Blog posts : get a little creative comms inspiration
Ten phrases social media managers hate
You might imagine that the phrases social media managers hate to hear would be “we’re out of coffee”, or “there’s nowhere to charge your phone”. But there are phrases that strike even more fear into social media managers. To celebrate
Comms strategy: when dreams don’t match reality
I hope you know that you’re not alone if you find your comms strategy dream does not always match the reality. I drew a doodle to illustrate this. If you’re a comms pro, social media manager, or marketing person,
A day in the life of a social media manager. Explained by The Simpsons
A day in the life of a social media manager.
Creative social media during the coronavirus crisis – 5 tips
This is a practical guide to maintaining creative social media during the coronavirus crisis. Actually, all of the advice here is relevant at any time, but it’s pretty vital now. There’s loads more I want to tell you, but I’ve
The future of PR & communications: 2020 & beyond
As a creative PR and comms trainer, I’m often asked, ‘What is the future of PR and communications?’ It’s a fun and daunting topic to explore. Will tech advances change the industry completely? Will robots steal our jobs? How can
How to give your brand an engaging social media tone of voice
Developing an interesting and engaging social media tone of voice is a hot topic for lots of us who look after social media for brands. It’s all very well saying we should be less corporate and more human – but
The comms Christmas gift list
If you’re anything like me, you do your shopping at the very last minute. And maybe you save time by wrapping your gifts in scrunched tinfoil… just me?! Anyway, if you want to get a little something for your comms
Take the 31 Days of Creativity Challenge
Take The 31 Days Of Creativity Challenge Unleash your creative side in under 15 minutes a day Our gift to you: an easy programme with 31 quick tasks that will boost your creativity. A lot of people think creativity is
Are you inbox zero or creative hero? My email rebellion
Lately I’m lucky enough to have got some help with responding to email enquiries and such like. What a luxury. When I was an in-house communications professional, I was awful, rubbish, utterly useless at: Getting back to everyone who emailed
Do you get the comms butterflies of dread?
Being a creative comms person is not the easy option. You create something a little different that you think is pretty good – but you don’t know how it will be received by your audiences, & colleagues It’s emotional. Nerve-wracking.
A PR and comms stress epidemic: survey results 2019
I am seriously concerned about the stress faced by the hundreds of comms and PR professionals took part in a survey, and the hundreds of people I train every year. Results of a survey of 442 people working in the
Comms and PR stress, and the workload dilemma
Stress is often seen as part of the job of being a communications, PR and marketing professional. But I don’t think the pressure we face is healthy, or even necessary. Sometimes, the people who love their jobs most, are the
Punctuation: five fun facts
It’s National Punctuation Day! So I thought I’d share five more-interesting-than-it-sounds trivia about punctuation. Because I KNOW you comms creatives have a sneaky obsession with punctuation. 1. Do you correctly use hyphens and dashes? I have discovered the difference between
Replace your inner critic with an inner fan club
How much do you let your inner critic hold you back? Maybe it’s a comms and marketing thing, but we seem to be quite hard on ourselves. We view our own work and ideas as harshly as would a sworn
Could you work with your brother or sister? Introducing my new business manager, Lel
Hey! I have taken on my first permanent member of staff, and guess what? She’s my big sister! Introducing Lel Reynolds: bringing order, ideas and loveliness to The Comms Creative College! I couldn’t think of anyone better to help me
Great comms takes courage
For a few reasons, creative, engaging social media doesn’t just take skills and creativity – it takes guts.
12 Podcasts for comms, PR and marketing pros
I want to share some podcasts to inspire comms, PR and marketing pros, because it’s often hard for us to slot in learning, or CPD of any kind, into our schedules.
Social Media Marketing Awards: I won!
On Monday, I won Freelance Social Media Marketer Of The Year at the Social Media Marketing Awards! I’m super chuffed, especially since I was up against some incredibly talented social media professionals. ‘But, hang on’, you might be thinking, ‘You’re
Social media for a royal wedding – behind the scenes
These days during huge news events, we are all scrolling through social media to find out the latest updates and see photos of what’s going on. As Princess Eugenie’s upcoming wedding is fast-approaching, I think about the local council’s communications team.
Creating a communications strategy – advice from a comms specialist
The first time I was asked to get creating a communications strategy, I was super intimidated by the task. It seemed so important and I had no idea what to include until I’d spent about four hours Googling the topic!
My advice for a career in communications
I’m sharing some advice for a career in communications as part of the second #CommsCreative challenge: to blog useful tips for other communicators (read more about the challenge here). I’m now old enough to have enough bags of experience to fill
The creative communications strategy
We can make a real difference to the impact of our comms by working to a creative communications strategy. The thing about being involved in your organisation’s strategy is, it’s all so serious, and the results can often feel conventional
Communications strategy, snakes and ladders style
Ever have that feeling when you see something so nifty, and simple that you wish you’d thought of it? That was me when I saw this very creative communications strategy template from Sarah Yates, Broxtowe Borough Council’s brilliant Corporate Communications Manager. Very kindly,
Comms Creatives Club newsletter: fancy some inbox inspiration?
Have you signed up to the The Comms Creative newsletter? Sign up now! Every month, I send an email newsletter with creative comms stories, interviews and tips. I blog on comms generally here and on commscartoons.com, but this is all and
Ten tips for comms pros from the NHS Communications Conference 2018
It’s amazing how invigorating it can be to get out of the office to learn and network with other communications professionals. Yesterday I loved hosting the NHS Confederation’s Communications Conference 2018, and I’m so grateful to share some excellent insights into
2018 survey: Comms in the UK housing sector
Busy UK housing communications professionals rarely get time to meet other comms teams to compare teams and work experiences. So in early 2018, I asked PR and comms practitioners in the sector to take a short survey, where they could
What should be in your communications kit?
The modern communicator is asked to turn their hand to lots of techniques, and if you want to be prepared for all sorts – here’s my guide to the 13 things you need with you at all times in your
Dealing with negative social media comments – dos and don’ts
The subject of dealing with negative social media comments crops up in almost every social media training course I run, so I thought I’d share my simple dos and don’ts to make things easier. So, this is how to handle
The top 10 of UK public sector tweets of 2017
Yes, public sector tweets can be exciting and interesting! In the public sector, we often have small, or no, budgets for social media. But our organisations do amazing work and our communications teams have bags of talent. I salute communications
Public engagement: crap apps, Lego, conversation and politicians
Public engagement is something all public services do, and many do badly. This is an opinion piece on crap apps, and what makes useful public consultation, along with some genuine questions about the role of the politicians, that you might