Birch, Bristol’s newest podcast studio, has opened at Nine Tree Studios in Brislington.
Designed with both “audio and video first”, the space offers high quality audio recording in a comfortable suite that’s designed for film.
“When we opened Nine Tree Studios, supporting the local creative industries was at the heart of everything” said Russell, Co-Founder of Nine Tree Studios.
“We have a huge amount of versatile space, and we want it to be useful, accessible and affordable – not just sit there empty. Bristol doesn’t have a huge amount of podcast suites, with some professionals even travelling to London just to record.”
“With our space we hope to welcome and support a variety of creatives, content producers, influencers and hobbyists alike.”
With full-RGB lighting and space for branding, the studio is perfect for both guest and episodic podcast recording.
Birch also has access to Nine Tree Studios’ other facilities, including ample parking, green rooms for hair and makeup, and a large kitchen breakout space.
The studio can be hired from the hour for just audio recording or including video, with various options to suit beginners and professionals alike.
Nine Tree Studios is Bristol’s biggest independent studio. Located just outside the centre of Bristol there’s parking for over 30 vehicles with easy access to Bristol, Bath and the M4.
Throughout our history the race has been on to explain how best to utilise language, visual media and interpersonal relationships to push a product into the consciousness of potential customers. There have also been countless efforts to shed some light on the origins of public relations, and understand the changing nature of PR.
As a distinctly separate discipline from advertising, PR aims to cut through the noise and deliver strategic campaigns that help to explore a company’s narrative. Here are some best-practices principles that PR companies should stick to even as they’re faced with the changing landscape of the industry:
Always understand your audience first. Representing a business can only be done well when understanding who you’re writing for and who you wish to communicate with. Promoting yourself to the wrong audience could be worse than not promoting yourself at all.
Reformat & redress your messaging. With promotional formats changing massively in recent years, making sure that all material produced can be reused across different formats – blogs, podcasts and advertisements – can extend your reach and engage a range of new and existing audiences.
Go beyond clean & linear PR. The online landscape for promotion is exceptionally complex. Trying to garner attention without understanding principles of modern digital marketing such as SEO, SERP features and backlinks (as well as the different tools used to analyse these strategies) can be extremely difficult.
In conclusion, there’s a lot to take in with the current PR and marketing landscape. To understand it better, it’s always good to ask people who know best – like us. Read the full length article on the changing nature of PR on our website.
originally posted to www.carnsight.com
It’s all good and well looking over your social media analytics, but if you don’t understand them then you might as well not be tracking at all. It’s important to know what each stat represents and what goal they are useful towards.
So, without further ado, here’s a basic breakdown of some of the common stats tracked on social media. Social media stats 101 if you will!
Engagement Rate: Fostering Community and Loyalty
Why It Matters: Engagement rate, which includes likes, comments, shares, and other interactions, measures how actively your audience is interacting with your content.
Goals: High engagement means that you’re posting content that really resonates with your audience, fostering a sense of community and loyalty. Engagement is essential for building relationships and encouraging positive word-of-mouth interactions. Businesses aim for high engagement to cultivate a dedicated following and to enhance brand visibility through organic reach.
Reach and Impressions: Expanding Visibility
Why It Matters: Reach refers to the number of unique users who have seen your content, while impressions count the total number of times your content is displayed, regardless of clicks.
Goals: These metrics are crucial for understanding the scope of your content’s visibility. A broad reach and high number of impressions mean that your message is being seen by a wide audience, helping with brand awareness and recognition. Businesses track these stats to ensure their content is getting in front of as many people as possible.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): Driving Traffic
Why It Matters: CTR measures how often people click on the links in your posts, leading them to your website.
Goals: A high CTR shows that your content is compelling and effectively driving traffic to your site. Businesses aim to optimize their CTR to convert social media engagement into something actionable, such as website visits or product purchases.
Conversion Rate: Achieving Business Objectives
Why It Matters: Conversion rate tracks the percentage of social media interactions that result in a desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading a resource.
Goals: This metric is directly tied to the return on investment (ROI) of your social media efforts. A high conversion rate means that your social media strategies are effectively turning interactions into tangible business results.
Follower Growth Rate: Building an Audience
Why It Matters: This statistic measures the rate at which your social media following is growing over time. It’s the stat most people seem to hone in on, but it’s not always what you want to focus on.
Goals: A steady growth rate indicates that your content is attracting new followers, expanding your audience base. It’s vital for long-term success, as a growing audience means more potential customers and increased brand influence. Businesses monitor follower growth to assess the effectiveness of their content.
It all comes down to the fact that each social media statistic serves a unique purpose and aligns with specific business goals. By properly understanding these metrics, businesses can craft effective social media strategies that work towards their specific objectives.
Want to learn more about Social Media? Have a look at Laura’s Day in the Life to understand the typical roles of a Social Media Manager.
originally posted to www.carnsight.com
Let’s talk about something that’s essential but often overlooked: being totally open with your PR agency. Yep, we’re diving into the reasons why it’s crucial to let your PR agency in on not just your wins and strengths, but also the challenges your facing and the things you’re not so proud of (before they become a crisis!)
Transparency is Your Best Friend
Whether it’s a recent hiccup in customer service, a product that didn’t quite hit the mark, or internal challenges, your PR team needs the full picture to craft authentic and effective strategies. Without all the pieces of the puzzle, even the best comms strategy is going to have holes and contradictions. Remember, your PR agency isn’t just there to make you look shiny and good, they’re there to build trust and credibility.
Crafting a Crisis Management Plan
No one likes to think about potential crises, but they’re a reality in the business world. Being proactive rather than reactive can make all the difference. When your PR agency is in the loop about potential weak spots or areas needing improvement, they can help you develop a solid crisis management plan. This means if something does go wrong, you’re not scrambling to do damage control; instead, you have a well-thought-out plan ready to go.
When your PR agency has a comprehensive understanding of your business, including areas that need improvement, they can develop strategies that are tailored to your unique business. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s about creating campaigns and communications that align realistically with your brand.
Next time you’re hesitating to share a challenging situation with your PR agency, remember that they’re your allies. They’re there to support you, to help you navigate challenging times and to celebrate your successes. By being open and transparent, you’re not just improving your PR strategy; you’re building a brand that’s resilient.
Originally posted to www.carnsight.com
I joined Carnsight Communications early June and already the experience has been amazing! In the fast-paced world of PR, things are thrown at you left, right and centre, and there are skills you get to pick up quickly.
No two days are the same, and I get to manage different tasks at once. Whilst there’s no ‘typical’ day in particular, there are usual routines to follow, so here’s a day in my life as an Intern for Carnsight.
Before I go to work, I usually scan over the news headlines, to see if there’s anything particularly topical to our clients, or just to see what people are generally talking about. I found staying up-to-date with the latest headlines helps so much with pitching to journalists, as you know better what they’d want to feature based on local or global news.
But my time in the office starts at 8:30am, being just a short commute from where I live in Bristol. Of course, it always starts with a coffee and a quick catch up with the team. These mini-meetings are always helpful, and the quick briefing will tell me what my priorities are for the day. As an Intern, a lot of my tasks include assisting one of my colleagues, so catching up allows me to see where I can best support the team.
The morning is where my left-over tasks from the day before get re-shuffled. This is particularly after I’ve checked my emails, seeing if there’s anything I need to urgently reply to, or anything that needs to be bumped up my priority list. I usually check for any responses to pitches first, and then double-check I haven’t missed any pitching opportunities. These involve tight deadlines, so it’s important to do it sooner in the day rather than later!
Once I’m happy with my inbox, I make my to do list for that particular day. I usually have a new list at the start of every week, but I keep it updated as and when because it’s really easy to forget things.
What I do next purely depends on what particular work has come in, and what deadlines I’m working towards. Sometimes this is more focused on social media strategy with content creation. This involves looking back over the brand guidelines for that particular client, and starting initial brainstorms for what content their audience would want. I’ll then start drafting posts – this could involve repurposing old content from the client, or it could be something entirely new. This is another reason why I check the news in the morning, as sometimes the client’s content can be related to trending headlines, meaning it will gain more traction with their audience.
Other times, my tasks are more PR focused. This can include both proactive and reactive pitching, and based on my emails for the day I’ll know what to start with first. Then, it’s onto the writing. I love this aspect of PR as it allows me to exercise my creativity, and the variety of clients we have means I often get to write in different perspectives and tones of voice. This is also a time where I get to be flexible – sometimes my tasks will be copywriting a blog post for a client, and sometimes it will be a more factual press release.
Even if my main priorities are completed, there is always something to do in the world of social media and PR. One of the most important additional tasks is research, which is essential to PR. This could be for the creation of a media list, helping us target certain publications for certain clients, or it could be to aid a blog post or thought-leadership piece. When you’re writing on behalf of a client, Google can help you make sure you really know what you’re talking about!
Before I leave the office, I give my emails another check and I ensure all my time-sensitive tasks are done. It’s a fast-moving business, but there are always more rewards than challenges.
So there you have it, a day in my life as PR and social media intern. To learn a bit more about me and my role, check out the fun 2mins with interview series here on the blog.
Originally posted on https://www.carnsight.com/
A while back, I had the pleasure of diving into the world of personal brand and LinkedIn with some of the brilliant minds at SBE Team Academy Bristol. As we’re firmly in summer now and a whole new host of students head out into the world of work, I’ve been reflecting on the fantastic conversations I had with the young people in that session.
One of the most pleasant surprises was discovering how many attendees were already actively using LinkedIn and building their professional brands. They’re way ahead of where I was at their stage, and it’s inspiring to see such initiative and foresight.
However, a common challenge that surfaced during our discussion was the hesitation and fear that often accompanies the moment right before hitting the post button on LinkedIn. It’s a relatable struggle, but there are ways to overcome it. Here are some hacks and solutions we shared:
1. Engagement Support System
Line up some buddies to like and comment on your post—friends, colleagues, your mum! It might sound silly, but knowing that you’ll have some initial engagement can help mitigate the fear of getting zero responses.
2. Mel Robbins’ 5,4,3,2,1 Method
Try the Mel Robbins 5,4,3,2,1 method, or even better, the 3,2,1 method (less time to overthink!). Count down and press the post button before you reach zero. This technique helps you bypass overthinking. Then, walk away for a bit to let it settle.
3. Start with Commenting
Begin by commenting on other people’s content. It’s less pressure than creating your own posts and can help you become more comfortable with the platform. Plus, it’s a great way to engage with the community and build your network.
Keep Building Your Personal Brand
Personal brand on LinkedIn is a journey, and it’s great to see so many of you on the right path. Keep experimenting, engaging, and most importantly, keep sharing your unique voice with the world.
When it comes to a crisis, we all know emotions reach their all-time high. But there are ways to prepare for the worst, and recognising the emotions at the forefront will help you manage them when they eventually come up.
A crisis can come out of nowhere, but a lot of the time it’s something you can plan ahead for. It’s always been seen with big multinational companies, but nowadays even smaller agencies can find themselves in hot water. So, no matter what size your company is, it’s worth knowing how to deal with criticism, and the emotions you will need to juggle.
Naivety
This is one of the main emotions to manage and be aware of when it comes to a crisis. You must be practical – if you believe you will never stumble across a problem or be criticised, you will be put in a difficult position when it happens. Addressing your current naivety can help manage your future stress.
Fear
It’s important to be prepared, and it can quieten that looming fear of the worst happening. You have to consider what might be a problem in the next few months, as well as long-term issues in the future. It can be helpful to have this in a physical list, and it’s useful to do with your team so you can all prepare a cohesive response.
Fear can also cause uncertainty, which can sometimes delay your response in a crisis. But reacting quickly is key to making amends with your audience, and there is no room for procrastinating an apology. Previous preparation means you can start communication as soon as possible, which will make your company appear more proactive in making amends.
Anger
Anger is a powerful emotion, but can only add fuel to the fire when it comes to a crisis. It can also lead to extremes, such as denial or shifting the blame, which can impact your public statement. You don’t want your apology to sound like an argument, meaning your first response will likely need to be revised multiple times. It’s important to be thorough, and maintain a neutral approach in your statement. Placing yourself on the defense will seem like you’re avoiding responsibility, and going for the attack will never translate well in the media. You should work with your team, tweaking your statement around who your audience is, what they need to know, and what they should be hearing.
Humour
When it comes to an apology, or a crisis diffusion, it is so important to think about your tone. Despite how you may personally feel about the criticism, and how you cope with it, humour can largely feel out of place in a serious situation. It can also damage the sincerity behind your words, and you wouldn’t want your audience to think your apology isn’t heartfelt.
Navigating these emotions will put you in a better position when it comes to delivering your apology, and helps to present your company in the best possible light.
Honesty
Honesty should be placed at the forefront of your crisis. This is what your audience will resonate with, and lying now will only make the situation worse in the future. Take a human and sensitive approach to your apology, and avoid using cold or AI-sounding sentences. You can still be friendly, even while addressing the severity of the topic. Share an honest strategy with your audience on how this situation will be overcome, and the steps you’ll take to ensure the situation doesn’t happen again.
Campaigns Never Die is an AI tool designed to enhance the Dungeons & Dragons experience for users. The D&D tool for taking lengthy game prep off the to-do list so you can get straight into the action also aims to intensify the game by elevating your adventures at the touch of a button. The idea comes as a solution for the founder, who found that his time to get into the game was cut short as the responsibilities of life increased. CND aims to cut down the prep time, simplify the routes to adventure, and enhance the journey, all whilst not compromising on the original D&D experience that has caused so many to fall in love with the game.
OggaDoon is preparing Campaigns Never Die for their Kickstarter launch later this year. Through social media marketing, content marketing, and PPC ads, we are driving a strong community to discover Campaigns Never Die ahead of launch. Conducting research into the market and creating audience profiles and demographics has helped us built out a social media marketing strategy to find and target the community of Dungeons and Dragons users who will be interested in streamlining their game prep. This research then expands into the ads that we will deliver to encourage signups ahead of the Kickstarter launch.
We’re very happy to be assisting CND on their journey, and creating our own adventures together.
You can also get in touch with us at OggaDoon to learn more about our work with Campaigns Never Die and to see how we can support you! We are a Bristol based Digital Marketing and PR agency that specialise in digital PR, social media, SEO, and content marketing, bringing all of this expertise into delivering strong organic campaigns and paid marketing campaigns.
Originally posted to www.carnsight.com
Bad PR practice helps no one – not the PR pro, not the journalists they’ve liaised with along the way and certainly not the client, who’s invested in what’s turned out to be a negative experience. It certainly doesn’t help the industry. Twice in the past week I’ve spoken to someone who’s been burnt by a bad PR experience. I’ve tried to help both of them to understand what might need to change in their PR approach and what PR potential there might be by taking a different tack.
PR is an art not a science, and there are lots of reasons why things don’t go to plan. But, based on what I’ve discussed recently, here are some of the things I’d consider when you decide to embark on a PR campaign.
Will I be tied into a long contract?
We work on shorter projects and longer-term PR campaigns. There are lots of benefits to engaging a PR agency for a sustained period, including the fact that national opportunities don’t always happen within a neat, four-week period, and profiles need to be built over time. However, one of the people I spoke to was tied into a six month contract for a launch campaign with no break clause. Things weren’t going brilliantly and, as a start-up, that was putting a lot of financial pressure on him over a sustained period. Definitely check if you have the option to terminate during the period. We usually work to a three month initial period before reviewing. That gives the option to break on either side.
Should I expect results from the first month?
If the PR agency has done its homework and understands your business and offering before starting PR activity, there shouldn’t be a long lag in coverage coming in. We have monthly targets and these start from month one. It’s worth asking about timings at the start of any engagement, and if things seem to be taking a long time, always ask why.
How regularly will you be in contact?
Another thing I’ve heard is PR contacts disappearing for a while, or not being in touch with clients regularly, leaving them feeling burnt by the experience. There’s always a balance and, as a PR pro, you don’t want to be a hassle. However, you should also be updating clients regularly on activity, and where you are with pitches and opportunities. We tend to set a bi-weekly call if we can, so we at least have something that clients can work around, but we’re frequently in touch over email and/or text if required. And we have live status documents and capture coverage real-time, so they can be accessed at any stage.
What work have you done for clients like mine (not just the big names?)
It’s easy to be dazzled by big brands that PR agencies have worked for (we’re all guilty of focussing on the big fish!) but there’s a real difference between a PR campaign for a household name and the launch of a start up. Even if you’re in the same industry. What’s useful is seeing what’s been achieved for businesses similar to yours. Also check on when campaigns were run – titles evolve and some disappear, so what was achieved five years ago might not be possible today.
What media titles and opportunities are realistic?
If you’re expecting consumer coverage and get sector only, you might not feel like the investment’s been worth it. There may be a reason for it, so it’s worth having an upfront conversation about what could be achieved. Although you should never go with anyone who guarantees certain PR coverage, you should work with a PR consultancy which is happy to discuss what could potentially be achieved ahead of any investment, and why consumer media may or may not be realistic.
Let me start by saying that if you are one of the lucky few that is completely happy with the copywriting talent within your business, firstly HUGE congratulations and hang on to them with both hands (maybe not literally!), and secondly, this post probably isn’t for you.
However, if you are one of the many businesses that aren’t completely happy with ALL of the copy written for your business, read on!
Coming up with the words for your marketing can happen in a few different ways. Some people prefer to maintain full control by using existing employees to write their company’s copy for them, or sometimes in smaller businesses, by doing the writing themselves. With the advent of AI, this option may on the surface seem more appealing than ever.
With the support of AI or without it, however, coming up with the right things to say about your own business is a very difficult thing to do. Even professional copywriters find that hard. And even if you know exactly what you want to say, are you sure it’s what your audience wants to hear, or is it what you think your audience wants to hear?
The other option for producing copy for your business is to outsource to an external copywriter and here is why that might be your best option.
5 Reasons to hire a copywriter
Saves time and money – It may feel like an additional expense you don’t need to employ a copywriter, but for example, if you are doing the writing yourself, or if your marketing manager is doing all the writing themselves, it’s worth working out how much this is costing the business. How much does your time cost? If your writer holds a senior position in the company, the cost of their time is almost certainly more than you would pay even a top-notch freelance writer. And while we’re on costs, it’s worth thinking about the quality of the copy being produced and whether it could be working harder for you if it were written by an expert. Of course, anyone employed directly by the business is likely to know more about the company, but that doesn’t necessarily make them the best copywriter.
Delivers a fresh perspective – While a good copywriter will work hard to learn everything about your business and the products or service you have to offer, they probably won’t become embedded in the business in the same way direct employees do. But working externally to the business allows a copywriter the freedom to come up with new ideas you might not have considered. It’s sometimes easier for someone outside of the business to identify the amazing things you do, than it is for you to identify these things about yourself, and because your copywriter might be working with a few different companies, they may get fresh ideas from other businesses or sectors too.
Gives you the gift of time – Employing a professional writer to look after your long form blog posts or feature articles for trade magazines for example, frees up you or your internal resources, to do what you do best. Whether that’s managing people, running a business, making sales or coming up with new marketing tactics to push your business forward. You can’t really hire freelance support to help with any of these things because that’s probably why your customers buy from you, but in the same way as accounting or legal support is often outsourced, copywriting is another aspect of business that can be outsourced to give you more time.
Covers all bases – Whether you are a new venture just starting out, a small business at the point of expansion, or a larger company with a full-service agency on your books, it can be overwhelming to ensure all of your marketing balls are kept in the air. One of the most common things I have seen fall to the bottom of the list is business blogs or longer feature articles, because longer form prose takes more time, effort and skill to write. This is where freelance support is really helpful. It can plug any gaps in your existing marketing channels, but also if you hire a writer to create longer articles for you, whether for publication in print or online, you also then have circa 800-1500 words to play with and repurpose for other marketing channels.
Puts your content first – Any type of copywriting is a time-consuming business! Coming up with ideas, doing the research, checking the facts, writing the copy and editing the words afterwards, takes time and expertise. Creating content is unlikely to be a priority in most businesses, unless there is a dedicated resource just for this. That’s not to say it’s not considered important, but perhaps not as important as generating leads, closing sales, delivering your products and services, sending invoices, and providing after sales care. But for a copywriter, your content is absolutely their priority. It won’t fall to the bottom of a to do list, and it won’t be rushed through because of other competing priorities.
Find your copywriter match
Despite there being so many benefits to hiring a copywriter, they only apply if you find the right person for your business. It is worth doing your research and paying your due diligence by asking to see endorsements and reviewing their previous work or their own blog, to see if you think they will be a fit. Not all copywriters are the same, but when you find a relationship that works, you can reap all of the above benefits and more from hiring a copywriter.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of all the cookies. Visit Cookie Settings to update your settings.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
