Muckle Media has been shortlisted for 14 PRCA DARE awards, including Large Consultancy of The Year, Consumer Relations, Media Relations and the Integrated Campaign award.

The shortlist reflects a really exciting 12 months for Muckle Media including an impressive array of campaigns, new client wins and success stories including Finding your Feet – A Global Fundraising Voyage, the Artemis World Cycle and the North East 250 ultimate road trip to the heart of Scotland. In the past months we’ve had great opportunities across all our offices including launching Gordon and McPhail’s wartime whisky and supporting Moray Economic Partnership to get the community behind a regional deal bid with the My Moray campaign.

These efforts have been reflected in the shortlisting for Large Consultancy of The Year. The last few months have seen the company grow across Scotland with new members of staff joining our team and bringing even more creativity.

Fingers Crossed!

We all know that social media brings a host of opportunities for businesses to reach their target audiences and boost sales, if done well. In fact, 56% of firms with a social media strategy in place have generated sales via social media and 45% of small businesses with turnover under £250,000 have generated sales using social media platforms.

Yet, despite this, research from the latest Close Brothers Asset Finance Business Barometer shows that only 32% of UK SMEs have a social media strategy in place. And the situation is even worse here in Scotland, with just 23% of businesses having a social media strategy.

So, why are the majority of UK businesses not utilising social media to engage and drive sales? It could simply be down to time and resources – why else wouldn’t you be making the most of easily accessible platforms with millions of users?

Don’t worry though – it’s Muckle Media to the rescue with some quick tips on how to make the most of social media for those short of time!

1. Focus on the most appropriate channels

For busy SMEs there’s little point in using social media platforms if your target audience isn’t there. To start, focus on the main platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn – and pick which one(s) you’ll have a presence on based on where you’ll have the most impact. For example, business to business companies may focus on Twitter and LinkedIn, whereas lifestyle brands might focus on Facebook and Instagram. Also consider the age range of your target audience and which social media networks they’re most likely to use.

2. Follow, follow, follow!

When starting out on social media and building a following, it can often be a slow process. Instagram and Twitter can be easier than other networks as you can easily search relevant people who may be interested in your brand. And there are numerous online tools to make this process even faster.

On Twitter, try Followerwonk. Here you can search the bios of Twitter users to connect with people using specific words in their bios. For example, clothes brands may search ‘fashion’ or a local café may search followers by location. Followerwonk also allows you to follow the most relevant people quickly, without clicking through to individual pages. Many of these tools often allow ongoing analysis of your following; helping you compare your following to that of your competitors and helping you find what content they respond best to.

3. Showcase your brand

As with all other communications, be it visual or written, social media channels should reflect your brand. Set some guidelines on tone of voice, the type of content you’re going to share and design guidelines on how visuals should look – for example, do you have a standard filter on Instagram to ensure posts not only look good individually but when viewed together on your page?

Websites such as Canva are great places to start for creating quick branded images to share across your platforms.

4. Keep followers happy

Keep an eye on interactions with your social media pages and respond as quickly as possible. Even if it’s a bad review on Facebook, don’t get defensive! Respond in a manner that addresses the issue and try to rectify wherever possible – even if the reviewer doesn’t respond to your offer, other social media users will see that you have done all you can to improve service.

5. Monitor for mentions

To make the most of sales opportunities on social media, you need to be proactive. Search for mentions of your brand and of your product and respond. For example, if you’re a café, you might want to respond to someone tweeting about recommendations for lunch in Glasgow. At Muckle Media, we might monitor for people looking for recommendations for a local PR agency or for social media support.

6. Quality over quantity

Not only is choosing the most relevant social media platforms to your brand important, but the content you share should be carefully thought out. It’s easy to get carried away at the start and post content multiple times a day. Instead, focus on quality over quantity. Boring, useless content will just make people unfollow your page – be smart with your time and the content you share.

7. Social as part of overall strategy

Social media should be seen as part of your overall marketing strategy. Whether you’re launching a new product, opening a new office or releasing some research statistics, think of how social media should fit into your overall communications. This might involve some paid for advertising on Facebook or teaser posts on Instagram – whatever the story, use social media to your advantage and create a buzz for your brand.

About to undertake a big social media campaign or need some assistance in managing your current channels? We’re here to help! Get in touch on info@mucklemedia.co.uk. 

What Mr T and Bandabi say to humankind…#FearlessForMedals

Bandabi, the official mascot of the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics, is an Asiatic Black Bear symbolising courage. At first, Bandabi would seem to have nothing at all in common with the American wrestler turned actor, Mr T, famed for his role in the TV series the A-Team. However, both are sending a message to the Games’ audiences about the strength of character that overrides any physical limitations for Paralympic athletes. Mr T supported the curling events at the February Winter Olympics by tweeting about his newfound admiration for the sport in his trademark style “Curling is cool fool.” Now he has won the hearts of many involved in the Paralympics by tweeting “I said it before and I’ll say it again.. curling is cool fool! But wheelchairs curling, more cooler!”

Mr T has gone on to reveal that he is so inspired by the Paralympic athletes he would ‘pity himself’ for ever complaining again, knowing what he does about them. But what do we know about the UK’s Paralympic snowsport athletes? Well, four years ago in Sochi, the Paralympics GB team enjoyed the most successful Games of modern times, winning six medals, and the target medal haul for Pyeongchang is seven medals.

Team GB comprises of five wheelchair curlers, Scott Meenagh competing in both biathlon and cross-country, six para-skiers and three para-snowboarders. Clearly we have a team with great courage – imagine hurtling down the mountain side at speed with spinal injuries, cerebral palsy, amputation or visual impairment or snowboarding by navigating jumps, banks and turns with upper or lower limb impairments? That’s fearless in my book!

So far, Meena Fitzpatrick and her guide Jen Kehoe have scooped silver for GB in the women’s giant slalom visually impaired and have also claimed another silver in the women’s super-combined event, both on day one. The pair later took Bronze in the women’s Super G visually impaired on day two. In that same event, Millie Knight and her guide Brett Wild took the silver medal. Both ladies have less than 5% vision and so put complete trust in their guide to provide audible communication as they race, usually by Bluetooth.

Four medals so far, and so much still to come. I’m literally gripped as I watch all the competitions, where the hopes and dreams of the participants go hand in hand with their fearless focus.

As Mr T himself says #PityTheFoolwhodontwatchtheParalympics

Here at Muckle Media we pride ourselves on our fearless approach to communication that matters – we’re behind all the fearless competitors at PyeongChang Paralympics. #FearlessForMedals

Muckle Media, the creative PR and marketing agency, has been named Public Spirited Agency of the Year at a high profile event in London celebrating the best in public sector communications. The awards ceremony, which showcased work from across local and national government, emergency services and other areas of the public and third sector followed a conference that explored the future of public sector communications.

Other winners on the night included the Greater Manchester Police communications team, who won the Bluelight Team of the Year and Crisis Communications Campaign of the Year for their response to the Manchester bombing attack and Greater London Authority who won Best Use of Video for their #LondonIsOpen campaign.

Nathalie Agnew, managing director, said: “Driven by digital, public sector communications is changing and we seek to lead the way in delivering accountable, outcome driven digital campaigns for clients across the public and private sector. We are excited to be recognised at a national level for our work helping public sector organisations reach their audiences and look forward to continuing to grow in the coming years.”

Peter Jones, communications manager at Moray Council, a Muckle Media client that was also shortlisted for two awards for its community engagement using social media, commented, “We’ve worked with Nathalie’s energetic and knowledgeable team at Muckle Media for a while now, and seeing them named as Public Spirited Agency of the Year comes as no surprise.  They consistently deliver great work for us.”

In awarding the prize, the judging panel, which included senior public sector communicators from across the UK, said: “Muckle Media are head and shoulders above the rest, they have clear aims and objectives and have shown amazing results. They may be a small agency, but they certainly have a big social media mission.”

<Ends>
Picture attached L-R – Jane Cumming, director, Muckle Media; Nathalie Agnew, managing director, Muckle Media; Douglas Ross, MP for Moray
Picture credit: Douglas Ross via Twitter

Last night saw the return of the hotly anticipated eighth series of The Great British Bake Off on its new Channel 4 home. Despite some significant line-up changes in the form of presenters Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig, who replace Mel and Sue, and Prue Leith taking the judging reins from Mary Berry, alongside Paul Hollywood, the programme largely remained unchanged – apart from all the ad breaks!

The introduction of ad breaks is great news for brands with big budgets however, allowing them to reach a certain demographic, but the show’s return also offers possibilities for those brands that can’t flash as much cash.

This series’ official sponsors are Lyle’s Golden Syrup and Dr. Oetker. Dr. Oetker seems to have embraced the quirkiness of new presenter Noel Fielding and the wonderfully weird Channel 4 taster advert with singing baked products, by creating a singing three-tiered cake known as the Baker Boys alongside other characters encouraging consumers to ‘Dare to Bake’.

And it’s not just the big, headline sponsors that are getting into the mix. We Buy Any Car had a competition to win one of four car-shaped cake moulds, Aldi launched a stand mixer for budding bakers and Lurpak has been putting out video content to encourage viewers to bake along. As usual, social media is key for brands to reach their target audiences, whatever the budget, with many of them putting out sponsored content and live tweeting during the opening episode. One of our favourites has to be @YorkshireTea, which tweeted:

Controversy can be a good thing when it comes to getting people talking and this week we have to applaud Walkers for its controversial new campaign #chooseorlose in which three of its classic crisp flavours are pitted against some internationally inspired offerings.

The public are taking to twitter to express their opinions on this latest campaign and it makes for some really interesting reading. Who would have thought that there would be such public outrage at the prospect of ditching Salt and Vinegar crisps in favour of Lime and Black Pepper? Well – Walkers actually, and it’s a brilliant move on their part.

Suddenly there are declarations of undying love and a new found passion for classic crisp flavours that have become part of the everyday and unless under threat, would struggle to prompt excitement or conversation. It feels like our Salt & Vinegar, Prawn Cocktail and Smokey Bacon foil packed friends have always been around and always will be. So, there’s nothing like the threat of their extinction to spark some conversation, and some action.

The public are engaging, they are talking, they are ranting, they are expressing their love for the classic crisp flavours and their loathe for this forced ‘crisp referendum’. Voting also takes place via the Walkers website, where you have to register your details (so Walkers can use your info for future marketing purposes of course) so that you can participate.

Voting in the #chooseorlose campaign commenced yesterday (14^th August). The challengers and favourites featured in the choose or lose campaign are as follows: American Bacon & Cheddar takes on Smoky Bacon, Spanish-style Paprika pits against Prawn Cocktail and firm favourite Salt and Vinegar opposes the Australian inspired Lime and Black pepper.

Choose or lose – is it a good move? Post a comment and let us know what you think.

In 2016 the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (or simply the Fringe) spanned 25 days and featured 50,266 performances of 3,269 shows in 294 venues! As the world’s largest art festival gets underway this year, we have been reviewing the ‘Fringe Guide to Promoting your Show’. Its full of useful tips for performers on how to promote themselves and get people to come and see their show and unusually there is a huge section within the guide dedicated to print distribution and marketing.

For the marketers and communications professionals amongst us, there is a general consensus that print marketing is dying with flyer distribution cast aside in favour of digital marketing which can be targeted and tailored for the audience.

However, if there was ever a case study of print marketing at its best, it has to be at the Fringe. How many of you have been tempted into a show because a flyer has been thrust into your hand by a promoter? I think the answer would be quite a few, I know I’m certainly guilty of this. Often it’s got little to do with how well designed or eye catching the flyer is, and has much more to do with the wit, good humour or sheer brazenness of the person distributing the flyer!

So as Fringe gets underway, we are asking everyone to comment on the best line they have heard from a promoter to get you to a show. To start you off here are my two favourites:

“Sex and violence? No? Then come see this family friendly show featuring singing clowns”.

“Would anyone like a free marvellously designer coaster? Hands flyer to me- here you go, to get the matching set of four you are going to have to see that show now”.

Please share your comments and let us know your favourites below…

Today I graduated. No mortar board and gown in sight, for this was a virtual graduation from Squared Online, the digital marketing leadership course developed by Google. I have been studying this course since January and it was a completely different experience to my first degree in French and German back in 2000.

I got into PR because to be able to communicate in a different language, you need to be a good communicator full stop. You need to be confident at speaking to different audiences, you need to be able to make yourself understood. So, I started my career in PR in 2000 and found that I was actually pretty good at it. I could craft key messages for clients on complex subjects and make them simple to understand; I could identify the relevant audiences and best media to reach them; I could organise events; I could work alongside the ad agencies to deliver an integrated campaign.  So far so old school. Social media was still in its infancy and traditional media still ruled.

Two children and one redundancy later I re-joined agency life at Muckle Media and it was clear that things had moved on and that I was in danger of being past my shelf-life. Since 2014 I have been constantly challenging myself to adapt to the ever-changing environment in which PR professionals need to operate. I have forced myself to create a website and corresponding social media channels, I have volunteered to do all the things that are out of my comfort zone and I have got millennials teaching me new things (thank you Eilidh Marshall and Katie Mackenzie). But my biggest challenge was “volunteering” for Squared Online back in December which we had identified as a significant training opportunity for one of the team who could then share that learning with the wider group. (Helen: “It really should be a member of the senior team shouldn’t it?” Nathalie: “Yes, not sure I can do it with a three month old baby…” Helen: “I’ll do it, it will be good for me….”)

So as the excitement of Christmas passed and my eldest daughter went back to school so did I. Every Thursday at noon or 7pm I have participated in my live classes with tutors and fellow ‘squares’ from all over the world. I have attempted to do all my pre-class and post class homework and I have worked collaboratively and virtually with groups of relative strangers on topics I knew nothing about.

What have I learnt?

I have learnt that the old adage ‘you get out what you put in’ is completely true. Doing a virtual course like this when you are a working parent is a juggling act. But then I think to myself if I had done this course in my thirties, I would have got even less out of it because digital marketing was a completely different ballgame then! I am now revisiting topics that I feel are most relevant to me and where I would benefit from more knowledge.

I have learnt that the other old adage ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ isn’t true. Whilst I would still not claim to be an expert in programmatic advertising or RLSAs or analytics, I at least have an understanding of what they are and know where to go if I were to make this recommendation for a client.

In our final live class, our graduation, today, we were given four takeaways: network, opinion, more than one truth and passions.

Network: I was part of the January 2017 cohort which I think numbered nearly 500 people. I did three assignments with two different groups over Whatsapp, Google Hangouts and Skype where we used tools like Trello and Google Docs. The weekly classes ran in the morning, at noon or in the evening so I met different people each time. During those classes we were often split up to do whiteboard activity. So I now know people with a shared interest all over the world and have certainly met people I respect and will stay in touch with. There is an active Google+ group and I am still in communication with Group 42 on Whatsapp. I plan to stay in touch with my ‘fellow squares’.

Opinion: We were told today to have an opinion and say what you believe. Weirdly, as friends and colleagues will attest, this is never normally problem for me. Yet, my group failed the second assignment and my instinct told me we would but I went for the sticking plaster, don’t hurt anyone’s feelings approach and made token amends – this was an error of judgement.

More than one truth: Whilst being confident to voice your opinion, be humble enough to listen and accept those of others. I think that is true of life in general anyway but certainly was tested with so much virtual collaborative group work during the course.

Passions: Know what they are and harness them to make a difference.  This is an interesting one and arguably the rise of digital has made it easier for all of us to have a voice -the challenge is to put it to good use.

So, thank you Google and my fellow squares, and my colleagues who have supported me as I battled with the content and time commitment. I’m off to celebrate and that won’t be virtual, sorry Google, there’s a limit!

We all know how useful Twitter can be for finding out about current events, and as one of the world’s most popular social networks, many businesses consider the platform to be a key marketing tool. It can be easy to forget about the different ways in which the site’s many features can be used by businesses, so here’s a round-up of everything Twitter has to offer.

 
Twitter lists

If you follow a large number of people on Twitter, it’s almost impossible to keep up with all of their tweets during a busy working day. Twitter lists are a useful way of keeping track of users of interest and ensuring you don’t miss anything important. Whether you follow a user or not, you can add them to a list – public or private – and have all of their updates flow into timelines of your choice. You might want to curate your lists by sectors relevant to your business, or by levels of priority. You could even compile a private list of competitors to keep an eye on what similar businesses are up to. A tool like Tweetdeck is great for seeing your lists as panels and organising them with ease.
 
Live streaming

With live video becoming increasingly popular on social media platforms, it’s no surprise that Twitter decided to add a live streaming feature for users. The company purchased live streaming app Periscope in 2015 and integrated it into Twitter iOS, but the site recently upped its game with live video content.  This year, they launched Twitter’s Live API, which allows companies to hook up their own professional broadcasting and editing equipment for their video output. Live streaming on Twitter doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down, with Wimbledon broadcasting matches live on the site this year, and the BBC teaming up with the social network to live stream two of their biggest General Election debate shows in June. While Facebook might still be the go-to outlet for businesses to live stream their content, it’s certainly worth checking out what Twitter has to offer.
 
Pinned tweets

If you’ve tweeted something and don’t want it to get lost in your timeline, you can pin your tweet to ensure that it’s always the first thing people see when they visit your page. It might be an event you’re running, a piece of news about your business that you’re especially proud of, or something you posted previously that received a great response – whatever it is, you can keep it where it will receive top exposure for as long as you like.

Advanced search

Twitter’s advanced search option offers search filters that could help your business to identify focused and localised information. You might want to search for people asking for recommendations relating to your business and then filter these by your location, or you might want to target your search to words or phrases mentioned in people’s user bios. Focusing your search will allow you to find what you’re looking for more quickly, and avoid getting lost in the sea of results that a regular search would throw up.

Polls

Polls are a great way to get your audience to participate in and respond to the content you’re putting out. You could use polls to conduct market research of your followers, gain an insight into their thoughts about developments in your industry, or simply to ask fun questions. Asking these questions are an easy way to interact with followers and get them to engage with your brand.

Twitter moments

Twitter moments are stories curated from people’s tweets to create a snapshot of a particular event. Initially curated exclusively by teams at Twitter, anyone can create a Twitter moment, and they can be formed from your own tweets as well as tweets of your followers or other users on the site. They can be a great way for your business to create a buzz around a story, such as a new product launch or an event, without spamming your followers with multiple retweets that they are likely to ignore. Creating a Twitter moment allows users to easily find out more about the topic you’re talking about, without them having to hunt around and scroll past countless tweets in your timeline. They can be a useful opportunity to present your followers with a clear and concise overview of whatever you want them to know about.

Do you have a favourite Twitter feature? Let us know @mucklemedia

Whether you’re still in education, a graduate, or trying to break into a new industry after a career change, internships are a common way to get started in a number of industries. While there are plenty of horror stories out there, they can be incredibly valuable in building a career.

Here at Muckle Media we are proud to offer paid internships and our current intern, Kyra Gaunt takes a look at why internships can be great opportunities for those at the beginning of their career.

Gaining industry knowledge

The main benefit of an internship is that it allows you to gain first-hand experience and learn about how a particular workplace or industry really works. You may be hoping to embark on a career relating to your university degree, but no matter how much you’ve studied, you’ll never have a real idea of how something operates until you’ve worked in it yourself. An internship allows you to put things you have learned at university into practice, or to learn about something new entirely and are a great opportunity to get stuck in and gain some experience. At the end of your internship, you might stay on at the company you interned with, it might be a stepping-stone to a similar job with another organisation, or you might decide that what you were doing isn’t right for you. All of these paths are absolutely fine. Internships are about learning, and the knowledge and experience you gain in any internship will be valuable in whatever you decide to do next.

Networking

Even if your internship is short-term, you could make key connections in your time there that might benefit you in the future. Aside from the obvious fact that getting to know the people in your team will make your internship experience more enjoyable, it’s also important to build these relationships to ensure that you’re successfully growing your professional network. You never know who might be able to provide you with an opportunity, recommendation, or useful information in the weeks, months and years to come.

Building your CV

Internships are a great way to build up your CV and develop your skills. Some companies give interns more responsibility than others, but don’t be afraid to ask if there’s something you really want to learn. If you can see colleagues using software you’re unfamiliar with or working on something you haven’t heard of before, ask if you can observe or if they can give you a quick explanation when they have a moment. It might be something that’s used across the industry, and if you have experience of using it then it’s one more thing to help you stand out from the crowd when you’re starting out. Always try your hardest to end your internship with as many new skills as possible.

My internship with Muckle Media has been great for developing my experience in PR and marketing. Here are the top five things that have made my internship run smoothly:

1. The Muckle team have been helpful and involved every step of the way. Senior members of the team have provided regular meetings and feedback, and colleagues at all levels have always been happy to help and offer explanations for any questions I’ve had. In some organisations, people can often neglect their interns and leave them to get on with things with little to no guidance, but no matter how busy the Muckle team has been, help has always been on hand whenever I’ve needed it.
2. The internship has allowed me to take on a number of responsibilities, from client social media to event coordination and Muckle marketing. The infamous internship stereotype of making tea, going on lunch-runs and stuffing envelopes has not been my experience at all, for which I am eternally grateful!
3. Experiencing a busy PR office has been invaluable for learning about how the industry operates. I have been able to see what each team member is working on, have watched colleagues secure high-profile media coverage for clients, and then watched them win awards for their hard work. Becoming familiar with what is involved at each stage of the PR process has been a great learning experience.
4. Working in a PR agency like Muckle has allowed me to work on client accounts from a range of sectors, including business, energy and tourism. Working on these accounts as an intern has given me the opportunity to gain an insight into the different needs of each client across several industries.
5. Last but not least – Muckle Media pays its interns! Some organisations expect interns to work long hours without pay, but Muckle’s participation in the Santander internship scheme means interns are paid fair wages for their work.

If you’d like to find out more about interning at Muckle, email hello@mucklemedia.co.uk

Kyra Gaunt, intern at Muckle Media @mucklemedia

Muckle Media finished last week on a high after being shortlisted for six CIPR PRide awards, including outstanding public relations agency.

The extensive shortlist reflects an exciting six months for Muckle Media, working on high profile client campaigns such as ultra-endurance athlete Mark Beaumont’s challenge to cycle around the world in 80 days, and launching People’s Energy, the first energy company which will give 75% profits back to customers. Muckle Media helped People’s Energy achieve its crowdfunding target of £450,000 by spreading their message to people across the UK, achieving a media reach of over 30 million.

Muckle Media’s activity with Mark Beaumont has been shortlisted for the Arts, Culture and Sport Campaign, with other client nominations including People’s Energy Consumer Relations Campaign and Best Use of Media Relations, plus a Corporate and Business Communications Campaign nomination for the team’s work with Entrepreneurial Spark, the world’s largest free business accelerator.

In addition to four client nominations, Muckle Media has also been shortlisted for Outstanding Public Relations Consultancy of the Year, and Outstanding Young Communicator for Account Manager, Ellie Wagstaff. The last six months have also seen the company continue to expand with a number of key appointments including Head of Client Services, Sujarda Herring, and Annie Diamond who has taken the role of Head of Media and Events.

The team now has a nail-biting wait until 5^th October when the results will be announced at an awards ceremony in Glasgow.

Wish us luck!

Fiona Reyner, Trainee Account Executive, @mucklemedia