Stephen Waddington

Stephen Waddington to join Metia

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Stephen Waddington, chief engagement officer at Ketchum, has been appointed UK managing director at international digital marketing agency Metia.

Stephen will join Metia from Ketchum in January 2019 where he’s worked for the past six years in various roles including chief engagement officer and european digital & social media director. Prior to this he co-founded and managed two agencies, Rainier PR in 1998, and Speed in 2009.

In his new role, Stephen will be responsible for leading a team of 60 people, managing the development and delivery of content marketing, social media, lead generation and communications campaigns. In the past two years, the agency has delivered campaigns in 88 countries in 39 languages for clients including Amazon, Dell, Microsoft and BMW.

Metia’s capabilities include social media analytics and insight, an international content network, content planning and optimisation, media strategy, web design and development.

Stephen said: ‘If you were asked to design a blueprint for a modern agency it would look a lot like Metia. Its expertise in analytics, content and technology, combined with intellectual property in planning, optimisation and reporting tools, and an international content network, gives it a rock-solid point of differentiation and significant opportunity for growth. I can’t wait to get cracking in my new role.’

Steve Ellis, founder of Metia Group, said: ‘Stephen is a hugely experienced and talented agency leader. He is a great addition to our senior leadership team. Stephen’s experience at helping global brands to tell their story through digital and social channels is a perfect fit to our strengths and capabilities.’

Stephen is a visiting professor at Newcastle University and the author of eight books on learning and development, and modern aspects of marketing and public relations. He was president of the CIPR in 2014, and is a fellow of the PRCA and CIPR.

directional signs

Is your digital strategy diverse enough?

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With news that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is ‘actively considering’ launching an investigation into the digital advertising market, is it time to reassess your digital strategy?

The Guardian reports that the comments were made by the CMA’s chief executive Andrea Coscelli, who was speaking to the House of Lords communications committee.

Coscelli said: ‘A month ago, this committee asked us to look at digital advertising. That is something we are actively considering, subject to Brexit in the next few weeks, because it has a big resource implication for us. It is certainly something we are interested getting involved in.’

The UK’s digital ad market is estimated to be worth £13bn, and Google and Facebook are thought to be responsible for over half of this. With Facebook advertising set to be worth almost as much as the entire commercial TV ad market by 2020, there’s strong grounds for the CMA to investigate.

But what does this mean for you?

As any great PR knows, putting all your eggs in one basket is unsustainable. If you work in travel and rely on a travel editor at a top newspaper to get your story out – what are you going to do if they move on, retire or leave the profession?

It’s the same with any platform or outlet you don’t control – ask any Instagrammer what happened when the shadow ban hit, or YouTuber when Google changed its revenue rules. Just because there are new platforms and methods of reaching your audience, it doesn’t mean the rules have changed:

Diversify or die.

You can’t rely on a single successful source for your ROI. Sure, Google or Facebook ads may be scoring you huge results right now, but what will you do if the platforms are regulated or change their algorithms?

Great PRs have a diverse portfolio of contacts and outlets – leveraging relationships everywhere to ensure their coverage and results are spread out. That means using journalists, newspapers, magazines, broadcasters, websites, bloggers, vloggers and even tweeters. And that’s just earned (and possible paid) media; great PRs also have owned content – both on social media AND their own sites, blogs and materials.

By ensuring you have a diverse route to your audience, you can survive if one channel takes a hit. Build more relationships, use more platforms and weather the storm – it’s what PRs excel at.

Planning to diversify? Vuelio gives you access to every contact, opportunity and channel you need on one platform, in one place. Find out how we can help.

University of Westminster

How Vuelio improved the University of Westminster’s media outreach

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The University of Westminster has an international reputation and strives to ensure the very highest standards are met and maintained. We spoke to Poppy Crispin, Head of Communications at the University, to find out more about the university, why it needed an integrated platform and how Vuelio has improved its media outreach and reporting.

The University of Westminster
The University of Westminster boasts a vibrant learning environment attracting more than 20,000 students from over 150 nations and we continue to invest in our future with new developments, research projects and new ideas.

We offer highly attractive practice-based courses that are independently rated as excellent, many with international recognition. Our distinguished 180-year history has meant we lead the way in many areas of research, particularly politics, media, art and design, architecture and biomedical sciences, and our position in the city of London allows us to continue to build on our close connections with leading figures and organisations in these areas as well as in the worlds of business, information technology, politics and law.

Our commitment to educating graduates for the needs of professional life attracts high quality students from within the UK and around the globe.

Internationalisation, employability and sustainability are key elements in the University of Westminster’s vision for the future and we strive to ensure the very highest standards are met and maintained.

The PR department uses the Vuelio Media Database and Media Monitoring to support our reactive and proactive media engagement work to promote the University and to create PR Reports shared across the University to demonstrate our outreach and impact each month.

The Challenge
Before using Vuelio we were unable to create effective media lists, target the right journalists or report on our coverage in a holistic way. We wanted a system that would provide monitoring and database in one, that could accommodate international and national media and all the tags and categories we need to represent a large scale international university.

The Solution
The initial demo was really good and I saw features in all areas that would support our work.

Vuelio offered the best value for money, a single platform for our needs but also have a dedicated Higher Education team who understand the needs of a university.

Vuelio is our one stop shop for easy and accurate media outreach and reporting.

We get daily monitoring through Vuelio enabling us to stay on top of breaking stories. We are also able to create bespoke monitoring to cover major campaigns individually and deliver these to key stakeholders across the university. We are able to create media lists and issue statements to relevant journalists at home and abroad, creating an international reach for the university and strengthening our relationships with media at home.

Our account manager Katherine has been fantastic – she is always responsive and has been really helpful in troubleshooting issues that always occur when using a new system. She has also been instrumental in enacting changes we have requested that can be used across the Vuelio system.

Benefits and Results
Our reporting is now more accurate and detailed, and we are able to create individual reports for different people and campaigns.

We are able to quickly find the right contacts for quotes and campaigns and have expanded our reach in the media exponentially.

 

Find out more about how Vuelio saves clients time and money here. 

Vuelio ResponseSource

Vuelio extends journalist network with acquisition of ResponseSource

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Vuelio, the stakeholder engagement software company, buys journalist request and media database provider ResponseSource.

Access Intelligence Plc, the parent company of Vuelio, has acquired ResponseSource Ltd for a cash-and-shares consideration of £5.5 million to create an unrivalled portfolio of stakeholder engagement software.

Access Intelligence CEO Joanna Arnold said: ‘Vuelio and ResponseSource have a lot in common. They are both SaaS businesses providing great communications intelligence to PR, marketing and journalism professionals. But at the same time, they are extremely complementary, and ResponseSource will from day one add significantly to the portfolio while accelerating our combined product development, particularly in journalist services.’

Vuelio clients now have the option to access a powerful means of media engagement thanks to the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service, which allows journalists to directly request information from PR professionals. This creates an unprecedented opportunity for Vuelio clients to gain coverage by providing comment, opinion and other content on a huge range of topics for leading newspapers, publications and influencers.

Journalists and influencers using the service will also benefit as over time they will be able to access a wider range of leads through the Vuelio client base – a rich source of blue-chip businesses and sector-leading organisations.

Joanna Arnold added: ‘ResponseSource’s trusted journalist services are representative of the strong links between the team and the journalist community. These links provide a platform for relationship building and research, and it needs to deliver value for everyone involved. We plan to continue to invest in the ResponseSource brand, in its services, and in its people.’

ResponseSource founder Daryl Willcox will remain at the combined company and becomes Director of Audience Strategy for Access Intelligence. He said: ‘It’s a great outcome for our customers, journalist users and the team at ResponseSource that we are now part of an ambitious UK Plc that really understands the importance of the journalist network we have built. I’m looking forward to continuing to grow this strategically important side of the business that benefits journalists and PR professionals alike.’

Google+

RIP Google+

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It’s the end of an era, you might say. Google has announced it is to close the consumer Google+ network, following a massive data flaw it did not report, allegedly for fear of regulation. 

 

Google+ was, for years, the punchline to many social media jokes, but more recently it had fallen from even that status out of the collective conscience. It is now going the way of Klout, which closed earlier this year on the same day the new GDPR rules came into force.

 

The closure of Google+ comes with news of a potential data breach that could have affected up to 500,000 users. The flaw, which would have allowed third party developers access to private data of users and users’ friends, was discovered and fixed earlier this year but kept quiet as, reportedly, Google wanted to avoid regulation.

The Guardian reports on an internal Google memo, which says: ‘Disclosure will likely result in us coming into the spotlight alongside or even instead of Facebook despite having stayed under the radar throughout the Cambridge Analytica scandal’.

It has not been lost on the commentariat that this flaw sounds almost identical to Facebook’s issues centred around Cambridge Analytica.

 

The memo also warns that CEO Sundar Pichai would likely have to testify before Congress and that the disclosure would invite ‘immediate regulatory interest’.

Google claims it decided not to report the security flaw for three reasons: it was unable to identify any of the users who were potentially affected; it found no evidence that the security flaw had been abused; and there were no actions either developers or users could have taken to improve the situation.

On announcing the closure of the social network, Google revealed what everyone had assumed – engagement rates on the platform are shockingly low, with 90% of interactions lasting just five seconds. (“I’ll just click on this… nope, that’s taken me to Google+. Now, how do I go back?”)


Google+ will still be around for a little while longer; to give people the opportunity to ‘transition’ (their jokes presumably), the site will wind down over a 10-month period to the end of next August. 


Enterprise customers are apparently making much more use of Google+ as a ‘secure corporate social network’ and will therefore be unaffected. 

Judges

The Vuelio Blog Awards Judges for 2018

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The judging panel for the Vuelio Blog Awards has been announced for 2018.

The Vuelio Blog Awards pride themselves on their independence – we don’t ask for nominations, we don’t make people ask for votes and we don’t require people to promote their participation. Our judging panel is a core to this independence – the judges each come from a different background, with different experiences, to choose winners who know they truly deserve their prizes.

The Vuelio Blog Awards are taking place on 30 November 2018 – tickets are still available on a first come first serve basis. Find out more here.

We are delighted to announce this year’s judging panel:

DecathlonBella Angelova, Head of Brand & PR, Decathlon
Bella is currently in charge of the Brand and PR activities at Decathlon UK. She has over seven years of marketing experience across the sport, fashion and lifestyle industries. She is working with influencers on daily basis and is the creator of the first Bloggers community within the Decathlon brand. The main objective of this community is to raise awareness around how important sport is and to spread Decathlon’s main mission of making sports accessible to the many.

Bella is also the Yoga and Pilates market leader for Decathlon UK. Her next goal is to start her own blog focusing on the benefits of sport and healthy lifestyle.

BBC World Service

Anna Doble, Digital Editor, BBC World Service English
Anna Doble is Digital Editor at BBC World Service English, steering the team’s web, video, podcast and social presence, while developing digital strategy with partner stations around the world.

She was formerly Digital Editor at Radio 1 Newsbeat, the UK’s biggest radio news service for under-25s. Before that, Anna was Head of Online at Channel 4 News.

Vuelio

Holly Hodges, Senior Media Researcher, Vuelio
Holly Hodges is a senior media researcher at Vuelio. Specialising in bloggers and traditional media, Holly manages the influencer database and has been directly involved with the shortlisting process for this year’s Vuelio Blog Awards. Also responsible for Vuelio’s Top 10 rankings, Holly’s knowledge of the UK blogosphere is second to none.

Hotwire

Kate Hunter, Head of B2B, UK, Hotwire Global
Overseeing Hotwire’s B2B practices, Kate has over 15 years of B2B tech PR experience. She is passionate about integrated comms campaigns that deliver measurable business outcomes for clients. She has been with Hotwire for nearly 12 years.

Craig Landale

Craig Landale, editor-in-chief, MenswearStyle
Craig Landale recently topped the Men’s Lifestyle and Men’s Fashion rankings and last year won two awards at the Vuelio Blog Awards – Best Men’s Lifestyle Blog and Best UK Blog. In addition to Craig Landale’s passion and love for menswear, he is an experienced online marketing consultant, member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and qualified in Post Compulsory Education and Training. Craig has successfully collaborated with a range of brands such as Mulberry, Harrods, Jaguar and Lacoste.

 

For more information about the Vuelio Blog Awards, including how you can get involved, please contact Jake O’Neill.

#AIinPR CIPR

How much of PR and comms will be replaced by AI?

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Last week, Vuelio and Lansons co-hosted an AI in PR event as part of the CIPR Ethics Festival. Sessions were led by a broad cross-section of industry leaders, who discussed chatbots, automating comms channels and the latest AI technology. Appropriately, though, it was ethics that was the dominant theme throughout every session, as it is ethics that sets humans and machines apart.

Paul Miller, head of digital at Vuelio, used his sessions to ask, ‘How much of PR and comms will be replaced by AI’? One answer, unsurprisingly, lies in ethics.

There are many areas of PR and comms that could benefit from AI – from content creation and content distribution to engagement and automating processes – and there’s little doubt that the AI revolution will change the way everyone works.

Andy Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of England, has described the potential disruption of the so-called ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ (the rise of the machines) as being on a ‘much greater scale’ than anything experienced during the Industrial Revolution, which lasted some 200 years. Tabitha Goldstaub, founder of CognitiveX and the chair of the Government’s newly formed Artificial Intelligence Council, echoes Haldane, warning there is a ‘huge risk’ of people being left behind as computers and robots change the world of work.

Both have warned of social tension and greater inequality, so we’re all doomed, right? Well, maybe not.

The argument that computers are going to bring extreme unemployment in coming decades has been made before in the 1950s and 60s, and again in the 1990s. Despite years of rapid advances in robotics, computer power, network connectivity and artificial intelligence techniques, there isn’t mass unemployment in society – in fact, the unemployment rate is lower than it was 40 years ago, and we certainly have a larger population. So, machines may take or change our jobs, but they also create new jobs and the market evolves.

Possibly of greater concern is the impact of automation on the structure of jobs themselves. Human beings and computers are going to be working together, more closely than ever, and we need to get the division of labour right.

The CIPR’s #AIinPR Panel has already identified irreplaceable work in categories such as creativity, professionalism and, perhaps most importantly, ethics.

Computers can’t do what human beings do naturally – they can’t turn information into knowledge or think creatively, conceptually or ethically. More than ever, in this world of FAKE NEWS, Cambridge Analytica and hacked democracies, we’ve seen that tech can be used for evil or for good, but that the tech itself is amoral. It needs strong moral guidance, from us.

AI, therefore, presents a huge opportunity for PR professionals, as the masters of reputation and communication, to play a leading role in the future of all industries and markets. AI needs a strong moral guide – AI needs PR.

If you’re ready to benefit from AI and use machine learning to make the industry a better place, you’re ready for Vuelio. 

Vuelio Blog Awards

Vuelio Blog Awards Finalists: Daddy, Mummy, Pet and PR

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We are delighted to reveal the final finalists for the Vuelio Blog Awards 2018. Covering two parenting categories (back by popular demand), the brand new pet category (by popular demand) and the fiercely contested PR & Comms category, which this year is sponsored by the CIPR. 

The Vuelio Blog Awards are the industry’s independently judged accolades, the ‘Oscars’ of the blogging world. Taking place on 30 November, this year’s event promises to amaze – with the finest dining, death-defying acts(!) for your entertainment, and the greatest awards ceremony on the planet (probably).

Tickets for the Blog Awards are still available online – click here to get yours today.

Without further ado, we present the finalists for Daddy, Mummy, Pet and PR & Comms at the Vuelio Blog Awards 2018:

Daddy

  • Dad Blog UK
  • Daddacool
  • DIY Daddy
  • Slouching Towards Thatcham
  • The DADventurer
  • The Yorkshire Dad

Mummy

  • Boo Roo and Tigger Too
  • Mum in the Madhouse
  • Rainy Day Mum
  • Slummy Single Mummy
  • Toby & Roo
  • What the Redhead said

Pet

  • Adventures Of Monty Dogge
  • Bionic Basil
  • Eva and Amelia’s World
  • Katzenworld
  • Marcel Le Corgi
  • Steph & The Spaniels

PR & Comms

  • MK
  • NevilleHobson.com
  • Power & Influence
  • PRExamples.com
  • SarahHallConsulting
  • Stephen Waddington

The full list of finalists across every category is available here.

If you have any questions about the Vuelio Blog Awards, including how you can get involved, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. 

Blog Awards announcement

More finalists revealed for the Vuelio Blog Awards

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Finalists for the next five Vuelio Blog Awards categories: Beauty, Food & Drink, Interior Design, Political and Wedding have been revealed.

The Vuelio Blog Awards are the industry’s most respected awards – independently judged and coveted by bloggers throughout the UK. Taking place on 30 November, this year’s event promises to be the biggest and best yet – with the finest dining, death-defying acts for your entertainment, and the greatest awards ceremony on the planet.

Tickets for the Blog Awards are still available online – click here to get yours today.

And now, what you’ve been waiting for, the finalists for the next five categories for the Vuelio Blog Awards 2018:

Beauty

  • A Model Recommends
  • British Beauty Blogger
  • Caroline Hirons
  • Hayley Hall
  • Pixiwoo.com
  • Really Ree

Food & Drink

  • Eats Amazing
  • Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
  • Hungry Healthy Happy
  • My Fussy Eater
  • Recipes From A Pantry
  • The Curry Guy

Interior Design

  • Abigail Ahern Blog
  • Dear Designer’s Blog
  • Love Chic Living
  • Mad About The House
  • Swoon Worthy
  • The Design Sheppard

Political

  • Bella Caledonia
  • ConservativeHome
  • Guido Fawkes
  • LabourList
  • Slugger O’Toole
  • Wings Over Scotland

Wedding

  • Bespoke Bride
  • Boho Weddings
  • Love My Dress
  • Rock My Wedding
  • Rock N Roll Bride
  • Whimsical Wonderland Weddings

Check out the finalists for the first five categories: Men’s Fashion, Women’s Fashion, Health & Fitness, London Lifestyle and Travel & Leisure here. Keep your eyes peeled for the final category announcement tomorrow!

If you have any questions about the Vuelio Blog Awards, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. 

Webinar

Pay to Play: fake followers, fraud and the ethics of influencer marketing

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Is your influencer marketing a hit? Or are fake followers plaguing your results?

Ethics in influencer marketing has never been so visible or discussed; just today the issue raised its head again, with Love Island’s Olivia Buckland the latest Instagrammer to have a post banned by the ASA for not clearly labelling it as an advert.

But disclosure is just one problem facing bloggers, vloggers and grammers, and the PRs and brands collaborating with them. There’s also fake followers, paid-for and earned media, and influencer fraud to navigate – and that’s before you create a killer campaign and measure its success.

That’s why our next webinar, with special guest Scott Guthrie, is going to guide you through the choppy waters of modern influencer marketing, so you know how to find the right content creators to work with to produce real results.

Pay to Play – Fake Followers, Fraud and the Ethics of Influencer Marketing
Date: Wednesday 24 October 2018
Time: 11:00 – 11:30 BST

Scott is the former Ketchum digital director – influencer relations, and now works with brands, agencies and platforms to generate meaningful results from influencer marketing. Scott is also a Top 10 UK PR Blogger, writing about influencer marketing analysis, insight and best practice guides at sabguthrie.info.

Sign up to this webinar to learn:

  • Top tips for spotting and avoiding fake influencers
  • What you need to measure to prove your campaign’s success
  • How to engage your audience to make your influencer marketing a success
Tandleman's Beer Blog

Thoughts on beer with Tandleman’s Beer Blog

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Peter Alexander was recently named one of the top 10 beer bloggers with Tandleman’s Beer Blog. Created back in 2007, Tandleman’s Beer Blog covers Peter’s love of the beer industry and pubs, especially those in the North West. A local CAMRA chairman and activist, as well as an experienced beer writer, Peter has a wealth of knowledge and experience that he shares with a loyal and engaged readership.

We caught up with Peter who told us about his favourite beer, the future of pubs and how he works best with PRs and brands.

How has your blog changed from when you first started?
Less frequent and now based on observations about the trade and pubs rather than ‘What I drank where’.

What’s your favourite ale?
Ah. Too many to say really, but if something is on the bar which is around 4%, pale, clean tasting, properly cask-conditioned and with a good dose of hops, I’ll be happy. I am fond of a really good bitter stout too.

What’s the best brewery?
I’m very fond of my local brewery JW Lees. Good solid beers and lovely people.

Where’s your favourite pub?
My local, the Tandle Hill Tavern in Middleton. It’s where I meet my friends. I know everyone, and they know me.

Are pubs in danger of dying out?
No. But they are changing and not always for the better. While there may well be fewer and they may be different, plenty will remain. Pubs have always changed with the times though, so perhaps no need to worry.

If you were running a dream pub, what would you have on draft?
Brewsmith Pale, Holden’s Bitter, Porterhouse Wrasslers 4X stout, Pilsner Urquell and (my guilty secret) Hoegaarden. And one ever changing beer depending on demand and time of year.

What one thing should PRs know before contacting you?
Like most people I need a little advance warning. No point in contacting me the day before you ask me to do something or go somewhere.

What are the best collaborations you’ve worked on?
I’ve brewed stouts with Allgates and Rammy Craft Brewery. Both were bloody good beers which deserved a bigger audience.

Do you think bloggers need their own association?
No. Blogging has thankfully become diverse and the reasons for doing it vary so much. We have the internet to bind us together.

What other blogs do you read?
Most. Favourites though are The Pub Curmudgeon, Shut up about Barclay Perkins, Retired Martin and anything written by Matt Curtis.

Reach-the-right-influencers-with-the-Vuelio-media-database

Fred

How Vuelio improved Fred Marketing’s media outreach

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Fred Marketing is a full-service marketing agency based in Hull. We spoke to Mat Ombler, PR Account Manager at Fred, who told us how Vuelio is a ‘blessing’ for the agency’s media outreach, with accurate information in the influencer database and a responsive platform to help prove ROI to clients. 

Fred Marketing
One of our core services is PR and we distribute a lot of press releases as a result. We needed access to a database of media contacts that’s regularly updated with useful information to help us tailor any pitches accordingly. We also needed a responsive platform to help us pull coverage reports quickly and efficiently with as much detailed information as possible to show the value of our PR activity to clients. And we wanted to monitor keywords related to our clients and keep an eye on what other businesses in our clients’ sectors are up to.

The Challenge
We struggled with our previous media database supplier because the platform was very slow and unresponsive, making it very difficult to search for contacts as well as create and distribute press releases. We also found that contacts on the platform weren’t being regularly updated – in one case we discovered a reporter had left the publication we believed he was working at six months ago! Any problems we did report usually took a long time to get a response back to – at least two to three working days.

Since moving to Vuelio we’ve felt more in control of our PR and saved a significant amount of time. The team coded all of our press release templates into HTML, making all of our communications consistent and on-brand, as well as saving us time.

The Solution
The initial demo of the product was great and one of the main things that stood out to us was how detailed the information was on individual contacts on the platform. We were also surprised to see an editorial calendar containing feature lists for a variety of different publications, both offline and in print, saving us a lot of time for forward planning.

The account management and support overall has been fantastic, completely overshadowing our previous supplier. Any problems we do encounter on the platform are quickly resolved within a few hours. We receive a response within the hour for any enquiries we have– although it’s usually minutes! Knowing that there’s someone at the other end of the platform who is there to support you really makes a big difference and makes you feel valued. The onboarding process and training process for new staff members here has been fantastic too.

Benefits and Results
Finding the right contacts is now much easier than ever before and we no longer feel like we have to cross check every single contact with their social media platforms to ensure they’re still working at the place the platform says they are!

Because the platform doesn’t crash and works quickly, it’s saved us a lot of valuable time.

Vuelio is a blessing when it comes to media engagement, providing us with the information we need on who to contact, how to contact them and when to contact them.

 

Find out more about how Vuelio saves clients time and money here. 

Venue

5 influencer marketing tips from Vuelio Blog Awards finalists

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Last week, we announced the finalists for the first five categories of the Vuelio Blog Awards 2018. Covering Men’s and Women’s Fashion, Health & Fitness, London Lifestyle and Travel & Leisure, the categories represent bloggers at the top of their game and the forefront of the industry.

Ahead of the outstanding finalists being announced later this week (exciting!), we present top influencer marketing tips from finalists across each of the first five categories:

1. Be professional and forthcoming – Victoria Magrath, Inthefrow (Women’s Fashion finalist)
Victoria says: ‘There’s nothing that stands out more to me than someone who is professional and forthcoming with how they can see us working together and what the both of us can gain from partnering’.

Read Victoria’s interview here.

2. Allow bloggers to collaborate – Carl Thompson (Men’s Fashion finalist)
Carl says: ‘I like to be involved with every level of the campaign and have a vast amount of experience in what works and what doesn’t. I execute my deliverables to the highest possible quality, hiring the best videographers and photographers, often at my own expense.’

Read Carl’s interview here.

3. Be original – Elle Linton, Keep it SimpElle (Health & Fitness finalist)
Elle says: ‘I know it’s hard to come up with great ideas but original themes, something a little outside the box of what we’re all expecting, makes it interesting for content creators and then our audience.’

Read Elle’s interview here.

4. Develop a long-term relationship – Angie Silver, Silverspoon London (London Lifestyle finalist)
Angie says: ‘I absolutely prefer to meet face-to-face to establish a more personal connection. I also prefer to work on a long-term basis and develop a good working relationship and trust, rather than one-off campaigns or reviews.’

Read Angie’s interview here.

5. Be openminded – Lloyd and Yaya, Hand Luggage Only (Travel & Leisure finalist)
Yaya and Lloyd say: ‘I guess that we are pretty open minded and always flexible in how we work with people. No two destinations or brands are exactly the same, no two people are and so it would be unrealistic to expect two projects to be.’

Read Yaya and Lloyd’s interview here.

 

If you’re ready to take your influencer marketing to the next level, get in touch and see how Vuelio can help. 

Jeska Hearne outside

Interior design with Jeska Hearne of Lobster and Swan

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Jeska Hearne is the creator of Lobster and Swan, a brand-new entry to our ranking of  Top 10 Interior Design Blogs. With dark moody colours mixed with a  rustic style, Jeska brings the colours from outside, inside. We caught up with Jeska to talk about how the seasons affect her content, her favourite collaborations and the one thing PRs should know about her.

How has your blog changed over time?
Apart from the layout and my style evolving, not much. It’s still all about life, interior and home styling with the things I love and find inspiring thrown in too.

How would you describe your style?
Rustic, rescued, romantic and bohemian.

What makes a great interior design blog?
For me, the images need to be beautiful and engaging first, but I love all aspects of interiors!

What’s the split between your own creations/designs and featuring others’?
It’s a good mix of both depending on how much time I have to post. I love sharing new interiors books and small or inspiring businesses. When we manage to finish renovating the older rooms here, or new areas we’ve created, I always want to share them – but it is a juggling act to make time to shoot and style them in between running our online store, The Future Kept, and other freelance work we do.

Lobster and swan bathroomWhat’s your favourite room in the house and why?
At the moment, I am totally in love with our bathroom, it is all dark and moody with botanicals and a feeling of calm – on clear nights I can take a bath with the windows open and see the stars.

How do the seasons affect your content?
Very much, we are totally in tune with the seasons here, I love to garden and I love the tones that each season brings, so the palette of my images on Instagram gently follows a seasonal feeling.

What’s your favourite household object/item?
 This changes all the time – I love our rustic handmade shelves and our bed is definitely a happy place – so cosy and comfy – but I also love all the different artworks we have collected over the years too.

What one thing should PRs/brands know about you?
I am most interested in beautiful, functional products, made sustainably and ethically, or produced in the UK.

What are the best campaigns/collaborations you’ve recently worked on?
For fast room mood changes I love to re-fresh the paint colour of a room – Farrow & Ball and Cassandra Ellis have been great – I love working with them and their colours. Styling a bench three different ways with Sofa.com was fun, I also worked with Leesa when they launched too and theirs really is the best mattress we’ve ever slept on, we love it!

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
Probably, but that sounds stressful!

What other blogs do you read?
My top five in no particular order are: SF Girl by Bay, Apartment Apothecary, Littlegreenshed, Curate and Display and These Four Walls.

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Matthew Pike by a wall

Men’s Lifestyle Spotlight: Matthew Pike of Buckets & Spades

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Matthew Pike is the man behind Buckets & Spades, a brand-new entry into our Top 10 Men’s Lifestyle ranking. Matthew spoke to us about how varied his blog is, his must-have grooming product and the best campaigns he’s worked on recently.

How many different areas does your blog cover and do you have a primary focus?
Men’s style and lifestyle, design, travel, interiors are the main subjects, but design holds things all together.

What are the main differences between men’s and women’s lifestyle blogs?
Hard one to answer as each blogger has their own nuances and styles.

Who is your favourite designer?
Currently I’m really enjoying Drake’s, Saturday’s NYC and Beams.

What’s your favourite grooming product or service?
Currently that would have to be my Harry’s razor and post-shave balm by Aesop.

What’s the best night out near you?
Ha, there isn’t one. So, it’s a night in for us!

What’s your favourite travel destination?
Recently, New York or Berlin. All time favourite goes to Tokyo.

What one thing should PRs know about you?
Use a research and tailored approach. It’s all about building relationships.

What are the best campaigns you’ve collaborated on recently?
I’ve been very fortunate recently. To name a couple of the campaign I’ve worked on in the past 6 months; Burberry fragrance, Ace&Tate home try-on service, Majestic Athletic x Major League Baseball worldwide campaign, Eastpak x Raf Simons launch, Horizn Studios on-going content creation, Pinterest San Fran project.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
The whole thing is so loose and open to interpretation, so yes I do think a governing body would be helpful. Especially when it comes to producing content with and in partnership with brands.

What other blogs do you read?
At the moment; Jordan Bunker, Basic Apparel, Cate St Hill and Hannah in the House.

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three pints of beer

Talking beer with The Pub Curmudgeon

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Choosing to remain anonymous The Pub Curmudgeon shares their thoughts on all things beer and pubs. Recently ranked in the Top 10 Beer Blogs, The Pub Curmudgeon chatted about about whether pubs are dying out, the best brewery and whether bloggers should have their own association.

How has your blog changed from when you first started?
The biggest change is that a lot of the one-liners and links to articles have moved to Twitter, so it now tends to concentrate on longer, more considered pieces.

What’s your favourite ale?
Impossible really to name just one, but if forced to I’d pick Batham’s Best Bitter, a wonderfully complex, subtle and deceptively drinkable beer.

What’s the best brewery?
 One from the select band of independent family brewers that have survived the past forty-odd years and are still flying the flag for traditional British beers, such as Hook Norton and Harveys.

he Black Horse at Clapton-in-GordanoWhere’s your favourite pub?
The Black Horse at Clapton-in-Gordano in Somerset, which claims to date back to the 14th century and retains an unspoilt interior of great character. It continues to be a proper local pub and not just an eating house.

Are pubs in danger of dying out?
Not really, but various social and legislative changes over recent decades have made their appeal much narrower than it used to be.

If you were running a dream pub, what would you have on draft?
My dream pub would be aimed at a wide cross-section of people, not just beer enthusiasts. I’d start with Draught Bass and whatever “ordinary” bitter the locals were most keen on.

What one thing should PRs know before contacting you?
 The dishwasher. And the dyson. Anything that makes my life easier.

What one thing should PRs/brands know about you?
I have a good face for radio.

What are the best collaborations you’ve worked on?
I’ve not really gone in much for collaborations, but one memorable one was last Autumn when Martin Taylor, Richard Coldwell and I had a day out in Leicester and each blogged about it from our different perspectives.

Do you think bloggers need their own association?
No. Bloggers cover a huge range of standpoints and it can’t really be said that they have a collective interest.

What other blogs do you read?
I follow a wide range of blogs, but three I would pick out are Retiredmartin, Tandleman and Velvet Glove, Iron Fist.

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Carole King from Dear Designer's Blog

Interior design spotlight: Carole King, Dear Designer’s Blog

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Carole King is behind Dear Designer’s Blog, which was recently ranked in the Top 10 Interior Design Blogs. From mastering the mood board to finding your own personal style, Carole helps readers bring their home to life. We spoke to Carole about her own personal style, her favourite room and the one thing PRs should know about her.

How has your blog changed over time?
When I first started blogging 9 years ago I was posting 7 days a week. I was still holding down a job at that time and the pressure was relentless. Consequently, the posts were short and covered all sorts of design aesthetics. These days I have a much more relaxed schedule, my posts are more in depth and I only post about things I absolutely love. I also include a lot more of my own photography now.

How would you describe your style?
Sometimes it takes someone else to sum up your style succinctly and this is what was said about me recently. “Her design philosophy mixes down-to-earth staples with high drama details to create interiors that are lush, luxurious, and liveable. Striking a balance between light and dark.” I love that.

What makes a great interior design blog?
Consistent posting. A genuine love of the subject and fantastic images!

What’s the split between your own creations/designs and featuring others’?
I probably feature others about 75% of the time. I wish I could renovate a room a week, but budget and time doesn’t allow that. Clients don’t always want their homes featured so that’s another restriction. I do try to put my own spin on posts though, by creating mood boards that are my own interpretation.

Dear Designer blog bedroomWhat’s your favourite room in the house and why?
In my own home my favourite room is the bedroom. It’s large, light and has a dedicated dressing area.

How do the seasons affect your content?
Obviously I write things that my readers want to read. So, if it’s cold outside I like to offer suggestions for warming up the home. But those posts are occasional. I don’t dwell too much on seasons because we can’t change our decor that often.

What’s your favourite household object/item?
 The dishwasher. And the dyson. Anything that makes my life easier.

What one thing should PRs/brands know about you?
I genuinely do only work with companies that I love.

What are the best campaigns/collaborations you’ve recently worked on?
I enjoy all the collaborations I work on. See above answer! I’m starting to get invites for travel stories too now, which is my other great love.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
That would be great. And very helpful to others just starting out in the industry.

What other blogs do you read?
Loads! Too many to mention. But I’m obsessed with Scandinavian interiors so whenever I need a fix I head to My Scandinavian Home.

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Kate Williams Crafts on Sea

Chatting crafts with Crafts on Sea

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Kate Williams is the face behind craft blog, Crafts on Sea, which was recently ranked in our Top 10 UK Craft Blogs. Crafts on Sea has hundreds of ideas for all seasons, from Halloween masks to Christmas gifts. We spoke to Kate about what makes the craft blogger community so great, her favourite campaigns to work on and why you shouldn’t pay her in paint!

How has your blog changed from when you first started?
It’s both more professional and more focused. When I started it was very much that I wanted to do some crafts myself, and use the blog as a way of encouraging myself to do more, but over the years it’s turned into a business as I started looking to what my readers wanted, rather than just myself.

In the early days I had photos in a national newspaper that I took on my dodgy old phone, whereas now doing a craft involves getting my rather large lighting kit and DSLR out!

What’s the craft blogger community like? 
Lovely. Almost every gain I’ve made with my blog has been due to someone else helping me out; explaining Facebook tips, helping with my photography or whatever. I tend to chat with the kid bloggers too – there’s a big international group who all chat and it’s fantastic to be a part of that.

Do you think crafts are more important in the digital age?
Well both my kids have a kindle that they love so I’d say yes – there’s lots of things like Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle crafts on my site which are a direct result of me trying to think of crafts my son would actually get excited about and want to do, so he wants to turn the TV off.

Having said that, my daughter loves Mister Maker and is always inspired by him so there’s definitely room for both. As a blogger I spend loads of time online, so acting like anything screen based is bad in front of my kids won’t really wash with them.

Do you have to be artistic to be good at crafts?
I don’t think I’m that artistic, I’m terrible at drawing and wasn’t even given the option of taking GCSE art (although as a dyslexic I was given the option of drawing my dissertation!) A bit of creativity and not being scared to make mistakes works well enough I think.

What’s the easiest craft you’ve made?
A paper plate hulk mask? Well actually my son made that one though, which made it even easier for me.

What’s the hardest?
Honestly there’s nothing difficult on my site that I can think of, my main issue is cleaning the paint off things!

What are the best PR/brand campaigns you’ve worked on?
I’ve loved working with The Big Shot on a couple of campaigns for children’s books. I’ve done crafts for Julia Donaldson, Emily Gravett and Sue Hendra’s books who I adore so it’s been a really fun challenge.

What shouldn’t PRs do?
Offer to pay you in kids paint.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
To be honest bloggers talk to each other. There will always be people who are willing to do a sponsored post for £20 and if someone needs £20 then that’s totally their choice so I don’t think there needs to be set fees or anything. But if you fail to pay someone or treat them badly then it does get found out and talked about. In fairness I totally expect that the same thing happens amongst PR’s if they have issues with a blogger

What other blogs do you read?
Loads! I love Lulastic and the Hippy Shake and obsessively follow Glennon Doyle who used to write Momastery on Instagram and Facebook because she is all sorts of awesome.

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Maggy Woodley Red Ted Art

Getting crafty with Maggy Woodley of Red Ted Art

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Maggy Woodley is the creator of popular craft blog, Red Ted Art, which was recently ranked number one in the Top 10 UK Craft Blogs. Inspiring kids and adults to find their creative side, Red Ted Art has hundreds of craft ideas for any ability. We spoke to Maggy about the importance of crafts in a digital age, the hardest craft and what PRs should never do.

How has your blog changed from when you first started?
It is much slicker and “neater” than when I started out, but the underlying ethos remains the same: making crafting easy and accessible to all. Using every day materials and empowering parents and kids alike to ENJOY crafting!! But… over the years, I have become much better at photography and understanding what kind of crafts my readers would like to see!

What’s the craft blogger community like? 
I love it! It is a very supportive community and I am always working on collaborative projects with a variety of different bloggers.

Do you think crafts are more important in the digital age?
Absolutely! As kids become more digi-fied they spend less and less time in the “real world”. Crafting is a great way to hone those fine motor skills, develop your imagination and also an opportunity to make gorgeous things for friends and family. Homemade to me, is always more special than anything shop-bought!

Do you have to be artistic to be good at crafts?
No, absolutely not. I often say that I am “not arty” but “very crafty”. I would say it is a different skill set all together and that though they complement each other, you can be great at one and not the other.

What’s the easiest craft you’ve made?
The easiest… oh that is tricky… there are so many easy crafts on my website! I would have to send a poll out to my readers. But generally speaking – the Corner Bookmarks are super popular – as the materials are easy to come by and the designs are easy. Kids love to make them for their friends.

Crochet mermaid craftWhat’s the hardest?
The hardest are probably some of the crochet patterns I have on the site – they are all guest posts by expert crocheters. And though I don’t think the patterns are necessarily hard, you DO need to know how to crochet in order to make them! Having said that, the designs are so cute, you simply have to give them a go. Take a look at this adorable Mermaid!

What are the best PR/brand campaigns you’ve worked on?
Ooh again, I think that is a really hard one to single out. I do LOVE all the Movie related craft campaigns. Ie a new movie comes out and the PR challenges me to come up with a related craft. E.g. these Piggy Cupcakes for the SING movie are so easy and so cute!

What shouldn’t PRs do?
Assume that we work for free!! I know it is stating the obvious but so many PRs to try and get “freebies” out of us, or give us a free toy or DVD in return for a blog post. The problem is that it takes time and effort to create content and the PRs need to be mindful of the time it takes to create this!

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
That could be a great thing – especially to help provide guidelines around best practices (disclosure) and taxes etc.

What other blogs do you read?
Loads! I am mainly very closely familiar with all the crafty blogs out there, such as Hattifant, I Heart Crafty Things, Babble Dabble Doo and Hello Wonderful of course there are many more! But those are great!

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Rachel Newcombe Fresh Design Blog

Interior design with Rachel Newcombe of Fresh Design Blog

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Rachel Newcombe is the creator of Fresh Design Blog, which was recently ranked in the Top 10 Interior Design Blogs. Sharing design ideas and how-to guides, Fresh Design Blog gives readers plenty of inspiration of how to bring a contemporary design style into their house . We spoke to Rachel about what makes a great interior design blog, the best campaigns and collaborations she’s worked on and whether it’s time for a blogging industry association.

How has your blog changed over time?
Fresh Design Blog has been running since 2009, so it has inevitably changed and evolved. When it first launched, I wrote short posts every day, but now I tend to publish two or three longer posts per week. The style of posts has changed slightly too, with a better balance of product ideas, décor and how to guides, and freelance journalist Sara Walker now helps by contributing two posts a month.

How would you describe your style?
All the content on the blog focuses on modern and contemporary interior design style.

What makes a great interior design blog?
 A well-balanced combination of interesting and relevant content plus quality images. It’s not just about the blog these days either – social media and the different benefits from each channel, plus interaction with readers, definitely helps too.

What’s the split between your own creations/designs and featuring others’?
Fresh Design has always focused more on featuring designs and ideas from other companies, including well-established names and up-and-coming designers. But if I happen to have a project on the go, or am working on a collaboration, then it does of course feature my own creations and photography.

Fresh Design Blog gardenWhat’s your favourite room in the house and why?
Probably the living room, as it’s the part of the house where we tend to gather, socialise and relax. I love the fact that we’ve got a huge window, which lets lots of natural light in throughout the year, bringing the outside in, especially during the summer months as it leads onto the garden and outside dining.

How do the seasons affect your content?
The seasons have a big influence on content. I love discovering all the latest trends and new product lines throughout the year, as well as predictions for future trends. I tend to find that Q4 and Q1 each year are usually the busiest times on the blog, as that’s when people are most likely to be looking for home decorating ideas, Christmas décor and of course shopping for gifts. There have already been lots of recent hits on our previous Christmas content, both on the blog and via Pinterest. In the past, I avoided mentioning Christmas too soon, but seasonal posts are getting earlier in line with demand.

What one thing should PRs/brands know about you?
I get hundreds of emails every day, and am juggling other freelance writing work too, so can’t always reply immediately to everything. I tend to prioritise replying to the emails that are relevant and properly targeted.

What are the best campaigns/collaborations you’ve recently worked on?
To be honest, I’ve been a bit more selective this year with the number of campaigns and collaborations I’ve worked on, to ensure they’re fully relevant to the blog. I like anything that’s a bit different and quirky. For example, I worked with Dr Beckmann’s Carpet Stain Remover earlier in the year highlighting the work of an artist who created art using the carpet cleaner, which was rather unusual! More recently I’ve discovered lots of tips and tricks for livening up and decorating skirting boards in contemporary ways, whilst collaborating with a skirting board company.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
Given how much the industry has expanded, I think it could be a useful move.

What other blogs do you read?
Loads! When I first started, there weren’t that many UK interior design blogs, so I mostly read US blogs, but now I’m spoilt for choice. I enjoy reading the latest posts on other interior design blogs such as Swoonworthy (love Kimberley’s eclectic boho glam style), The Design Sheppard (Stacey writes great in-depth posts), Dear Designer’s Blog (Carole shares some amazing spaces), Making Spaces (Karen Knox is a talented interior designer and creates wonderful modern decor), The White Approach (where Karen shares her love of all things white in the home) and Love Chic Living (Jen comes up with some good design ideas for a family home).

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