CMA investigation

CMA investigates influencer marketing

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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into celebrities and social media stars who are not disclosing paid-for posts. If the CMA determines that influencer marketing is regularly breaking consumer law, it can take enforcement action and tighten up the rules.

The use of influencer marketing is on the rise; according to last year’s CIPR State of the Profession research, more than half (52%) of public relations professionals now spend most or some of their time working on influencer relations.

Ethics is a huge area of concern in influencer marketing, whether it’s not disclosing paid-for posts or buying fake followers to swell numbers – as Scott Guthrie, freelance influencer marketing consultant, discusses here.

As the CMA explains: ‘Online endorsements from celebrities and influencers can help brands reach target audiences and boost sales. Where influencers are paid or rewarded to promote, review or talk about a product in their social media feeds, consumer protection law requires that this must be made clear.

‘If they do not label their posts properly, fans or followers may be led to believe that an endorsement represents the star’s own view, rather than a paid-for promotion.’

As part of its investigation, the CMA has written to celebrities and social media influencers to gather more information about their posts and the nature of their agreements with brands and PRs. It has also welcomed contributions from the public, especially anyone who has made a commercial decision based on a social media post – you can contribute to the investigation here.

Industry reaction
The CIPR has welcomed the announcement. Alastair McCapra, CIPR chief executive, said: ‘Influencers’ endorsements must always be clearly labelled. The public have a right to distinguish between authentic and paid-for endorsements. PR professionals need to be aware that working with influencers who fail to declare a paid-for endorsement is a breach of our Code of Conduct.

‘PR practitioners have a responsibility to their clients, the profession and the public to place ethics at the heart of all they do. I’d urge anyone unsure of the rules to contact the CIPR or the CMA for guidance.’

In the recent Vuelio Webinar: ‘How to improve your influencer relations’, Anne-Marie Lacey, managing director of Filament PR and Debbie Sharratt, independent PR practitioner and blogger at My Boys Club discussed this very topic, explaining why everyone needed to be using the ASA guidelines and disclosing paid-for collaborations.

Commenting on the CMA announcement, Anne-Marie said: ‘As PR professionals, it’s our job to protect the reputations of the brands we work with. At Filament PR, we’re leading the way when it comes to guiding our clients through the minefield that is influencer marketing, showing them what best practice looks like and teaching them how to successfully implement campaigns that work, while still adhering to the ASA guidelines and CAP Code.

‘A huge part of building brand trust is about integrity and transparency when engaging with a brand’s audience through all communication touch points. We welcome the CMA investigation if its outcomes will be clear-to-follow guidelines that can be implemented by PRs and the influencers they engage with, allowing brands to build their reputation online without misleading its audience. Ultimately, this is in everyone’s best interests – comms professionals, brands, bloggers and other influencers too.’

Debbie said: ‘Working as both a PR and a blogger I am very aware of the importance of being both professional and ethical. Influencer marketing and PR is a hugely exciting discipline and brings many benefits to brands, organisations, bloggers and, most importantly, the consumer.

‘However, this developing industry does need to continually look at its practices and evaluate how they impact on its reputation and further success. I very much welcome any developments that make honest disclosure a simple process that is both clear and transparent, building strong relationships between all parties involved based on trust.’

The need for an association?
The investigation raises further questions over the needs for standards across the entire blogging industry, which would be much easier to implement through a centralised association. Parenting bloggers John Adams, of Dad Blog UK, and Tim Liew, of Slouching Towards Thatcham, have both written guest posts for Vuelio advocating the need for a bloggers association.

In John’s post, he specifically suggested an association could produce a code of conduct, which members would have to follow, that would include elements such as disclosing paid-for content.  Commenting on the CMA investigation, John said: ‘So long as the aim is to create a level playing field between print and online media, this investigation is to be welcomed and I would be delighted to contribute to it.

‘This is an area creating intense debate and interest among the general public. There’s a clear need for bloggers and content creators to be open and transparent. At present this doesn’t always happen, and it leads to a lack of trust. I hope this investigation will result in the production of clear rules or guidelines that anyone using social media on a commercial basis can and will adhere to.’

Tim, who wrote in his post that, ‘The individual interests of bloggers, brands and agencies alike would benefit from a body whose role it is to look after our collective interests, raise professional standards and support new entrants’, also welcomes the investigation.

He said: ‘I’d welcome any investigation that leads to pragmatic standards that are easy to understand for influencers, brands and consumers alike. As influencers, our relationships with our followers are built on authenticity and transparency.  Anything that helps to build trust can only be a positive.’

Vuelio supports the need for an industry association and a code of conduct that makes collaborations between brands and influencers more transparent, ethical and ultimately successful for all interested parties. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on Twitter @Vuelio.

Nursing Times

Interview with the new Nursing Times editor, Steve Ford

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Steve Ford was recently appointed editor at Nursing Times. Having previously worked as the news editor at the publication, Steve speaks to us about stepping into the editor’s shoes, the future of Nursing Times, traditional and social media trends, and going to the same primary school as Russell Brand! 

How are you settling into your role as editor at Nursing Times? What is a typical working day like for you?
It’s been great so far. It’s a brand I know well and am passionate about, having previously been news editor for quite a few years. Being in the editor’s chair brings new challenges but also lots of opportunities. We’ve got a lot done in terms of improvements, especially to the website, over the last couple of months. But it’s an ongoing journey.

My typical day involves many meetings – both internal and external – lots of problem solving and communication, some editing and possibly writing the odd leading article.

What are some of the best things about your job? What are some of the more challenging aspects?
Being the editor of a publication with such a rich history and feeling like my team and I are supporting a profession that really matters is a rare opportunity in publishing. It’s also exciting being the editor of brand that is doing well – touch wood – but that also has so much potential.

Rarely having enough time to do as much as I want to do in a day or week is a challenge.

What role does social media have to play in your work? How do you engage your audience?
It is a vital and increasingly important tool for telling people about our content and engaging with our audience. I, alongside the Nursing Times brand, mainly use three platforms – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I mainly use my personal Twitter account for work, but we have corporate accounts across all three as well.

What can we expect from Nursing Times over the next 12 months or so?
Our usual great quality clinical, news and opinion content – but with a slightly sharper, more campaigning edge and backed with more strategic use of social media. You should also notice increased integration between the different types of content that we produce, so that it complements each other. In addition, we might dip our toe into trying to develop some audio-visual packages.

Are there any trends you are noticing/can predict?
A tough question. We’ve been on a journey over the last decade from being entirely print focused to becoming very digitally focused, but now find ourselves using the two very much to complement each other. Whether this continues will depend on what our readers tell us they want, as with all things.

Generally, we are seeing social media become the new place where news breaks and engagement takes place – how traditional media adapts to this will be both interesting and key to its survival. Social media moguls could become the new media moguls full stop. It remains to be seen whether the tabloids will survive the transition.

What advice would you give to PR professionals who want to work with you?
Write me an email clearly setting out why you think your press release or other pitch is important to my readers. If I don’t get back to you after you’ve sent a follow-up reminder email, then take it as likely that it’s not the right fit for Nursing Times. Call me if you know me. If it’s a clinical news release, where possible include a quote from a specialist nurse as well as all the usual doctors.

What type of press material are you interested in receiving?
Anything of interest to nurses and the nursing profession really. That can be about a range of subjects – policy and guidance on workforce, education and regulation, or best practice, clinical research and local innovation. We are interested in writing and commissioning news, opinion pieces and clinical articles; but not really features or case studies.

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That squat bot

That Squat Bot – a brand new entry in the Top 10 Fitness Ranking

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Sarah Harradine writes That Squat Bot, which recently joined the Top 10 UK Fitness and Exercise Blogs. Covering workouts, strength training and Crossfit, That Squat Bot is the one-stop-shop for all things fitness no matter what your level. We caught up with Sarah to find out what exercises newbies should learn first, why regular exercise is more important than heavy exercise and why working in-depth with brands is the way forward.

What keeps you interested in blogging?
It gives me a real opportunity to learn and try new things, as whenever I want to write about something I like to research as much as possible, so my content can be used by beginners and more experienced people alike. In a weird way I miss researching essays for uni, and blogging helps me scratch that itch.

At what age do you think you’re fittest?
It depends – the age where you can balance out sleep, stress, strength training, eating enough and moving enough. For some of us this could be 21, for others it could be 61. So far in my life I was ‘traditionally’ fittest at around 28, but I was also stressed and eating too little! I hope my fittest years are yet to come.

How easy is it for someone to incorporate fitness into your daily routine?
It should be achievable for most of us to add in a 30-minute brisk walk or low-impact home workout into each day. Doing something consistently is more important than going all-out once a week or less.

What exercises would you suggest someone starts with if they’re just starting out?
I would always suggest you learn to squat, hinge, push and pull. Once you’ve got the movement patterns nailed, add some weight.

What’s your favourite healthy snack?
Mangoes, pomegranates and watermelon, or anything with peanut butter!

What one thing should PRs and brands know about you?
I also work in health and fitness marketing, so I like to ensure the campaigns I work on are fair for all parties involved. I also like a list of deliverables to follow when creating content for a brand – it prevents ambiguity around what the brand really wants.

What are the best collaborations you’ve worked on?
I have a collaboration coming out soon with a big running brand that I’m really proud of, not least because we spent over eight hours filming it in a very sweaty room on the hottest day of the year so far! I also absolutely loved walking the Camino de Santiago with G Adventures last year.

Do you think your relationship with PRs and brands is changing over time?
I find that I’m working more deeply with fewer PRs – I love doing as much as I can when I have a great relationship with an agency or individual at the agency.

Reach-the-right-influencers-with-the-Vuelio-media-database

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
I think that we’re certainly on the cusp of needing some set guidelines for the industry. Many new bloggers are taken advantage of by companies, and some bloggers use underhand tactics to try and get ahead.

What other blogs do you read?
I love Carly Rowena, Imperfect Matter, Keep It SimpElle and Break The Loop!

Sarah and That Squat Blog is listed in the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other blogs, vlogs, outlets and opportunities.

Daily Mail

Dacre out, Greig in

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Paul Dacre has reportedly edited his last edition of the Daily Mail, months before his supposed November departure date. The Press Gazette also reports that Geordie Greig will take over earlier than planned in the role, becoming editor on 1 September.

Press Gazette questions whether Dacre will be given the official Fleet Street banging out, as some mail staff are calling his low-key departure a ‘soft exit’.

The change of editors has created a big question mark over the future editorial direction of the Daily Mail – the paper is one of the most vehemently pro-Brexit nationals, which is completely at odds with Greig’s remain stance.

Greig, who has already left his role of editor at the Mail on Sunday, received a custom front page from colleagues, which carried the headline: ‘You lot Remoan here. I’m heading for the Grexit!’, as well as the strapline: ‘Remainer-in-chief Geodie Greig’s farewell to his troops as he rides to the dark side.’

The Guardian reports that Grieg will ‘only gradually tone down the strident pro-Brexit agenda espoused by his predecessor’. Grieg apparently fears alienating readers, who have, for some 26 years, hungrily consumed Dacre’s idiosyncratic editorial line. There’s also concern about the wider political situation, which remains uncertain, and Greig will be wary of heavily supporting a political position when it could all change overnight.

The Guardian also reports that during Greig’s leaving drinks, he praised his Mail on Sunday colleagues’ efforts as ‘tireless and fearless’, ‘imaginative and persevering’ and ‘collegic’. The Guardian suggests the last point is an emphasis on teamwork that has never been associated with Dacre and his hierarchical management style.

To help support his slow and steady editorial transition, Greig has brought a number of staff from the Mail on Sunday with him: Gerard Greaves and Tobyn Andreae as his new deputies; Ruth Sunderland as financial editor; and Simon Walters – the Mail on Sunday’s political editor – as his assistant editor. Walters is considered to be closely attuned to Greig’s thinking and will be used to assert the new editorial line.

Whatever Greig does to the paper, he’s likely to have Dacre breathing down his neck now that the latter has ascended to become chairman and editor in chief of publisher DMG Media. Though Dacre won’t be directly involved in day-to-day decisions (especially now he has sold his remaining shares in the company), if readership figures start to slip, Dacre will be in a strong position to oppose Grieg’s changes.

Influencer Marketing

5 Influencer Marketing lessons from Scott Guthrie

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Influencer Marketing is now a vital part of any comms strategy but getting it wrong can be damaging for both your finances and your reputation. Scott Guthrie works with brands, agencies and platforms to generate meaningful results from influencer marketing and recently spoke to us about fake follower fraud.

Scott researched fake followers and discovered that not only could influencer fraud be a criminal offence, but few companies seem prepared to deal with it in an effective way.

So, how do you get it right? Here are 5 influencer marketing lessons from Scott:

1. Don’t just focus on audience size
Sure, size matters, but is it the most useful way of finding the best influencers for your campaign? Scott says: ‘The relevance of an influencer’s following to your brand and key messages is more important.’

Scott discusses the need to comprehensively vet your influencers, judging things like tone of voice and their alignment with your brand values – as well as using all the other measurable metrics that may be helpful. If you use the Vuelio Influencer Database, you can use the Influencer Score that draws on over 40 data points to create a more comprehensive view of genuine influence, saving you a lot of leg work.

 

2. Use micro influencers
This follows on from audience size – just because someone is Insta famous, doesn’t mean their engagement rate is any good. Scott says: ‘Brands looking to encourage high engagement rates for their influencer work should focus on a micro influencer strategy.’

Not only are they more likely to have a more engaged audience, they’re also likely to be cheaper so your budget can go further and take in more influencers. A word of warning though, proper vetting takes time so don’t forget this in your planning stage.

 

3. Sponsored content needs to be high quality and infrequent
Many influencers on Instagram have found the official #ad or #spon hashtags, which identify paid-for content, have less traction and reach – possibly falling foul of the network’s shadow ban. Scott says: ‘The drop-in engagement rates is because the paid-for content posted fails to meet certain criteria’. The criteria are that adverts are clearly labelled (so the audience isn’t hoodwinked); the content is good quality; and there’s a ratio of at least 3:1 in favour of organic over paid-for content on the influencer’s feed.

It’s worth considering all three of these points when looking at a potential collaborator’s previous posts.

 

4. Pictures should be realistic and representative
Filters, editing and post-production look out! Scott says: ‘Image manipulation will be scrutinised more closely. Using post-production techniques that exaggerate the effects of an advertised product could mislead.’

Make sure your pictures are accurate because existing advertising rules from the regulators applies to content whether it’s on TV, in print or online. And if you’ve paid for the content, you could be responsible for its accuracy.

 

5. Prepare now, because it’s coming anyway
The influencer marketing industry is already rife with unethical behaviour, but this cannot last. Scott says: ‘A commercial imperative for tangible results from brands alongside influencers’ audiences heightened demand for high-quality content will force a maturation of the influencer marketing industry.’

He believes the future will only have space for social media influencers that produce thoughtful, creative content and the rest will fall by the wayside. Working ethically isn’t something you should see as a chore, but a means to build your influencer marketing strategy so it lasts long into the future.

 

Need help with influencers? You need the Vuelio influencer Database.

Five things you shouldn't have missed

Five Things: Alex Jones, online TV, Twitter Tories, Queen portraits and Ed Balls

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This week’s Five Things You Shouldn’t Have Missed includes a high profile social media ban, the rise of online TV, the very shy Tories, Australians going mad for portraits of the Queen and Ed Balls being Tased. Scroll to the end for that video.

1. Social media bans Alex Jones

Alex jones

Alex Jones, the far-right US conspiracy theorist who owns InfoWars, has been banned from nearly every major social media platform. Apple removed five podcasts by Jones and Infowars, a move which was almost immediately followed by Facebook unpublishing four pages run by Jones, YouTube deleting his account and Spotify removing all of his podcasts.

Of the major platforms, only Twitter has left Jones untouched. Co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted his explanation:

The other platforms all claimed violations of some sort against their company rules, often linked to hate speech or glorifying violence, apart from YouTube who banned Jones because he ignored a 90-day ban.

The move has sparked a ‘free speech’ debate in the US, where the first amendment is held in high regard and often creates confusion for people who don’t understand that the right to free speech does not include the right to be listened to.

 

2. Online TV use soars

Online TV

Nearly half of all adults have watched Netflix, Now TV, Amazon Prime Video or a similar service in the last three months. The data comes from the Office for National Statistic’s Internet Access and Use report.

The huge rise, up from 29% in 2016, compounds the findings from last week’s Ofcom Communications Market Report 2018, which found that the revenue for online TV continues to rise, now up to £2.3bn from £1.8bn.

Other findings from the ONS report show that weekly internet use is broadly the same year-on-year; the number of over 65s shopping online has trebled in the last decade; 25% of adults who use smartphones do not have smartphone security; and 70% of employed adults need computer skills for their job.

Oh, and yes, you do recognise the woman in the middle of the above picture.

 

3. Are there Tories on Twitter?

TM MP PM

MPs from all political parties are on Twitter, with nearly every MP having their own account on the platform. Some MPs’ party allegiance is easier to identify than others, which hasn’t escaped the notice of Gizmodo’s Gavin Whenman, who trawled through every single MP account to find out if they declared their party in their bio.

Nearly every party has proud members: 100% of MPs from the Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and Green party identify their party in their bio, as well as 91% of MPs in Labour and the SNP. In Northern Ireland, 89% of the DUP declare and 85% of Sinn Fein do.

So, what about the Tories?

Just 42% of Conservative MPs declare their party affiliation on Twitter. Whenman posits a number of theories, suggesting they keep it secret because Twitter abuse in the run up to last year’s election was mostly directed at Tory candidates, or perhaps they hide it on purpose in order to hoodwink people into sharing their content.

Whatever the explanation, Twitter is clearly now home to the Shy Tories.

 

4. Australians request portraits of the Queen

Duke of Edinburgh

Australia has official rules that allow citizens to request ‘nationhood’ material from their MP. This material may be an Australian flag, a recording of the national anthem or portraits of the head of state – Queen Elizabeth II. It seems this was a little known rule until a Vice story exposed it and now hundreds of Australians have made requests for portraits of the Queen.

MPs’ staff have been busy fulfilling orders that also include portraits of the Duke of Edinburgh. Tim Watts MP said most requests for portraits of the Queen were due to a case of ‘excellent trolling’. Terri Butler MP said: ‘I’ve been talked out of providing a photo of Beyoncé to constituents whose correspondence does not adequately particularise their request for a picture of the Queen’.

In other news, it’s silly season.

 

5. Ed Balls getting Tased

Ed Balls

Did we mention it was silly season?

Vuelio Blog awards

Get your tickets to the Vuelio Blog Awards

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The Vuelio Blog Awards are the biggest celebration of bloggers, vloggers, Instagrammers, social media stars and content creators in the UK. Taking place on 30 November, the Vuelio Blog Awards are now selling tickets, so get yours today.  

EntertainmentFollowing exceptional feedback from 2017, the Vuelio Blog Awards are returning to the Bloomsbury Big Top, a magical venue that promises to wow guests along with our live entertainment, death-defying acts(!) and the most delectable dishes this side of the Michelin guide.

Whether you work in PR, communications or marketing, the Vuelio Blog Awards present an unrivalled opportunity for you to rub shoulders with the biggest names and brightest stars in the ‘influencer’ (if you’ll excuse the term) community.

Last year’s finalists had a social following of over 18 million people, which is more than the combined daily circulation of every national newspaper and doesn’t factor their reach on their own platforms – the award-winning blogs.

Unsurprisingly, the event is a top trend on Twitter every year – so you’re guaranteed to be at an event that means something, with people that have the power to make you famous!

Single tickets are available as well as full tables of 10. Find out more about tickets and pick the option that’s right for you here.

If you’re a blogger, vlogger, instagrammer, facebooker, tweeter, snapchatter, pinterester, writer, content creator or influencer (some people do call themselves this) and wondering where you get your tickets – you have two options. You can either secure your place at the event by purchasing a ticket OR wait until later this month to enter the blogger ballot – which will be open to any and all wonderful creators.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns – get in touch or tweet us @Vuelio.

Love Island

Love Island USA

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The cult phenomenon, Love Island, is going stateside following the announcement that ITV has sold the rights to CBS. In a further boon to the broadcaster, the new series will be produced by ITV Entertainment.

The show’s appeal to international broadcasters is almost certainly down to its ability to regularly attract a 16-34 year-old audience; ITV claims the show was watched at some point in its series by almost half of the age group. The final episode, which saw Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham crowned winners, had a peak audience of 3.6m on ITV2, a record for the channel.

Sharon Vuong, senior vice president, alternative programming at CBS said: ‘Love Island has been a massive success overseas. It’s currently seen, or about to premiere in several European countries as well as Australia, and we’re thrilled that ITV has partnered with us to bring their most successful show to American television.

‘Having seen the reaction of audiences across the pond and around the world to this most recent season, we expect American viewers will be captivated by this engaging format. Additionally, Love Island is more than a pop sensation; this series has generated compelling ‘sociological think pieces’ in major publications here and abroad.’

As The Guardian reports, past series of UK Love Island are already shown on American catch-up service Hulu, where it has ‘attracted a cult audience and baffled interest from highbrow US media outlets’. The Washington Post decided Americans were attracted ‘by the Britishness of it all’.

David George, CEO of ITV America – which owns ITV Entertainment – said: ‘As a format, Love Island breaks the mould with high levels of viewer interactivity and participation that influence the content of the show in a way that’s extremely addictive. It’s a cultural phenomenon that builds anticipation with every episode and creates appointment viewing – a pretty hard thing to do in today’s TV landscape. We’re ecstatic the show has found a home at CBS and look forward to working collaboratively to engage its millions of viewers.’

Several foreign editions of the show are already running, or scheduled, around the world, all of which are produced by ITV. Love Island Australia launched this year and ‘broke viewing figures’ and became the ‘most streamed programme in Australian history besides sporting events’. Germany also has a successful version, while local versions will launch later this year in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

How to create an award winning campaign II

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How do you create an award-winning campaign that challenges consumer perceptions?

Creative PR specialist Tin Man knows how – as its recent win at the CIPR Excellence Awards shows. Its #ISeeMore campaign tackled the challenge of getting young girls to consider careers in engineering for The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

Join Mandy Sharp, founder and CEO of Tin Man, and Hannah Kellett, External Communications Manager, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, as they explain why the campaign worked, what it takes to win awards and what lessons can be taken from their success.

Award Winning Campaign II

Scott Guthrie

Influencer marketing: Fake Follower fraud, influencer metrics and #ad

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Influencer marketing is on the rise, with more money and interest than ever before. But as bloggers, vloggers and Instagrammers become established career options, how easy is it to sort quality collaborators from those attempting to make a quick buck?

Unethical practices exist throughout the industry, with both influencers and PRs accused of wrongdoing. There is also a great deal of confusion from brands over what constitutes quality ROI and why high follower counts don’t always lead to killer results.

Scott Guthrie is the former Ketchum digital director – influencer relations, and now works with brands, agencies and platforms to generate meaningful results from influencer marketing. Scott is also one the Top 10 UK PR Bloggers, writing about industry analysis, insight and best practice guides at sabguthrie.info.

We spoke to Scott to find out more about why buying fake followers could be a crime, what metrics PRs and brands should be using when working with collaborators and why #ad is proving problematic for the whole industry.

You’ve recently been researching how buying fake followers is fraud – what did you learn?
I learned three things from researching the realities of influencer fraud:

  1. Influencer fraud is more than reputationally damaging and ethically unsound, it might also be a criminal offence. If a social media influencer buys followers with the intention of misleading an organisation into paying them to promote a product, they could be breaching the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008. Acting in this way could also potentially be considered fraud.
  2. Influencer fraud appears to be new territory for the organisations I spoke with. Each spokesperson was very obliging and extremely knowledgeable about their specific area of expertise, but it appeared to be the first time they had been asked this question.
  3. The process is complicated. Brands and consumers have a steep learning curve ahead if they want to bring wayward influencers to book through legal recourse. It might be an easier approach to spend time in the effective selection, vetting and onboarding phases when finding the most appropriate influencers for their programmes

I dig into the topic in my article Influencer fraud could be criminal offence.

 

Why are fake followers such a problem for brands and PRs looking to work with big names?
Simply put: fake followers don’t buy stuff. At its core, influencer marketing works because, as consumers, we find influencers more relatable than brands speaking at us via social media.

The essence of an influencer’s power lies in their ability to either alter the behaviours or change the opinions of their following. If their audience is fake they will not have the ability to influence.

Of course, fake followers only become a problem when you choose influencers based on audience size alone.

Obsessing over fake followers is to look at the wrong end of influencer marketing’s problem. Communicators should focus instead on the impact not the outputs of their influencer marketing campaigns.   

 

How can you check if someone has bought followers, colludes with others or otherwise operates unethically?
You can weed influencers with fake followers by checking:

  • Sudden spikes in their follower figures
  • Quality of the follower (i.e. are their followers’ bios fully filled out? Do they have followers in their own right?)
  • Average engagement rates (separately & combined organic content vs paid-for content). Engagement rates either well below or well above average for the platform and vertical might point to bought or colluded engagement.
  • Followers in surprising countries
  • Amount of content published vs number of followers (i.e. high follower count but low content output)

Weeding out fake followers is just one part of a thorough vetting process. Vetting takes a blend of algorithm doing the heavy lifting augmented with the contextual intelligence of a PR professional to do the job effectively.

There is no denying that thorough vetting and selecting influencers takes time. But it should be considered in the long term. A lot of the time, effort and therefore costs for influencer marketing is front loaded. The costs decrease proportionally the longer the brand and influencer relationship endures. You get better results, too, when brand and influencer build trust over the long run. This is a win for brand, influencer and – of course – consumer.

 

What metrics should PRs be focusing on when selecting influencers for campaigns?
The metrics to focus on depend on the communications and business objectives you’re working towards. Sure, audience size has an impact, but the relevance of that following to your brand and key messages is more important. As is how both influencer and audience interact with each other through comments, likes, shares and other engagement.

Selecting the most appropriate influencer for your brand requires both hard and soft skills. Beyond metrics you also need to check their tone of voice and brand values. Do theirs mesh with those of your brand’s? Has the potential influencer ever worked with your competitor? Do they work with any other brands? If so, how many? I’ve explored how to vet influencers in earlier articles.

 

How important are micro influencers compared with macro influencers for different campaigns?
Average engagement rates on brand-sponsored posts decline as influencer account sizes rise. Brands looking to encourage high engagement rates for their influencer work should focus on a micro influencer strategy.

Also, while influencer account size remains the main yardstick for agreeing fees, a micro-influencer strategy gives you more bang for your buck. However, a note of caution: marshalling micro influencers at scale requires greater coordination and management from PR practitioners – and therefore cost. You also have to make a risk assessment when considering the thoroughness of the vetting process for each micro Influencer.

 

Many influencers don’t like using advert labels (eg #ad or #spon) because it lowers engagement – what advice do you have for them?
I get asked this question a lot. I am an advisor for CampaignDeus, which has produced some interesting research recently on Instagram posts. It found there is a significant negative variance when using an admarker on paid-for content versus organic content.

The variance widens depending on the admarker used. The most popular admarker is #ad with over 60% of posts containing this hashtag. This admark also has the lowest negative impact on engagement rate. Instagram’s Paid Partnership fares the worse. This hashtag reduces engagement rates by over 30%.

However, it’s my contention that, as consumers, we don’t have an issue with advertorial and sponsored content on three provisos:

  1. We don’t feel hoodwinked into thinking the content is organic — i.e. admarks are used effectively
  2. The content is good quality; it educates, informs or entertains us
  3. We’re not inundated with paid-for content – our favourite influencers produce a ratio of organic to paid-for content which we deem to be acceptable. This is probably no more than 1:3 sponsored to organic

The drop-in engagement rates is because the paid-for content posted fails at least one of these three criteria.

 

What else should influencers be aware of when working on paid-for content?
Image manipulation will be scrutinised more closely. Regulators’ codes require that advertising should not either mislead or exploit consumers credulity, inexperience or lack of knowledge. Using post-production techniques that exaggerate the effects of an advertised product could mislead. In an age of ubiquitous image filters and smartphone-ready editing apps there is scope for influencers to mislead consumers inadvertently or by design.

 

Will the issues of unethical practices between PRs, brands and influencers be resolved or do you think it’s too late?
Exposing unethical practices is great news for the influencer marketing discipline. After all, sunlight is the best disinfectant.

A commercial imperative for tangible results from brands alongside influencers’ audiences heightened demand for high-quality content will force a maturation of the influencer marketing industry. Social media influencers who produce thoughtful, creative sponsored content will do well in the new results-driven era of influencer marketing. The rest will need to find new careers.

Anyway, from a brand’s point-of-view what’s the alternative? We hate banner ads, pop ups and search ads.

 

Want to work with bloggers, vloggers, Instagrammers, content creators and influencers in the right way? You need the Vuelio Influencer Database. 

BBC

BBC spends £2.5m to hire PR agencies for licence fee promotion

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The Times reports that the BBC is spending £2.5m to hire six PR agencies that will ‘promote the licence fee and spell out the consequences of non-payment’.

The BBC has put out a tender for six regions, with successful agencies representing their geographical area. The regions are: London and the South East, Midlands and East Anglia, Northern England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Drum reports that the agencies will be tasked with ‘fielding enquiries from journalists as well as placing stories in local papers about who must purchase a licence by law or face a £1,000 penalty’.

The successful pitches will also be required to promote campaigns on ‘Twitter and beyond’.

The Times suggests the £2.5m is an unnecessary cost as it is the equivalent of 16,000 TV licences and TV Licensing already has a devoted press team, as does the BBC.

A spokesperson from TV Licensing said: ‘The work of the agencies and the BBC’s TV Licensing communications team has been proven to bring in more money from TV licence sales than it costs.

‘Those working on TV Licensing communications perform a completely different job to the BBC press office, including spending half their time on working with stakeholders such as money advice organisations to help people pay their licence.

‘We will, as always, be looking for the best value for money in the procurement and we have kept the cost of these contracts down at the same level for the last decade.’

Francis Ingham MPRCA, director general, PRCA, said: ‘The BBC is absolutely right to invest in agency support as it seeks to maximise revenue and to remind viewers of their legal responsibilities.

‘Money spent well on PR and communications activity delivers a significant ROI, and this commitment will undoubtedly repay itself several times over.

‘There is something frankly tiresome about this ignorant, kneejerk reaction to any public spend on communications. Not least as it comes from organisations and publications which almost invariably themselves have significant PR and marketing operations, and which therefore know that their apparent outrage is entirely fabricated and false.’

Diane

Lumiere sur notre bloggeur: Diane, Oui in France

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Diane is the author of Oui in France, the living abroad lifestyle blog. Originally from New Jersey, Diane now lives with her French husband Tom in the Loire Valley and writes about French culture and living abroad, as well as everything lifestyle from healthy living to wine and pets.

Diane spoke to us about the joys and challenges of living in France, how she writes for her international audience and the most creative ways she likes to work with PRs.

Why did you start your blog?
I started Oui In France in 2012, shortly after moving to France, as a way to stay in touch with people back home, share my experiences as a foreigner trying to navigate a new culture, have a record of my time in France, and just connect with others who might be able to relate. I wasn’t sure where it would go but figured I’d jump in and see where it would lead me. As time went on, I realised how much I enjoyed blogging and sharing my stories along with tips and cultural observations. I’m still at it over six years later!

What makes your blog unique?
I’ve been blogging weekly on the good and the bad of life abroad (and about lifestyle topics), and while my blog isn’t a personal diary, I think my candour is unique with the fact that I don’t romanticise life in France. In addition, I am not a student or someone who is retired or here temporarily on a long-stay visa. I also don’t live in Paris.

What was the biggest culture shock moving to France?
I think my first year or two here was when I experienced culture shock the most. Little annoyances would get under my skin like stores closing early or not being open on Sunday or just the way that French people cut in lines. There are so many little differences that took some getting used to and I’ve adapted for the most part. The annoyances are just a normal part of life now.

Beyond the annoyances, I think a big shock for me is feeling like an outsider – even years after moving. It’s something that I didn’t expect to feel so deeply. Although I speak French, I’m not French and being different isn’t always easy in a small town. It’s been difficult for me to make close friends and find like-minded people. But I try to keep things in perspective and look at all the positives life in France has to offer and do my own thing.

Diane

What’s the best thing about living in France?
That’s a big question. On the surface, I could tell you about the wonderful food culture; amazing wine, cheese, and bread count for a lot. Also, the fact that healthcare is a right and not something you lose if you’re laid off is a huge weight off my shoulders. Medical debt isn’t a problem in France and the peace of mind just knowing you’re covered is amazing.

But if I go deeper, I love living in a place that challenges me every day. Nothing is comfortable. From the language to the culture to the bureaucracy to even more mundane day-to-day struggles like when the pharmacy closes 10 minutes early just because they feel like it (when you really need a prescription), France pushes me to be better. Living abroad has pushed to be more patient and understanding and to prove to myself that I can succeed in a foreign land and go with the flow. The best parts are the lessons in self-discovery that I would never have learned staying at my job in New York City.

Maybe my favourite part of living in France is that I’m experiencing my husband’s culture first-hand and getting to know his home while having him by my side. Discovering new regions of France is something I really enjoy as well – especially Brittany which is a short drive from where we live.

Is there a blogging community in France, and is it French or American or something else entirely?
There aren’t many Americans (or English speakers) in my local area, so any blogging friends or communities I’m a part of have been online. Connecting with others has been a godsend and I’m so thankful for people I’ve met through my site.

How do you track your audience and write content with international appeal?
I use Google Analytics to track my stats and it’s been a great tool for figuring out who is out there and to see what content performs well. The majority of my audience is in the USA and I try to write about things I’ve experienced, so my content has a bit of an American slant. I am not sure I’ve ever consciously set out to write content with an international appeal. Sometimes the topics themselves will naturally attract an international audience. I think foreigners abroad – regardless of nationality – can relate to the topics I cover (like having an accent, or the dark side of expat life, or a shift in identity) even if I don’t set out to write for an international audience.

DianeWhat advice would you give someone thinking of moving to a new country?
Living abroad is a rewarding and a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so I encourage anyone considering a move to go for it but to do their research and figure out what they want most from their time abroad. Are they looking to move for a year and have an extended vacation or move more permanently, integrate, and work?

It’s important to ask ourselves the hard questions and examine our motivations for wanting to move abroad and then make sure those reasons are worth the potential negatives. Then spend some time beyond a week or two of vacation to get a real feel for the area you’re considering. Talk to everyone you can and browse forums and blogs to see what experiences people have had, good and bad. I can’t emphasize the planning and research stage enough. Then go for it!

How do you like to work with PRs and brands?
I’ve only started working with PRs and brands in the past year, so it’s new territory for me. I’ve had the most success reaching out to companies myself instead of going through influencer networks, which primarily serve bloggers in North America. I think for product-based campaigns, it’s sometimes hard for those of us who live abroad (even if we’re American with a majority American audience) to receive product through networks so I usually reach out to brands who might be a good fit for the Oui In France audience.

I love it when brands give creators the freedom to do what works best for their audience and recognise that there isn’t one specific way to collaborate. I’ve heard horror stories from other bloggers where brands micromanage the collab every step of the way, so it’s much better when brands trust creators enough to do things their own way and provide direction but don’t overstep. It’s also really important for brands to understand a content creator’s value and to pay us what we are worth.

What are the best campaigns you’ve collaborated on and why?
I loved working with Lazenne, a Europe-based wine luggage company, for a few reasons. First, they create amazing products that are a perfect fit for my audience, but beyond that, they were super laid back and let me do my own thing. There was no stress and the final post and video were a hit!

Do you think bloggers need their own professional association?
I don’t think they need it but it can certainly help. Many people blog as a career and any type of association to further community and professional development is a positive step.

What other blogs do you read?
There are so many bloggers out there creating amazing content, and I tend to gravitate toward bloggers who have a distinct voice where you get a sense of who the person is behind the blog.

Here’s a short list of bloggers I enjoy:

 

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Adventure is good for you: blogging the world with The Family Adventure Project

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The Family Adventure Project was recently named in the Top 10 UK Family Travel blogs. Written by husband and wife team Stuart and Kirstie, with additional contributions from their three children, the blog follows the ethos that adventure is good for you. We caught up with Kirstie to find out more about the trips the family takes, the perils of cycling along the Croatian coast and how The Family Adventure Project works with brands and PRs.

What makes your blog stand out?
The Family Adventure Project blog has always had a clear philosophy and reason for being – to encourage ourselves and others to get out and enjoy the outdoors together as a family. I hope this is communicated in everything we say and do. I am a professional journalist and travel writer, and Stuart is a photographer. The teens add their own talents including video skills, and we all aim to make the writing, photography and videography engaging.

What’s the family travel blogging community like?
It’s hugely supportive, and also very useful for planning a trip! Many of us have known each other since our children and our blogs were in the infant stages and constantly swap information about travelling, blogging and parenting. We have even stayed with family blogging friends in the States on our travels. I consider several UK family travel bloggers amongst my closest friends and even those I barely know feel like part of a close, empathetic and fun family.

It also helps that we have communities like BritMums and Tots 100 organising events and championing our work. Their conferences and award ceremonies have connected me with many like-minded people. And being part of a blogger collective means we can offer brands sustained campaigns and outstanding engagement.

Cycling

Where is the best place in the world for families?
We have been all over the word with our kids but there is still no place like home. The UK’s Lake District is pretty unbeatable in our eyes. Whether it’s canoeing to an island or camping on one of the high fells, the views are world class and it doesn’t break the bank even if you take the kids and the grandparents with you!

What’s the scariest experience you’ve had while travelling?
We have jumped into canyons, been shot out of water cannons and zipped across mountains but ironically, our scariest experience was cycling on a road. The Croatian coast in peak summer was no place for a family on bicycles; one of our kids came close to colliding with a bus while the other collapsed with heatstroke. On the same day!

Kirstie and Stuart

Where haven’t you been that you’d still like to visit?
I would like to travel to the far reaches of the USA like Alaska, where everything is bigger and wilder and lonelier. Stuart likes cold places and would like to see the frozen wilderness of Greenland.

What advice would you give families who are worried about travelling?
Take baby steps. Don’t try to do the whole world until you have comfortably done your own back yard. Get the children used to camping by having a go in the garden or your local fell. Take them on short journeys to see how they get on before flying to New Zealand. Like anything in life, adventuring is a skill, and it takes time to build up your confidence.

What one thing should PRS and brands know about you?
We think big, and deliver bold. We love to do ambitious journeys like our six-month cycle tour of South America, our IHG hotels tour of Japan, and our cycle tour from Amsterdam to Venice across the whole of Europe. We are about to conquer Europe again this summer, on an Interrail journey from home to Istanbul and Athens. 16 countries, 19 trains, five family members and five folding bikes. But then we enjoy the small stuff too; the glamping weekends or overnight camps.

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What’s the best campaign you’ve collaborated on?
Our #CastleHostels campaign has been shortlisted for the inaugural World Travel Market International Travel and Tourism awards in the ‘Best Influencer in the Industry’ category. Working with travel blogger Kash Bhattacharya and Jugendherberge German youth hostels’ association, we profiled how families can stay in some of the most historic and incredible buildings in Germany in locations ranging from rural villages to huge cities. We produced a series of free e-books and blog posts for two different sites as well as 22 videos, after a whirlwind summer family tour.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
I am a firm believer in group influence and power. Stuart and I were founder members of the PTBA and I am a committed member of the British Guild of Travel Writers.

What other blogs do you read?
My favourite family travel bloggers are Mummy Travels, Globalmouse Travels, Mummy’s Little Monkey and Mums Do Travel. For good budget travel information, I read Budget Traveller and Nomadic Matt. There’s some great inspiration out there and a big wide world to explore.

The Family Adventure Project is listed in the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other blogs, vlogs, outlets and opportunities.

SEO Tips

3 top tips for creating SEO-friendly digital PR content from David Fraser, founder of Ready10

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SEO (search engine optimisation) and its evolution over the past five years, in particular, has been a boon for the PR industry, says David Fraser, founder and managing director of Ready10, a digital-specialist consumer PR agency that works with Paddy Power and MoneySuperMarket, among others.

Fraser said: ‘I am from a consumer PR background and I believe very strongly that SEO is an absolute gift to the PR industry as it shows how effective our work can be. It is an evaluation gift. In some ways, I find it frustrating that not everyone feels that way, but, of course, it means I see great opportunity too.’

Here are Fraser’s top tips for creating SEO-friendly digital PR content:

1. Bring SEO into your thinking as early as possible
‘The best PR people are the best SEO people, but you need to bring SEO into your planning and preparation as early as possible. The best and most effective way to get to the top of the organic search on Google is with good, natural content that has an intrinsic reason to link and that also causes people to like and share.

‘The key is content and creativity – PR skills and thinking are a huge benefit in cracking both the ideas and the creativity. So the earlier the better when you bring SEO into your thinking; your campaign will be more impactful as a consequence. It can be retro-fitted but it’s harder to do, it’s not as good and it will cost more.’

2. Don’t reinvent the wheel – good PR is integrated and digital doesn’t change this
‘SEO and, indeed, digital should not change the way you work or think about integration. The model still works the same. The best work is always integrated and it’s better to have an all-agency solution if you can.

‘In fact, some of our clients are bringing SEO and PR specialists into teams to work together. It makes sense as you can get SEO in your thinking from the beginning. We see this in sectors, like insurance or gaming, where clients have an online transactional ‘reason for being’. In other words, their website is their lifeblood.

‘We recommend an integrated solution for PR and organic SEO. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.’

3. Write for people not search engines
‘As far as it goes on the SEO side of the equation, a lot of results are still driven by text and so this features prominently in a lot of our output. But, things are changing very quickly and Google is looking to advance itself through video, voice and image-search and all sorts of content. PR – to succeed – needs to use its ability to connect with people on an emotional level and convey its core message through great creativity. That can involve anything from video to podcast content. Everything has a role in the mix.

‘We never write for search engines. We write everything for people. Good content has to be new or news and has to be something people like and share. If that happens, then search engines will recognise its quality.’

Five Things: TV, Radio, Mobile, Internet and Post

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Ofcom has published its 2018 Communications Market Report, which covers television, radio, phones, the internet, online content and post. It covers a lot and there’s a lot for the PR, communications and media industry to learn from it – and plan their future strategies – so, without further ado, here are five things you shouldn’t have missed from Ofcom’s report.

1. TV

TV stats

Broadcast TV is in decline, with revenue falling for the first time since Ofcom started measuring it in 2012. It is down from £14.2bn to £13.6bn. At the same time, online TV revenue has increased for the fifth consecutive year, up to £2.3bn from £1.8bn.

The number of minutes being spent watching TV per day has fallen, as it does every year. It’s now at 203 minutes per person (aged 4+), down from 240.7 in 2012. BBC One is still the most popular channel, followed by ITV, BBC Two, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

Across the four main genres Ofcom categorises programmes into – UK drama, sport, soaps and entertainment – the average age of the audience for each is between 54 and 57.

 

2. Radio

Radio stats

Radio is still a hugely popular medium, reaching 90.2% of the population (since 2012 it has always been about 90%), though each listener is spending fewer weekly hours tuning in, down to 20.8 hours per person a week – the lowest on record.

While the BBC’s share of listening is down to 51.9%, it is investing more in local radio and less in its flagship channels such as Radio 2 and Radio 5 Live.

DAB digital radio devices now have a record share of adult listeners, reaching 63.7% of adults up from 57.9% in 2017 (and 44.3% in 2012). Digital platforms also, for the first time, account for over half of all radio listening.

In terms of age, 29.4% of radio listeners are 15-34 and favour commercial radio; 33.4% of listeners are 35-54, also favouring commercial radio; and 37.2% are 55+ but favour BBC radio.

One-in-ten radio listeners use a smart speaker, such as the Amazon Echo, Google Home or Apple HomePod.

Podcast listeners are also on the up, with around 11% of the population listening to a podcast each week. Two thirds of podcast listeners, who are generally younger listeners, are male.

 

3. Mobile and apps

Mobile stats

A whopping 96% of the population now has a mobile phone, but only 87% have an internet connection.

App usage is on the up, the average adult has 74 app sessions a day, each lasting over six minutes. For social media, the stats for the big four are quite varied:

Facebook is used seven times a day on average, with 18-24 year-olds accessing it the most. Sessions last on average just one minute, though for the over 55s it’s 75 seconds. While 71% of all adults have the Facebook app, 80% of women have it compared to just 66% of men.

There is no information for Twitter sessions but on average people spend 51 seconds each time they visit the Twitter app, with those over 55 spending 64 seconds. Only 37% of adults have the Twitter app, which breaks down into 41% of men and only 30% of women.

Instagram is used on average just three times a day, though 18-24 year olds use it five times. On average, adults are spending just 37 seconds on the app, though this rises to over 40 seconds for over 35s. The Instagram app is used by 39% of all adults, 47% of women and 34% of men.

YouTube is used in just two sessions per person per day, but on average adults are spending 85 seconds on the app, with 25-34 year-olds spending 103 seconds. Matching Facebook, 71% of adults have the YouTube app, though this is almost equally split between genders with 71% of men and  72% of women.

Unsurprisingly, the most popular apps are those categorised as communications or social.

 

4. Internet and online content

Internet stats

The internet continues to be the focal point for 21st century lives, with 42.42 million adults now regularly accessing it. For the first time in 2018, women spent more time online per day (206 minutes) than men (197 minutes).

A huge £11.6bn is now being spent on digital advertising, up from £10.4bn in 2016 and just £6.8bn in 2013. Paid-for search dominates this spend, taking just over 50%.

It is perhaps not surprising then that Google is the most popular site, with 41.9m monthly visitors, followed by Facebook (40.2m), BBC (29.5m) and Amazon (37.7m).

 

5. Post

Post stats

Fewer letters are being sent but more parcels are being sent. That’s the Amazon effect.

 

Did we miss something? Let us know on twitter @Vuelio. 

Mummy Travels

Mummy Travels: top family travel blogger Cathy Winston

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Cathy Winston is the mum who travels and her blog, Mummy Travels, was recently named in the top 10 UK family travel blog ranking. Self-confessed travel-obsessed, Cathy take the mini traveller with her all around the world, from sandy beaches (a fav) to museums and temples. We caught up with Cathy who told us about the uniqueness of her blog, how travel changes as your child grows up and how she works best with brands and PR.

What makes your blog stand out?
I travel solo a lot with my daughter, including long-haul trips such as South East Asia and to the Caribbean, but also short breaks around the UK – on the blog I want to show that anything is possible, whether you’re staying close to home or planning something more exotic, at any age, solo or with family. The blog has also followed our progress since I was pregnant, so anyone looking at our adventures can also see the differences between travels with a baby, a toddler, a preschooler and now with school holiday restrictions, including my tips and advice along the way.

I’m also a professional travel journalist and editor, with several awards for my writing, so I bring that approach and experience to my blog along with the personal element.

What’s the family travel blogging community like?
It’s a lovely community to be part of – very supportive, and wonderful to be surrounded by people who understand exactly why you want to keep travelling with kids, just how fast you can get itchy feet once you get back, and who are full of inspiration and advice when it comes to planning the next trip.

Where is the best place in the world for families?
I don’t think there’s any single best place – it’s wherever you love to be. We’ve been on city breaks, to museums, art galleries, and in temples, which aren’t necessarily considered family-friendly. And so many destinations around the world are hugely welcoming to kids, so if you visit with children, you’re greeted with open arms. Having said that, both my daughter and I love being by the beach: any beach! Although one with sunshine (and a bit of shade) and warm water to paddle in is a bonus.

What’s the scariest experience you’ve had while travelling?
The scariest experiences I’ve had while travelling with my daughter have been some of my ‘firsts’ – the first flight with her as a baby, when I’d been told so many horror stories (we were delayed but it was still fine), my first solo flight, my first long-haul flight. It’s easy to imagine the worst, but most of the time, it’s never as bad as you fear – and if things do go wrong, you manage.

My daughter also had a habit of teething or catching an infection on our travels when she was younger – nothing major but finding myself in St Lucia when she had an (at first undiagnosed) ear infection was worrying. But the staff at our hotel were brilliant, arranged a visit to the local hospital and within hours she’d bounced back to her normal cheerful self.

cathy winston

Where haven’t you been that you’d still like to visit?
So many places! I do love South East Asia and there are quite a few countries I’d love to see still – Vietnam is high on my list, as is Indonesia and the Philippines. I’d also love to go back to Japan with my daughter too, which is something that will hopefully happen in 2019. I’ve explored very little of South and Central America too, so Peru is another bucket list favourite, along with Costa Rica and Cuba. I’d love to see Namibia too, while Reunion fascinates me.

And I never say no to a tropical island – the Andaman Islands sound intriguing but pretty much anywhere in the Indian Ocean, Caribbean, South Pacific! For starters…

What advice would you give families who are worried about travelling?
Firstly, don’t be put off – despite what people might say, travelling with kids is an amazing experience. The memories you create together, their wonder at seeing the world, is worth every frustrated moment trying to fit all the paraphernalia in your suitcase. There’s almost nowhere you can’t go, after all there are kids worldwide – just plan ahead and take it slow.

My other tips are to start early – a lot of people are understandably nervous about travelling with a baby and leave it until they’re toddling, which is actually one of the hardest times to fly with kids. And don’t assume: you never know until you try – it’s easy to write somewhere off because you think it’s too hot, too far, too boring for kids. Try it, and they might well surprise you. Although a hotel with a pool is always a good idea.

What one thing should PRs and brands know about you?
I get hundreds of emails every day, so the ones who have taken the time to read my blog, to address me by name (rather than just my email address) and who have a specific suggestion, will always get prioritised. I pride myself on being very professional and I often work with the same PRs and brands again and again, so I like to build up working relationships, to ensure that the collaboration is a success for both of us.

I’m always open to creative ideas but sending a generic press release and asking if I want to share it on my blog is unlikely to work. They also understand that with a six-year-old, I’m limited to weekends and school holidays rather than travelling by myself on weekdays.

Because I have other freelance travel outlets, it’s always helpful if people are clear about where they’re looking for coverage when they get in touch too. And I’m not a big fan of tents (luxury lodges: yes).

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What is the best campaign(s) you’ve collaborated on?
The best campaigns always tend to have the same thing in common – the brand is clear about what they’re hoping to achieve from it, and any specific deliverables are agreed, but they’re also happy for input from my side, and to take my suggestions about what will work with my daughter alongside and for the blog’s readers. For example, I know that certain activities, late nights or a crammed itinerary will just result in a cross, tired small girl or no time to actually share my impressions, which won’t get the best results for anyone.

The actual campaigns have been quite varied – a drive around East Anglia with Hyundai, an island hop in Greece with Olympic Holidays, and two weeks exploring Cambodia with Stubborn Mule for example – but all fantastic experiences and a joy to write about.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
I think there’s such huge variety across different blogs and blogging niches that it might be tricky to have one association to suit all – one of the great aspects of blogging is being able to take a corner of the internet and make it completely your own. Things have already changed so much over the past decade, even the past few years, so with blogs becoming more important to brands, with the understanding of what influence and impact good blog coverage can have, I can see how it would have advantages.

What other blogs do you read?
Almost too many to list – as well as those in the Vuelio Top 10 Family Travel bloggers, I love My Travel Monkey, Wander Mum, Mums Do Travel and Suitcases and Sandcastles among others, while I’ve also loved discovering Travelynn Family on their amazing Africa road trip, plus Otis & Us and Dais Like These more recently.

 

Cathy and her blog are both listed in the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other bloggers, vloggers, journalists and opportunities.

Award winning

Award-winning campaigns webinar: Insight and engagement are key elements in successful campaigns

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Clear insight into your target audiences and ensuring you have the ability to engage them with your core messages are essential elements in successful campaigns, said Mandy Sharp, founder and CEO of creative PR agency Tin Man and Hannah Kellett, external communications manager at The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), in our recent webinar on Award-winning Campaigns.

In the webinar, Sharp and Kellett explained the success of the 2017 #ISeeMore campaign. The campaign was a digital and social-led campaign aimed at encouraging more people, particularly girls and teenagers, to consider engineering as a career. Impressive results, including the finding that they raised the percentage of 9-12 year-olds considering engineering as a career from 31% to 78%, has meant that not only was The IET happy with the campaign and has renewed Tin Man’s services for 2018, but #ISeeMore has also picked up a number of awards, including winning the STEM campaign category at the CIPR’s Excellence Awards. 

Here are four elements that make an award-winning campaign:

The power of influencers
‘Young people believe what they say and they follow them for a reason’, said Kellett who acknowledged the importance of influencers, such as Lauren Platt, the presenter and singer, to the campaign. Five YouTube and Instagram influencers were chosen and the idea was that they would create content after going behind the scenes to find out more about the engineering behind popular brands, such as Twitter, Shazam and The Harry Potter Studio Tour.

These are not the only influencers that are important for young people, of course. Kellett added: ‘We have to make sure we are targeting parents too, as they are young kids’ biggest influences.’

Emotional engagement is key
‘We had to engage tweens and teens emotionally about engineering’, said Sharp. The idea was that lots of the brands teens engage with on a daily basis have engineering at their heart. ‘We wanted to talk to teenagers in a way that resonates with them.’

This also meant that the campaign did not just involve influencers finding out about engineering, it wanted to get ‘kids to engage and experience it for themselves’. In partnership with Cadburys/Mondelez, children were invited to ‘engineer’ their own chocolate bar in a competition with more than 200 entries. The winning design, selected by judges including Andy Smyth, engineer and GBBO star, was the Rocket Fuel chocolate bar.

Build on past success
The IET has been running an annual Engineering Open House Day ‘to showcase the really cool’ aspects of engineering but the 2017 campaign saw a host of new venues – a total of 44 – and more than 3,000 attendees across the UK. ‘Watch this space,’ said Sharp as the IET’s new campaign launches later this week (3 August).

Apart from ensuring a successful campaign, Sharp was asked – considering its award-winning status – what makes an award-winning entry. ‘Make your entries interesting to read,’ she said. ‘You have got to make them engaging and, as a judge, you read hundreds of entries. You need to explain the insight and reasoning behind the campaign and explain the background of why you did it. You need to do something interesting and creative, and, of course, share some results.’

Know your budget
One of the most popular questions from the webinar asked how much the budget was and how it broke down into each element. A year-long campaign of this size can be delivered for under £100k. Looking at specific elements, you can expect to pay vloggers between £1-4k each (but this will depend on target reach, how long you want the videos promoted for, etc). Commissioning research to give stories newsworthy results can cost anything between £3k-7k.  Working with talent can come with a price tag too – this heavily depends on who they are and how close they are to the cause. Post-campaign evaluation is a must, especially for Awards submissions, and this can cost anything in the region of £1-5k, depending again on whether you need to commission a survey or can build an evaluation process into an event.

 

If you would like to work with influencers, bloggers or vloggers, check out the Vuelio Influencer Database. The recording of this webinar will be available next week. 

Karen beddow

Spotlight on family travel blog Mini Travellers

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Mini Travellers is the family travel blog written by mother-of-three Karen Beddow. Recently ranked in the top 10 in the UK, Mini Travellers charts the Beddow family’s travels from Wales to Rwanda. We recently caught up with Karen to learn about her scary close encounter with a mountain gorilla, advice for families that want to travel and how she likes to work on creative campaigns.

What’s the family travel blogging community like?
Genuinely incredibly supportive, I have some wonderful friends that I’ve made over the last few years and was lucky enough to spend a long weekend with a lot of them in Tuscany at the beginning of this year.

Where is the best place in the world for families?
A really hard question to answer as I think that’s different for every family. For us its Greece and Africa!

What’s the scariest experience you’ve had while travelling?
Well this encounter with a huge mountain gorilla comes pretty high up!

Where haven’t you been that you’d still like to visit?
Too many places but Japan, Zambia, Vietnam, Chile and Argentina are really high up my list.

What advice would you give families who are worried about travelling?
Read up on where you are going (there are so many articles, blogs, reviews out there these days) and ask questions. Many people will be happy to reply to you and help reassure you about where you are thinking of going.

I also always think that the journey will be worth it. You just need to take the first step. Our family motto is in the words of Mark Twain to explore, dream, discover.

What one thing should PRs and brands know about you?
We love to try lots of new experiences, we love an adventure and will always cover the trip in an honest and fun way. We love to make video and our Facebook videos, which are getting some really good traffic at the moment.

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What is the best campaign you’ve collaborated on?
It has to be the collaboration I did with Malawi Tourism at Easter this year as we just saw some incredible places and had a wonderful 14-day adventure as a family. I do, however, work very closely with Simpson Travel too and have worked with them over the last four years to develop their family offering.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
I do think it would be a really good idea but I know that there have been people that have tried and there doesn’t seem to be one that is overwhelmingly the one to be part of.

What other blogs do you read?
Lots and lots. I genuinely read loads, but some of my favourite travel blogs are The Travel Hack and Cruising With Kids.

Karen and her blog are both listings in the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other bloggers, vloggers, journalists and opportunities.

Claire Hall

The top family travel blog in the UK: Tin Box Traveller

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Tin Box Traveller has just been named the number one family travel blog in the UK. Written by Claire Hall, the blog follows the adventures of the Tin Box family as they travel around the UK and Europe experiencing everything from holiday homes and spas to the best beaches and cruises! We spoke to Claire about the joy of staycations, the amazing family travel blogging community and the best campaign she’s worked on.

What makes your blog stand out?
I think my blog represents achievable travel for everyone. I focus on the UK and Europe because that’s what our travel budget and limited days off work can stretch to. I also seriously love writing. My blog has turned from hobby into a business thanks to my experience in journalism and PR. I enjoy trying out new ways of sharing our adventures in video and on social media to reach new audiences.

What’s the family travel blogging community like?
Amazing! I’ve made some lifelong friends in the blogging community and even discovered a long-lost cousin (Carrie who writes Flying with a Baby) over a few glasses of wine at a networking event. Everyone is so supportive and keen to see each other succeed.

Where is the best place in the world for families?
There’s no place like home! I’m a great believer in staycations and, with so many people feeling the pinch since the Brexit referendum, why not consider a holiday in the UK? There are some incredible destinations like the Lake District, Peak District and Wales where families with older kids can find adventure and the South West is wonderful for beach holidays with children of all ages.

Tin Box Family

What’s the scariest experience you’ve had while travelling?
We’re lucky not to have had any major dramas while travelling with our kids. But one occasion when my heart was in my mouth was a late-night taxi journey from Barcelona airport into the city with my then 13-month-old baby on my lap and arm around my then three-year-old to hold her down. Our driver had a very heavy right foot and thought he was on Circuit de Barcelona. We’ve flown with car seats ever since.

Where haven’t you been that you’d still like to visit?
I’d love to do a road trip around Scotland with our caravan. Croatia is also high up my wish list, as are the Isles of Scilly and Porto in Portugal.

What advice would you give families who are worried about travelling?
It’s really not as scary as it seems. Take the advice of people who have visited a destination before you. Family travel blogs are a great source of information and tips. Most importantly, make sure you give yourself plenty of time, work around your kids’ normal routines and know that children are adaptable.

What one thing should PRs and brands know about you?
As well as running my blog I also work in the PR industry so I understand they have to deliver against targets. I can help get the right results when I know the campaign messages and objectives.

Claire Hall

What is the best campaign you’ve collaborated on?
This year I worked with Parkdean Resorts on their #CoastalAdventures campaign to create blog, YouTube and social media content highlighting the brilliant things to do close to one of their holiday resorts on the Isle of Wight. It was great fun to film and we managed to get three generations of my family involved, including our dog. I’ve had some excellent feedback on the content and from The Home Agency who ran the campaign.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
Yes and I think that a lot of people who have taken their blog beyond being just a hobby would say the same. The time has come for more robust guidance and support for the blogging community, giving bloggers the recognition they deserve and standards to uphold if they want to be treated as digital professionals.

What other blogs do you read?
There’s too many to mention but I love reading about the amazing experiences of TraveLynn Family, the world-wide adventures of Go Live Young and scrolling through the gorgeous travel photos on Otis & Us.

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Nichola West

Interview with leading family travel blog: Globalmouse Travels

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Nichola West writes Globalmouse Travels, which was recently ranked in the Top 10 UK Family Travel Blogs. Travelling off the beaten track and giving her audience a taste of adventure, Nichola explores the world with her family of five. In this interview, Nichola tells us about the best places in the world, working with brands and PRs and exploring the unexpected family-friendly side of global travel.

What makes your blog stand out?
We always say we don’t like being tourists, so we get off the beaten track and search out the unusual. We love to turn any destination in to a family-friendly one and we really enjoy trying out places that aren’t seen as being particularly family friendly, such as Russia, and showing how much fun you can have there. We love taking our readers on the journey with us and the quality of our output is really important to everything we do.

What’s the family travel blogging community like?
It’s lovely, the family travel blogging community is so friendly and supportive. I love working on campaigns with fellow bloggers and there are a group of us that work together to increase our reach and drive results for the brands we’re working with, which works really well. It’s a very collaborative place.

Where is the best place in the world for families?
Oh gosh that’s so hard. Our favourite country so far has been Oman as it felt like it had everything – stunning beach resorts, forts and castles to climb, nomadic camps in the desert to spend the night in and turtles hatching on the beach! And best of all, it was such a friendly country. Every time I travel to somewhere new I think it’s the best place though, we’re just back from Aruba and I had serious pangs of wanting to live there as it has the coolest, laid back lifestyle.

Nichola West

What’s the scariest experience you’ve had while travelling?
Thankfully I haven’t had any really scary experiences but one of the more unpleasant experiences was taking a night train through Vietnam when my then four-year-old spotted a ‘squirrel’ in the carriage with us (after he described it there was no doubt he’d seen a large rat). We could hear it scuttling about and I spent the rest of the night with a sheet over my head, despite the heat, wishing the time would past faster as I was so worried it was going to jump on me.

Where haven’t you been that you’d still like to visit?
There are so many places I still really want to visit from Namibia to Costa Rica and the Philippines to Texas. My three children absolutely adore travelling too and get so excited when we’re planning a new trip and are starting to come up with their own requests (including New York and the Maldives) so we still have lots to see and do.

What advice would you give families who are worried about travelling?
I would say start small but most of all just start. It’s easy to build up travelling with children as something that’s daunting but you soon realise how adaptable kids are and also how wonderful it is to see the world through their eyes. The welcome we receive, around the world, when travelling with kids is always so warm and children really help to break down barriers. Just book that first trip and I have no doubt it will be the start of something wonderful for you and your family.

What one thing should PRs and brands know about you?
I’d like PRs and brands to know that I love writing and storytelling and spend time crafting the pieces I put out. It isn’t simply about snapping a few photos and video clips and putting some words down, for me it’s about really taking my readers on a journey with us, to make destinations come alive. From everywhere we travel we have people booking trips based on our reviews so it’s really important to me to put the time and care in to everything we do as I think travel blogging holds real responsibility to its readers. So, I would say it’s important for us to make sure that everything we are doing is authentic and that we can have some input to help direct the trip to things we know we will love and that our readers will love too.

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What are the best campaigns you’ve collaborated on?
We’ve been lucky enough to work on some amazing campaigns. I’ve got a great relationship with Universal Orlando Resort and have worked with them on some really fun trips, which have also allowed us to explore different areas of the USA (Georgia, for example, was beautiful) so they have been wonderful to work with. I also adore Crystal Ski who really understand that we want to visit different, interesting places and we have a shared vision of making skiing more accessible for families, so I absolutely love working with them. Some of the smaller campaigns have also been fun, a beautiful winter trip to Ayrshire last year felt quite magical and stands out as being really memorable.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
Yes, I think that would be great. I think to have guidance on things like privacy policies and even standardise the rates to some extent would really help.

What other blogs do you read?
I love reading blogs, from the beautiful Tigerlilly Quin to more family travel inspiration with Mums do travel. I love checking in with Five Adventurers, The Family Adventure Project, My Travel Monkey, mummytravels and the Pigeon Pair and Me amongst many others.

Nichola West and Globalmouse Travels are both listings in the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other bloggers, vloggers, journalists and opportunities.