Communication Strategy That Works – Détails, épisodes et analyse

I am kicking off the 2026 podcast with a new series where I'm exploring what it really takes to communicate well in 2026.  Attention, Algorithms & Formats is a three-episode series and your guide to crafting messages that cut through the noise, land with clarity, and actually get seen.

These three episodes will shape your thinking in the first quarter of the year ahead. Why? Because 2025 was a year defined by AI-shaped attention, personalised content ecosystems, fragile trust, and audiences who decide in seconds whether something is worth their time. 

And I strongly believe that communication isn't just a skill, it's a competitive advantage. The ability to craft messages that cut through noise, land with clarity, and actually stick is becoming essential for leaders, teams, brands, and creators alike.

And while the tools and channels around us have evolved at lightning speed, the foundation of powerful communication hasn't changed. Storytelling is a craft as old as time, at the core of how humans have always connected, and great communication and skilled messaging sit at the heart of what I do today.

I'm starting the series with a book review: Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath.
It's one of the most practical, timeless books on communication I've ever read, and its insights have only become more relevant as the world around us grows noisier and more algorithmically filtered.

In this book review, I'm breaking it down the way I always do:

1. Why I loved this book

2. What makes it so interesting

3. Five key takeaways you can use today

So, let's dive in.

Hey everyone, it's good to be back. Welcome to the refreshed version of the podcast: new rhythm, same depth, and a lot more inspiration.

We've taken a little time to reset and rethink what this show could be. And from this month, we're moving to one episode every three weeks - slower, more intentional, and packed with real takeaways.

You can expect a mix of in-depth insights and learnings, the kind of thoughtful, reflective conversations we've always had along with reviews and recommendations of things I've seen, read, or listened to that I think you'll love too.

And for our first episode in this new chapter, we're talking about something that sits right at the heart of great business, great creativity, and great campaigns: Collaboration.

So, let's dive in!

As a new year approaches, there's no better time to start something fresh and exciting. 2025 is the year to take that idea you've been mulling over and turn it into something meaningful — something that connects, inspires, and resonates. Podcasts are a powerful way to do just that, and I created the Start and Launch Your Audio Podcast Coached Programme to guide you through every step of the process, from concept to launch.

In this podcast episode, I dive deeper into my bespoke Start Your Audio Podcast Masterclass giving you all the information you need to get started. 

So, let's dive in.

This is a VERY exciting time as the UK Census is published in earnest this week, which means up to date baseline data on the UK's population and habits over the last ten years.

Creating campaigns with insights and data at their heart can really help left-brain thinkers get behind a campaign, so internal sponsors, for example, it also means, more importantly, that your campaign is more likely to hit the mark with your audience.

One of my passions is data and insight. And the Census is about as interesting as it gets! It is a treasure trove of information about the nation's population and can be used in many ways.

The Census is the most extensive survey globally, in fact, carried out across many countries every ten years.

Importantly, this data also helps to better understand the demographics of the population, which is critical for marketing and communication purposes. And, it informs how we can talk to our audience better based on their habits and demographics.

Today you will learn; what demographic data is, why it's useful in campaigns and where to start.

Let's dive in!

Links mentioned in this episode:

The UK Census release schedule

Liked Listening today?  What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource : Find out more here.

Hire my expertise, whether that's support with a one-off comms project or entire strategy for your business drop me a line if you want to explore this further.  You can also work with me 1:1 as a trainer and mentor  emma@henbe.co.uk

Work with me closely

If you'd like to work with me to develop and implement your communication strategy through 1:1 work with me, podcasts, workbooks, sharing ideas and lots of accountability and up-skilling? Then email me emma@henbe.co.uk to register your interest for you or your entire team.

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback in this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

This week's podcast is inspired by my two days at a vast built environment event in Leeds, UK.  

I ran the Beyond Net Zero pavilion for a client of mine UKBCSD (UK Business Council for Sustainable Development)

It was an inspiring two days of 15 talks covering everything from how we create a world for everyone to materials and data in buildings and thinking about building less so we can catch up on our carbon challenges as a sector.   Communication was a strong point as well not just in our tent but across the conference and it made me think that we have a job to do to support this epic challenge for businesses and places.

This episode was originally published after COP26 around six months ago last year, where I reflected on the communication challenge and responsibility we have as communicators to help with this topic.

We can't keep having the same conversations; we need action, and communicators have a role to play in enabling businesses to do that.

Links mentioned in this episode:

First published on LinkedIn live event 'It's a B2B comms thing' watch it here:  https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6860905845253779456/

https://greenclaims.campaign.gov.uk/

https://www.cpicode.org.uk/news/code-for-construction-product-information-and-guidance-published/

Further listening: Episode 43. 6 steps to manage potential reputation issues

Grab your FREE 6-step guide to reputation issues management (also here: https://bit.ly/6StepGuideIssuesNoTissues)

Liked Listening today?  What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource : Find out more here.

Hire my expertise, whether that's support with a one-off comms project or entire strategy for your business drop me a line if you want to explore this further.  You can also work with me 1:1 as a trainer and mentor  emma@henbe.co.uk

Work with me closely

If you'd like to work with me to develop and implement your communication strategy through 1:1 work with me, podcasts, workbooks, sharing ideas and lots of accountability and up-skilling? Then email me emma@henbe.co.uk to register your interest for you or your entire team.

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback in this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

Another podcast about a podcast I hear you cry? Latest research carried out by a number of organisations, including Guardian Newspapers, The Literacy Trust and Buzzsprout, indicates that not only does podcast advertising command the highest levels of attention of any media channel, but podcast listens are up, people are more engaged in brands that have podcasts, and young people are also turning to podcasts.

The Guardian study found 65% of listeners paid attention to podcast adverts - more than adverts on TV at 39% and adverts on the radio at 38%.

And by all accounts, if it's worth spending money on, then the medium is worth exploring, whether paid or unpaid?

Aside from this, I am a huge advocate, and I am even imparting this info to you on a podcast as I know you are more likely to engage with the content.

And whilst there is lots of research out there on podcasts, it is a fairly new medium in that it's different to radio, for example, so all research is taken with a little bit of caution.

So, today I run over some of the reasons why it's essential to explore audio as part of your communication mix, as it is growing much-needed, whether that's in-house or external communication.

Let's dive in!

Links mentioned in this episode

The Guardian research on podcast advertising April 2022

BuzzSprout research May 2022

Statistica forecast UK listeners

Get 5 lessons from a podcast host Audio Book and Downloadable book + my 15 things to think about before starting

Liked Listening today?  What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource : Find out more here.

Hire my expertise, whether that's support with a one-off comms project or entire strategy for your business drop me a line if you want to explore this further.  You can also work with me 1:1 as a trainer and mentor  emma@henbe.co.uk

Work with me closely

If you'd like to work with me to develop and implement your communication strategy through 1:1 work with me, podcasts, workbooks, sharing ideas and lots of accountability and up-skilling? Then email me emma@henbe.co.uk to register your interest for you or your entire team.

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback in this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

The aim is to get your brand, products, and services in front of as many potential customers as possible, right? The more people you reach, the more chances you have to make a great first impression and turn a one-time buyer into a loyal fan.

But in our digital world, where we are exposed to an almost infinite number of ads and offers, it's getting harder and harder to cut through the noise and get noticed. One of the best ways to get noticed is by using a few key messages repeatedly in your content, so that customers start to associate your brand, product or service with those messages.

This is also why it's important to sell the sizzle and not the sausage, especially in B2B.

So today is a reminder of how important it is to remember who's buying or benefitting and why they should even bother listening, for every campaign you are working on. I cover my insights and tips on how and throw some examples for you too.

Let's dive in!

Liked Listening today?  What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource : Find out more here.

Hire my expertise, whether that's support with a one-off comms project or entire strategy for your business drop me a line if you want to explore this further.  You can also work with me 1:1 as a trainer and mentor  emma@henbe.co.uk

Work with me closely

If you'd like to work with me to develop and implement your communication strategy through 1:1 work with me, podcasts, workbooks, sharing ideas and lots of accountability and up-skilling? Then email me emma@henbe.co.uk to register your interest for you or your entire team.

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback in this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

You may not think you have stakeholders or that it's for huge corporates of public sector bodies to think about? I think it's overlooked in PR programmes, as running alongside campaign activity it can really underpin a campaign.

I advocate stakeholder planning as part of an overall communication or PR strategy, not just as a business development tool or an add-on.

The main reason is that what motivates people to participate or not is an important part of helping us understand what problems to solve, who will buy your product or service, and, in turn, understand our audience better. This means we can create messages that resonate with them and talk to them in ways they can understand the benefits.

So today I share what stakeholders are, and how to build them into your communication strategy and some of the most important questions to ask yourself when trying to understand your customers' needs as well as how to prioritise who to talk to first.

Let's dive in!

Links mentioned in tis episode:

How to craft messages that resonate

Kahootz for stakeholder engagement

Tracktivity for stakeholder engagement

Download my free guide to effective stakeholder planning

Liked Listening today?  What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource : Find out more here.

Hire my expertise, whether that's support with a one-off comms project or entire strategy for your business drop me a line if you want to explore this further.  You can also work with me 1:1 as a trainer and mentor  emma@henbe.co.uk

Work with me closely

If you'd like to work with me to develop and implement your communication strategy through 1:1 work with me, podcasts, workbooks, sharing ideas and lots of accountability and up-skilling? Then email me emma@henbe.co.uk to register your interest for you or your entire team.

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback in this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

Using the media is a great way to get your message across.  Press releases are one of the most common ways to do this.

They're an excellent way to get your news out to journalists quickly and easily. They're also a great way to provide journalists with information about your company, product or service quickly and easily. This makes the

Press releases are, however, just one tool in the media toolkit.  Today I share seven ways you can utilise the media as part of your strategy and some of my personal experiences of using them too.

Let's dive in!

Links mentioned in this episode:

Every picture tells a story

Using newsjacking successfully

Liked Listening today?  What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource : Find out more here.

Hire my expertise, whether that's support with a one-off comms project or entire strategy for your business drop me a line if you want to explore this further.  You can also work with me 1:1 as a trainer and mentor  emma@henbe.co.uk

Work with me closely

If you'd like to work with me to develop and implement your communication strategy through 1:1 work with me, podcasts, workbooks, sharing ideas and lots of accountability and up-skilling? then email me emma@henbe.co.uk to register your interest for you or your entire team.

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback in this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

This has been such a popular episode I just had to re-share it with you this week! 

You might have already had a bit of PR success.

Perhaps you wrote a post which got a lot of engagement on LinkedIn, or an article on your blog which brought traffic into your website. You might even have got some press coverage. But when the chatter died down, you might have been left wondering what to do next?

One press release will give you that kudos in the moment, but it won't support or grow a business over time.

A programme of activity really is the best way forward if you're starting out. You want this to support a particular business goal otherwise it can be a little bit scattergun and have mixed results. What does success look like for you and how would the activity you are planning support it?

I'm going to walk you through today how to start using public relations in your business, so you create content which makes the right impact.

Let's dive in!

Liked Listening today?  What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource : Find out more here.

Hire my expertise, whether that's support with a one-off comms project or entire strategy for your business drop me a line if you want to explore this further.  You can also work with me 1:1 as a trainer and mentor  emma@henbe.co.uk

Work with me closely

If you'd like to work with me to develop and implement your communication strategy through 1:1 work with me, podcasts, workbooks, sharing ideas and lots of accountability and up-skilling? then email me emma@henbe.co.uk to register your interest for you or your entire team.

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback in this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.