PR Not BS

Todays guest is Stefan Thomas, the author of ‘Business Networking for Dummies’.

Not surprisingly, we talked a lot about networking, something we both do and find incredibly good for our businesses.

Stefan sees networking as part of PR for your brand, and the most efficient way to increase and maintain your visibility­. He has used networking so well that now people talk about him and what he does to others, in a positive way.

He was an early adopter of many things, including social media, when people thought he was mad wasting time on it. But now, his so-called madness has paid off. 

Also, like me he doesn’t see the point in keeping his personal and business life separate on social media. People like to see that the things that you’re doing, because they often find they share interests with you, which in turn draw them to you.

And you need to listen to find out about Micro Moments…

To contact Stefan:

Website: https://www.stefanthomas.biz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanthomasbiz/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: Fiona Scott's PR Tribe

Today my visitor is Jane, better known as Lady Janey, who I met on one of my courses a few years ago. She shares what she learnt on that course and what she’s achieved since using that knowledge.   

A very busy lady, Jane is a consumer champion, who presents on radio, appears on TV, writes for publications, her own blog and national papers.  

She talks to me about her blog and how that has developed, to the point of earning an income from it. 

Her business grew out of the fact she was worried about the falling standards of customer services in the UK. The advice that was out there about getting in touch with companies, or customer service, was often very confusing. Initially, she started as a mystery shopper, and writing and talking about it, helped to build her business. 

Jane gives some excellent tips about booking summer holidays – one of the main ones being, to pay by credit card, and the other, to have a contingency fund to get you back from somewhere, should you get stuck, and you have to cover the costs at the time. She also gives some tips on avoiding scams. 

One of the things that Jane says annoys most people about customer service, is not being able to get hold of people. And she has a great answer to that. A fascinating and hugely important tip she has is - be a better customer – you will get a better experience.  

 Listen to the podcast to find out why! 

 To contact Jane: 

Website: https://ladyjaney.co.uk/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ladyjaney75/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladyjaney75/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ladyjaney75/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ladyjaney75 

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group it’s Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe and it’s here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

My guest today is former detective superintendent, Julie Mackay, who with my friend, broadcast journalist Robert Murphy, co-authored the best-selling true crime book, ‘To Hunt a Killer’.

During our talk we manage to cover everything from stories of crime, the importance of intuition, changes in policing, cold cases, media and the police, to period poverty!

A retired detective superintendent, Julia shares her experiences working in the police, as a female, and how she overcame it all, because of her passion for solving crime, and loving being a police officer.

She talks about the case at the centre of her award-winning book which she led a team who finally found the killer of Melanie Road who was murdered in Bath in 1984. Her murder led to Britain’s biggest man hunt at the time. At that time, I was iin Bath, a teenager myself, about to start my degree at Bath Spa University. We were all scared and, as the Bath Rapist, was also active at that time we worried about every dark corner, every late night walk. 

Julie talks about how incredibly hard it is to work a serious crime case, even after 20 years, due to the amount of paperwork, forensic and digital evidence, including DNA, and the fact that there are still witnesses who have information they want to share. Often buried within that mountain of work, there can be key facts or nuggets of information which get missed. Yet it was ground-breaking DNA work which led to Melanie’s killer being finally brought to justice. 

You will be totally riveted listening to this episode.

Julie can be found here https://juliemackay.co.uk/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group it’s https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

Today’s guest is a first in terms of what she does, which is quite niche. Melissa Hobson writes about the ocean; marine science, marine conservation and interesting studies about the sea and the creatures within.

Journalist and writer Melissa has been published in The Guardian, National Geographic Online, New Scientist and many other scientific publications. 

She is not a scientist herself, but a freelance writer who is passionate about anything to do with the ocean and conservation, and the people who are working on fascinating initiatives.  

One of the recent stories Melissa worked on was about the tagging of a rare and huge species of stingray. As you can imagine, pictures and footage is vital when writing about these subjects, and most of themagazines expect beautiful images.

Once again her career speaks to how she can work far more easily with those who have the right ‘assets’ – the correct knowledge, experience, great videos and great imagery which showcases what they do. 

To hear more about her her own story, how she finds the marine conservation organizations, individual scientists or biologists and people she wants to work with, and the stories she has share – tune into the podcast.

To contact Melissa:

Website:  www.MelissaHobson.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melpud/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group it’s Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe ask to join and mention this podcast by name. 

Today my guest and I have a fascinating talk about old school journalism and the differences between the past and present in the industry.

And Marcus Grodentz has lots of knowledge to share, having started as a copy boy in a news agency in London, and now, having worked in the industry for several years, he has moved into a PR career, before later becoming a life coach.

A great talking point is our use of mobile phones, and how they weren't even in the picture when we started our jobs in journalism. People seem to have forgotten what the main purpose of phones is!

Marcus shares interesting stories from his time when he joined a newspaper at the age of 16.

You know I love having conversations with people, and Marcus agrees – after all PR is a communication industry. 

Now working as a coach, the conversations continue on a wide variety of subjects and with interesting people. Marcus uses the various skills he has developed as a journalist and working in PR for his work as a coach. He has to know which skill to draw on, and also use another of his most important skills - being a good listener.

Also, how do you know when a coach is a good coach, rather than just someone who has decided to call themselves that? Marcus’ answer is – it’s all about building trust in him.  He doesn’t see coaching as solving problems, but as a conversation around challenging belief systems and gaining clarity.

To contact Marcus:

Phone number: 07915 888168

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://wwww.novuslifecaoching.com

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe

Today’s guest is Olivia Foster who is a TV producer working for shows like This Morning, Who Dares Wins and many more. 

Before working in TV, Olivia was a journalist working for magazines such as Heat, Grazia and Marie Claire, which she loved. She talks about how she finds TV a far more dynamic medium to work in. 

She also explains what a producer actually does, because few of us know (I do because I was a producer myself full-time with ITV) and it involves far more than you could imagine. 

So, what if you want to be on TV?  Olivia’s great tip for this is to get yourself in front of a camera, so that you can build up your confidence, and talk without falling over words. Film yourself on your phone, get other people to film you, do social media live talks, give talks in front of audiences - try everything to get yourself out there. Be visible and present.  

She shares with me her love of funny stories, and some of the bonkers stories that can appear on TV, plus on the flip side, she also likes the warm and fuzzy moments too. Olivia also talks about the types of ideas that she will be looking for over in the coming months.  

Like many of my journalist guests who have been on before, Olivia talks about the importance of knowing about the person you are pitching your ideas to. Don’t just send something over without checking out the sort of stories that the relevant journalist works on. 

We end with a discussion about social media, AI and how things are changing.  

To contact Olivia: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LivsFoster 

Instagram; https://www.instagram.com/livsfoster/ 

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my free Facebook group it’s Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe. 

Today I’m joined by my friend and client, Louise Hunt Skelley PLY.

Louise has been working with me for a year, after retiring from a career as an elite athlete, as a former top 10 wheelchair tennis player. 

Since retiring and ready to take the next step in her career, she has fully embraced PR. She shares why she thinks the investment in PR is well worth it, and how it has helped her to build her confidence.

Having competed at two Paralympic Games, she is now self-employed with several different hats; mentoring, consultancy, speaking engagements, and commentating – again at Wimbledon this year.

One challenging thing Louise talks about is how people perceive her, as a disabled person. She hates being labelled, and the way some people assume because she is a wheelchair user and her legs don’t work – neither does her brain!  Louise shares some stories about this, and goes on to say how she wants to break those stigmas and assumptions.

Louise also talks about working with businesses to recognise how they can support a disabled employee, and not just by having wheelchair accessibility, which is a must anyway. It’s about inclusion for everyone.

She talks about her top tips for recognising red flags when approached by PR people, and why you should be wary of them.

To contact Louise:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouiseHunt1

LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-hunt-skelley-ply-992b90177/

Website: https://www.Louisehunt.co.uk/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

My guest today is Claire Brewerton, the owner of Virtual Business Centre, a telephone answering company based outside Malmesbury. However, the business works with clients from Scotland to Exeter and everywhere in between.

Claire talks about how at the beginning of the business she did absolutely everything, answering phone calls 7 days a week, but now she has a team of 24. She is still the chief, and they are open 7 days a week, but she is not personally working all hours.

She talks about the type of work they do for clients, and shares why people want their phone answered.

4 of the reasons why clients might want their phones answered;

1. They have to do the school run
2. They don’t want to work 7 days a week, but their website is open all that time.
3. They need someone to answer calls in the evening when they’re dealing with family.
4. They want to go on holiday.

We have a conversation about niches in business – which is something often talked about - particularly when it comes to marketing and PR, and not always easy to identify.

Claire also talks to me about working with Theo Paphitis, and Small Business Sunday and the great opportunities that has brought her.

To contact Claire:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thevirtualbusinesscentre/

Website: https://www.virtualbusinesscentre.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/virtualbuscent

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/virtualbuscent

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: Fiona Scott's PR Tribe

Today I’m talking to someone who I have been working with since 2021. Cartoonist Morgan Gleave is familiar to you though you might not know it – he created the cartoon that I use for my podcast!

Many of us love cartoons, comics and animation, but how many of us use them for our business?

Morgan has been drawing all of his life, and finally took the plunge to go full time a few years ago, creating comics and cartoons. He captures people’s personality and character, rather than an idealised image. He injects fun into someone’s authentic persona. 

He shares how he works – always starting with pencil and paper, before moving on to create the image digitally, which allows it to be used in many different ways.

Morgan also talks about how people don’t always recognise the value in art work, and how over the years he has had to justify what he charges. But now, he knows his worth - the amount of time he has spent honing his art, and building up his experience, and is comfortable with his charging structure. 

I want to use more cartoons in the future, and we talk about how people use cartoons.  One being, using cartoons to explain complex processes, because many people can handle visual representation better than they do written information.

Morgan also talks about the comic book he is working on, which stems from his childhood passion for Marvel Comics and his plans for his first graphic novel.

If you would like to contact Morgan:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgan-gleave-488b3b230/

 If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group it’s Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe, it’s free to join. 

Today I’m pleased to be introducing a PR journo-hybrid who works in a very similar way to me. Niamh is a freelance national journalist, covering celebrity entertainment, showbiz and television. She also works for quite a few national titles, such as The Mirror, Daily Star, Okay magazine, and lots more. 

Niamh talks about some of the celebrities she has worked with and the programmes she’s covered, and how, like me, she loves TV. She shares how she accesses these people, and how even after the shows have finished, she has often stayed in touch with them, because when they stand up for important issues, she knows she can go back to them for stories or comment. Building that relationship is important to her.

We are definitely singing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to talking about the use of photos and video.

Niamh also talks about the need for light and shade in news’ pieces.  Her reaction to what some people refer to as ‘fluffy’, is that we need some fun in our lives too, as there is plenty of heavy news every day. There is a huge variety of stories to be told, and if you enjoy your subject matter, because you live and breathe it, then that’s fine - write about it. 

We also chatted about what the important issues will be during 2023.

Niamh’s tips:

• Make sure you know which journalists write about your passion. 
• Talk about your passions on social media – journalists use it for their research.
• Use hashtags, so that your posts get noticed.
• Plan well ahead – if you know there are dates coming up that are awareness months, or days for your passion subject.

To contact Niamh:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/missnspence

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niamh.spence/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niamhspence/?originalSubdomain=uk

Website: https://www.niamhspence.co.uk/

If you would like to contact me: www.Scottmedia.uk or if you’d like to join my Facebook group: Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe.