Blog Posts - Vuelio

The charity sector – a gift to the PR industry

May 8, 2017/0 Comments/in PR, Charity, PR Club Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

The charity sector is a gift to budding PR pros and content marketers. Unlike other “business” sectors where content might yield very little “human interest”, the content available to the charity sector almost writes itself. In fact, I would go as far as saying, if you work in the charity sector and you struggle to find anything to write about, your organisation is probably built on very shaky charitable foundations.

The very best PR and content marketing pros understand that comms work at their very best when they address and solve very real problems for their target audience. As most charities aim to alleviate a particular problem within their specific community – the inspiration for press releases, blog posts, social media and email marketing campaigns is everywhere. In fact, having too much to write about might be a bigger problem.

Online fundraising organisation JustGiving understand the potential PR opportunities just bubbling under the surface of their clients’ campaigns and have recently hired Rooster PR to “identify and amplify” human interest stories posted on their site.

Rooster’s MD, James Brooke, told journalists at PR Week: “JustGiving is an inspirational company that helps people raise money for a wide range of deserving causes. We’re proud to have been appointed to help them showcase what an incredible impact their crowdfunding pages can make on peoples’ lives.”

The agency has already worked on a number of high-profile campaigns, including the handling of the campaign for PC Keith Palmer, who was killed during the Westminster terror attack in April. The campaign to date has raised more than £736,000.

There are PR pros out there, reading this blog post who look after clients that manufacture all sorts dull, boring and uninspiring products (industrial widgets – anyone?). I’m sure they would love a few of the benefits afforded to those who work in the charity sector.

What advice would you give to PR professional in the charity sector? How much could a little more “human interest” aid your organisation’s PR output?

PR Spotlight: Alison Dagwell, Digital Mums

May 5, 2017/0 Comments/in PR, PR Spotlight Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Launched in 2014, by Nikki Cochrane and Kathryn Tyler, Digital Mums specialises in getting mums job-ready with in-demand social media and digital skills, so they can find rewarding roles that sync with family life. In this spotlight, Ali Dagwell, co-head of storytelling at Digital Mums chats to us about her 15-year long career in PR, crisis management, working on campaigns that empower new mothers, and why flexible working hours for women with children is important.

Can you talk a little bit about your professional background and how you became the co-head of storytelling for Digital Mums? I’ve worked in PR for over 15 years, starting off agency side at Cohn & Wolfe and then Fever PR, where I was lucky enough to work on big brand campaigns for clients including O2, Amazon, Sky+ and Smart cars. I then moved out of London for a few years and went in-house at Thomas Cook. As well as gaining an understanding of the role PR properly plays within a business, I was given a crash-course (excuse the pun) in crisis management thanks to 2am calls from Sky News and BBC about major world events including the volcanic ash cloud and Tunisian riots. It gave me a broader view of PR and showed me how PR is very much a customer information tool as well as a brand awareness driver. The Press Association very quickly became a favourite in my phone contacts.

I then put those crisis management skills to work in-house at Wonga after the birth of my first daughter. I can honestly say it was one of the best teams I’ve worked in and toughened my PR skin!

I came to work at Digital Mums as my eldest daughter was starting school last September and I made the New Year’s Resolution to find a flexible role that would allow me to be at the school gates both ends of the day. Much harder to achieve it seems than giving up alcohol or chocolate! I heard about the Digital Mums training from a friend and was going to apply to take part in the Social Media Marketing: Associate Programme, which is designed specifically for mums from a Marketing, PR or comms background and matches you with a live business, much like a (digital) apprenticeship. I then saw the role for Head of Storytelling advertised and here I am almost 12 months in!

What do you most like about working as the co-head of storytelling for Digital Mums? And what are the challenges? I love everything about working at Digital Mums. As a small business, I get stuck into all areas of the comms business, from email marketing and social media to blogs and traditional PR. I love working for a brand that I totally relate to and have personally gone through the challenges that we are fighting to change. The team culture is also amazing. Although 31 of the 35 employees work remotely or part-time, culture is a huge part of Digital Mums and there’s just as much banter as I had agency-side, albeit most of it digitally rather than in person.

The biggest challenge is ‘where to start’! I’m in a great position where Digital Mums as a company and Digital Mums the graduates are relevant to so many publications and so many people. It’s a PR’s dream but at the same time challenging to prioritise and goes against my reflex reaction to never turn down or miss an opportunity!

It helps that our founders very much live and breathe the philosophy that you learn from mistakes. It’s one of the lessons on our training to ‘Test, Measure and Reflect’ and this is applied to the company as a whole. It gives you the freedom to try things out and is extremely liberating.

It has been stated that 70% of women leave the workforce because they find it impossible to combine their career and family life, what needs to change to provide more flexibility? The current mindset. As one of my co-founders said: “Work is a thing you do and not a place you go to.” Our #WorkThatWorks campaign is all about empowering mums and businesses to try a new way of working – whether it’s remote working, part-time hours or splitting hours flexibly across the week, as I do. Flexible working is too often viewed as a dirty word by businesses and colleagues who see it as the reserve of the ‘lucky’ few and only of benefit to the individual. Businesses need to be made aware of the benefits of flexible working if real change is going to be created. Changing attitudes to hiring won’t just benefit parents, but will also help businesses attract millennials who don’t necessarily want to be working nine to five, five days a week either. So much has moved on in the working world in terms of technology; but the hours we work haven’t.

It has been stated that Digital Mums are removing the barriers that mothers face by providing them with social media management skills that allow them to set their own hours and work from anywhere. Can you talk a little about the impact this has on the women who use Digital Mums services? This is by far the most rewarding part of working for Digital Mums. We literally have hundreds of incredible mums who pre-children have had these amazing careers and have either lost their confidence having been out of the working world for even just a few months; lost their previous roles while on maternity leave or are stuck in a 9-5 job and want to find more of balance between career and children. Digital Mums not only upskills them with in-demand social media and digital skills, it gives them their confidence back and empowers them with #WorkThatWorks. It might sound cheesy but honestly, our mum case studies are extremely moving and motivating. You can read some of them here.

Digital Mums main speciality is providing innovative social media training to produce high-calibre social media managers. Why has Digital Mums focused on social media jobs? Our co-founders Nikki Cochrane and Kathryn Tyler first set up their own social media agency a few years ago and were overwhelmed with how many small businesses needed help to build and manage their social media presence. They knew they needed to take on more people and realised that mums would be the perfect solution. Kathryn’s previous work at the Innovation Unit meant she’d worked with a number of innovative schools in the US. She knew she could take these learnings and insight to design a course that would teach mums everything they needed to know about social media management. Additionally, they both recognised that maternal unemployment is a huge issue. Social media management offers mums a third way – family life and a career – it’s just a matter of teaching them the skills. So Nikki and Kathryn stopped working for clients and started training up mums in social media instead.

It’s been stated that getting women back into the EU digital sector will contribute 9 billion to GDP. Other than getting more mothers back into work, what other qualities can employees benefit from? Fulfilling and flexible careers. In today’s highly connected world, it’s crazy that women are still having to choose between careers and childcare because the right opportunities don’t exist. PR, in particular, has never been a 9-5 role and there’s no reason that it can’t be done remotely or part-time. I now job-share my role with an amazing journalist, Rachel Mostyn, as the business has grown to such an extent that my three days a week wasn’t enough. It’s important to note though that flexible working benefits businesses too. Digital Mums now gets the benefit of two minds for the price of one and can scale their team in sync with business growth. It really is win:win.

As the Head of storytelling, what has been your strategy for Digital Mums? As a relatively new brand, the main strategy has been to simply increase brand awareness for our two training programmes through a mix of thought leadership pieces, case study placement, feature pitches and our #WorkThatWorks Movement. We launched this campaign back in September to present a solution to the much-debated issue of mum unemployment. Research we commissioned with YouGov and the Cebr produced some incredible insight into how flexible working really could be the answer for not only mums but businesses too. Almost 7 in 10 stay-at-home mums would go back to work in some capacity if flexible working around childcare was an option, while well over a third of working mums living with children would work additional hours. This could provide businesses with a total of 66 million hours more work a week and the UK economy with an annual £62.5 billion boost to output. Through this campaign, we actually touched the hearts and minds of a lot of people and are now very much a go-to for media, influencers and government bodies on all things flexible work and mum employment, which was one of our initial goals. Our #WorkThatWorks Movement is very much ongoing with more events and campaigns planned for this year.

How are you using social media to promote Digital Mums? As a social media training company, it’s obviously at the heart of all of our comms. It’s the platform that allows us to speak directly to mums and businesses. It’s particularly effective for building up support and influence for campaigns big and small. Twitter is a great listening tool for news and relevant events as well as crucial for relationship building with influencers and press. Facebook is a huge community driver and a place for us to embrace the fun of our brand as well as showcase some of the incredible people doing our training. And Instagram is essentially our brand window, allowing us to reveal the personality behind Digital Mums.

Digital Mums has been featured in The Daily Telegraph, MailOnline, the guardian, what kind of response have you got from the media? Hugely positive! We’re addressing two problems – the lack of digital skills and maternal unemployment. Maternal discrimination is obviously very topical and sadly all too prevalent. We’re providing a solution to this often debated issue and are in a unique position where we have hundreds of positive case studies of women who have achieved the holy grail that is #WorkThatWorks.

Digital Mums has been running for 3 years now. What future plans do you have? As well as obviously growing our current business, our ultimate aim is to change the view of flexible working and consign ‘working 9-5’ to the lyrics of a karaoke classic.

How to identify the real influence of a blogger

April 28, 2017/0 Comments/in PR, Influencers TEST Media Database Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Are bogus influencers undermining brand confidence and confusing the state of play? According to Emma Austen, the founder PR agency Emerge, they are.

In a recent PR Week opinion piece, Emma says that brands are often drawn into the science of probability – if someone has two million followers, that will impact the bottom line of influencer marketing. But increasingly PRs and marketers are having to wake up to the fact that an influencer having a large following on social media does not automatically mean that a blogger has real influence.

Emma Austen said: ”It is the responsibility of PR professionals to be vigilant in determining which influencers have legitimate, relevant followers, and which have tried to buy their way into the club.”

With countless apps and sites that allow people to easily buy followers at the click of a button, it is becoming increasingly easy for bloggers to make false claims about how influential they are. Due to a lack of sophisticated influencer tools, it is difficult to get an accurate assessment of how influential a blogger is and their engagement levels, which often results in brands basing their spending decisions on false information and disappointing results.

Nik Speller, the founder of influencer marketing consultancy; N.K.B. and contributor to men’s lifestyle blog Buckets and Spades, said PRs need to change their focus when it comes influencer marketing.

He said: “This industry is changing so fast, but I think there are a few trends bubbling up that will grow this year. Firstly, I’ve noticed a few brands pay more interest in content, than in follower numbers. These brands have seen that working with the mega-influencers doesn’t always yield results, as they aren’t always the best fit. Working with smaller, creative influencers, with a specific and highly relevant audience, can be far more effective.”

So, when it comes to blogger outreach, how do you identify who are the real influencers?

Here at Vuelio, we offer access to our influencer rating tool, not just for bloggers, but also for specific journalists and different publications. Our rating considers a broad range of data points – including content frequency, engagement, social presence and following, to determine overall influence. By having our unique influencer ratings at your fingertips, you will be able to make a better assessment of whether a blogger has legitimate influence. This will enable you to connect with the right bloggers for your campaigns and stop wasting time and resources on bloggers who do not really influence your target audience.

But before you reach out, make sure you have a strong pitch. Results from our 2016 Bloggers Survey showed that fifty per cent of bloggers receive seven plus emails per week, but seventy per cent of pitches get little attention from bloggers as a result. For best results make sure you are transparent about compensation, take the time to understand their blog, and personalise your approach by using the name of the blogger.

Despite the rise of bogus influencers, there are genuine ones. With the right approach and the right tools, these bloggers can bring you a significant return on your investment.

Why snap elections are big opportunities for lobbyists

April 27, 2017/0 Comments/in Public Affairs, Guest Post Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

There once was a time when elections were all about manifestos. They provide an opportunity for political parties to bring together their brightest and best, and articulate why they are fit to govern. Sometimes it can be the tool that injects some much needed life into a party’s support base, or it can be a long suicide letter, as the late Gerald Kaufman once described the Labour party manifesto during the fateful 1983 campaign.

But over the years manifestos have come to take on a whole new role. The 2010 Conservative Manifesto, a leather bound “Invitation to join the Government,” was a communications and marketing tool dreamed up by blue sky thinker Steve Hilton. Its centre piece, the creation of the Big Society, was more platform than policy. To the extent that nobody really understood it. Since then we’ve seen lots of rhetoric whilst being startlingly policy-lite in these increasingly flashy concept pieces. Even Ed Miliband’s act of carving the highlights into stone failed to transform statements such as “A country where the next generation can do better than the last” into a physical commitment.

So where does that leave lobbyists, the politically incorrect term for us lot that try to influence policy, highlight issues and affect change? In many ways it can be a vital opportunity for us to get our stall in early, especially if you’re supporting an issue that captures the imagination of the public and the media. But it can also be a millstone around our collective neck; a period when the government shelves policies that you’ve been supporting for years, as the parties do deals on what should be nodded through and what should be shelved ahead of dissolution.

In a political age where rhetoric has more currency than commitments this is a chance to make sure that you get your cause into the spotlight. And as manifestos seek platforms rather than spending commitments, unless you’re in a ring-fenced area, it can be a lot easier to sharp elbow your way in and the risk is much lower. No promises, just aspirations.

I work for a national poverty charity, and it has never been more important to make sure that we have a commitment to help those struggling financially. This is where getting the balance between policy and rhetoric is important. A commitment to support the lowest paid might sound positive, it is, but it can also be a used to defend a policy of cutting support for those less fortunate. Reducing the national debt is a good thing, but without a specific commitment as to where those savings are coming from you never know where the knife is going to fall.

The most powerful weapon that you have as a campaigner is the truth. Funny that. As a charity it’s not hard to sell an emotional narrative to policy makers but if you’re light on facts and fight on passion you can be easily swiped away. As the broader sector continues to commit to measuring impact through impressively scientific and robust ways we have seen our politicians increasingly rely on us to bolster their chosen policy commitments.

This is something that is particularly powerful for charities that work directly with the public, especially those that work with the vulnerable. Solid data is a powerful weapon when guiding policy positions and one that is not used often enough. It is not the job of charities to campaign politically, some people may differ in that view, but it is our job to represent those that cannot represent themselves.

Over the next six weeks we can expect a surge of activity from charities, as well as all sectors looking to fight their corner. This is not about getting something in the manifesto, they’ve been cobbled together already, but about setting up the circumstances for that vital clarification, denial or equivocation that can be used to fire the policy starting pistol after the election.

The media has an increasingly important role to play in this too. How many times have we seen an election commitment come out of a tabloid campaign, or more frequently, a surprise budget announcement? These are the easy wins, the policies that seem to make everyone happy at first glance yet frequently are found to be ill thought through. For a niche cause this can be your chance to shine, especially if you have an effective backer in parliament.

Snap elections mean snap decisions, and because prospective governments know how dangerous these can be they are wary of making them. But they do happen. There will be policy teams out there that are about to have their biggest success for the next five years and they don’t know it yet. The secret is getting the data right, have a clear angle, and get your media and political ducks in a role.

But let me finish with the elephant in the room. Most people think they already know the result of this election, and most people are probably right. But it’s a danger to think that only one party needs to be lobbied. Labour may well be the underdog here, a position which may cause them to do better than some predict, but a popular policy on the doorstep is a popular policy full stop. We don’t just see this during general elections; at the last Mayoral Election for London we saw a range of sensible and popular policy proposals from parties that had little chance of polling 10%. They can be stolen by the winning party, and it’s the final destination that counts in this game.

This election is a chance to get the political parties to do your job for you. If you have an idea, and the evidence to back it up, you will be their best friend. You might even change the world, just a little bit. Be clear, be direct, be non-partisan, and you might just get what you want. See you in 2022.

Improve and maintain corporate reputation

April 21, 2017/0 Comments/in PR, Branding, PR agency, Communications PR, Comms, Media Monitoring Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Businesses and organisations are acutely aware more than ever of the importance of protecting their reputation. Some have learned the hard way when crisis situations have hit and they haven’t been prepared or have handled it badly.

There are three sides to reputation management – the first is maintaining reputation when it’s at its highest, the second is developing a good reputation from a new-start perspective and the third is managing reputation and then changing perceptions in a crisis situation.

When conducting studies, the Reputation Institute, the global reputation-based research and advisory firm, uses its RepTrak® measurement framework and measures the perceptions and opinions on:

products or services
innovation
workplace
corporate governance
public and social impact
leadership
performance

Reputation can make or break businesses. You can use the above to help with your strategy and management.

Companies or organisations with reputation issues are more likely to feel the wrath of the law and importantly, the public. Nowadays, it may also provoke a cyber attack.

So, how can corporate reputation be improved or maintained when there are so many different elements to consider?

Firstly, it all comes back to the organisational values and objectives. If the values of the organisation are real, ethical and trustworthy, then they should be embedded in every element of organisational work.

Business and organisation have a duty to their shareholders, stakeholders, employees, suppliers and the public, not to mention regulators. You will be held to account.

Public trust is paramount. In the 2008 crash, public trust was at an all-time low in the financial industry, with the public being wary and confused, financially worse off and the impact on the global economy at its worst.

Today’s challenge in reputation management is not only speed but also given the change in landscape, there is media, social media, influencers in their many forms and we must ensure our risk assessments, scenario planning and crisis comms plans are fit for purpose today.

I’m not talking about lying. I’m not talking about coming up with cover-up stories, I’m talking about genuine, ethical business practice. Understanding the business, the scenarios, the likelihood and the potential impacts, will help you understand what you’d need to do, over the short, medium and long-term, to protect reputation.

Actions speak louder than words

You can say whatever you like, but if your actions don’t back this up, then your words are worth nothing and will no doubt be even more detrimental to your reputation.

In addition, the under-rated skill of listening is key. Listening to the people who impact on your business. Listening will help greater understanding and greater understanding leads to better-informed decisions and strategies.

Listening will also help build better relationships as people recognise you are taking their opinions, views and also experiences into consideration. This, in turn will also add greater value to the business and the influence gained will be beneficial.

Listening tools also exist and can be used online, monitoring and listening to different communities. This is essential to keep on top of any issues which may be arising and also in case there are any other groups or communities who you may not even have been aware of. It always an opportunity to respond to issues before they may turn to a crisis.

Top down, bottom up

As we know, communication works both ways, as does respect and understanding. CEOs and boards have a duty to act as leaders. Leaders should want insights, understand and listen. It shouldn’t just be something for management. Leaders should set an example.

CEOs have the opportunity to really put their money where their mouth is and strengthen corporate reputation by distinguishing themselves and setting a moral, ethical and world-leading standard – no matter how big or small the business or organisation may be.

Charged up CEOs can really set an example and inspire others, too.

Cyber threats

Interestingly, people find it curious that PR people should be involved or be keen to know systems and protocols in IT departments.

At #PRFest in June, I’ve worked with Craig McGill at PwC to bring their Game of Threats cyber attack simulator to the festival. One of the biggest organisational risks is unhappy employees or those who don’t understand the potential impacts of bad practice.

Take someone using an unknown USB in company IT equipment which could contain malware or unhappy employees spreading negative stories about the company. You are more likely to be targeted if you’re deemed an unethical business or an organisation with an already poor reputation.

It’s so important PR and comms people are on top of recognising issues and impacts and including this within their plans, including simulating scenarios.

Act before a crisis hits

With tools, systems and people to recognise issues as they start, the key is to address them before a crisis hits. This involves insights and data, planning, scenario tests, and regular monitoring to ensure the plan is always fit for business purposes.

Every member of staff at every level has a part to play. Managers are more likely to spot issues further down the chain than say, a CEO would. But do they know how to report or deal with it to ensure it’s handled effectively? This leads to thorough internal communications functions, policies and management.

Systems and processes

An early warning system using the risk assessments and listening/monitoring tools will play a vital role in any issues or crisis situation. It’s the reporting of a potential issue that is vital – quickly. Without denial.

Insights and data –internal and external – listening and monitoring
Understand what this information is telling you. Also understand what matters to your stakeholders. What do the actions look like that support what you’d be saying?
Wider and transparent conversations. Think of collaborations and partnerships as an opportunity to involved a bigger set of stakeholders and by collaborating or partnering, there is a two-way approach.

Six areas for corporate reputation to monitor and manage

Operating and business performance
Legal or ethical
Personnel – particularly misconduct
Political
Environmental
Safety and security

Confidence in you and your business

The importance of confidence in crisis preparation must be underlined. Knowing that you and your business are prepared to face ‘the unknown’ instils confidence. Feeling, being and acting confident are essential groundings for facing unforeseen and emotionally difficult crisis events at a time when you must reassure others that the situation is under control and being handled properly.

The ability to anticipate trouble before it happens is the best source of confidence. Your reputation is your biggest asset. It must be protected.

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Are we having the right conversations about diversity?

April 20, 2017/0 Comments/in PR PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Diversity is a hot topic. Hashtags like #OscarsSoWhite and #BritsSoWhite have forced conversations about the lack of diversity into the mainstream. From the echo chambers of social media all the way to the Houses of Parliament, everyone is talking about the absence of proper representation across different sectors. But does it mean anything? Or is it all just lip service?

Despite the PRCA highlighting the lack of diversity in PR, the industry is still struggling to diversify its workforce. In a candid interview, Karan Chadda, director of Evolving Influence shares his thoughts about why it’s important that the CIPR board represents the full spectrum of the UK’s public relations workforce; why we don’t need more conversations about diversity but substantive change, and why he believes that having more diversity at the top of the PR industry will help to not only attract more diverse junior-level applicants, but broaden the national conversation driven by PRs – making stories more accessible.

Why do you think the lack of diversity is such a big issue in PR? I think it’s a big issue for every industry. In the UK, where so many sectors talk about talent shortages, it seems daft that we need to make the case for greater diversity at all. If you only recruit from a small segment of society, you inevitably miss talented people. There is undoubtedly a shortage of talent but we should also be asking how much talent is hiding, overlooked or unseen?

You’ve also spoken out against the CIPR board for not having much diversity, why do you think that it is important for the CIPR board to represent the full spectrum of the UK’s public relations workforce? I noted it as unfortunate. Part of attracting a more diverse workforce is showing them what’s possible from a career in PR. You can tell people that it’s a great industry full of amazing opportunities, but if all they see is a monoculture at the top, your words will count for little.

What kind of conversations do we need to be having in 2017 about diversity in order to make progress?

I’m not sure that we need more conversation, rather we need more substantive change. I think many would agree that the industry is more fond of talking about things than changing them.

And to some extent that’s human nature. Change is hard and commercial priorities are never-ending, but at some point, you need to invest in change and that change should strengthen your business. The PRCA’s recent move on gender pay gap reporting as part of the Consultancy Management Standard (CMS) process is an excellent example of getting on with doing things.

Diversity has become quite a popular term, but do you think that most people have a real understanding of what it is and how it applies to the workforce? It’s popular to the point of cliché and that’s a problem. Banging on about it has little affect these days, so it’s important to focus efforts where substantive change can be made.

On the plus side, I don’t think there are many people in PR who think more diversity isn’t a good thing. Where there is a disconnect is where we have people talking about the benefits of diversity but few practical examples of how to change and achieve those benefits.

What does diversity mean to you? For me, it means finding the best people. That means recruiting from the biggest pool of talent and, equally importantly, recognising that talent isn’t about shared cultural experiences or how well spoken you are or what colour shoes you wear with a suit. In practical terms, that means changing assessment criteria and reaching out beyond existing networks.

Some PR agencies might say that it’s the job of Taylor Bennett Foundation and Creative Access to help young ethnic minority people to start their careers in the industry. What would be your response to this? Bluntly, it’s not the job of charities to subsidise agencies’ recruitment problems. However, they do an excellent job and I’d urge agencies to help fund them to ensure their vital work can continue and grow. We should also note that the PRCA run the industry’s apprenticeship scheme, which is an excellent initiative. Alongside that a number of agencies have, via the RPCA, committed to paying interns the living wage. These are actions of substance and they’re good for diversity in the industry.

What are some of the barriers that people of colour face once they enter the industry and how can this be addressed? There’s a lot of research that says the primary issue at a junior level is that the industry is not seen as a place for people like them. That comes in two parts, one of which is that PR isn’t seen as particularly diverse and the other part is that it isn’t seen as a prestigious career option.

You’ve been quoted as saying that there is a big difference between access and progression. Can you speak more on this? For me, you’ll only really see the diversity issue resolved once the top of the industry is less uniform. Most industries have little difficulty in recruiting a diverse group of people at the junior level, those advances will be short-lived if some of that cohort doesn’t grow into the top jobs. Diversity at the top signals that PR is a career to aspire to and that it is possible to get to the top.

Another entirely separate point, and this might sound a bit grand, is that PR helps create the national conversation. More diversity at the top will likely broaden that conversation and that can only be a good thing.

What needs to be done to attract more young people from ethnic minority backgrounds into the PR industry? I’m not sure about this one. I recommend speaking to Sarah Stimpson at Taylor Bennett who has excellent experience in this area.

What future trends do you think we will see in regards to diversity in PR in 2017? I’m not sure we’ll see any notable new trends. There are more and more new initiatives and many of them, like the living wage commitments, apprenticeships and reporting changes, will over time make a difference. Change never happens overnight but there is definite change afoot.

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Have you got a dysfunctional relationship with your client?

April 13, 2017/0 Comments/in PR, Guest Post Stakeholder Engagement, PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

I love conflict. For me, healthy conflict is an important part of any working relationship. It appears, however, that I’m not alone in this thinking. In fact, a very clever chap, Patrick Lencioni, defined the five characteristics of a highly effective team. The second characteristic is, healthy conflict.

Having just been part of a team that went through the formal training associated with Lencioni’s theory, I started thinking about whether this theory could and should be applied to client relationships.

No matter how much we strengthen our internal team’s relationships, we’ll ultimately not move forward with enough pace if our client relationships don’t improve as well. If I’m soiling myself every time conflict arises between a client and I then know something is not quite right.

So, how do we go about building a healthy relationship with our clients?

According to Lencioni, highly functional teams have the following characteristics:

Trust – they start from the foundation of trust. A degree of vulnerability about strengths and weaknesses builds trust and for a team to function well, everyone must believe that best interests lie at the heart of each individual.

Healthy conflict – my favourite. Not being afraid to challenge, question, debate and air opinions on ideas and actions. A strong team should mean everyone within it feels empowered to speak up and have their voice heard.

Commitment – this is about buy-in. You’re never going to get everyone agreeing from the off. Most teams will still have disagreement about a direction taken. However, importantly the team will have complete buy in that the decision has been made and we’re moving forward.

Accountability – my least favourite. Everyone holds each other accountable for their actions. A healthy team doesn’t need a cruel ruler dishing out punishment and keeping everyone on track. They should each be ensuring the other is doing what they say they’ll do

Results – winning for the team. While individuals will and should always be called out for exceptional work, a strong team will always have the bigger picture in mind and share collectively in the successes of the team

I think as an industry, we get this right internally a lot more than we give ourselves credit. We tend to be more comfortable with trust and feedback than other professions and everyone knows how much we love to slap each other’s backs – just look at how many awards there are out there. But when looking at these characteristics through the lens of a client relationship, things become a little more troublesome.

I’m going to flip these five pillars of a strong team and turn them into their dysfunctional cousins. What’s more, I’ll try and describe the dysfunctions from the perspective of a client relationship.

It’s all about the money – the client sees the agency as always sniffing out the extra dollar or pound without any regard for what’s in the client’s best interest. Equally, the agency believes the client is trying to squeeze them at every turn and is constantly on the watch for scope creep and creative payment plans.

Put up and shut up – the agency only sees its role as functional delivery. It’s not there to challenge the client or offer a different perspective. The client sees the agency as lazy but also doesn’t want their views (or their boss) questioned.

Go ahead, it’s your budget – the client refuses to sign off on a campaign or an idea officially but instead just says ‘if you think it’s how you want to spend the budget then go ahead’ – total lack of commitment. Equally, the agency reluctantly executes a set of tasks and offhandedly informs the client ‘well it’s your budget, if you want to spend it like this then go ahead’.

It’s their fault – the agency is the client’s perfect scapegoat. When shit hits the fan, it will be the agency’s head that the axe falls upon. Equally, when the agency is brought in front of the judging panel, the first place they’ll point to is their non-committed ‘daft’ client who didn’t give them the necessary support.

I win – here, it’s all about one-upmanship. A constant murmur of, ‘we won that battle’ rather than a commitment to building results for the team. The client tends to feel that they deserve the credit for dragging the agency with them and surprise surprise the agency feels the same about the client.

Can you spot a dysfunctional characteristic within these five? If so, it might be worth going back to the characteristic before the one you seem to be having a problem with. If you’re suffering from a lack of healthy conflict with a client, it might be because neither of you trust each other enough.

I can’t tell you how to improve your client relationships, only you will know the necessary detail to make specific changes. However, this piece should serve as a guide for potentially spotting opportunities for improvement and identifying which areas may need some work.

Do invest some time reading Patrick’s book and in your next team building session, have a think about whether what you learnt could be applied to your clients as well as each other.

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How to Stop Wasting Time at Work

April 13, 2017/0 Comments/in PR, White Papers Stakeholder Engagement, PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Do you feel as if you’re wasting vital time at your job? How much time do you spend on tasks without knowing just how, exactly, they contribute to your work?

Everybody wastes some time at work. A study by Sharp Europe revealed that 34% of respondents had fallen asleep in meetings, which says a lot about the value of those meetings. Meanwhile, chief financial officers told a survey by recruiter Robert Half that 17% of their time spent on work email is wasted.

Our new tipsheet: “How PRs Can Stop Wasting Time at Work” looks at some of the clever ways in which PRs can eliminate time-wasting tasks from their day-to-day activities and focus on their what matters most in their job – connecting with their audience.

Download our tipsheet now and discover how you can get rid of the biggest time-wasters at work and become more efficient through the use of technology and automation.

United, Spicer and Pepsi – cannot put bad news genie back in the bottle

April 13, 2017/0 Comments/in PR PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

What an amazing couple of weeks in crisis management. If you ever want a masterclass in how not to manage a PR crisis in this socially-enabled age, take a look at the lessons our American cousins are learning.

First, there was Pepsi with their in-house designed, Kendal Jenner-fronted, “protest” campaign which social media pretty much pulled to pieces.

Then there was the footage of a United Airways passenger being pulled from his seat and dragged bleeding from the aircraft so a member of the airline’s staff could get a free ride.

And do we even need to mention the Whitehouse Press Spokesman Sean Spicer for suggesting that Hitler didn’t use chemical weapons in the Second World War and referring to Concentration Camps as Holocaust Centres?

To give Pepsi their due, at least they pulled their ill-thought-out campaign pretty damn quickly and apologised for any offense.

But United and Spicer made the cardinal mistake of trying to justify their actions/words and dig an even bigger hole for themselves.

In a letter issued to airline staff on Tuesday, United boss Oscar Munoz said: “I deeply apologise to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way. I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right.”

This is quite the departure from a man (who was once voted by readers of PR Week in America as Communicator or the Year) who in an earlier statement described the passenger as “disruptive and belligerent.”

Munoz would do well to remember, the Internet doesn’t forget things so easily.

In an age where everyone has the ability to create and share news content via the mobile devices in their pockets, big brands and governmental organisations have to understand that once released, it’s impossible to put the bad news genie back in the bottle.

Trying to talk your way out of a situation that everyone has already made a judgement call is stupid and will result in pouring more fuel on the PR fires that threaten your organisation.

So what’s a big brand (or government spokesperson) meant to do when then drop the preverbal ball?

Well in an age where social media makes us all more accountable, it also has to make us more honest. So admit your mistakes, put measures in place to ensure they don’t happen again and learn from the experience.

Media Spotlight: Matt Cooke, Google News Lab

April 7, 2017/0 Comments/in media spotlight, Media Comms Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Matt Cooke is the Google News Lab lead for the UK, Ireland and the Nordics. Before joining Google, Matt worked at the BBC for seven years as a broadcast journalist. Matt, who is also a frequent public speaker, is passionate about teaching journalists techniques that will enhance their storytelling such as immersive 360-degree/VR technology. In this spotlight, Matt chats to us about why the approach to digital storytelling should be ‘story first, technology second, helping journalists to verify and fact check stories and engaging audiences through visual content.

Can you introduce yourself and talk a little about your professional background? Hello, I’m Matt Cooke – I’m a former journalist and now I’m part of the Google News Lab where I help editorial teams innovate and experiment with digital storytelling. I cover northern Europe – as I speak I’m on my way back from Finland and earlier this week I was in the Netherlands – I travel a lot! Before joining Google nearly five years ago I was at BBC News for about seven years where I worked across radio, television and online.

You worked for a long time as a presenter, reporter, and producer, why did you decide to switch to online? I started my BBC career at Millbank, but I soon moved to become the Home Affairs Producer for BBC London TV – that’s where I learnt from great journalists and hard-working producers. I started to present on BBC Three, I reported in Birmingham for a year and I presented on BBC Three over the weekend. But, it was just before 2012 when I realized I was ready to make a change. The BBC was experimenting with new ways of storytelling – for a time I filmed my own TV reports, wrote my own articles and made audio packages from a base in East London. This independence from the main newsroom gave me a taste to experiment with new formats and online content.

There seems to be a growing trend of people moving from more traditional media corporations like the BBC to online outlets like BuzzFeed, What’s driving this trend? I’m extremely grateful to the BBC – it was a great place to learn and looking back it was a brilliant place to work. As new opportunities at places like VICE News, BuzzFeed present themselves I think it’s only natural for inquisitive minds to investigate and consider a new challenge.

What do you most like about being a lead for Google News Lab? And what are the challenges? I spend about 40 to 50 percent of my time visiting newsrooms, talking to journalists – my job is to help them translate their stories and ideas into reality, with the help of technology.

The approach to digital storytelling should be ‘story first, technology second.’ Within newsrooms there are always different levels of experience when it comes to digital tools – some are experts and some are beginners. My background is not tech and I’m not an expert (on anything, actually!) so finding ways to communicate to all levels of interest and experience is something I have to do every day!

Within newsrooms there are always different levels of experience when it comes to digital tools – some are experts and some are beginners. My background is not tech and I’m not an expert (on anything, actually!) so finding ways to communicate to all levels of interest and experience is something I have to do every day!

How is Google News working with publishers to create innovative partnerships and experiments? The Digital News Initiative provides training and research, product development and an Innovation Fund – so far recipients (ranging from individual journalists to major news organizations) have received €51m in awards, a new round has just opened. You can learn more at digitalnewsinitiative.com.

Within the Google News Lab we’ve collaborated with lots of publishers and journalists – we supported projects such as 6×9; The Guardian’s first experiment in virtual reality, we’ve provided free access to training events across Europe (EJC, GEN and more) and we’re working with journalists to help verify and fact check stories surrounding the French election – that’s led by FirstDraftNews.com – a coalition we helped to launch back in 2015.

I just finished a project that helps journalism students gain experience within a newsroom – the Google News Lab Fellowship. We launched this in the UK last year and about 250 people applied, this year that shot up to 650 applications. I launched the scheme for the first time in Ireland and the Nordics too – the Fellowship is offering 28 placements in total!

What has been Google New’s approach to social media campaigns, and what has your experience been like working on them? The key though is to provide the right information, in the right style to the right audience on their platform of choice.

Can you talk about the current partnership between Google News Lab and YouTube newswire, and why it’s important? Eyewitness media, also known as UGC (user generated content) has become part and parcel of the daily newsgathering process for many journalists. Whether it is a breaking news event or a developing story we all now have the ability to capture high-definition video or stills – all with a smartphone. We’ve worked with Storyful to help journalists source the most credible, verified content on YouTube – to help them find video they can use and refer to in their storytelling. Every day the YouTube Newswire provides fresh playlists and showcases the latest eyewitness media. The best place to learn more about working with UGC content and eyewitness media in all of it’s forms it firstdraftnews.com

When trends do you think we will see this year in regards to how news content is created and distributed? Editors often talk about the renewed importance of video, often live and always shareable – mobile first audiences need video that is made for mobile handsets, not the TV. Traditional broadcasters such as RTÉ have excelled at creating content on a mobile, with video designed for audiences to consume on-the-go-you’ll be able to find subtitled interviews and a heavy use of graphics – all to engage the viewer for longer.

As a hub of the very latest news of everything that is happening in the world, how is Google responding to fake news? We have updated our publisher policies and now prohibit Google ads from being placed on misrepresentative content, just as we disallow misrepresentation in our ads policies. Moving forward, we will restrict ad serving on pages that misrepresent, misstate, or conceal information about the publisher, the publisher’s content, or the primary purpose of the web property.

One of the things you’ve championed is data journalism. Can you talk about how Google News Lab has incorporated this and how it connects with Google trends? Google trends provides anonymised, indexed, real-time data that can help journalists gain another perspective – the most searched for terms or the changing trends in themes and topics can be interesting. My favourite data visualisations are the simplest – they make things clear. On our website we provide self-paced learning on how journalists can use Google Trends to enhance their storytelling.

What has been your career highlight? Working as a reporter at BBC News was great, the chance to produce and prepare stories for television never lost its appeal. More recently, helping members of the Royal Family connect with audiences via Hangout was also memorable!!

Are you working on any exciting projects at Google News Lab this year? Yes, stay tuned – there is a tool refresh that focuses on audio – well worth an experiment!

Introducing the all new integrated database from Vuelio

April 6, 2017/0 Comments/in Communications, Media, Digital Media, Public Affairs, Influencers Media Database, Political Database Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

George Osborne’s appointment as editor of the Evening Standard showed just how easy it is for the worlds of politics and the media to collide.

That’s why we’ve integrated our media and political contacts on one platform, giving you full insight from across the stakeholder community.

So whether you need to contact journalists, MPs or other stakeholders, you’ll have all the information you need, in one place.

Our new integrated database allows you to:

Categorise your engagements by campaign or issue – for all your media and public affairs outreach in one place

Achieve ROI from your communications with graphs and analytics to measure and evaluate all your stakeholder activity

Stay on top of your conversations with a searchable, real-time overview of interactions with MPs, the media and other stakeholders

‘’The media contacts database has been really helpful in creating media campaigns and the political monitoring and contacts database have ensured we have covered off all bases when organising events or targeted stakeholder work.”

Kirsty McCaskill-Baxter, Communications and Public Affairs Manager

BRITISH CYCLING

It’s the full package, and we’d like to show you how it works – request a demo here

Don’t be afraid to challenge media relations briefs

April 6, 2017/0 Comments/in PR, Media, Guest Post PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

In the old days, all you needed to work in the PR industry was a laptop and a mobile. Two pieces of technology that feel surgically glued to you as a 24/7 news cycle means plenty to respond too. The steady integration of social media into PR programmes has shortened this cycle – we’re dealing in seconds now.

Today man cannot live by email and phone alone. Behind the flurry of emails, already being displaced by internal collaboration tools, are a series of 3^rd party tools helping practitioners deliver 21^st Century work. These pieces of software help keep PR services relevant for 2017.

For publicity and media relations you may choose the support of Vuelio, for social media a social listening tool such as Pulsar is essential, community management may rely on Hootsuite. It’s a saturated and overwhelmed market; cross-industry collaboration project PRstack began categorising the market in 2015.

The range of tools, their subscription by in-house and agency professionals, are testament that PR services no longer work in a vacuum. Understanding the PR ‘workflow’ has become an integral task by managers who wish to offer a broader range of services, efficiencies, and best practice. We’re all trying to offer services across the PESO (Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned) pie.

Whilst the digital applications in PR programmes are no longer considered innovations, unless you’re dabbling with emerging technologies such as augmented or virtual reality, the industry is broadly still coming to terms with the fact PR is more than media relations. To be impressed by agencies that have approached PR representative of the entire marketing mix, look at any of the big industry awards.

As a side project, I’m grateful to occasionally be involved with judging industry awards. It’s shown me that the most creative campaigns that deliver outcomes is when an agency challenges a client brief and is willing to offer appropriate measurement. As a consultant, this is an essential but often challenging role, and usually leads to better results.

The next time you receive a client brief focused on pure media relations; have a think about how it could include other service areas such as digital. Despite the gloom of Brexit, it’s a fortuitous time to be working in PR thanks to the opportunities provided by our friends in the 3^rd party tool and servicing market. In fact, the future of our industry depends on them.

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Are you struggling with public affairs?

April 5, 2017/0 Comments/in PR, Media, Public Affairs Political Services, Political Database Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

If you want to ensure your organisation influences the political agenda, a public affairs strategy will be crucial to your wider stakeholder engagement. And if you’re struggling to identify who to engage with and how, our upcoming webinar ‘’Influencing Public Affairs’’ will give you the full toolkit for success.

Our guest speaker, Lionel Zetter, is the former President of the CIPR and the CIPR Government Affairs Group, and is the current Chairman of the PRCA Public Affairs Group. Lionel will explore the fundamentals of public affairs and show you how to achieve tangible results from your political engagement.

Save your spot to see how our public affairs tools can help you:

Target your outreach by tracking your open rates and logging engagements with MPs and their staff
Stay on top of your team’s external interactions with a searchable, real-time overview of conversations
Measure the impact of your activities and see ROI from your public affairs by organising, sharing, tracking and evaluating all your stakeholder activity

The webinar will take place on Tuesday 25th April at 11:00. Make sure you Register now!

Blogger Spotlight: Rebecca Henderson, Bright Lights Big City

April 4, 2017/0 Comments/in PR, Blogger, Blogger Spotlight PR Blog Posts /by Holly Hodges

Rebecca Henderson created her PR and lifestyle blog Bright Lights Big City after falling in love with public relations in 2008. Although there is a heavy focus on PR and social media, the blog also discusses film, beauty, and places to eat, making Bright Lights Big City an insightful blog which has a very personal tone. In this spotlight, Rebecca who featured on our top 10 UK PR blogs by women, chats to us about how she uses her blog to introduce her readers to PR, the growing importance that metrics in measuring campaigns, why she is determined to break down the gender pay gap in the industry and the impact Brexit is having on PR.

Can you introduce yourself and speak a little about your professional background? My name is Rebecca Henderson and I run the PR and lifestyle blog, Bright Lights Big City.

I first knew I wanted to be in PR when I started doing promotions and talent handling for a successful nightclub in 2008. When I organised my first event, a fashion show which attracted the attention of the UK heads of Levi’s, Karen Millen and Barbour, I knew public relations was for me.

Since 2009 I have worked in PR gaining experience in a wide range of industries, from working on an international sailing race to Clinique’s press office in the heart of London. I’m now working for a boutique PR agency, called Lee Peck Media, based on the south coast of England that deals with a range of clients regionally, nationally and internationally.

This hands on experience is also supported by a PR Masters with Merit from Southampton Solent, one of the UK’s top creative universities and PR studies at the London College of Fashion.

How did you get into blogging? In 2011 I started my blog, Bright Lights Big City, as I wanted to use it as a platform to establish myself in the PR industry. But, I lacked direction, purpose and I was fearful of putting myself out there. Things started to change during my Masters in PR where I was encouraged to blog as part of the course but, a lack of time restricted my efforts and writing felt forced.

Finally, in August 2016 I decided to have a proper attempt at blogging, and if I wasn’t enjoying it after three months I would move on knowing I’d given it my best shot. It was then that I evolved Bright Lights Big City into a PR and lifestyle blog so I could write about a larger range of topics and began posting consistently. Since I made this commitment, the blog has gone from strength to strength.

What do you most like about working in PR? What are the challenges? It’s different every day, PR is really stimulating and constantly evolving. My favourite part is the creative side, brainstorming new ideas and coming up with campaign strategies.

PR faces a few challenges, some of the big ones are metrics and evolution of the industry. Metrics have historically been fluffy and inaccurate, but we’re starting to see content analysis and other ways to measure campaigns develop. Technology has rapidly changed PR and the industry is now a continually evolving landscape. I think the changes in PR make it an exciting industry to work in.

Why should people read your blog? What makes your blog different from other PR blogs? My PR and blogging journey hasn’t been straight forward, initially it was very lonely, I was insecure and it made me feel quite isolated. I share my experiences on my blog in an effort to prevent other people from feeling like this. As a result my approach is fairly personal and all the content is original. My aim is to introduce a much larger audience to PR, comment on topical news and offer tips and advice to those starting out. I try and break aspects of PR down so it’s accessible and adds value, I want the reader to have gained something from reading my post.

Most other PR blogs only focus on PR, mine is a mix of topics. Life isn’t one sided, it’s made up of lots of amazing things. That’s why I write on various topics in PR and lifestyle to make it diverse and interesting for everyone. PR is in a lot of aspects of life and I like the scope to write about it all!

Even statistics show that women make up the majority of the PR industry, there are still inequalities that face women such as the gender pay gap. What are your thoughts on this? This disparity makes me angry. Women have fought so hard to align themselves with men, to be equal. This barrier is yet another to break down. A headache from a previous generation that is disheartening for those starting and progressing their careers.

If more people bring attention and more awareness to this subject, hopefully pay will even out between genders. Legislation might help stop the gap. But, that then runs very quickly into grey territory where the ‘pay depending on experience’ argument can be used. I have no doubt any rule would be extremely difficult to monitor and enforce.

I’m hoping the recent press attention will bring the topic enough attention to make decision makers think and make an effort to stop gender pay gaps from occurring. Education and awareness is key. Be bold for change. I wrote a blog on this in January.

Aside from the gender pay gap and diversity in PR, what other challenges are currently facing the industry in 2017? I think the rise of fake news is interesting, and the obvious hot topic of Brexit. Leaving the EU will change lots things for companies and PR teams will be facing new communication challenges. We’ve just got no idea in what way yet!

What big trends do you think we will see this year in relation to PR? Video and the social media transition to pay to play. It’s going to change the dynamic again!

What is the best way for PRs to demonstrate ROI in 2017? There are lots of ways to demonstrate ROI in 2017, I’m a huge fan of metrics in the form of content analysis but it really depends on what your client values. Are they focused on finances? Or do they value brand reputation or their brand value rankings? A tailored approach around what your client values with KPI’s is important.

What do you think about PR software companies like Vuelio? Vuelio is a fantastic PR tool and it helps make the bread and butter of PR life a lot easier. Having a resource to instantly identify and reach top influencers, access to media lists and help with media monitoring and analysis is a huge time-saving benefit.

What’s next for you? Are you working on any exciting new projects? Bright Lights Big City is growing quickly, so I’m going to spend some time working on new features to add different content. I’m keen to introduce some interview posts and encourage more people to ask more questions about PR. There are lots of changes with Facebook, Instagram and Google at the moment so I’ll be focusing on those too. There are a few projects in the pipeline, I’ve got a couple of collaborations coming up, but I’d love to do more.

No more clip books, there’s a better way to share your coverage

March 21, 2017/0 Comments/in PR, Technology Canvas Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Are you tired of compiling time-consuming clip books and PDF reports? Well, look no further as we‘ve got just the thing you need!

Transform the way you showcase your content and comms activities with the beautiful, easy-to-use Vuelio Canvas, a tool that enables you to showcase news stories, social media activity, charts, PDFs, video and audio from across the web in a visual presentation you can make in seconds. Our canvas will help you to share the content with your team and the public with a unique URL, or easily embed it on your website, and support you in creating your own customisable brand newsroom for all your latest company updates and announcements, easily accessible by the media.

Using our canvas will enable you to share content with your team and the public with a unique URL, or easily embed it on your website, and support you in creating your own customisable brand newsroom for all your latest company updates and announcements, easily accessible by the media.

Check out the Canvas we’ve created for Mother’s Day marketing campaigns

Media Spotlight: Alfred Joyner, International Business Times & Newsweek

March 21, 2017/0 Comments/in media spotlight, Media, Social Media, Influencers News Distribution Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Alfred Joyner is the head of video at IBT Media, a fast growing global digital news organisation and parent company of the International Business Times & Newsweek. In this spotlight interview, Alfred explains how IBT Media has harnessed the power of online journalism, why Facebook is the perfect place to broadcast live videos, producing live content that is engaging, and why IBT Media are focused on growing their social presence this year.

Could you introduce yourself and speak a little about your professional background? I’m the head of video at IBT Media, overseeing two of the organisation’s brands, International Business Times UK and Newsweek International. I’ve been at the company now for over four years, previously working freelance for Bloomberg, October Films and the History Channel.

What do you most like about being the head of video at IBT Media? And what are the challenges? Running the video team at IBT Media is a fantastic experience as the organisation is very switched-on digitally and multimedia-focused, meaning that they understand the importance of video to a modern newsroom operation and are enthusiastic to both support my efforts and allow the team to innovate in order to stand out from the crowd.

Whilst it is fantastic to be producing video across the company, I do have to wear two hats as it were in order to make great video for both IBTimes UK and Newsweek, meaning that I have to be aware of the differences in the brands when producing video.

What sets IBT Media apart from its competitors?

Unlike other legacy brands, IBT Media is a digital-first institution that from the beginning has harnessed the power of the web for it’s journalism.

As a young and hungry newsroom, working for IBT can feel more akin to a blossoming tech startup than a traditional media organisation, and this inventiveness and drive can be seen in the quality work that we have produced.

Why did IBT decide to start using Facebook Live? IBT had been looking for a means to enter the live-streaming field, and the launch of Facebook Live seemed the perfect opportunity to dip our toes in the water.

Facebook has our biggest social audience, and so we knew it would be a great place to begin broadcasting live videos.

The fact that Facebook was actively ranking live videos higher on their system as well incentivised us to try the platform out.

Why do you think it is important for businesses to train their staff in relation to knowing how to use Facebook Live? It’s important to train staff on how to use Facebook Live as whilst it is incredibly easy to broadcast live on the platform, it is rather more complex if you want your broadcast to be successful.

You are effectively asking the reporters who are fronting your FB Live videos to act as news presenters, so they need to be trained up as such.

You also have to keep in mind that this is the image of your brand being put out to the public, so whoever is presenting to camera needs to be engaging, knowledgeable and adaptable.

What kind of qualities make a good Facebook Live news story?

I think there are three qualities that make a great Facebook Live news story: immediacy, unpredictability and emotion.

The immediacy of being live on the ground, whether at a protest or event, helps makes the audience member feel as if they were actually there. The unpredictable nature of a live video keeps the viewer interested, as they’re not sure what exactly is going to happen next. Is a protest going to escalate? Is that person going to react positively or negatively to whatever they are doing on camera? Finally, emotive videos are great as they spark an emotional response in the viewer.

They are more likely to share a video if it made them laugh, made them cry; made them happy or made them sad.

For businesses who want to use Facebook Live, what is the best way to keep their audiences engaged with this type of live content?

Engaging personalities make for the most engaging Facebook Live videos, so having a good presenter is key to keeping audiences interested.

Making sure the video looks professional is also key. A FB Live doesn’t need to be as slick and polished as TV news, but the visuals, sound and connection all need to be good enough to make sure the live video is worth continuing to watch.

One of your reporters did a lot of coverage on Brexit last year on Facebook Live. What is the biggest difference in how people engage with your live content versus reading one of your articles? Someone reading our articles is looking for an intelligent lowdown on a news event, with up to date facts coupled with incisive analysis.

A live video is much more about providing an emotion. The viewer is looking for an experience of what the live event is like, as well as wanting to know information about the event being covered.

In the case of our Brexit coverage, whilst our articles tended to focus on providing information on the referendum and subsequent plans for leaving the EU, our live videos focused on how people were reacting to the decision. This was illustrated by us reporting live outside the Supreme Court on multiple occasions, where we captured the differing attitudes between the remain and leave campaigners on the legal process.

What trends do you think we will see this year in regards to live video and how businesses will be using them? Live video will continue to grow in usage across newsrooms, and so will the professionalism and quality of the live videos. Already, some organisations have effectively made the transition to live TV news broadcasts, employing multiple cameras and overlay graphics in their productions.

Whilst Facebook has captured most attention, the fact that other social media platforms like Instagram have recently entered the field shows that these companies still feel there’s room for competing platforms in the live market. I wouldn’t be surprised if the likes of YouTube and Periscope staged a fightback this year and tried to attract more businesses to use their live services.

What kind equipment should businesses invest in to create live content? At the very minimum you need a good quality smartphone, but you should not stop there if you want to create a decent live video. Whilst hooking up cameras for live video can be a costly process, a cheaper alternative is to purchase a camera dedicated to live-streaming. We have used a Mevo camera for our studio broadcasts, which cost us around £240. The camera shoots in 4K, and syncs with your phone so that you can choose which parts of the image to focus your FB Live on, effectively created a multi-camera setup.

Sound is the most important piece of tech to invest in when producing live videos, so I would purchase a good quality microphone that works with the smartphone you are using to broadcast live. Finally, you want a strong connection throughout your broadcast to avoid any interruptions, so look to buy a Wi-Fi hotspot, or ‘Mi-Fi’ to improve signal.

At a recent conference, you said that you can repackage and repurpose Facebook Live content. Can you explain how this can be done? Whenever you broadcast live on Facebook you always have the option to save your content once the broadcast ends. We then hand over the footage to a member of our video team who edits the live video down into a digestible 90-120 second news package.

This is simple enough when covering a major event such as a speech or protest, but sometimes it can be a little harder to edit a FB Live Video down. This is where you have to be a bit more inventive about how you repurpose a video for your site.

For example we produced a FB Live video at the London Toy Fair in January where our presenter got to try out the most popular toys on sale this year. One part of the live-stream involved the presenter asking a retail expert about the toy industry, and it was one answer she had on how the toy industry had been affected by Brexit that we repurposed as a news video package for our site. This ended up being one of the most popular business videos we produced that day, showing how you can make one FB Live video work for one audience, that repurpose it to make it suit a completely different audience.

IBT Media are known for being innovative in digital media and social publishing technologies, what’s next for IBT Media? We’ve got plenty of exciting plans afoot at IBT Media as we look to grow our operations across our brands both here in the UK and abroad. We recently established our trends and features desk at IBTimes UK as a means of providing a bridge between the news and social teams, focusing on the stories that are being talked about most online, and providing an analysis of trending issues in an intelligent, incisive manner.

Growing our social presence will be one of the key developments across the newsroom this year.

Will you be working on any exciting projects this year? We have a number of exciting video projects lined up this year. I can’t speak about them in too much detail yet, but they will involve even greater collaboration across the newsroom to present a true multimedia experience, and will see us innovate with new technologies, particularly 360 video. Watch this space!

How live video can help you grow your brand

March 16, 2017/0 Comments/in PR, Media, Whitepapers, Influencers PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Do you want to improve your social media engagement? Get our brand new guide to discover how some of the world’s biggest brands are using live video.

Brands such as BMW, Nestle and Starbucks have all used live video to connect with their audiences, as part of brand-building, recruitment and breaking down barriers to better interact with customers and potential customers.

In our new guide, How Live Video Can Help You Grow Your Brand, you will learn the key elements you need to consider when planning live video and how to make it as part of your comms strategy – from the technology required, to content planning, to measuring success.

Download our guide now and discover how to use live video to engage with your audience and why some of the world’s biggest brands are already doing it.

Supercharge your public affairs strategy- engage with MPs

March 13, 2017/0 Comments/in Public Affairs Political Services, Political Database Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Engaging with MPs is a vital part of any public affairs strategy, but it’s also one of the biggest challenges that public affairs professionals will face. Identifying who to approach is one thing, but getting your voice heard is another. How do you stand out, given the huge number of emails landing in MPs’ inboxes every day?

Be clever with contact. Once you’ve identified the parliamentarians you want to engage with, it may be tempting to jump straight in and email the MP directly. However it’s rare that they will be the first to read their emails, and the high volume of correspondence that is sent to their main address may limit the impact that yours has. A far more effective way of getting to MPs is through contacting their staff – an event invitation sent directly to a parliamentary assistant will have far greater chance of being seen by the right person.

Do your research. A successful public affairs strategy will have a foundation of engaged MPs who you can work with to inform the political debate. To build this base, you need to identify the right MPs to engage with based on which select committees they sit on, which APPGs they’re part of, and which issues they speak out on during debates. Social media is also a great way to keep track of interests which MPs may not necessarily list officially, but which could be a key part of your engagement strategy. This could be which sports team they support, their favourite charity or recent events they’ve attended.

Never lose track of your interactions. This is crucial, as the last thing you want to do is duplicate efforts across your team or engage with a new staff member when your organisation already has strong relationships with another. By tracking and saving all communications taking place across your team, you can rest assured that no one is left out of the loop.

Find out more or request a demo of the Vuelio political database here.

PR Spotlight: Laura Sutherland, chief of Aura & founder of #PRFest

March 8, 2017/0 Comments/in PR, Blogger, Blog Posts, PR Spotlight, Influencers Media Monitoring, PR, Comms Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Laura Sutherland is the chief and founder of Aura, a Glasgow PR and digital marketing consultancy. With over fifteen years of experience in public relations, Laura is now a Chartered PR practitioner and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR). Laura is also the founder of #PRFest, the UK’s first festival for public relations and has co-written a best practice guide for the CIPR, which discusses ethical paid and earned media. In this spotlight, Laura, who appears on our top ten UK PR blogs by women, chats to us about how the industry has changed, why writing a press release and placing media stories does not guarantee success, the growing importance of analytics, demonstrating ROI, and how social media is opening up new opportunities for PRs.

What do you most like about being the chief at Aura? And what are some of the challenges? Well, I work for myself. I can be flexible with everything! My time, where I work, how I work, what I charge and I am fortunate enough to be able to pick and choose the best clients to work with; brands which I can relate to and where I can make a real difference.

What I have found is a challenge is managing my time with Aura business and client work. I’ve found that segmenting my week and dedicating time to everything at the most appropriate time is essential. The accounts get done once a month so I’m always on top of them. I do my own invoicing and chasing for late payments. I have a new business funnel which I try to keep on top of and often involves a lot of chasing, for briefs to be completed, for dates to be set etc. Some people may say working on your own is hard to keep motivated, but because I work with such great clients, I don’t find that an issue. In fact, I could work from home, but if I did, I’d work longer hours!! I’ve fallen into that trap before!

I’m also involved with independent practitioners communities and lead one in Scotland and I have built a great network of practitioners far and wide, so there’s always someone to talk to.

As someone with over 15 years’ of experience in public relations, events and communications, how in your opinion has the industry changed? The industry has changed massively. It’s very exciting!

When I first started in PR I didn’t have a PC. I had a desk and paper. We used faxes to send out press releases (and resent them many times due to the amount of faxes news desks received), we used the post and couriers to send out images in 35mm format and design work.

I suppose I was lucky in my first PR job. It was an integrated agency so I got to work across media relations, design, advertising, events and all the client relations side. I worked with big brands such as L.K. Bennett, Patek Phillipe, Bvlgari and also did what we’d now call influencer relations, back then. It was a baptism of fire with little guidance and no training.

In terms of the industry now, there are different elements I can break things down to:

People – some practitioners are riding the wave and really enjoying developing themselves to be more relevant. To up-skill and learn new things all the time. I see this as essential. However, there are other practitioners who think they can just keep on doing the same thing as 10 years ago, writing press releases and placing media stories. The latter will soon find they don’t fit within the industry as they can’t offer the right skills or knowledge.
Business – businesses are slowly grasping the value which public relations has to offer, crudely speaking, the bottom line. We’re a long way off yet, but we’re making improvements. Partly because modern practitioners are leading clients and are offering the best advice. Partly because they recognise that public relations goes way beyond churning out stories and in fact, if it’s properly integrated into the business strategy, there are many more opportunities to help business growth. Everything from using analytics to understand more to using public relations to understand the impact their business is having.
Industry bodies and organisations – as the industry modernises, so must the industry bodies and organisations which interact and represent with practitioners. The bodies need to lead the way on behalf of the industry and crack the engagement with business for there to be better understanding of the value of public relations. The bodies have started to offer more modern courses and training which is essential to practitioner development. I see an opportunity for better collaboration as an industry and I think there is also an opportunity for practitioners to speak out and tell the bodies what they think they need. It’s a two-way conversation.
Business development – despite that fact we went through a recession, arguably we’re back in a bad place due to Brexit, clever practitioners and agencies placed themselves accordingly, continuing to bring in new business and retain clients. Yes, I did see an effect in Scotland but Aura was launched in a recession (November 2008) and is still going strong, eight years later. That’s partly to do with the changes I made in 2012 and 2014, recognising the need to modernise, for a better approach to developing business and defining exactly what it was I offered.
Media – yes, media of course still plays a part in what we do. Traditional print is not a major focus anymore. For me, it never really worked having a blanket approach to media relations. I’ve always worked in a more strategic and targeted way. However, media is slow to modernise too, which means public relations is slow to use some forms of media as there are more effective ways. Social media has developed in a big way with the introduction of live and stories. This has presented public relations with a huge opportunity.
Technology – with AR and VR making headlines at all the big shows and conferences, AR is more accessible to smaller brands. VR can be costly and I’m not sure yet that everyone is ready for the tech. I know the music industry is doing a lot of testing with VR for gigs and not getting such a great response. We need to look to tech to create experiences for brands which underline the brand in an authentic way but we also need to remember that evolving tech can only be used in PR as long as the end-user it using it!
Industry issues – there will always be issues in every industry, but we’re starting to make headway with gender equality, professional standards and more. What we need is for the industry itself to understand the issues and help each other do something about it.

What trends do you think we will see this year in regards to the PR industry?

Consumer loyalty, post-Brexit, is a major thing and brands need to start reinforcing their true values, to ensure the consumer is still loyal.
AI – Chatbots and automation are already here but I think we’ll see artificial intelligence. Driverless cars are already making huge advancements and I see one brand has already started developing a flying car! PR has an opportunity to use AI to make user experiences better across the board. Humans can deal with everything emotionally, bots can’t. Practitioners will need to upskill, understand and start developing new ways of using AI.
PR will call out fake news and make an example of it. It’s our duty as ethical public relations practitioners to ensure the businesses and organisations were work in and represent conduct any communication in an ethical way.
Forums were big in the early 2000’s and I suppose some examples like Facebook Groups are a forum. People like to have conversations as a group in a safe place. Slack has become an everyday tool for me. Perhaps we’ll see more and better use of private spaces for conversation, brainstorming and discussion.
I’ve been working with a retailer and I’ve started to get to know a lot more about retail tech which engages and interacts with consumers, but everything is personalised to the specific person. Using data and tech we can really drive home personal messages, offers and experiences to the consumer
Content will be considered a much more strategic element to a PR strategy with longer term benefits and across different elements of the business. It’s not as simple as writing a blog post and creating a pretty image! Machine learning will have an impact too, so the content PR has to provide needs to be clever, create, engaging and personal.
I’m a member of a Facebook group for PR practitioners which occasionally I love and occasionally I can’t believe some of the people on there even practice public relations! However, in the last six months I’ve seen a shift of conversation, from everyone talking about AVEs and bad reporting to people now asking for tools and advice. This group has helped some practitioners come out of the dark ages and use modern and more effective approaches to improve their work. For examples, AVEs is a common one. Now the group is discussing Barcelona Principles and AMEC’s new integrated framework. Now it may be down to a few of us being involved in best practice and actually leading in these types of areas of public relations, but it does show there is a want from practitioners to come away from fluffy metrics to sound measurement and evaluation proving ROI and impact.
In the world of social media – who knows! It was reported recently that Snapchat is seeing people moving to Insta stories. Instagram has now introduced live, which Facebook and Twitter (via Periscope) already do. Instagram has also announced a beta of sharing image folders, for more than one image. It’s coming away from the USP that platform built itself on. I’m not sure that’s what users want? There’s also Facebook’s Workplace which could transform businesses and how they work.
Influencer relations will only get bigger and influencers and practitioners will have to have better ways measuring and evaluating the success of campaigns.

Why is an informed strategy, linked to business objectives the best way for public relations to grow businesses? There are two elements. Being informed, means you’ve done your research and you’ve used all the data available to you, to help inform a strategy. It’s not finger in the wind. Everything relates back to a rationale. For example, if I find data that says 100,000 people visit a website in a day, but there is 85% bounce rate on the homepage, I know the website needs to be changed. If the website is changed accordingly, people will stay on the site longer and possibly buy more products which, improves the business.

Why does PR need to be linked to business objectives? It’s a necessity. If a business wants to grow in a new market and to have £1million turnover from that market in year 1, then the PR strategy has to focus on the new market, the new audience and devise a strategy, with relevant activity/tactics, which will see that £1million turnover reached.

Public relations is not a ‘nice to have’. It needs to demonstrate ROI and it needs to show how the PR strategy and activity has contributed to the £1million turnover.

What is your definition of strategic public relations? I use the phrase ‘strategic public relations’ so that from the outset, businesses will know that I am strategic and will devise a strategy. I am not in the business of developing a tactical plan to execute, without having a strategy and relating it back to business objectives.

PRFest 1 SA : Pictures from PR Festival June 16th 2016 at Whitespace, Edinburgh. All images © Stewart Attwood Photography 2016.. All other rights are reserved. Use in any other context is expressly prohibited without prior permission.

You are also the founder of #PRFest, the world’s first festival for public relations. Why was it important to you to set this up and why do you think it is important for the industry? I was frustrated with the lack of quality top-level events in Scotland for public relations – specifically ones that everyone would want to go to, not just members of an industry body. I like the diversity different disciplines and areas of expertise can bring.

There are many of these ‘big’ events for digital and marketing, but none specifically for public relations. I saw this as an opportunity to a) use my event skills to organise a great event and b) help practitioners modernise by giving them real actionable advice and learning.

I brought back the CIPR Scotland conference in 2012 and 2013, the first one since the 80’s I’ve been told, and there was a real appetite for a quality, learning event.

#PRFest was launched with an international line-up and I expected it to be well received, because I had worked with a group of practitioners to develop the topics. I didn’t think it would be a sell-out, which it was and I didn’t think people would travel from across the UK to attend, but they did.

It’s refreshing to have the festival in Scotland, not in London as per the normal big PR events, and it’s curated and run by me, not an organisation with a political or sales agenda. It also allows me to be a bit more controversial in my approach, with the aim of getting practitioners to react and think.

I think people like the fact it’s a festival and there is a bit of personality behind it. It’s also on my home turf, so it was easier for me to put together and engage the Scottish PR community initially. Start small and build from there.

There is a strong focus on learning, so every speaker has something worthwhile to teach and practitioners can literally go away and start implementing. It’s not about preaching and listening to ‘nice to know’ things.

It was great to have CIPR and PRCA on the same platform last year, demonstrating their support to a worthwhile event, which by the way, also counts for up to 20 CPD points! The PRCA is supporting the festival again this year.

You are the co-writer of best practice skills guide for the CIPR, which discusses ethical paid and earned media? Why was it important to you to write about this topic? Relating back to the Facebook group I am involved in, a few conversations had come up in recent times about having to pay for advertising to get editorial. At the same, the Competitions and Market Authority was coming down on ad agencies for not disclosing paid activity and influencers weren’t disclosing they were being paid to promote a product.

So, a skills guide was suggested by co-author Gavin Harris and he asked me to do it with him. It was done and dusted in no time but we waited to launch it at CIPR Ethics month.

It’s so important for practitioners to know the difference between paid and earned. If you don’t, here’s the skills guide, worth 5 CPD points.

PRFest 1 SA : Pictures from PR Festival June 16th 2016 at Whitespace, Edinburgh.
All images © Stewart Attwood Photography 2016.. All other rights are reserved. Use in any other context is expressly prohibited without prior permission.

Aura is a PR & digital comms consultancy based in Glasgow? How would you describe the PR industry in Scotland?

The industry in Scotland is doing well. There was a period in 2015/16 of mergers and acquisitions but it seems to have settled…for the time being.

There are more independent practitioners in Scotland than ever, some of whom have turned to it when they have had a baby, some who have taken redundancy from public sector work and some who are doing it in early retirement years.

There’s a big opportunity for greater collaboration and connectivity.

I recently came across a large public sector organisation asking for AVEs as part of their funding grant reporting – I think this needs addressed pronto! For a large organisation like that to still be asking for irrelevant information is beyond me. Who’s to say more aren’t like that?

What has been the best campaign you worked on and why?

It has to be the launch of “Hello, My Name is Paul Smith” at The Lighthouse in Glasgow. The exhibition is owned by the Design Museum, London and it’s a travelling exhibition. It came to Glasgow before it went to Japan.

Paul Smith and his team were fabulous to work with and there was so much scope to drive a really creative campaign. There was massive awareness across Scotland and we covered every print, online and social channel you can think of, with the support of Paul Smith and Design Museum. That was a whole year ago!

What’s next for you? Are you working on any exciting new projects?

I’ve developed and am leading on an exciting project for the CIPR, which will see its 400+ volunteer community armed and better connected.

I’ve still to complete my 30 day challenge and when I do, I expect there will be further tweaks to Aura’s own strategy and development from there.

Of course, I’ve got #PRFest to continue with for the next six months, too!

At Aura, I’ve got some really great clients in retail, community engagement, health and wellbeing and the last week or two has been really busy for new business briefs coming in.

Everything I do, I do with passion, so I’m excited about everything I’m working on!

What are the most successful PRs using to monitor their coverage?

March 7, 2017/0 Comments/in media measurement, PR, Blog Posts Media Database, Media Monitoring Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Are you tired of scrambling at the last minute to compile coverage reports and sleepless nights of monitoring your media? Sign up today for our latest webinar, News Monitoring for the Digital PR, so you can learn all about our news management tool which helps thousands of PR practitioners to monitor and track the effectiveness of their campaigns.

During our webinar, which will take place next Tuesday, you will learn how to identify your coverage and save time with automated news discovery, categorisation and reporting functions. You will also learn about how our smart algorithm automatically picks up all your campaign coverage and turns it into comprehensive monitoring reports as well as understanding the strength of your brand and benchmark against your competitors through our extensive real-time analytics, and engage with the people influencing your audience by integrating your monitoring with our database of one million media contacts.

You will also learn about how our smart algorithm automatically picks up all your campaign coverage and turns it into comprehensive monitoring reports as well as understanding the strength of your brand and benchmark against your competitors through our extensive real-time analytics, and engage with the people influencing your audience by integrating your monitoring with our database of one million media contacts.

Sign up now and find our PR software can help you.

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