{"id":112219,"date":"2018-02-05T10:00:36","date_gmt":"2018-02-05T10:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=112219"},"modified":"2018-02-07T13:09:03","modified_gmt":"2018-02-07T13:09:03","slug":"blogger-spotlight-halima-khatun-halimabobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/blogger-spotlight-halima-khatun-halimabobs\/","title":{"rendered":"Blogger Spotlight: Halima Khatun, HalimaBobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Halima Khatun<\/a> is author of HalimaBobs<\/a>, the beauty and lifestyle blog, which is all about positivity, not perfection. A former broadcast journalist, Halima is now the owner of PR agency HK Communications<\/a>. We spoke to Halima about blogging as a PR pro, being real, working in partnership with PRs and blogging since the birth of her child.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why did you start your blog?<\/span>
\n<\/strong>I started my blog for three\u00a0reasons: firstly, to satisfy my creative juices and write some light-hearted, frivolous content that was far removed from my day job of a PR consultant. Secondly, I didn’t see a blog out there that offered unfiltered, detailed, beauty-based content; a lot of blogs are quite aspirational and advertorial. Finally,\u00a0I wanted to read something that was aimed at the everyday beauty novice that doesn’t have hours to create the perfect no-makeup-makeup look!<\/p>\n

What makes your blog successful?
\n<\/strong><\/span>I write as I speak, so my content is often a dry, witty stream of consciousness! I believe that in a world of filter, real un-airbrushed\u00a0content is\u00a0a refreshing novelty!<\/p>\n

Is there a difference in how PRs approach you as a blogger compared to how you were approached as a broadcast journalist?<\/span>
\n<\/strong>Most PRs are fantastic. But\u00a0there has been\u00a0the odd PR who would\u00a0treat me differently than they would a journalist. Occasionally,\u00a0I\u00a0have been on the receiving end of a\u00a0PR fail, from the failure to\u00a0follow\u00a0through on a collaboration, to trying to overtly control editorial content. But thankfully, the bad PRs experiences\u00a0are greatly outweighed by the good, with most practitioners\u00a0really valuing\u00a0the brand recognition bloggers can bring.<\/p>\n

As a blogger, how do you like to work with PRs?<\/span>
\n<\/strong>I see my work with PRs as more of a partnership, as bloggers and PRs can’t function without one another. So, whether it’s collaborating on a giveaway, a product\/service review or a sponsored post, I always work closely with the PR I’m dealing with to ensure we’re both happy.\u00a0I also aim to offer a critique of\u00a0most of the products I’m sent for review, not just the good stuff. Lastly, I’ll always keep the PR in question in the loop with the progress of my articles and send a link once live, rather than expect them to look out for their client mention themselves.<\/p>\n

Have you noticed a change in what you write about since having a baby?<\/span>
\n<\/strong>Absolutely! As my blog is a small\u00a0window into my life, inevitably I include articles about my biggest life event! So, as well as blogging about baby and mum-to-be products, I’ve written more in-depth articles about life as a working mum, dealing with mother’s guilt etc. These topics have really struck a chord and have also featured on the Huffington Post, where I also blog.<\/p>\n

How did you get from your first PR role to your current position?<\/span>
\n<\/strong>With some smart choices and a sprinkle of luck! My career grew very organically as I started as a broadcast\u00a0journalist with ITV and the BBC, and\u00a0then joined the dark side \u2013 PR(!). From\u00a0there, I\u00a0made\u00a0the\u00a0transition from agency to in-house. I’ve worked with some of the UK\u2019s largest corporates, and after a decade in the industry, I decided to set up my own consultancy, HK Communications. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and in 2015, I felt I had the right amount\u00a0of experience to make it happen.<\/p>\n

\"Reach-the-right-influencers-with-the-Vuelio-media-database\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Having worked as a journalist, do you believe you have a different take on PR and communications to other agencies?<\/span>
\n<\/strong>Definitely. I believe in the old school PR of finding a great story and telling it. So, having a nose for a story really\u00a0helps. Plus being a former journalist adds real credibility and a reassurance for clients. After all, it’s easier to write and pitch a story knowing what would interest\u00a0the journalist, given that I used to be one. Also, I offer PR training as well as consulting, so a big part of this is helping small business owners think like a journalist. Again, having been one myself helps, as I’ve walked the walk.<\/p>\n

As a PR professional, do you work with bloggers? If so, are there differences in how you work with bloggers compared with traditional media journalists?<\/span>
\n<\/strong>As my consultancy offers more B2B PR, I haven’t had much scope to work with bloggers, but I would certainly be open to it if the opportunity arose!<\/p>\n

What changes are you looking to make to your PR strategy in 2018?
\n<\/strong><\/span>Well I’m expanding my team, having brought on associates in the run up to my maternity leave. I’m also focusing more on my PR training arm which is ideal for micro-businesses that don’t have the budget for a PR agency. 2018 is looking to be very exciting indeed!<\/p>\n

Do you have a career mantra or a piece of advice that you follow?
\n<\/strong><\/span>Not a mantra per se, but I always advise\u00a0networking and nurturing contacts.\u00a0I’m always of the view that every connection you make can add value in some way. You might generate\u00a0a business lead, learn something new or simply meet a great person. In fact, this interview came about after networking at the Vuelio Blog Awards!<\/p>\n

Halima Khatun and HalimaBobs are both\u00a0listings on the\u00a0Vuelio Influencer Database<\/a>\u00a0along with thousands of other leading bloggers, journalists and editors.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Halima Khatun is author of HalimaBobs, the beauty and lifestyle blog, which is all about positivity, not perfection. A former broadcast journalist, Halima is now the owner of PR agency HK Communications. We spoke to Halima about blogging as a PR pro, being real, working in partnership with PRs and blogging since the birth of her child.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":400,"featured_media":112221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7365,7272,4038,6980],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112219"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/400"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112219"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112328,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112219\/revisions\/112328"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}