The Digital PR Podcast

Ever want to know what journalists really think of PRs? What makes them 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? For our final episode of Season 2, Lou and Steve catch up with Trinity Mirror's Katie-Ann Gupwell, to get all the insider info on journalist/PR relationships, how we can optimise our working dynamics, and what a day in the life of a journalist actually looks like.

For our final minisode with the Propellernet Digital PR team, we're taking it all the way back to basics with the age old question- what is Digital PR? To give you all the answers, we call on Digital PR Director Steph Finch, who has been in the game since link building was even called link building. Hailing from a totally digital background, and bringing over 10 years of experience to the table, Steph talks about what advice she'd give to people wanting to entre the industry, her favourite campaigns, and why she doesn't actually like the term 'Digital PR'.

This week we're mixing things up a bit with not one but two guests joining us to debate one of the industry's hottest topics- to work from home or return to the office? Mary Hickey, Senior Digital PR Manager at North, is a huge advocate of working from home and the work/life balance it brings her. Rich Leigh, founder and CEO of Radioactive PR, thinks better work and team collaboration happens in the office. At a time when it seems every agency is figuring out how the hybrid working world works for them, this is one not to miss!

On this week's minisode, Steve is joined by Richard Paul, Propellernet's Creative Director. This time it's all about ideas, with conversation topics including creative campaigns, how to overcome an ideas block, and what Richard does in the shower that Steve does in the car....

It seems like more and more Digital PRs are leaving their inhouse and agency jobs to take to the open roads of freelancing. Digital PR is a career that lends itself to freelancing with its project and strategy-led nature, and as many organisations tighten their agency purse strings, hiring freelancers can be cost effective for both brand and worker. Having worked inhouse, agency-side and freelance, Isa Lavahun sits down with Lou and Steve to discuss how the world of freelancing compares to more 'traditional' employment.

Everyone knows that PR calendars flow on a combination of current events, awareness days, pop culture and seasonality. Sometimes, though, it can be tricky to find an in for your client to get their voice heard above the noise, especially if their offering is seemingly unrelated. This week, Steve is joined by Digital PR Director Maddie Davies, for a chat about how tapping into your client's niche can give a fresh perspective. She details how it worked for one of Propellernet's most successful reactive campaigns, and touches on her favourite niche-based OOH campaign and content campaigns too. Get your notepads at the ready, this is one you don't want to miss!

This week, Lou and Steve's special guest is none other than 10 Yetis founder and crisis comms aficionado, Andy Barr. Andy doles out some cracking advice- from how not to panic when you mess up a press release to how to deal with your name coming up during a parliamentary debate, there's no 'oh dear' career moment that he can't help with. Get ready for some great tips and a whole load of laughs.

For this week's minisode, Lou grabs a quick chat with Propellernet's resident AI whizz, Digital PR Executive Raquel Pinto. Raquel uses AI throughout her work practices, from planning to campaign ideation, and is a huge advocate for AI experimentation across her various social media channels. If you're looking for some great AI insights, you've found the right place.

For this week's episode, Lou and Steve sat down with Get Agent's head of communications, Amy Smithers. Having worked both agency side and client side, Amy has had her eyes over every part of the Digital PR process, and has some great tips on everything from pitching to procurement. This season of The Digital PR Podcast is sponsored by our friends at https://coveragebook.com/

For the first mini episode of the season, Lou and Steve catch up with Digital PR Director at Propellernet, Abi Bennetts. They discuss the pros and cons of using the platform for Digital PR, building your personal brand and tips and advice for using Twitter in your day-to-day.

We're back! To kick off season 2, Lou and Steve sat down with Bri Godwin Huyke to discuss all things Digital PR across the pond. Bri is US Digital PR Manager at Journey Further, and is based in NYC. From journalists to outreach to reactive to content, they leave no PR stone left unturned, so kick back, relax and jump into Season 2 with us.

Unbelievably, we're already at the end of our first season and to wrap things up, Lou and Steve sit down with our very own Sophie Coley to chat all things strategy in Digital PR. From the 'why' to the 'how' as well as how its role has changed as the Digital PR discipline has developed. We learn about how Sophie's role has grown alongside strategy, as well as her 'icks' and why the last 11 years of working alongside Steve have been 'the best of her life' (in Steve's own words, of course!).

Mark Perkins brings over 25 years of industry experience working across some of the UK's leading PR agencies. In this episode, we cover the factors that play a part in winning new business -and spoiler alert, it's not just about having the best ideas. We also look at the process of business development, how to interpret a brief and when it goes right, and very wrong! It's a great episode that's sure to raise a giggle! Please note, this episode contains strong language.

How do you ensure that the campaign you pitch is relevant to the client and relevant to the outcome you want to achieve? How do you vet ideas? How can you ensure the balance of humanity, creativity and SEO impact? How can you authentically make your clients part of a wider conversation? This episode covers a whole range of topics across the Digital PR space and throughout Gisele brings a clear, simplistic lens to explain her approach. It’s a conversation that might be based in Digital PR but is very relevant to all you do so it is definitely worth a listen!

Episode 3 sees Lou and Steve catching up with Luke Cope, co-Founder of the new Digital PR and Content Marketing agency, Bottled Imagination. The guys chat all things agency culture as Luke set out on building his team from the ground up. From ping-pong tables to four-day weeks, what really matters to your team?

Lou and Steve return for episode 2 to chat with digital PR consultant, Sophie Rhone, about reactive PR and its growth in the digital PR space.

In our first Digital PR Podcast episode, Lou and Steve talk to 'internet prankster', Mark Rofe, about all things creativity. We delve into the creative mindset in digital PR; where ideas come from; how brains work and even how Steve's brain works as he pitches Mark some 'interesting' campaign ideas.

Louise Parker and Steve Baker have both been working in the digital PR space for over 10 years now and, in the last few years, they have seen the industry explode along with a lot of interesting conversations. So, we wanted to introduce The Digital PR Podcast to cover just that, what Lou and Steve chat about each day and introduce some amazing guests across the series to cover all the big topics! Stay tuned to find out more.