many different reasons. For us, it is usually a day at a beach with a really big picnic, some sun and lots of friends.
What do you call yourself (Blogger/influencer/content creator)?
Blogger
What other blogs do you read?
Lots and lots but I recently met a couple on a trip to Morzine who are travelling the world and I was genuinely inspired by their amazing story. They were a really lovey couple too.
Karen Beddow and Mini Travellers are both listings on the Vuelio Database along with thousands of other leading bloggers, journalists, editors and outlets.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Karen-Beddows-mini-travellers-2.jpg430760Phoebe-Jane Boyd/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngPhoebe-Jane Boyd2018-03-22 10:15:282018-03-22 10:17:13Blogger Spotlight: Karen Beddow, Mini Travellers
Craig Landale is the founder and editor-in-chief of Menswear Style, which won the Best Men’s Lifestyle Blog and Best UK Blog at the Vuelio Blog Awards 2017. We caught up with Craig to find out what it takes to make the UK’s best blog, what you need to be a full-time blogger and the best advice he has for PRs and brands.
We also put Craig on the spot with five quickfire questions – full video below!
Tell us about Menswear Style
Menswear Style started as a hobby. I left my job in Leeds as a digital marketing manager for a big clothing company and I wanted to keep writing content. I quickly started receiving emails from PRs and brands asking me to review their clothing. At first, they were just asking me to review and there was no talk of money but then the blog started to get more hits and traffic. I started to give the blog more consistency and was updating it every other day. I’d say six months into its existence I started to get good traffic, and good partnerships were coming through.
How do you feel about going from a hobby blog to a successful professional blog in such a short time? I think today it wouldn’t happen because the industry is saturated – there’s too many influencers and too many bloggers. In 2012, I think I was just in time to enter when the market wasn’t so crowded. Even when I was working in men’s fashion I would only look at a handful of reputable menswear blogs – sites like FashionBeans, Highsnobiety, HYPEBEAST – I couldn’t have counted more than 10 really. So, I was able to get a good share of voice and get my name out there quite easily.
After a year, I quit doing the consultancy completely and the blog became my full-time job.
What was it like going full time? It was rapid growth at the time. I used to be amazed at the analytics, I would watch the real-time traffic and see articles go viral with thousands on the site. I had studied at the Chartered Institute of Marketing and my experience working in digital marketing meant I could put everything into the blog. That was an advantage I had over some other bloggers, because not many had any SEO or digital marketing experience at the time.
Now the industry has been here for a short while, there’s some rules and guidelines you can follow, but at the time it was unknown territory and giving up my full-time job to leap into the unknown was a bit scary.
I don’t think I could do it today; I’m a father, I have a mortgage – I feel like the battle of the mind would weigh towards a secure paying job.
You said you were making the rules, what do you wish you hadn’t done and what are you glad you did do? I used to spend a lot of time on affiliate marketing, which didn’t really go anywhere – it’s really difficult to make money from it (especially nowadays) so I feel like I wasted a lot of time on that.
I also put a lot of emphasis on banners because back then they made a lot of money, but now there are pop-up blockers and ad blockers, and it’s not something that makes as much money anymore. Even with sponsored content, I didn’t know what to charge – I would pluck a figure out of thin air!
Because I didn’t really know what I should be charging, I massively undervalued myself. I didn’t update my media kit for a few years, but a lot of brands were really honest and would say my prices were way too low.
I thought that until demand was more than I could keep up with, I would keep it low. But I have realised that the perception of having a high price can be higher quality as well – if a brand sees that a price for a sponsored article is a higher price, they feel the value they’re going to get back is good traffic, good engagement and good exposure. Low prices would make them feel like you didn’t have the traffic or engagement.
Now I’m not so cheap but I still give good value.
Well you have the Best UK Blog and you can’t beat that! How do you feel about winning twice at the Vuelio Blog Awards? It was amazing. I’ve been going to the Vuelio Blog Awards since the first year and I’ve always been up against women’s fashion bloggers. At times I think I was the only man in the category. I knew I wouldn’t win that award – the womenswear industry is like the Champions League and menswear is the Championship. That’s just because of the size of the industry – the millions spent by women compared to men, it’s much higher and even though menswear is growing at a rapid rate, it’s still nowhere near.
Luckily for 2017, you brought in the men’s lifestyle category and I thought, I’ve got a really good chance. I was hoping I would win it – I had a feeling Ape to Gentleman could take it because that’s a website I use for inspiration and I know they’re good and reputable. And then I won – and it was a huge relief! Finally, I had won an Award at the Vuelio Blog Awards!
When it came to the final award, Best UK Blog, usually my wife and I try to sneak off just after it’s announced because we’re not night owls (we like to sleep). We were getting ready to sneak out and then it was announced.
It was a massive shock.
I thought it would be a women’s fashion blogger, or interiors or politics – I did not expect it to be menswear. My menswear friends and other nominees were amazed as well and so supportive. We’re a close-knit group – we’re always at the same events and know each other – they thought it was amazing for menswear blogging and the industry. The highest accolade has gone to a menswear blogger, so it’s a victory for all of us.
What’s the menswear blogging community like? When you go to events and on press trips, you bump into the same people and everyone’s friendly. I’ve been doing this since 2012, so I’m one of the older guys. Now I don’t go to as many events as the other guys but when I first started, I went to everything. I was at an event every night of the week with my wife. We used it as our way of socialising in this new city we’d just move to, for free. But now I’m a father, I handpick the events I go to because it can be overbearing. I have a team of freelance writers as well, so I usually pass it down to them.
What’s your day to day? I’m writing content, doing social media, I edit every article that comes in from the team and I take care of the commercial side. I deal with all the brand and PR emails – some have great budgets and I’m happy, some aren’t a good fit so I turn them down. There are some who don’t have a good budget but they’re doing work I admire so I do work for free, but it has to be a brand I really really like. If it’s an up-and-coming brand I might be interested in featuring them.
Who is the competition? Other bloggers are definitely competition. When a brand pitches a brief, they’re going to bloggers and publications. I always want to make sure we get a look in, the engagement we get on social media is fantastic and I want to make sure the brands know about that. I also put the last three months of google analytics performance on the blog so it’s clear for PRs to see what we can achieve. I’m not taking it for granted that anyone would know who Menswear Style is, you can spend a long time getting to know PRs and then they could leave the industry and a new wave of PRs could come in who don’t know you anymore. Especially as I’m going to events a lot less – out of sight, out of mind.
What are your dos and don’ts for PRs? The big don’t is when a brand just sends out a blanket email to everyone and you can tell. The worst is when they forget to BCC and then someone replies and you end up getting hundreds of emails.
Also, if the email is too long. It sounds bad, but when you have lots of email pitches to get through, you want to read one paragraph to find out what they’re after. Some brands come through and they know exactly what they want, and they’re up-front about budget – making it clear if they’re willing to pay or not. I always ask about budget to make sure we both know how to work together.
I have a lot of brands coming back year on year. The majority I’m working with now, I’ve worked with before. The competitions we host are really successful; some brands will come back every year or season to do a competition. The entry method also has opt-in forms, so it’s good for their email marketing, and brands keep coming back for those.
The competition from influencers is also strong, but I’m not so worried about them because what I do and where I make my money is through the blog. They’re making money on social, like Instagram. For me, social is not a commercial stream, it’s a chance for people to see ‘behind the scenes’ at Menswear Style and to share our blogs. I add it on as a sweetener, if a brand books a brand-focused article, which means we write about their brand, we add it on but we don’t do Instagram posting for money. I’m not personally an influencer.
What’s an influencer? An individual that’s living the lifestyle that people like to watch. It’s usually on Instagram, the insta-influencer is rising rapidly. They’re the new celebrity, kids nowadays don’t know traditional celebrities, but they know who influencers are.
I call myself a blogger and digital content creator, when I’m trying to explain my job to people. I think the average guy our age, would probably not realise blogging is a full-time job, and think it’s just a hobby. They probably know you can make money but not enough to replace a salary. But I think teenagers today know this is the career they want. You could probably ask a class of 12-year-olds and half would say they want to be a vlogger, blogger or an insta-influencer. They’ve grown up with technology and they’ve seen it work.
What’s next for Menswear Style? People ask me this and I always say I want to continue – when things are going good, don’t fix it. I’m always tweaking the website, but no drastic changes; the categories are great, the streetstyle is great, it’s all just going great. I might get ‘radical’ ideas, but I they’re always little things being added on, nothing major.
I do want the articles to be a bit longer though. When I first started it was about shorter articles (300 words), but I know longform is coming back and they please Google too. I want stories to be a bit more interesting, not just about a new collection but about the person who made the clothes, the area they were made in or the traditions in manufacturing. Just something more engaging than the bare facts.
Quickfire Five – VIDEO
Craig Landale and Menswear Style are listed on the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other leading bloggers, journalists, editors and outlets.
DriveWrite Automotive is a leading auto blog written by Geoff Maxted. Including car reviews and features about the driving life, DriveWrite Automotive recently featured on the Top 10 UK Automotive Blogs. We spoke to Geoff about branching out his writing, issues facing the automotive industry and working with brands.
What makes your blog unique?
I don’t follow the motoring journalist herd, avoiding endless car reviews of vehicles that everyone else is reviewing. I am less concerned with the very latest thing. I am very much trying to present things in an original and varied format that responds to the broad topic of ‘automotive’ and always taking care with grammar and spelling. You won’t find any profanity on my blog.
How and why are you now branching out as a writer?
I am certainly broadening the scope of DriveWrite, although non-automotive work will be on separate blogs in due course. My experience of writing has led me to other avenues and I am now very experienced in writing to order and to a brief, regardless of the topic. I welcome commissions.
What’s your favourite car?
Audi R8 V10. That’s me in the mugshot, driving one.
How important is photography to automotive blogging?
Very important. I am a former lecturer in photography so always strive to make my images as good as possible. I have recently upgraded my cameras and this year will be shooting video for the first time. Video is the way to go now for almost any blogger.
How difficult do you find it to convey an experience in a blog post?
I like to write creatively and don’t find conveying a mood or feeling or experience difficult.
What’s the biggest issue facing the automotive industry? Convincing the public to move with the times. The attempt to persuade people into electric cars for example has been half-hearted in my opinion. They really are good vehicles.
We’ve discovered that for many bloggers, social media has become the new comments section. How important is social media to your blog?
Very. There’s a lot of garbage on social media and it is important to rise above it. The popular mediums are vital to getting the good word out there. Word of mouth still has its place too. You need readers talking to others.
What are the best PR/brand collaborations you’ve worked on?
I can’t really name one. It’s always best to be on great terms with collaborators.
What do you call yourself (Blogger/influencer/content creator)?
It’s what other people call me that’s important. I want to be known as a writer of quality first and foremost.
What other blogs do you read? Leisure time? What’s that?
Geoff Maxted and DriveWrite Automotive are listed on the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other leading bloggers, journalists, editors and outlets.
This week Five Things You Shouldn’t Have Missed includes new social media laws, Facebook taking responsibility, the Metro’s moment in the Sun, (Fer)Nando’s and BuzzFeed’s unlikely victory.
1. Matt Hancock to rewrite social media laws
Not content with launching his own social media platform, Matt Hancock, the culture secretary, has now suggested the UK could write ‘world-leading’ regulations for technology companies, thanks to Brexit. No longer bound by EU rules, a post-Brexit Britain would be able to create ‘forward-looking’ legislation appropriate for the 21st century. Hancock said new laws would support ‘the innovation and the freedom that these social media platforms bring but also ensures they mitigate better against harms’.
Areas Hancock has suggested the law could be changed include making a new legal status for social media companies between traditional platforms and publishers, changing competition laws and tackling fake news. Hancock doesn’t actually want to make platform owners responsible for the content they publish as he is a platform owner himself. He said: ‘I can’t be liable for what they publish, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to allow them to publish it, because I can only be liable for what I publish.’
Five Things is very excited to see what Matt Hancock’s next plan is to make his time as culture secretary historic.
2. Facebook bans Britain First
Talking of platform owners becoming responsible, Facebook has removed Britain First and its leaders from the platform. The removal was due to the far-right group ‘repeatedly’ violating community standards. The page had achieved over two million likes at the point of its removal.
In a detailed blog post, Facebook explained that people are allowed ‘different views’ and that they are ‘very careful not to remove posts or Pages just because some people don’t like them’. However, Facebook goes on to say: ‘There are times though when legitimate political speech crosses the line and becomes hate speech designed to stir up hatred against groups in our society.’
Facebook gave the group a ‘final written warning’, which was ignored as the group continued to post content ‘designed to incite animosity and hatred against minority groups’.
This decisive action is huge news, because the social media giant has taken a clear action against a page with millions of followers and published its reasoning. There is now little excuse for it not to take action against other, similar rule breakers.
3. Is The Sun setting?
The Metro now has more printed copies in circulation than The Sun, though both have experienced year-on-year falls. The Press Gazette reports the latest ABC figures, which show the Metro’s 1,472,437 copies in Feb, while down 0.25% on 2017, was greater than The Sun’s 1,465,000 – down 8% on 2017. To make matters worse, The Sun’s number includes its Saturday edition, whereas the Metro only prints Monday-Friday.
Ted Young, editor of the Metro, said: ‘This is a massive Metro moment and one which demonstrates the demand for our trusted and loved product with a young, professional audience on their morning commute in every major city every weekday morning. As long as the appetite is there, we intend to remain the largest distributed newspaper in Britain.’
The Sun is still the UK’s best-selling daily newspaper by some margin. Every priced national paper experienced a fall in circulation, the biggest being The Sunday Mirror (-20.18%), Daily Mirror (-19.04%), The Daily Telegraph (-18.06%) and the Sunday People (-17.93%).
4. Nando’s and Fernando’s
Within weeks of Nando’s proving that a potentially reputation-damaging story (their chips coming from McCain) means nothing to loyal Nando’s fans, its back in the news – now accused of attacking a small business. Due to what appears to be copyright infringement, an independent peri-peri restaurant called ‘Fernando’s’, which has a cockerel logo among other similarities, has been asked by the chilli chicken phenomenon to cease and desist.
Fernando’s struck out, claiming Nando’s is ‘threatened’ by its success. Fernando’s owner Asam Aziz, who claims the inspiration for the name is from TV’s Take Me Out, said he is being bullied by Nando’s (full legal name: Nando’s ChickenLand Limited – which sounds like the best theme park ever!).
A Nando’s spokesman tried to reduce the heat, by saying: ‘We are really proud of our brand and we know it means a lot to our customers. That’s why whenever we think there is trademark infringement we try to sort it out amicably’, which seems balanced from a brand that is seemingly untouchable.
5. BuzzFeed wins News Website of the Year
BuzzFeed (LMAO, ROFL, WOW), a viral site famous for listicles, scooped the biggest digital prize at the Press Awards this week winning News Website of the Year. The achievement is huge for a site that launched in 2013 and is more well known for its ‘Which Friends character are you’ type articles than serious journalism. But in recent years, the site has gained a reputation for ‘proper’ journalism particularly in government and politics – breaking a number of stories in the last 12 months and being an outlet for many leaks. Jim Waterson, outgoing political editor, may be disappointed that the Guardian, his next employer, was only awarded Highly Commended in the same category.
Other notable winners include the Financial Times scooping Newspaper of the Year and News Team of the Year (for The Europopulists); the Daily Mail winning Campaign of the Year for ‘Turn the tide on plastic’; Tom Harper, Jon Ungoed-Thomas and Richard Kerbaj who won ‘Scoop of the Year’ for finding porn on Damian Green’s computer; and Mark Townsend of the Observer, who won News Reporter of the Year.
Congratulations all.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/16-March.jpg430760Phoebe-Jane Boyd/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngPhoebe-Jane Boyd2018-03-16 14:05:572018-03-16 14:05:57Five Things You Shouldn’t Have Missed – 16 March 2018
Becky Moore is the owner of Global Grasshopper, a leading travel blog with a small team of writers and photographers. Covering the hottest destinations, coolest hotels and advice for all travellers, Global Grasshopper has created a huge dedicated audience who love the stunning visuals and insider tips.
We spoke to Becky about conquering the world (in travel blogging terms), beautiful holidays and working with brands.
What makes your blog unique?
We try to steer away from writing about all the major tourist resorts and focus on the world’s most beautiful, unique and under-the-radar places instead. We also strive to create our posts with a lot of care and love, using only very high-quality photography and video footage (produced by our team’s professional videographer Gary Nunn).
What’s your biggest aim with the blog?
To continue making content that people want to read and watch and to maintain and increase our rankings in Google. We have a very popular category of the most beautiful places to visit in each country, which we always get great feedback on! And although we already feature the most popular travel destinations, I’d eventually love to cover every country in the world. One day!
What’s the best place you’ve ever been to? Havana. Havana is a city that it’s impossible not to be happy in. I first visited a few years ago when I was going through a particularly bad time in my life and it instantly lifted me. Aside from the music, architecture, dancing, sunshine, cocktails and unique way of life, Cuba’s biggest asset is its people. It’s a place where you will be greeted with warmth that is unrivalled in any other places I’ve visited, and it’s a country you’ll leave with far more friends than when you arrived!
Where haven’t you been that you’re desperate to go to? I’m a huge Scandinavia fan and although I’ve been to many places in the region I’m still longing to explore the fjords in Norway. The UNESCO-protected fjords cut into a series of towering mountains and is a place where waterfalls cascade down mountainsides, and where glaciers never melt. The area is said to offer some of the most unspoilt and spectacular scenery in the world.
Hotel of self-catering (or camping, hostels or air bnb)? If I visit a city, I always seek out the most unique hotel I can find, whether its artistic, designer or just something very different like our collection of cool and unusual hotels in London for example. It always makes a trip far more interesting and also makes great content for the blog too!
If you could only holiday in one style for the rest of your life and had to choose between luxury and shoe string – which would you do? That’s actually a tough choice because I love a beautiful, plush hotel (who doesn’t?) but backpacking on a budget can ensure you meet lots more like-minded people and enable you to see a much more local way of life. At a push though, I’d probably opt for the luxury!
How important is social media to you when you’re away? A big part of running a blog professionally is keeping up with social media so it’s very important to me, although I do like to give myself digital detoxes now and again too. I think it is really important for your health!
What are the best PR/brand collaborations you’ve worked on? We’ve been lucky enough to work on some really fantastic campaigns including Borneo, Chernobyl and Montreal (to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canada) but a campaign that recently stands out was working with Vauxhall to help promote their new Mokka X car. We were challenged by Vauxhall to see how much fun we can have in 48 hours in their newly launched mini SUV so accompanied with Gary (the team videographer) I took a road trip to the surfer’s paradise Newquay in Cornwall. We were really lucky with the weather and the scenery was so beautiful and, combined with Gary’s drone footage and creative talents, the video instantly took off on Facebook and YouTube, going viral.
What do you call yourself (Blogger/influencer/content creator)? A blogger, travel website owner or content creator usually (depending on the day)!
What other blogs do you read? I’m a bit of science and health geek so one of my favourite blogs is SelfHacked.com which is a great site full of really interesting health hacks and tips.
Becky Moore and Global Grasshopper are listed on the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other leading bloggers, journalists and editors.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Becky-Moore.jpg430760Holly Hodges/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngHolly Hodges2018-03-15 14:34:342018-03-15 14:34:34Blogger Spotlight: Becky Moore, Global Grasshopper
Sarah Anguish is the author of Boo Roo and Tigger Too, which recently appeared in the Top 10 UK Mummy Blogs. Sarah is Boo, the mother of the family and features the life and adventures of her family including Roo, 10, Tigger, 6, and Piglet, 1.
We spoke to Sarah about the dad blogs, the mummy blogger community and working with PRs (and a big tip of what NOT to ask!).
What makes your blog successful? Success is all relative to the individual. Some will say it is landing a major campaign or receiving a high paying collaboration, but to me, a successful blog is one that people want to read, although I’m sure my friends and family make up a large proportion of my visitor stats! It is for the mum who stumbles across my blog at 2am searching for advice on how to deal with night terrors for her child; the mum who is returning to work following maternity leave and wants to know how to manage family life and a career. They are what I quantify as success, I have assisted them in some small part and hopefully managed to let them know that they have this and that others have gone through the same thing.
Why did you start your blog? While on maternity leave with my second child I read lots of parenting blogs. With no friends who were also at the baby stage, I found comfort in their tales of teething, sleepless nights etc. However, the majority of blogs that I read were all about stay at home mums. As I was due to return to work following maternity leave, I decided to start a blog to showcase what family life is like when you have to juggle children, childcare and working life. Spoiler alert – it was difficult, very difficult at times, especially when my son was ill.
How are mummy blogs different from dad blogs? Dads tend to get the rough end of the stick when it comes to parenting, with it often said that dad is babysitting the children while mum is out. That is not the case, with dads being just as much a parent as the mum. The rise of dad blogs has helped showcase that dads aren’t the stereotypical breadwinner there to kiss little ones goodnight like we see in Mary Poppins. Times have changed, dads are very much part of family life and dad bloggers are challenging ‘traditional’ perceptions.
What’s it like to be part of the mummy blogging community? The mummy blogging community is very much like having an extended family, affectionately referred to as the friends in my computer. Over the years I have gained some wonderful blogging friends who have been on the other end of a tweet, a Facebook message or an email whenever I have needed them. There is always someone ready to answer a question, advise you about plugins and what Instagram hashtags you need to use.
How do you plan content with the kids? There are aspects of my blog which the children are very much part of, reviewing items that we have been sent to try out for example. The older two children are now at the age where I leave them with a new toy or game to unpack, assemble and play with before I get involved and ask them questions. I find that they are much more honest in what they think of something if they have been part of the process.
When it comes to days out, I usually tell them ahead of time that there will be parts of the day where Mummy needs to get some photographs. Explaining that once this is completed the rest of the day is all about fun. My eldest will often take photos while we are out and will point out ‘Mummy, do you think you should get a photo of that?’.
How do you feel about your kids growing up and reading the blog? (Are there any posts you DON’T want them reading?) My eldest daughter is very much aware of my blog! She is very proud of the ‘work’ that I do and is happy to tell anyone who asks her (including her school teachers). There isn’t any content on my site that I would be unhappy with her reading. This was something I was always conscious of when I started blogging. That being said, posts regarding having post natal depression may stir up further questions from her that I might be uncomfortable with.
What’s your favourite collaboration with a brand or PR? Over the past year I have been working with AVIVA alongside the AVIVA Community Fund, having the opportunity to witness first-hand what the funding will do for community projects and causes within in my local area. Budget cuts and lack of available grants mean that a large number of much needed community services are struggling. The community fund offers these groups the opportunity to submit a bid for funding, which if successful will enable them to provide a bereavement room in the local hospital linked to the delivery suite. This is a place to offer families in need of a quiet space required to start their grieving process.
What should PRs know when contacting you? Please don’t ask me to tell you what makes me unique. If there is one question that makes me shudder it is that one. I am me, a wife, a mum, a friend – nothing that I would say is special and certainly not unique. Like most people, I am just taking each day as it comes and fantasising about the days when I got more sleep.
What do you call yourself (blogger/content creator/influencer)? I would class myself as a blogger, someone who is journaling life online. I’m sharing the mix of family life, home, travel and everything in between.
What other blogs do you read? In the good old days of Google Reader I would often scroll through my feed while I was up for night feeds or one of the children was sick; reading new posts from all the blogs I had subscribed to and waiting for the latest installment of family life. Thankfully my Bloglovin feed still allows me the same service, so whenever I get five minutes down time I really love flicking through the mixture of content published.
I like to think of blog reading like my eclectic music collection – it depends on what mood I am in as to which blogs I turn to. So I’ll share three different ones from various genres:
A Beautiful Space
Becky inspires me to make the most of my home. Whether I am looking for a complete overhaul or just looking to freshen up a room or two. With some great tips and ideas on how this can be achieved on a budget, A Beautiful Space is always a winner.
An Organised Mess
Debbie shares life on the south coast of Wales with her three children. Her amazing party planning ideas make me want to hire her as my own personal party planner! Alongside this, she shares the highs and lows of family life with the juggling act of working away in London.
Mum in the Madhouse
Jen offers the perfect mix of crafts that I can actually achieve with the children, a dose of family life and some beautiful recipes – everyone needs to make her carrot cake, it is truly amazing!
Sarah and Boo Roo and Tigger Too are listed on the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other leading bloggers, journalists and editors.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Boo-Roo-and-Tigger-Too.jpg430760Merryn Williams/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngMerryn Williams2018-03-13 11:19:572018-03-13 11:23:05Blogger Spotlight: Sarah Anguish, Boo Roo and Tigger Too
Rachel Miller is the author of the hugely popular All Things IC, which was recently ranked in the Top 10 UK PR Blogs. Specialising in internal comms, Rachel is a consultant and trainer and has worked with some of the biggest brands in the UK.
We caught up with Rachel after she featured in the ranking to talk relationships between influencers and PRs, issues facing the PR industry and her advice for people wanting a career in comms.
What makes your blog successful? I’m proud my All Things IC blog has helped thousands of practitioners learn about communication, PR and social media through the 1,200 articles I’ve published.
What makes it successful? Readers tell me it’s the fact I’ve been consistently publishing articles since 2009 to help solve their problems. I take time to listen to what the gaps are in their knowledge and ensure I have content to help them develop professionally. This is now at the core of my consultancy and readers know I save the really good stuff for my clients. However, anyone can access internal communication ideas and inspiration daily.
What has writing a blog taught you about the way bloggers see the PR/influencer relationship? I started my career as a journalist in 1999, but it wasn’t until 10 years into my career that I started to work out loud via my blog to share my thinking. Blogging has underlined the importance of relationships and professional networks.
Forming effective relationships was critical to my success as a journalist and, over the years, those same skills have been amplified and enhanced by my work as a consultant and blogger.
My work has taught me the most powerful influencers an organisation has are its people. Peer-to-peer communication from employees can transform a company from the inside out.
My blogging strategy from day one has been to be fiercely independent. I’ve never accepted payment to blog or had a sponsored post. The only adverts you’ll find on my website are the latest comms vacancies on my jobs board. I know my readers value my independence and I’m transparent about the way I work. For example, if I receive a guest pass for an event, I always declare it and take the trust my readers place in me seriously.
What’s the biggest issue facing PR today? So many! I think trust, or lack thereof, is a huge one. With fake news on the rise, we need to be smarter when it comes to ensuring our organisations are honest, credible and truthful in their communications. Professional communicators need to take accountability and champion authenticity at every opportunity.
What are the biggest changes to the PR industry you’ve seen over your career?
The way we work and where we work has changed dramatically. The smoke-filled newsroom I stepped into the week before my 19th birthday as a trainee journalist – with faxes, a dark room, a microfiche machine and one computer able to access the internet – is in stark contrast to the way I work today.
That accessibility to content, ideas and ability to share from devices that fit in the palm of our hand has increased the ‘always-on’ mentality. However, it’s also created opportunities for practitioners to design and deliver workflows and patterns that suits them.
We’ve also shifted from content creators to content curators and that opens organisations up to a vibrancy and reality we’ve not experienced before.
Will print die out altogether? No. Print is thriving in many organisations as the most appropriate way to get information to the right people at the right time. There’s a booming business in internal communication for print.
I always want to see how employee voice is amplified and how it is coupled with opportunities for two-way communication. You need to combine print with two-way channels and chances for your workforce to play an active part in shaping your company’s ideas, conversations and culture.
What’s the best social platform? A medium is only social if it allows for interaction and I interact in different ways across various platforms. For example, LinkedIn is how I share content and promote the work practitioners are doing, I work out loud and network via Twitter, I use Pinterest to spark visual inspiration before creating a talk and use closed Facebook groups to connect with other entrepreneurs in my professional life and fellow parents in my personal life.
What’s better, agency or in-house? I spent a decade working in-house and loved it. I’ve been running All Things IC consultancy for five years and cannot imagine doing anything else. One of the many joys of my role is the opportunity to work closely with in-house practitioners and teams. I run monthly masterclasses to train them and offer 1-2-1 mentoring and team days. So, I’m fortunate to have the best of both worlds through the way I’ve designed my business.
What advice would you give someone looking to work in comms? Do it! Learn as much as you can and be constantly curious. Ask questions and join networks to discover other practitioners. I’ve featured 200 comms pros on my blog over the years and love learning from their stories.
How do you work with PRs as a blogger? I rarely have good experiences! It’s so frustrating to be subjected to pitches that start: ‘Dear blogger’ – if you clearly haven’t taken the time to discover my name or understand my niche, that’s a relationship which is a non-starter.
My readers love peer-to-peer communication and learning from each other. They want to read articles from other professional communicators and how they are solving their organisation’s problems.
If I’m pitched a product or service I say no the majority of the time. However, if a tech provider comes to me with a brilliant client story, written by the client, I’m more likely to consider it. I’m protective of my blog and want to uphold its quality rather than dilute it with inappropriate content. In short: my blog, my rules.
What’s your favourite PR campaign from the last year? I don’t have a particular favourite, but enjoy reading the number one blog on the PR ranking, PR Examples to discover who’s doing what.
What other blogs do you read? I read so many blogs! I’m a regular reader of the ones on the top 10 list, which I’m honoured to be part of. I’ve also been trying to uncover new voices and bloggers within the IC world and offer them a platform over the past few months.
Rachel Miller and All Things IC are both listed on the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other leading bloggers, journalists and editors.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rachel-Miller.jpg430760Holly Hodges/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngHolly Hodges2018-03-12 14:48:312018-03-12 14:48:31Blogger Spotlight: Rachel Miller, All Things IC
Scott Guthrie is a Top 10 PR Blogger who bases his eponymous blog on his varied and detailed experience. We caught up with Scott to talk about the power of influencer marketing, the advantages of different social platforms and his advice for PRs.
What makes your blog successful? I write a lot about influence; specifically influencer marketing. Here, I’ve identified a sustainable niche in which both clients and industry peers are interested and are actively seeking fresh information which helps get their collective heads around the subject.
Consistency is key to a successful blog. I aim to publish two to three times each week. The content is a blend of tactical how-to pieces and longer thought pieces about best practice and where the industry is headed.
What has writing a blog taught you about the way bloggers see the PR/influencer relationship? I’m surprised by the lazy blogger outreach by some PR practitioners.
What’s the biggest issue facing PR today? Public relations shouldn’t be compartmentalised. It shouldn’t be about being the publicity arm of the company. Rather it should be about helping firms do and be what they say they do and who they say they are.
Technology has enabled several disciplines to blur. This will continue at pace, further blurring where PR, marketing, SEO, advertising, HR, customer service start and stop. The industry must accelerate its reinvention if it hopes to access marketing spend. I see this as a colossal opportunity rather than an issue.
What are the biggest changes to the PR industry you’ve seen over your career? The media landscape has fragmented over the last decade or so. The PR industry has matured to embrace that change. Public relations is evolving from media relations to influencer relations, and then from community management to social business. The new model of public relations is no longer obsessed with publicity via Earned media. The PR discipline is blurring into other roles formerly the preserve of marketing and advertising. Today’s PR practitioners must be fully conversant in the skills required to activate communication programmes which utilise Shared media, Owned media and Paid media as well as Earned media.
Will print die out altogether? I have online subscriptions to the Financial Times and the Australian Financial Review. I also read the Guardian online. Newsprint is both so old fashioned and a sustainability issue waiting to happen. Will print die out altogether, though? No, there will always be a special place reserved for print. Monocle, the high-production international affairs, culture and design magazine is a good example of the power of print. Monocle knows its readers and tailors its product both in terms of content and collateral to that audience, beautifully.
What’s the best social platform? Ha! The best social platforms are where your customers and your peers hang out. They are places where you can listen to customers and prospects express their pain points and suggest solutions. Where you can further discussions and share ideas about best practice with your peers. For me, that’s predominantly Twitter and LinkedIn – and Facebook for private groups.
What’s better, agency or in-house? From an influencer marketing perspective it can’t be a binary answer. The role that in-house and agency play is evolving as the discipline matures and brands become more knowledgeable about the subject matter. When you’re trying something out, testing the water, it makes sense to de-risk it as far as possible and outsource the function to an agency. Once proof of concept has been made it’s time to bring facets in-house. But both agency and in-house teams have valuable roles to play.
In-house teams are best placed to nurture relationships. And to maintain these relationships between influencer marketing campaign ‘spikes’. They’re boundary spanners linking networks both internally and externally. Internally to build alignment with other departments – it might be product development, marketing, social, SEO, customer services, however the firm is organised. Linking networks externally – to work better with agencies.
Agencies can add value by:
Making data-driven recommendations on new and rising influencer talent.
Looking over the brow of the hill to what’s likely to happen next in the influencer marketing space. Then counselling their clients accordingly to grab opportunity and swerve issues.
Advising on best practice
Helping marry communication goals with corporate goals
Providing an extra pair of hands in campaign execution
What advice would you give someone looking to work in comms? Read widely. Write often. Start a blog. Have a point of view. Tap into a community. Be useful to that community. Put yourself in the way of every new opportunity. Always say ‘yes’ when asked to contribute.
How do you work with PRs as a blogger? As a fellow PR practitioner, and member of both the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), I work with PRs as peers. Through my blog I try to articulate current best practice and look to the future, anticipating how the industry will evolve.
What’s your favourite PR campaign from the last year? In terms of success rate, you’d have to go a long way to better watch maker, Daniel Wellington’s influencer marketing always-on campaign. While many brands are still testing the water with influencer marketing, DW ascribes to the Australian sporting aphorism: ‘Go hard or go home’.
DW has put influencer marketing front and centre of its communications efforts. The brand pays celebrities for sponsored posts and gifts watches to lesser-known micro-influencers. In exchange, they post photos of themselves wearing the watch, often accompanied by a unique money-off code for followers. The images are high quality and display an attainable luxury lifestyle.
Is their approach innovative? Scale of operation aside; not really. Does it work? You bettcha. Last year, DW grew its social media follower base by a third (31%) to 3.7m. It generated 137k brand mentions in 2017. In 2016 the company posted profits of around £100m. Not bad for a start-up, today entering its seventh year.
What other blogs do you read? I’m an avid reader of professional and personal blogs. There will be loads that I’ve overlooked in my quick list but the few that instantly come to mind are: Spin Sucks, Ste Davies, Stephen Waddington, PR Place, Influence and Ella Minty.
Scott Guthrie is listed alongside his blogon the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other leading bloggers, journalists and editors.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Scott-Guthrie.jpg430760Holly Hodges/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngHolly Hodges2018-03-12 13:30:292018-03-14 12:27:54Blogger Spotlight: Scott Guthrie
Jen Walshaw is the author of the number one mummy blog in the UK – Mum in the Madhouse. Covering family fun and creative crafts. Mum in the Madhouse has become a must-read for anyone after some creative inspiration and content. We spoke to Jen about being creative, finding her audience and working with brands.
What makes your blog successful? I think my blog is successful as my family is relatable and authentic. We are just your average family with our ups and downs. Over the years, it has gone from strength to strength, some readers have been with us from the beginning, others found us while looking for a specific solution. It has stood the test of time and remains a trusted voice in a saturated market.
Why did you start your blog? My blog started out as a diary after a health scare. I had two boys under three with 14 months between them. It was my way of recording our day to day life while reclaiming time for me. I had always wanted to be one of those people that had a batch of journals to look back on but never found pen and paper that appealing long term. I loved being able to create my own digital photo album with words!
How are mummy blogs different from dad blogs? I am not sure that they are all that different, but I do love that fact that people feel they provide a different perspective. I also love that they are much more prolific than they ever were. I would much prefer to just be pigeonholed as a parent blogger rather than a mummy blogger, however, like every aspect of my life, being a parent is just part of it.
What’s it like to be part of the mummy blogging community? I have to say that I adore the whole blogging and online community. There will always be someone that has experienced what you have and able to offer insight and advice. Whether it be dealing with the death of a loved one or how to get the tween off the XBox! We relocated (or boomeranged) back to our native North East when I was pregnant with Mini, and the mummy blogging community has enabled me to have an online village to support me while I raise my children. Some of my closest friends have come from blogging.
How do you plan content with the kids? We talk about things we would like to blog about as a family and then schedule it in. When it comes to cooking and crafting, that is very much just part of our everyday lives so as long as they are happy for me to document it then I will. I want to be respectful of their stories and privacy. As they get older, then they are starting to provide their own content with recipes and reviews.
How do you feel about your kids growing up and reading the blog? I have no issues with the boys’ reading the blog or any of the posts. I have always been conscious of their privacy and always check with them before posting images of them online. I know a lot of their friends follow me on Instagram and read the blog. Some of them even send me pictures of crafts they have made or recipes they have used.
What’s your favourite collaboration with a brand or PR? It is so hard to pin it down to just one collaboration. We are big fans of family experiences and have been lucky enough to work with some fantastic brands and have lots of fun at the same time. There have been different favourites depending on the stages of our family life. The man of the house loves car or holiday collaborations, the boys are particularly keen on theme parks, technology and festivals, while for me, like most mums, am happy when the rest of the family is. However, I do love going to concerts, visiting new places and experiencing new things. I am also partial to tea and fabric!
What should PRs know when contacting you? I am a proud Northerner, so invites to events in the capital mean quite a chunk of travel! I want PRs to understand what I can offer them and their clients, and to develop long-term relationships. Things really need to be relevant to me and my readers. More and more it is about being a trusted voice. It is great to connect with people that understand what you do and see how you can work together for the benefit of their client. I like to provide unique relevant evergreen content that will meet their needs and appeal to my readers and new readers.
What do you call yourself (blogger/content creator/influencer)? Jack of all trades! It depends on who I am talking to. So, blogger, freelance writer, content creator or that I run a website. I wear many hats, but I do not think that I fit the influencer mould or class myself as an influencer especially as I am all about communication, discussion and engagement with my readers; it is certainly a two-way relationship and I do not set out to influence them. Personally, I am thinking of myself more and more as a maker and creator.
What other blogs do you read? I am an avid blog reader and love being part of such a wide-ranging and diverse community. I turn to blogs for pretty much everything, looking for a recipe then there is a great blog for that, planning a party, again I turn to a blog.
Jen Walshaw and Mum in the Madhouse are both listed on the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other leading bloggers, journalists and editors.
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Mum-in-the-madhouse.jpg430760Merryn Williams/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngMerryn Williams2018-03-07 10:30:352018-03-07 13:02:27Blogger Spotlight: Jen Walshaw, Mum in the Madhouse
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