Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Bite Size Comms

We often use a ‘one size fits all’ approach in public relations work. Yet research shows there are distinct differences between the age groups.  We look at the differences between Gen X, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers in terms of the types of content they engage with and their use of social media.

What is a journalist looking for in a news story? Understanding this can help public relations practitioners craft media pitches and press releases. In 2001, Tony Harcup and Deirdre O’Neill published their seminal research on UK news values. They updated the research in 2016. We discuss the relevance of this to public relations practice.

We look at the history of blogging and thought leadership and discuss how these two different but similar forms of communication content can be used in Public Relations.

In the 1980s, public relations academics researched that dialogue - two-way balanced communication - was the ideal. We examine this Excellence Theory through two case studies: Boaty McBoatface from 2014 and the NHS improvement consultation in 2024.

Trust in politics and politicians is low. The media story of the first 100 days of the new UK government has been dominated by freebies, gifts and money from companies and wealthy individuals. We look at the different rules on gifts that apply to officials and to MPs and Ministers.

We give each letter of the alphabet a public relations angle. With a little humour too!

Many of us have moved to using LinkedIn as our prime social media platform for work. How can you gain a good reach and engagement with your LinkedIn posts? How can you play the algorithm game? That's what we explore in this episode.

The concept of sensemaking involves collecting data and scrutinising it for trends and patterns that point to better solutions, “the hidden leadership and communication superpower”. We discuss this leadership and public relations skill.

We examine data and anecdotal evidence from the last few years to determine whether Public Relations in the UK still has a diversity and inclusion problem.

We need to communicate strategically by thinking about the purpose of the communication, then the audience, and finally the appropriate channels to use.

For the first time, OFCOM’s annual research shows that online platforms have overtaken TV channels as the most popular sources of news in the UK. We look at what changes are happening in news consumption in the UK.

I quite like my phone. But I hate using it for phone calls. It is a good device for taking photos, recording videos, and recording parts of podcasts by sticking my Shure mic in for an interview. I also use it to listen to music and podcasts. Phone calls? What a disturbance!
We look at changing trends in using phones.

Stakeholders, audiences and publics. Three terms we use in PR to describe who we are communicating with. Nowadays, they are used interchangeably. Is there a difference?

A song by the Clash in 1982. Many organisations are also considering this question regarding using the X social media platform, formerly Twitter. The amplification of far-right disinformation on the platform, seemingly endorsed by the owner of X, following recent riots in England and Northern Ireland by thugs, has brought that question to a senior management level.

ESG, the shorthand for Environmental, Social and Governance, is 20 years old this year.  Names will come and go. ESG, as an acronym and concept, may have lost some of its original sparkle. However, the underlying ideas behind ESG remain strong. 

Think about how you search for and find information online. Are you traditional and use a search engine like Google? Or are you an early adopter who goes straight to a large language model, like ChatGPT? Or maybe you will see what YouTube or TikTok produces in response to your search prompt on their platforms.
Trends in how we find information are changing

To slightly resurrect the media 'silly season, here is my take: how to make a dull but essential video so engaging that it goes viral. Something like the safety announcement that airlines have to play to passengers before the aircraft takes off.

Spellcheck and autocorrect can be useful if you are typing on a small screen or in a hurry. However, they tend to ‘correct’ people’s names that are not common, white British names. 
It’s time to correct autocorrect and improve professionalism in PR/communications by taking a bit more care when writing or pronouncing someone’s name. Their identity.

We look at why the Lobbying Act 2014 needs to be improved to improve trust in politics and the government. We discuss the example of how the tobacco industry killed off the Tobacco and Vapes Bill through legal threats, lobbying and a charm offensive with Conservative MPs.

We take a look at crisis communications and see that relationship rebuilding is more important than maintaining reputation. We consider that the victims in a crisis need empathy. Words and actions. We also look at how to handle a mis- or disinformation crisis.

We look at sustainability communications, with three opportunities for PR/communications people.

In this episode we look at finding out the best day of the week and time to send social media posts, and the frequency of these posts per week.

An analysis of the dire state of political communications before the General Election in the UK.

Three perspectives on this intriguing phrase. Firstly, what is the origin of the phrase, secondly some examples in the UK news recently, and thirdly, the link to trust and how this has been eroded.

Are we back to front in our sustainability communications? One sees lots of campaigns about recycling and practically nothing about reduction or reusing. We look at how the mantra 'Reduce - Reuse - Recycle' works. We also look at a new sustainability model, the Low Carbon Lifestyle wheel.

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week. I’m glad that there is more awareness of mental health among people in the UK. The stigma attached to talking about mental health is disappearing. That said, the conditions for stress and anxiety are ever-present. The CIPR and PRCA 2023/24 mental health wellbeing audit found that 91% of practitioners reported poor mental health in the last 12 months. We talk about how to help yourself, and how to help others.
#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

Learning at Work is all about professional development. Something we should do regularly, although it is good to have a week to promote it. I recommend six points to my PR apprentices on how they can continue to develop as professional communicators upon completing their studies. Some of the points may interest you, too.

#CIPR Learn #LearningAtWorkWeek

The humble receptacle for a hot beverage has become the accessory of choice for MPs in photographs. A pint of beer is so last decade and reminds people of Nigel Farage. A mug with a slogan written on it, or a picture that portrays a certain image, is in.  We look at examples, good, bad, and funny. We explore how organisations can use a mug opportunity!

That question, put more eloquently, has been vexing PR scholars and professional bodies for decades. Is public relations about enhancing reputation, or is it about building strong relationships?  We address the question in tise episode and look at how to measure reputation.

After a crisis, what do we recall? The words spoken at a press conference or during an interview? Often it is an image that remains with us. We look at some examples and explore how to consider the images that accompany the words in crisis communications.

We look at how hashtags have been used to increase reach of posts, and how they are decreasing as their need diminishes. They are also a source of humour and we will look at some hashtag fails!

inclusivity and accessibility are fundamentally important in communications. It is a waste of time collecting measurement analytics if we can’t craft our messages so that they are likely to be heard, considered, and possibly even acted upon. 
We look at examples of good practice in making public relations content as inclusive and accessible as possible, to create effective communications.

Sound measurement and evaluation of our PR/comms activity is important. It is also one of the three big skills for practitioners. However, we tend to overcomplicate it. That, together with a lack of time and knowledge on how to do it, results in measurement and evaluation not being done. So here is my simplified 101 to measurement and evaluation of communications.

Is it ethically sound to strategically release negative news when the media is likely to be preoccupied with bigger stories? We look at government practice and the CIPR and PRCA codes of conduct.

Some people regard propagandist Edward Bernays as the father of Public Relations. I think they are wrong. Aristotle, a philosopher from 300 BC, is the true father of PR. His 'Theory of Communication' has stood the test of time and is still used by PR practitioners today. I explain the theory.

Emoji are special graphical symbols used to represent faces😀, emotions❤️, objects👙, animals🐶, food🍔 and other things in textual messages on your phone, within an email or other message or on a website.
We explore the evolving use of emoji, with some tips on when to use and when not!

“I am the Lorax, and I speak for the trees”. What has this Dr. Seuss story got to do with climate change? Where have we gone wrong with the narrative of the climate emergency, and what can we do to better communicate a sustainable future? Listen on.

As professional communicators, it is important to use words that our audiences fully understand. We are responsible for the language we use as it is often intended to influence the attitudes, opinions and behaviours of other people. 

Thoughts on some of the words we use in public relations and communications. Some serious, some funny, some ridiculous!