We started the podcast back in December 2022 and have since launched three series; one featuring conversations with guests and friends from the Digital PR industry and another two comprising 5 mini-episodes with some of our PR team sharing their knowledge and experiences. You can find all the episodes below – do have a listen if you missed any or read on to find out more about the hosts, Lou and Steve.
SERIES THREE:
Go to Series Two or Series One
#1: PR Personalities and Managing Mental Health with Abi Bennetts and Richard Paul
Listen to this episode (or read the transcript) if you want to know:
- About the personalities you might encounter in Digital PR
- How to manage work/life balance and set boundaries
- How others have experiences mental health challenges at work
#2: Team-First Culture in a Remote-First World with Alessandra Carriban
Listen to this episode (or read the transcript) if you want to know:
- What it felt like to join a new team in the year of the pandemic
- How Propellernet and its Digital PR team keeps up a strong culture when members are based all over the UK
- How to on-board new starters in a remote-first organisation
#3: Client Red & Green Flags with Steph Finch
Listen to this episode (or read the transcript) if you want to know:
- What’s an early sign from a client that you might be on for a tricky ride or if it’s going to be an exciting partnership
- How to create a smooth and effective working relationship with internal brand teams and the clients’ consumer PR agency
- Green flags when it comes to the creative process
SERIES TWO:
Back to Series Three or jump to Series One
#1: Twitter with Abi Bennetts
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- The pros and cons of using X (Twitter) for Digital PR
- Building your personal brand
- Tips and advice for using X (Twitter) in your day-to-day
#2: AI with Raquel Pinto
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- How to use AI in your Digital PR practices, from planning to campaign ideation
- Why AI experimentation across social media channels can work
#3: Finding Your Niche with Maddie Davies
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- How tapping into your client’s niche can give a fresh perspective
- How it worked for one of Propellernet’s most successful reactive campaigns
- What Maddie’s favourite niche-based OOH campaign and content campaigns are
#4: Ideas with Richard Paul
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- How to overcome an ideas block
- How to come up with truly creative campaigns
#5: Back to Basics with Stephanie Finch
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- What advice Steph would give to people wanting to enter the industry
- Her favourite campaigns
- Why she doesn’t actually like the term ‘Digital PR’
SERIES ONE:
Back to Series Three or Series Two
Introducing The Digital PR Podcast
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- More about the podcast! This was our pre-launch teaser…
- What Lou and Steve actually sound like
#1: Creativity with Mark Rofe
Listen to this episode (or read the transcript summary) if you want to know:
- How to have a creative mindset in digital PR
- Where ideas come from and how brains work
- How Steve’s brain works – as he pitches Mark some of his more interesting campaign ideas
#2: Reactive with Sophie Rhone
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- What different types of Reactive PR exist
- How you can balance reactive stories vs campaigns
- How to work reactively with a client and stakeholders
- When you should comment (and not!) and when a link is worth it
#3: Agency Culture with Luke Cope
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- How to approach culture when you are starting from a blank sheet
- How things have changed in agency culture over the years
- How to build a culture that reflects your people
- Luke’s personal experience of burnout and how that has led him to change how he now approaches work – and the type of agency he wants to build
#4: Relevancy with Gisele Navarro
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- How to ensure that the campaign you pitch is relevant to the client and relevant to the outcome you want to achieve
- How to vet ideas
- How to ensure a balance of humanity, creativity and SEO impact
- How you can authentically make your clients part of a wider conversation
#5: New Business with Mark Perkins
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- What factors play a part in winning new business
- More about the process of business development
- How to interpret a brief
#6: Strategy with Sophie Coley
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- How to think strategically when planning Digital PR
- How to differentiate strategy from tactics
- Why strategy is important
#7: Digital PR in the US with Bri Godwin Huyke
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- The differences in Digital PR practices in the UK vs the US
- What campaign formats work best in the US
- What the future has in store for Digital PR across the pond
#8: A Client’s Perspective with Amy Smithers
Listen to this episode if you want to know what clients think about:
- Pitching
- Procurement
- Story building
- Relationships
- And lots more!
#9: Crisis Comms with Andy Barr
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- What can go wrong when doing PR
- How to handle angry clients…
- … and angry journalists!
#10: Freelancing with Isa Lavahun
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- The pros and cons of being in an agency
- The pros and cons of freelancing
- What freelancing actually looks like today
- How to stay connected as a freelancer
#11: RTO or WFH? With Mary Hickey and Rich Leigh
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- What work setups exist – and the pros and cons of those
- Why being in office can help to foster collaboration
- Why working from home is such an important option for so many
#12: Journalists with Katie-Ann Gupwell
Listen to this episode if you want to know:
- What makes journalists link to a campaign
- Do they really want to go for a coffee with you or tell you how their holiday was
- Are they as worried about AI taking over as people PR-side are?
Meet the Hosts
Louise Parker
Louise has been back with us at Propellernet since August 2021 – we say back with us because she also had a four-and-a-bit year stint which started in 2018! She heads up the PR team and hosts the podcast alongside Steve though right now is on maternity leave, doing the most important job of all.
Steve Baker
Steve is one of Propellernet’s long-timers, having joined us in November 2011. Fun fact: he also commentates for Brighton and Hove Albion so if you really enjoy his dulcet tones on the podcast, you can hear more on the club’s social channels. Alternatively, you can imagine him voicing his answers to some questions we put to him and Lou, below…
[Q]: What’s your favourite thing about doing the podcast?
[S]: “I honestly love every aspect of it but I refuse to give a sit on the fence answer so i’m going to say, meeting lots of interesting people from our industry and beyond.
“When me and Lou first discussed the podcast, one of the many things that motivated us was actually getting to chat to people that we admire and picking their brains on the state of the industry.
“I meet people from our industry briefly at events and awards dos but it’s a genuine privilege to get to sit with them for an hour or so and have their undivided attention and insight.”
[L]: “I agree – it’s definitely meeting the different guests – me and Steve invite on people we admire and who are doing really interesting work (or have very interesting opinions!) and getting to pick their brains is fascinating.”
[Q]: What’s your least favourite thing about doing the podcast?
[S]: “Absolutely no doubt in my mind that it’s the editing process.
We have a wonderful producer who makes things easy but we still have to edit and by the third listen, I am so bored of my own (and Lou’s) voice that it’s painful.
It’s a bit like when you stare at a word for long enough and it ceases to have any meaning at all.”
[L]: “For me it’s the technical issues. To be fair, we have an amazing podcast technician who runs things very smoothly but on the odd occasion there is a mic issue or something it can be a bit painful! Steve has to do a lot of ad-libbing…”
[Q]: What’s been your favourite episode so far?
[S]: “That’s akin to asking me who my favourite child is! Thinking about it, it’s not remotely like that and is a very reasonable question.
“I honestly don’t have an out and out favourite but, again, to avoid sitting on the fence, I’ll say Isa Lavahun. We used to work with her so not only was it lovely to see her again, it was incredibly intriguing to learn about her career path and the freelance world. I don’t have any experience of that so I learnt a lot.”
[Q]: What have you learned from doing the podcast?
[L]: “I’ve really stared to appreciate our industry more – digital pr is booming at the moment and with it, a lovely community has blossomed. So from the guests giving up their time to be on, to anyone that listens and comments and shares the pod, it’s lovely to see the support from all our fellow digital PRs.”
[Q] And what what do you make of being called the ‘Kirsty and Phil’ of digital PR?!
[S]: “On the one hand i’m absolutely crushed by this because Kirsty and Phil don’t seem particularly cool or cutting edge but, on the other, they’re incredibly successful broadcasters who have done 40 series together.
“If me and Lou do 40 seasons of the podcast then we’ll be doing something right (or wrong, dependent on your point of view).”
[L]: “Hahaha I love that! Watch this space for our TV debut!”
