Influencer marketing is an industry worth today some £4.5bn, expected to reach £18.4bn by 2024. It has grown fast, driven by an exponential take up of social media and explosion in online publishing across multiple channels.
From Facebook to Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Medium, we’re in an age where seemingly anyone can be an influencer – whether an 18-year-old producing makeup tutorials in their bedroom or the 98-year-old Iris Apfel who was signed this year to IMG.
Inextricably linked to the rise of the internet and social media, influencer marketing is built on processes and ways of working that are themselves relatively new. We’re at the birth of an industry where influencers, from bloggers and vloggers to podcasters and Instagrammers, and the PRs, brands and marketers collaborating with them are still working out the rules and determining best practice.
To help you understand your responsibilities and how you can comply with the law, Vuelio and the CMA have put together an exclusive guide: Influencer Marketing and the Law, which outlines best practice for influencers, PRs and marketers.
It is full of practical guidance around consumer protection law, terms of contract, social media posts and disclosure tools, and can improve how you approach brand partnerships and help you to achieve best practice.
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Dane Cobain is the author of SocialBookshelves.com, a top 10 UK Literature Blog. A record of all the books Dane reads, SocialBookshelves.com covers every genre and each review is the same number of words as the number of pages in the book.
We spoke to Dane about the book community online, the future of blogging, his favourite new authors and how he likes to work with PRs.
How do you describe what you do to other people? This is a great question because I do quite a lot and different people know me for different things. For example, in my local open mic scene, I’m known as a singer/songwriter. First and foremost, I consider myself to be a writer, and so I tell people that I write books and blog posts for a living. Sometimes I’m writing for myself and sometimes I’m being paid to write for other people. So while I am a blogger, that’s not the only thing that I do. I wear a lot of hats!
How much of a community is there around literary bloggers? For me, I think that it’s more that there’s an overall ‘bookish’ community. Most of the activity takes place on social networking platforms, so there’s a thriving ‘Bookstagram’ community and I myself make ‘BookTube’ videos and take part in the community there. Book Twitter is also thriving but I tend to avoid it as there can be a lot of negativity and there’s a tendency for people to go on witch hunts. At least from what I’ve seen of people talking about it on BookTube, even the people who take part in Book Twitter recognise that it’s kind of toxic at times, although it does of course have plenty of plus sides too. For bloggers, there might not necessarily be a community around blogging, but they’ll typically take part on another platform. For example, perhaps their blog also has a Bookstagram account and they drive traffic and engagement to their blog through that.
What’s the best thing about being a professional blogger? I consider myself to be a professional writer, of which blogging probably makes up somewhere between 30-50% of my work. My own personal blogs etc. do bring in some income, but only a small proportion. But they do allow me to charge a premium for my services when I write blogs for other people. I’d have to say that the best thing is that I have a flexible job where I’m my own boss, I control my own destiny and I’m doing what I love. It feels as though everything is aligned, so whether I’m writing for myself or I’m writing for a client, I’m pushing my career in the right direction.
What does the future of blogging look like? This is another good question and it’s a tough one to answer. I suppose that arguably the most important trend will be the diversification of the blogosphere. What I mean by that is that people of all walks of life and with all sorts of different interests will continue to be attracted to blogging, while new platforms will keep coming along to help power those blogs. Other than that, I don’t think anyone can really know what the future of blogging will look like.
What’s your favourite book of all time? Every time I’m asked this question, I say that it’s Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. That’s because it’s the book that made me fall in love with reading in the first place.
If you could only read in one genre ever again, which one would you choose? That’s a tricky one because I read across pretty much every genre. I’d probably have to go for the nebulous genre of ‘modern classics’.
Which new author should we be aware of? How long have you got? I read quite a lot of indie authors and there are some fantastic up-and-coming writers who have far fewer readers than they deserve. One of my favourites at the moment is an author called Charles Heathcote, who’s written the Our Doris series. They’re basically humorous novels following an old northern couple called Doris and ‘Arold a little bit in the vein of Keeping Up Appearances. I very rarely actually laugh out loud when I read a book, but I did with the Doris books.
How do you work with PRs and brands? I have a PR details page on my site and I’m listed on various media databases. I read all of the emails that I receive but I get so many pitches that I don’t reply to unless I’m actually interested, and these days I probably only accept maybe 2% of pitches. But I’m up for all sorts of things, from basic book reviews to author interviews, giveaways etc. I’ve also been lucky enough to go on some press trips including to York for York Literature Festival and to Latvia on behalf of the British Council to spread the word about Latvian Literature ahead of London Book Fair.
What advice do you have for PRs looking to get in touch? The best thing to do is to email me. Bear in mind that I get a lot of requests, too. In fact, unless a book is super relevant to my interests then there’s not much chance that I’ll read it, so it helps to get a feel for the kind of stuff I like. It can also help if there’s something above and beyond just a book on the line – for example, I still have fond memories of a PR from several years ago who sent me a hot water bottle to go with the book so I could get cosy while reading it.
What other blogs do you read? I actually don’t tend to read many blogs myself, but I follow a lot of people on Goodreads and watch a lot of BookTube channels. In fact, I think quite a lot of people who follow my blog actually mostly get updates from my Goodreads account, because I cross-post all of my reviews both there and on Amazon.
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The PRCA has announced that elections are open for the 2020 PR and Communications Council.
The PR and Communications Council provides a formal mechanism for the industry’s most senior practitioners to consult on the key issues impacting PR and communications. The Council – which acts as a think-tank for the industry – informs the PRCA’s strategic priorities and delivers best-practice guidance for professionals.
Elections are open to all PRCA Members, including those who have sat on the council previously. Members are eligible to nominate themselves, as well as other practitioners.
Elections will close October 30th, 2019.
Following the election, a new Chair and Vice Chair will also be chosen. Please inform Isobel Arrowsmith if you’re interested in nominating yourself for Chair/Vice-Chair, and submit a manifesto detailing your plans for the Council (no more than 200 words).
Amanda Coleman FPRCA, head of corporate communications at Greater Manchester Police, and current Chair of the PR and Communications Council, said: ‘I have enjoyed every minute as Chair of the PRCA Council this year. It has given me an opportunity to discuss the PR and communication issues of the day and the future with fellow practitioners from across the industry. It has been personally eye opening and very rewarding to see both the similarities and the differences in what we all deliver.”
To nominate yourself for the 2020 PR and Communications Council please email Isobel Arrowsmith at [email protected].
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Both the PRCA and CIPR have been awarded grants from the Government’s Business Readiness Fund to help the PR industry prepare for the potential of a no deal Brexit.
The PRCA plans to use its grant to deliver a programme of events and resources before the current Brexit deadline, 31 October. It will include legal guidance to ensure PR professionals remain compliant with the law after the UK’s exit.
Renna Markson, engagement director at the PRCA, said: ‘The prospect of a No Deal Brexit presents Public Relations businesses with an extensive list of logistical challenges. These include the management of personal data across borders to issues facing EU nationals employed by UK agencies. The PRCA will deliver practical information in a clear and digestible format to ensure the industry is as prepared as possible by October 31st.’
The CIPR will use its grant to launch a series of video shorts advising businesses on communicating effectively in advance of a no deal Brexit. Designed for a range of small businesses, the videos will feature PRs providing advice on general preparation related to comms activities, covering specific sectors such as Transport, Health and Construction as well as small and medium-sized PR agencies.
Alastair McCapra, chief executive of the CIPR said: ‘Most businesses in the UK are SMEs and many have not yet prepared for a no deal Brexit. How they communicate with their stakeholders in the final days before we leave the EU may be crucial to their future success. Our role at the CIPR is to help SMEs communicate effectively in these uncertain times; these videos will provide some certainty.’
The CIPR videos are being developed and delivered by Launch PR. They will be shared in paid promotion campaigns on social media between 16 October and 31 October.
Further information on the PRCA’s programme will be announced shortly.
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Last week, to coincide with World Mental Health Day, the PRCA and Opinium published research into mental health in our industry. The study found that 89% of PR and comms practitioners have struggled with their mental wellbeing and that overall levels of wellbeing in PR are lower than the UK average.
There are many ways to contribute to better mental health in the workplace, from buddy systems and mental health first aiders to no-evening-email policies and encouraging digital switch offs.
These generally focus on two of the biggest problem areas: not being able to open up, which ultimately leads to more pressure and stress, and the stress of workload creating a bad work/life balance.
Recognising the impact of workload on mental health and introducing effective workload management techniques
Offer mental wellbeing initiatives that enhance mental wellbeing and encourage their usage
Embrace mental wellbeing throughout the whole organisation
All three foster company cultures that promote positive mental wellbeing and help to create a space where employees and colleagues feel comfortable to talk about their mental health.
What is clear is that more needs to be done to help improve mental health in the industry and give it a bigger focus. Studies like this help to shine a light on issues and provide practical advice but ultimately, it’s up to the agencies and in-house teams to adopt these for the benefit of all.
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Relevance International has opened its third office in Los Angeles, California. The new location is the third for the leading real estate, hospitality and luxury goods PR agency, with offices also in New York and London.
The new office is strategically located between West Hollywood and Beverly Hills and will be led by director Victoria Del Rico. Del Rico is an experienced lifestyle PR specialist whose previous work includes press and social media campaigns for brands such a Piero Lissoni Associati, Acqua di Parma, Verono Homes and The Four Seasons in Florence.
Del Rico is fluent in Spanish and Italian, which brings the agency’s spoken languages up to seven, and specializes in foreign luxury companies looking to enter the US market.
Suzanne Rosnowski, founder and CEO of Relevance International, said: ‘With an undeniable synergy between the New York, London and Los Angeles markets, opening an office on the west coast has been an integral part of the global vision from the start.
‘As our client list has expanded to include projects and companies in the region, being on the ground in LA was a natural next step to further establish Relevance International as a premier global agency spanning reach into even more time zones – because media never sleeps.’
Consistently ranked in the Observer’s PR Power List as one of New York’s Top Specialty PR Agencies, Relevance International has a unique combination of boutique sensibility and international reach. The LA opening also marks the second anniversary of the UK office, which is now headed up by Fiona Harris.
It’s clear Relevance International is looking to continue with its current momentum, Rosnowski said: ‘Next, we’ll be exploring opportunities in the east – perhaps fairly far east.’
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The PRCA and Opinium has conducted the industry’s largest piece of research on mental health, which has found that 89% of PR and communications practitioners have struggled with their mental wellbeing.
The report also reveals that 31% of PR professionals say they find their job very stressful and 59% says this stress is caused by their workload.
The report reflects the findings of this year’s Mental Wellbeing Audit, which gathered the views of more than 400 practitioners. The Audit incorporates The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, which is recognised as a best practice mechanism for gathering data on mental health and wellbeing.
Francis Ingham, Director General of the PRCA said: ‘The time for our industry to take action on mental health is now. And this is the latest in the PRCA’s concerted effort to do just that. While it’s encouraging to see more practitioners discussing mental health with colleagues, far too many of our colleagues are still suffering. For too long, our industry has tip-toed around this issue but we now have an opportunity to take action and create meaningful change. Attitudes are changing. Conversations are starting. Let’s now enact the recommendations of this report to create tangible change for the future of our workforce.’
If you would like to get involved in the PRCA’s campaigning work on mental health, please contact [email protected].
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Marcus Jaye is The Chic Geek, cult fashion blogging sensation and author of Fashion W*nkers, a new book celebrating fashion passion. For Marcus, the title is a badge of honour and the book covers the dos and don’ts of making your way in the confusing world of style.
We spoke to Marcus about his book, sustainability in the fashion world and how he likes to work with agencies and brands.
Note: surprisingly, this post contains swear words.
How do you describe what you do to other people? I’m a men’s style blogger under the guise of my alter ego, The Chic Geek. He’s got red hair and glasses, a bit like me, but is much better looking and funnier.
Can you tell us about your book? My new book, ‘Fashion Wankers – It Takes One To Know One’, launches at the end of October.
Published by Ammonite, the idea is, in the age of Tom Ford’s ‘Fucking Fabulous’, ‘Eggslut’ and ‘Bollocks To Brexit’, the Fashion Wanker is the new fashionista. The truly stylish are the first to poke fun at themselves. It’s all about confidence and being able to laugh at yourself. It’s also a very British thing and what makes us leaders in fashion.
How did the book come about, did you pitch it or were you approached? I pitched it. I had a previous book in 2011, but I wanted to write something new. This new book is for both sexes and looks at all the different contemporary Fashion Wankers there are and how you can be a better one. Being a fashion wanker is a good thing; a style badge of honour. I wanted to do something that was great for gifting and would put a smile on people’s faces. The world doesn’t need any more boring books.
What was the best part of bringing the book together? Trying to squeeze all my silly and funny fashion sayings in and celebrating the ridiculousness of fashion, the reason I love it so much.
How important is social media to modern bloggers? It’s important because it’s your voice. It’s also your ears and eyes to see what is going on in the world. The only negative is the obsession with numbers and vanity side of it.
How significant is waste and sustainability in the fashion world? Fashion and sustainability are never going to be fully compatible, but there are many things to be done to reduce waste and close the loop on fashion waste and things that are no longer desired. People, brands and companies are making the right noises, but, like with everything, it will come down to the economics.
What’s your favourite item of clothing? Ooh, that’s a tough one. I bob along on the fashion ocean and am always open to try new things. COS just gave me a trouser/half kilt combo, and, while I was slightly out of my comfort zone, I liked it.
If you had to give one piece of style advice, what would it be? Don’t overthink it. Ask somebody who you trust and admire for advice. Sometimes it is about stopping wearing something – looking at you skinny jeans – rather than buying something new.
How do you work with brands and PRs? I want to hear about everything. I particularly like things that are new and never been done before, especially in grooming. You can’t be rigid in this business. What I like/dislike today will be different this time next year. That’s what makes fashion and style exciting and exhausting…
What’s the best collaboration you’ve worked on with an agency or brand? I really enjoy being able to come up with original concepts and ideas. The Chic Geek is over 10 years old now and I’ve done many collaborations over that time. The best ones are the ones which challenge you and start with a really strong idea. It helps if it’s fun too.
What other blogs do you read? The men’s community is very supportive and we all see each other at events and launches. I like the ones who have a point of view and opinion and really say something (even if I disagree with it!).
https://www.vuelio.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/The-Chic-Geek-2019.jpg430760Vuelio UK/uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vuelio-PR-Comms-Public-Affairs-Logo.pngVuelio UK2019-10-09 10:30:002019-10-09 10:30:00Men’s fashion spotlight: Marcus Jaye, The Chic Geek
Lemongrass Marketing CEO and Founder Mirjam Peternek-McCartney has picked up a few travel trade tools during her 19 years working in comms, which includes time at Mangum Management in Germany, working with US account teams for MMGY Hills Balfour, and launching Lemongrass in Oxford in 2007.
Now counting W Dubai, Lanserhof and Martinhal resorts as clients, Mirjam works with high-end luxury properties and destinations with a ‘360-degree’ approach. We spoke to Mirjam about how she and her team tackle challenges, the advantages of keeping it in-house when it comes to travel and what she makes of hotel towel art…
Having worked in comms for 19 years, what have been the biggest changes you’ve seen in the industry, and what do you see as the next potential challenges for PR? With the explosion of channels now available to consumers, the biggest challenge for travel brands and luxury hotels is to really understand how each of these impact the customer’s booking journey across all of those touchpoints – and to make sure they are present with messages that reflect the traveller’s intent and helping meet their particular needs.
Many hotels want to increase bookings in low season, and we have developed a proprietary methodology and process to identify potential bookers and capture their attention to achieve just that. A big challenge for the industry has always been how to measure what we do, providing proof of return on investment and how that translates into tangible business outcomes. With mobile and big data we are now, for the first time, able to do that – and that excites me! The shape and meaning of PR is involving and the future poses challenges – but I always think that along with all of those challenges, there will also be plenty of opportunities. As an industry we need to move away from a siloed way of thinking. Hotel PR, sales, marketing and reservations teams all need to collaborate more closely to ensure a seamless dreaming/planning/booking/sharing experience for the end consumer – the traveller.
Lemongrass boasts a ‘360-degree service’, with PR, sales, brand partnerships, and social teams – what are the advantages with having all of this in-house? It comes back to what I mentioned above. We are luxury hotel marketing experts – this means we need to understand every touchpoint of the vastly changed customer journey in order to help our clients boost low season bookings, find hidden revenue opportunities (often where our clients haven’t looked before) and then translate those business challenges into meaningful campaigns across PR, marketing, social/digital, sales etc. This means we have a core team across all of those disciplines inhouse, and expert associates in super specialised areas that we draft in if we feel it is beneficial to the client. Our integrated way of working means more rounded campaigns, cross pollination of ideas, efficient, flexible and agile working practices, and ultimately heads on beds for our hotel clients, all year round!
Can you give us a few examples of particularly challenging/difficult briefs you’ve worked on in your time in the industry? We’ve had some challenging briefs – of course! But interestingly, it’s never been the technical stuff. Challenging briefs usually had more to do with the fact that our values and those of the client didn’t align. We are fairly unusual in the travel marketing and PR world in that we speak the language of business and creativity, and always link the brief back to the core business objectives of the client. The clients we work best with really appreciate and understand that, and many have been with us from the very early years of Lemongrass Marketing, over a decade ago.
How does Lemongrass work with influencers and bloggers – despite some negative publicity around bad examples in recent years, how are these sections of the media useful for gaining cut-through for a hotel brand? Influencers are a hugely important part of the customer journey, especially in the ‘dreaming’ and ‘planning’ stages of their holiday. It’s interesting that only 18% of all travellers are set on a hotel brand or destination when having an ‘I-want-to-get-away’ moment. In those moments, people are exploring destination options and ideas with no firm plans – people are looking for inspiration. That can come from a huge number of sources, including influencers.
However, it’s really important to define what we mean by influencers (they could be micro influencers, for example). Influencers may not even have an online presence; they could be people with a golden contact book of friends aka future hotel guests. We work with these ‘connected clans’ a lot, too. Ultimately, you need to do your research, be clear on the objective and deliverable, and advise your client accordingly. We get an influx of requests from influencers on a daily basis. Having put them through all of our analysis, research tools and database, we then only work with about 2% of them.
Moving to ‘traditional media’ – who are some of your favourite journalists in the travel/hospitality space, and why? I always, without fail, read Sophy Roberts’ stories and the photography on her Instagram account is inspiring. Jane Anderson has an unparalleled knowledge of family travel, but then there are so many great travel journalists out there: Lisa Grainger, Jane Knight, Claire Irvin, Issy von Simpson, Francisca Kellett and lots of new talented writers coming through, too! I prefer straight talking journalists who know what they want and what they don’t want; it is easier for us to create tailored pitches and share stories that will resonate with them.
Many consumers will no longer stay in Trump-affiliated hotels, and chains owned by Brunei – what would you and Lemongrass do to turn around public opinion towards brands with a bad reputation? Do you think it’s possible to overcome political public opinion in the current climate? I think public opinion can be a force for positive change. If there is a problem at a hotel that needs rectifying, then you must be transparent with your client. It’s no good brushing it under the carpet, throw PR budget at it and hope it’ll go away. It won’t – not in the days of social media. So, while I feel for all the people working at the Dorchester Collection – those hotels are impeccably run by professional and hardworking teams – I think it’s high time some governments stepped in to review their human rights record.
What are your aims for Lemongrass over the next five years? As well as continuing on our organic growth trajectory, we are planning to become a B-Corp and are all incredibly excited about it. B-Corp is the Gold standard of socially responsible businesses and about creating a new kind of business that balances purpose and profit. As such, we are the perfect partner for sustainable hotels and hotel groups with a purpose and we would love to work with more of those.
And very important – what’s your take on towels shaped into swans on hotel beds? Do you think they should be in the bathroom? Haha! I like animals, just not on hotel beds! I am not a fan of hotel towel art in any way, shape or form. But I’d love to see hotel guests reuse their towels more. The cost to the environment of daily towel changes is astronomical.
The finalists have been announced, top guests are booking up and the final nominations are coming in thick and fast – the Online Influence Awards are just 46 days away.
We’re excited to announce that this year the Online Influence Awards will be hosted by critically-acclaimed comedian, Jen Brister, as seen on Live at the Apollo. Brister has recently released her first book The Other Mother and will be touring her latest show, ‘Under Privilege’ around the UK in 2020.
Later this month is the all-important judging day where our panel of experts will spend several hours, and numerous cups of coffee, deciding this year’s winners. The judging process is crucial to what makes the Online Influence Awards unique; we will never ask for public votes or make finalists work for their win, so every victor knows their triumph is truly deserved.
This year’s judges include: Lawrence Gosling, editorial director at Bonhill Media; Liz Wilder, head of financial services at Fleishman; Mike Harris, founder of 89UP; Scott Guthrie, influencer marketing expert; Stephanie Boland, head of digital at Prospect magazine; John Gregory-Smith, chef, author and presenter; Jo Parker, CEO of Chime Specialist Group; James Herring, co-founder of Taylor Herring; Dan Hudson, podcast co-host of A Gay and A NonGay; and Rahul Titus, head of influence at Ogilvy UK.
We’ve extended the deadline for entries until Friday 11 October, plus there’s no fee to enter and all shortlisted campaigns will receive a pair of tickets to the big night on Friday 22 November at the Bloomsbury Ballroom.
Tickets
We’ve also extended the deadline for our early bird ticket rate until Friday 11 October, so if you’ve not secured your place at the Online Influence Awards make sure you do it soon!
Best of luck to all our finalists and anyone entering the awards, we can’t wait to see you on the night.
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John Robertson created The Everyday Man in 2012 and it’s now one of the top men’s lifestyle blogs in the UK. Covering everything from art and culture to fashion and grooming, John has built a loyal audience with his honest and insightful advice for the modern man.
We caught up with John to find out what it means to be recognized as one of the top 10 men’s lifestyle blogs, the future of blogging and social media, and one of his favourite collaborations.
What does it mean for you to be ranked in the top 10 men’s lifestyle blogs? It’s a really nice feeling to be recognised for something that you love doing. When I started The Everyday Man, it was my hobby so for it to have grown over the past eight years into what it is now is something that I still find had to believe.
How much of a community is there around men’s lifestyle bloggers? I think the community is split into different groups dependent on niche and location. There are a few others who I’ve kept in touch with for a very long time and whom I enjoy chatting about projects and ideas with. This can be a quite a solitary job so it’s nice to have others in the same boat you can chat with.
Did we miss anyone? There’s loads of guys out there doing great stuff but I think you definitely covered all of my favourites.
What’s the best thing about being a professional blogger? It’s all pretty cool. I guess getting to test and trial products before they hit the market is very cool. I also love to travel and have been very fortunate to get the chance to head off to some rather cool places on work trips.
What’s does the future of blogging look like? Who knows? I hope that we’ll start moving away from individual influencer social media style blogs and more into magazine format again as I’ve always preferred those.
What’s the best collaboration you’ve worked on with an agency or brand? There are so many that it is hard to choose. Though I took part in a road trip with Mercedes last year over in Texas and that was a sure highlight. I got to drive an awesome car through some unbelievable landscape; it was extraordinary and I really loved the content that I gathered too.
What advice would you give PRs looking to get in touch? Email is always best for me. It helped to be clear of your expectations and wishes from any partnership off the bat too. I hate the ping pong back and forth and I hate contact over social media (Instagram DM) even more.
How important are social media channels to your work, will they ever replace the blog? For me the blog has always been and will always be my primary channel. Social is great too but I love having the space to really tell a story properly and find that easier on the blog itself.
What’s your favourite outfit? My style is super classic (maybe boring to some). You’ll normally find me in black jeans or chinos, and a white or black t-shirt. I recently picked up a new jacket from Belstaff as part of a collab though and I love it.
What other blogs do you read? I love Hypebeast as I’m big into my sneakers and they always have the news on the latest drops.
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Pulsar uses AI to analyse conversational and behavioural social media data to help brands understand their audiences and create impactful content.
It will join the Access Intelligence portfolio of products that enable businesses to understand, target and engage key opinion leaders according to their brand, product or industry. This includes Vuelio, the platform that helps organisations make their stories matter, and ResponseSource, a network connecting journalists and influencers to the resources they need, fast.
The deal will drive improvements in our capabilities, notably in trend forecasting, social listening, audience segmentation and evaluation including campaign attribution. The combined customer base will now include more than 3,500 global brands, as well as over 200 employees across London and the US.
Joanna Arnold, CEO of Access Intelligence said: ‘Pulsar is the best enterprise social intelligence platform in the market and a great addition to the Access Intelligence Group. This acquisition will enable us to keep our clients ahead in a world where influence shifts in real-time across multiple channels.’
Joining Access Intelligence will allow Pulsar to create a proposition directly connecting insight generation to marketing strategy and activation, while unlocking opportunities to reach new audiences.
Francesco D’orazio, CEO of Pulsar said: ‘Access Intelligence is an ideal new home for Pulsar, and their focus on SaaS makes them a great strategic partner to scale the business and expand our footprint in the PR and communications industry’.
The deal took the form of stock-swap between Access Intelligence and Cello Health, Pulsar’s previous owner. Cello Health will be retaining an interest in Pulsar through Consideration Shares.
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The job of your online newsroom is to become the go-to resource for journalists and other influencers who want the latest updates and information on your organisation.
That means your newsroom is the first thing journalists see when they interact with your organisation and making a great impression is crucial. To help you set the standard, here are seven things your newsroom must include.
1. Press Releases
Perhaps the most obvious, but it allows you to post all your company news in one place. Your news doesn’t just cover latest announcements but also background details, facts and quotes.
2. Media library
Journalists and bloggers need easy access to high quality images and videos to support their articles. Making this easy will save you both a lot of time.
3. Contacts
List as many members of the PR team as possible including phone numbers and email addresses. The easier it is for a journalist to reach the right person to get the information they need, the better your relationship with them will be.
4. Social media profiles
Including your social media feeds ensures any breaking news and current conversation is visible in your newsroom. Embed or link to your organisation’s twitter account.
5. Company information
Include a section or link to your company about page. Make sure it has an overview of the company, the work you do and your key people.
6. Search
Over time your content builds up into a valuable library of information. You can allow journalists to quickly pick out historical facts, figures and dates for their articles with an easy to use search tool.
7. Analytics
Knowing how successful your posts are can ensure you know what style of release or content is reaching the most people at what times and in which locations. Add your Google Analytics tracking to your newsroom to see where visitors have come from.
If your stats are lower than expected don’t be disheartened. The more important thing is that your story resonates with your intended audience through the coverage gained with journalists and influencers.
By making it as easy as possible for the media to source news, facts, quotes, background and high-res images you’re removing obstacles to getting your brand coverage.
Ready to make a great impression? Easily publish press releases, images and collateral of all kinds to an optimised, customised and integrated Vuelio Online Newsroom.
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What makes a good story to pitch to legal journalists? It’s not as straightforward as you might think, according to the panel at the PRCA Legal Group’s Meet the Legal Editors event.
No matter what industry you’re working in, the panel’s advice can be used by PRs to shape their pitch and build meaningful media relationships.
Like any other area of PR, know your audience and understand what they want Catherine Baksi said that as a freelance journalist she needs to know the publicationthoroughly in order to sell a story and PR professionals need to do the same – read several issues, know the audience inside out, and be certain that the story you pitch is what you would expect to read in that publication. When she’s writing for the national press, she’s looking for a wider consumer angle or impact.
James Booth also said his readers aren’t focused on legal intricacies.They’re in a hurry and have little specialist knowledge or interest in law firms so they want to hear about City scandals, pay-outs and financial angles, or huge court cases and appeals rather than corporate news. However, both Rose Walker and Eduardo Reyes had recently turned down stories around divorce law as their readers focus on corporate law, or are already clued up on family law.
What makes a good story for the legal press? Scandals;‘firsts’ like a ruling, case or failure that has happened for the first time; and exclusives, particularly if it offersnoveltyor controversy. Your story needs to be fresh and not something that’s ’months old’ or has been used recently, even in another publication – again this is where being familiar with the outlet you’re targeting will help. (Eduardo Reyes said if you can get a picture of dog in the story, that will help…).
The difficulty with good quotes James Booth said that he will often turn to a reliable source he can trust to offer quotes that are colourful, challenging or entertaining as well as accurate – and that this is easier said than done. Eduardo Reyes reminded PRs to brief their law firm clients that while accuracy is crucial,media quotes don’t need as much precision as when offering legal advice. Catherine Baksi also asked for novel, interesting and succinct quotes in plain language, from spokespeople confident about speaking to the media. Both Baksi and Reyes warned against asking to check quotes or headlines – both time and ethics mean this is impossible. Another tip was to remind clients to sound ‘more like a person than a lawyer’ and avoid starting quotes with bland clichés like “I’m delighted…”.
One audience member said that it can be difficult to get a client to accept their PR expertise to make a quote interesting and not just accurate. The panel suggested asking further questions can help to get an interviewee to say something in a different way and result in a quote that’s more punchy, non-genericand easy to digest – and ultimately one that’s more headline-worthy. Going back to your client and saying confidently ’this is what the journalist says they need’ can help.
What does ’exclusive’ mean to a journalist and when can you offer an exclusive to another journalist? This is all about honesty and clarity. The panel agreed that an exclusive doesn’t come with qualifiers – it means it’s something that’s not been covered before, in any sector or outlet, and you’re sharing it with that journalist or publication alone. However, you can give a clear deadline so that if they aren’t interested or can’t use it, you can offer it to another outlet. If you offer an exclusive to a journalist and they accept, you should commit to that or it can damage your relationship with that outlet or journalist in the future.
This also applies to your own company or client blog.The panel again agreed that you should offer news first to journalists, who don’t have time to monitor individual websites. If a journalist picks up your story (including appointments, reports, or opinion pieces) you’ll reach a wider audience than if you post it on your company blog or website first.
The mechanics of pitching Give plenty of thought to your email subject line – this helps a journalist decide quickly on whether they want to use your story (or find out more). This should contain the sexiest bit and the first line should sum up the story. Catherine Baksi said it’s important for there to be contacts available to answer further questions after you send out a story. If you’re offering a range of spokespeople on a topic, partners can be more confident and quotable than associates who may lack confidence, but fresh and diverse voices are also good for journalists.
Building a relationship with journalists All the panel agreed journalists are increasingly short of time, especially with the ’24-hour deadlines’ culture of online content. Email overload is still a problem and at the same time they’re monitoring social media for trends and stories and facing more scrutiny. However, you can support your journalist contacts by following them and sharing their content on social media (just don’t DM/@ them unless they say that’s their preference – a well-targeted email or phone call remains the best way to contact them).
Meetings in person need to be brief (coffee rather than lunch), convenient (near to their office) and have a point. Rose Walker said one hour out of the office can mean missed deadlines or losing the opportunity to make several phone calls so it’s important that the journalist gets something concrete out of a meeting – for legal PRs that could mean bringing one of the firm’s partners along.
Do:
Do read the publication you’re targeting
Do follow the journalists you want to work with on social media (and a retweet doesn’t go amiss)
Do support your client to come up with colourful, succinct quotes
Do ‘treat journalists like human beings and they’ll reciprocate’
Don’t:
Don’t ask to check the quotes
Don’t offer an exclusive that’s not exclusive
Don’t use jargon (either PR or legal)
Vuelio can help you identify the journalists, outlets and influencers relevant to you and your clients. This allows you to quickly target contacts and build new, lasting relationships based on a genuine understanding of what journalists want from you. Find out more.
(Image by kind permission of Byfield Consultancy – http://byfieldconsultancy.com)
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The Online Influence Awards are the first UK Awards designed to celebrate the very best in influence, insight and intelligence from across the world of vloggers, bloggers, Instagrammers, podcasters and campaigners.
Alongside subject categories, from lifestyle and fashion to tech and politics, this year we’ll also reward the best online influence campaigns from organisations and agencies. We want to celebrate the hard work of those reshaping public debate using the power of online influencer marketing.
Taking place on 22 November, the Online Influence Awards are the only UK awards for influencer marketing that combines quantitative analysis with peer review and as such becomes a mark of excellence that distinguishes the high quality of winners’ work.
Nominations are open for agencies and in-house teams with no fee for entry. The new deadline for submissions is Friday 11 October, download your nomination forms here.
The categories are:
Best B2B Influence Campaign Recognising the very best online influence campaign targeting B2B audiences in 2019.
Best B2C Influence Campaign This category rewards the very best consumer focused influence campaign in 2019 based on creativity and impact.
Best Cause-Led Influence Campaign This has been created to recognise the most impactful cause-led online influence campaign for 2019.
Best Content Agency The award for best agency with a specialism in online influencer marketing able to demonstrate sustained excellence in strategy, business development, talent retention and campaign delivery.
For inspiration, check out our top tips for writing award-winning nominations here.
The PRCA National Conference is taking place today with a number of big name industry speakers discussing next generation PR. But while future gazing was very much on the agenda, it was PR purpose that dominated the morning sessions as every speaker made it clear that without purpose, PR is at risk.
The PR industry continues to struggle with its self-identity crisis, with a need to differentiate itself from marketing, be valued for its strategic input and prove its worth through results. Purpose is an answer to all these points.
Purpose was one of four pillars in a lively keynote from Finsbury’s Roland Rudd. The others, Crisis, Social and Relevance, are also foundations of PR’s unique proposition but it is purpose which will help drive the industry into the future.
That was the view of the Stuart Lambert, founding partner of Blurred, who said it was about deciding what kind of industry you work in and what kind of industry you want to work in. He believes, as many in our industry do, that companies need to fix the world, not deplete it.
Lambert challenged the agencies in the room: ‘Have you asked your clients about the problems they face that we can help with? And if not, why not?’
PR agencies need to solve not just the problems being presented by clients but push them to solve bigger problems all businesses and industries are facing. He argued that we’re in an age of fear but it is PR that is uniquely placed to get us out of that fear.
True purpose pays us all back, and it is PR that can achieve it.
Purpose was in Dove’s global PR director Firdaous El-Honsali’s session under the guide of ‘Brand Do’. She discussed Project #ShowUs, a huge stock library of real women from all backgrounds and lifestyles, that is not a campaign but a commitment to create a resource the media and advertising industry can use again and again.
Like Lambert, El-Honsali challenged to room to push their clients and media contacts to use the #ShowUs photo library. Again, PR is uniquely placed to make a difference and a change in the world by leading their companies and clients towards purpose.
The Purpose of PR was the name of Ed Williams, Edelman UK’s CEO’s session. He argued that purpose was inextricably linked to trust, and brands and businesses needed to take bold public positions on the issues that matter. Words are good, but words need to be built on deeds.
Williams linked the absence of trust in modern society to the root cause of many of the world’s problematic political situations. He argued that people had lost trust in government and they now looked to businesses and brands to fill the void and do the right thing.
Trust has many other tangible benefits, from the obvious – 81% of people say trusting a brand to do the right thing is a major purchasing decision making factor for them – to the less measurable; Williams said that trust allows businesses to make mistakes and still bounce back.
Trust and reputation can be built on purpose and it is PR that is most uniquely placed to create purpose and push businesses into the future.
Next generation PR is purpose. So, what’s yours?
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The PRCA has announced 12.1% growth in 2018-19 and welcomed a record 183 new corporate members. Speaking at the National Conference, director general Francis Ingham also set out plans for investment in regional and national services and announced a new agency-client mediation service.
The financial increase takes the PRCA’s revenues up to £3.86m and is the twelfth consecutive year of financial growth for the association.
The PRCA is buoyant in its 50th anniversary year and Ingham highlighted other achievements in 2019 including 124 free-to-attend events since April; nine new Groups, including PRCA Channel Islands last week; 1,483 enrolments onto its CPD programme, which is up 80% year on year; and increasing its training programme offering from 156 courses to 170.
He then went on to set out plans for the future, which include:
The launch of a major and long-term piece of work addressing the client-consultancy relationship, and offering an objective mediation service for when things go wrong
New investment in Regional and National Groups, with an increase in the PRCA’s conference, free event and training offering in every part of the country, plus National and Regional coordinators to complement existing staff in Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Newcastle.
Plans to continue the PRCA’s recent work to merge with, or assume management of, other PR associations in the UK and internationally.
Ingham said: ‘2019 marks 50 years of the PRCA. We are today the world’s largest PR association. Our industry has never been bigger, more influential or more confident, and neither has the PRCA.
‘We take enormous pride in standing up for our industry; in campaigning on its behalf; in making the case for its ethical professionalism. And we have never done so with more strength.
‘Our plan for the next twelve months is more ambitious than ever. We’re going to double down on our investment in services in the regions and nations of the UK. We’re going to turn sustained attention to the client-consultancy relationship, with a new mediation service for the industry. And we’re going to continue our work to consolidate industry representation under the voice and the banner of the PRCA. All with the goal of speaking up for our industry as the ethical, professional force for good we know it to be.’
Carole King is top interior design blogger behind Dear Designer’s Blog. Sharing her design inspirations, Dear Designer’s Blog has trends and advice for anyone to transform their home. We spoke to Carole about the future of blogging, her style and her open invitation to PRs.
How do you describe what you do to other people? I tell them that I write about interior design and try to inspire others to create their own beautiful homes.
How much of a community is there around interiors bloggers? I met some of my best friends through blogging. Interiors bloggers are very supportive of each other. My passion is interiors but as a blogger you have to know a lot about everything – IT, social media, marketing – and most of it I have learned through speaking to other influencers.
What’s the best thing about being a professional blogger? The freedom to work on the projects that interest me the most. And it may not be for everyone but I like working from home.
What’s does the future of blogging look like? A very good question. If I’d know 10 years ago, when I started, how much the industry would change in that time, I wouldn’t have believed it!
How do you describe your style? It’s quite eclectic. I like bold wallpapers, and anything quirky. But I also believe in working with what you have instead of buying new all the time. It results in an interior that is very personal.
What’s your favourite room in the house? My bedroom. It’s the top floor of a town house so it’s spacious and quite indulgent. I have an en-suite bathroom and dressing area and I’ve painted the bottom half of the walls black.
How long do you leave a redesign before wanting to do it again? Almost immediately. It’s an occupational hazard. I can always see room for improvement, but time and budget restraints mean I have to wait a few years.
What’s the best collaboration you’ve worked on with an agency or brand? There have been lots, but I always love a collaboration that involves interiors and travel. My two passions.
What advice would you give PRs looking to get in touch? Just do it. I’m always open to ideas.
PR and comms professionals should be trusted advisers to senior management and the board in any organisation. In the CIPR’s latest #PRPays interview, deputy CEO of Danske Bank UK Vicky Davies explains what Northern Ireland’s largest bank looks for from communications.
Davies said: ‘A great PR and comms team is as good at managing your reputation when things don’t go well, as promotion when things do go well’.
Banking is particularly sensitive to the need for good crisis communications when things don’t go well as issues often get noticed immediately. But no comms team is immune to the need for preparation as every business has risk factors.
For Davies, good organisation and having a strategic approach for crisis is one of the three things she looks for in a communications team. The other two are calmness under pressure, and building and nurturing external relationships for the benefit the bank and customers.
The interview for #PRPays, which demonstrates the value of PR to the business community, also covers the importance of PR in the banking industry for branch closures and mergers as well as the essential role it plays for the business.
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Besma Whayeb is the author of Curiously Conscious, a top 10 green blog. A Green Action Ambassador for Defra, Besma covers ethical lifestyle topics so everyone can make kinder choices for the planet.
We caught up with Besma to find out how the conversation around climate change is evolving, her favourite campaigns she’s worked on and the Ethical Influencers platform she set up.
How do you describe what you do? I tend to introduce myself as an ethical fashion and lifestyle blogger, and depending on who I’m talking to, clarify what that means! At its core, my role is to share kinder ways to live that benefit the reader, the planet and fellow people too.
How important is social media to your blog – are any channels more important than others? Social media is half of my job – the other half being writing and curating my blog. I use my blog to share my thoughts and content, and social media to communicate that far and wide. It’s the way I connect with my readers and the eco community online.
Climate change is in the news a lot, do you think it’s getting the attention it needs? It’s great to see climate change being spoken about almost daily now – although I do worry that I find myself an echo-chamber prioritising climate collapse above all else. The attention levels are there, but what we need now is action.
What do you think Extinction Rebellion and Greta Thunberg have done for the conversation? XR and Greta Thunberg have elevated and changed the conversation around climate collapse – they’ve made it a priority, through very different ways, and with very different audiences. To see groups of non-violent protestors and masses of school children take to the streets to voice the need to prioritise the environment above all else shows it really does affect everyone, and we all need to be supporting the movement.
Who is ultimately responsible to make change? We all are, but I do worry that we as individuals are being made to feel responsible about everything. Eco perfectionism is not possible right now, when we need systemic change. Business and politics need to lead the change.
What are the most important steps people can take at an individual level to be more green? Assess what you can do in your life to make a positive impact, and turn those changes into habits. At the same time, share what you’re doing with friends, family, or even through a blog of your own. Speak to your local politician, and contact brands when you’re unhappy with their products or practices.
What advice would you give PRs and comms? I’ve been writing my blog for five years now, and while there is less in the way of ethical and eco influencer campaigns, I’ve certainly enjoyed working on many of them – from boutique ethical brands through to giant homeware stores. My best recommendation is to ensure two things are clear with any campaign: the positive impact and the compensation for working with you. Just because a campaign is doing something positive, doesn’t mean I can afford to work for free.
What are the best campaigns you’ve collaborated on? This past year, I’ve enjoyed working with IKEA on their Live LAGOM campaign – lagom means ‘just enough’ in Swedish, so each month I tried a new challenge to reduce my own impact (be it electricity bills, heating, or growing my own herbs) with varying success! It was a fun one to be part of.
I also recently went paddle-boarding and litter picking with REN Skincare and Plastic Patrol, which was so much fun, and made for a really great awareness campaign.
And for Fairtrade Fortnight, I created a piece all about Fairtrade fashion featuring samples from People Tree. It was something I’d been wanting to explore for a while, and I felt like it was totally fitting for a brand that does so much in the ethical fashion space.
What other blogs do you read? So many blogs. I compiled a list of 100 ethical blogs I love a while ago, and have since set up the Ethical Influencers platform, to support and showcase similar content creators.
What’s your favourite item of clothing?
How do you describe what you do to other people?
How long do you leave a redesign before wanting to do it again?
