Communication Strategy That Works

Emma Drake

Welcome to the Communication Strategy That Works podcast. I'm Emma, your host, and I am making it my mission to help you get the 'comms stuff' right, spend your money more wisely, and have much more impact. I'm an in-house expert turned external advisor, and I help you if you're a 'comms' and PR leader or manager understand how to find essential customers, engage them in products and services, stand out from the competition, and protect your brand reputation. I cover a wide range of topics through solo shows and 'deep dive' guest episodes. I share three episodes a month with you that include insights from 20 years of experience working with, and in, fast-paced, growing, and established B2B businesses and initiatives. I've been there and got the badge, so I am distilling this knowledge into easy peasy pointers to help you grow your business and brand profile with the right communication strategy 'That Works'. I bust the myths (and I've pretty much heard all of them) break through the jargon, and give you practical, essential and useful advice and tips that you can use. I will save you time, money and energy whether you are listening regularly when at work or on the move, or bingeing at the weekend Netflix box-set style.

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Top 10 Communication Strategy That Works Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Communication Strategy That Works episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Communication Strategy That Works for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Communication Strategy That Works episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Ep 36. 'summer hacks' series: Building B2B relationships

Communication Strategy That Works

08/19/21 • 5 min

In this second episode of the summer hacks series, I talk about how Public relations is often seen as something you do if you have something to launch or some good news to talk about. But PR is not all about the media - it’s so much more than that. One aspect of PR is nurturing relationships that are already strong—reaching out to people who you already work with and who know your business and nurture those relationships.

Often underused as a strategic tool, PR is one of the simplest - and most effective - activities you can do to help your business.

I am going to talk to you today about how to utilise these relationships to your advantage.

Let’s dive in!

Links in this episode:

That Weetabix example:also here: shorturl.at/bkJ18

How To Find Customers and Help Them Buy - New online resource now available, also here: https://commsthatworks.mykajabi.com/find-customers+help-them-buy

Before you go;

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business (also here: https://mailchi.mp/henbe.co.uk/n8xnx5bjj3 )

Follow my Facebook page for daily tips and advice and to find out first about my new digital course; How to find customers and help them buy from you'

Also here:https://www.facebook.com/commsthatworks

PS - Did you know? Communication Strategy That Works is in the top 90 UK Small Business Podcasts you must listen to in 2021, by Feedspot.

1 Listener

Ep. 35 Summer Hacks Series! Repurposing your content

Communication Strategy That Works

08/12/21 • 5 min

I wanted to do a few short episodes during August that were super-short that you could binge on and save you some time and effort over the summer months. I am calling this a ‘summer hacks series’. Today’s episode is all about repurposing your content.

How do you make an impact when you don’t have time to create content or run a campaign?

There’s a simple action you can take which won’t take long at all but will keep you top of mind – repurposing your resources.

I will cover today;

What is repurposing? Where to start with repurposed content?

Links in this episode:

How To Find Customers and Help Them Buy - New online resource now available, also here: https://commsthatworks.mykajabi.com/find-customers+help-them-buy

Before you go;

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business (also here: https://mailchi.mp/henbe.co.uk/n8xnx5bjj3 )

Follow my Facebook page for daily tips and advice and to find out first about my new digital course; How to find customers and help them buy from you'

Also here:https://www.facebook.com/commsthatworks

PS - Did you know? Communication Strategy That Works is in the top 90 UK Small Business Podcasts you must listen to in 2021, by Feedspot.

1 Listener

Ep 144. Deep Dive with Adam Driver - Demystifying SEO

Communication Strategy That Works

01/18/24 • 44 min

Today I am delighted to have on the podcast Adam to unpick and demystify SEO or search Engine Optimisation as part of January’s measurement and evaluation theme. Adam originally trained as a journalist and has experience on both sides of the agency divide having been in-house and an account director at an agency. Adam has been a CIPR Chartered Public Relations professional since 2020.

Adam set up Authentic comms in 2020, and describes his work as delivering in a ‘channel neutral, sector agnostic’ way, focusing on the audience(s) much like me! So we chat about a LOT of things including starting a business in a pandemic, measurement and evaluation and, of course, he provides us with a simple approach to getting started with SEO.

So let’s dive in!

Links mentioned in this episode:

Find out more about his SEOhhhTM️ and LinkedIn coaching at ww.authenticcomms.co.uk.

Liked Listening today? What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business.

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource: Find out more here.

Hire my expertise

Whether that’s support with a one-off comms project or an entire strategy for your business, drop me a line if you want to explore this further. You can also work with me 1:1 as a trainer and mentor – [email protected]

Work with me closely

If you’d like to work with me to develop and implement your communication strategy through 1:1 work, podcasts, workbooks, sharing ideas, and lots of accountability and up-skilling, then email me at [email protected] to register your interest for you or your entire team.

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback on this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

Ep 90. Hive mind the comms (skills) gap in your strategy with a skills audit

Communication Strategy That Works

09/01/22 • 8 min

Some of the most important skills for a public relations professional are lifelong ones. You can't learn all the knowledge you'll need in a few months of school or a few years of experience.

Instead, we need to keep our skills up to date. This not only helps us learn new things, but it also keeps us competitive in our specialised field of work.

But how do you know what skills you need or where to focus your time? Today, I run through what skills I consider to be top of the pack when it comes to keeping up to date and how a skills audit can be a really effective place to start for you or your team.

It’s back to school for a lot of us across the world, but especially in the UK, so I thought I would spend some time talking about skills today, how you identify what you need and what’s hot to skill up on.

Let's dive in!

Liked Listening today? What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business.

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource: Find out more here.

Hire my expertise

Work with me closely

If you’d like to work with me to develop and implement your communication strategy through 1:1 work, podcasts, workbooks, sharing ideas, and lots of accountability and up-skilling, then email me at [email protected] to register your interest for you or your entire team.

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback on this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

Ep 96. Why flexible working and productivity are essential for comms jobs

Communication Strategy That Works

10/13/22 • 20 min

WorkLife Week is the 10-14 October in the UK and is celebrated by the Working Families Charity. So I wanted to again this year raise some awareness of this topic for communications people and share my thoughts and experiences on this topic spurred on by this charity’s work.

A recent study by the charity showed that, of the UK parents currently in work, 3 in 10 are in jobs below their skill level because their jobs offer greater flexibility. This shows a need for more high-quality part-time and flexible roles in the labour market.

Employers also need to think beyond just home and hybrid working: Nearly half of these parents (46%) work in place-based roles, which cannot be done remotely because the work has to take place in a specific location.

Working flexibly is also about being productive, and it’s not easy in a comms job as sometimes you need to be ‘in the thick of it’, or at least that’s the perception.

There’s also a ‘productivity stack’ for you.

Let’s dive in!

Liked Listening today? What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business.

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource: Find out more here.

Hire my expertise

Work with me closely

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback on this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

Summer Hacks Series (part one) How well do you really know your customers?

Communication Strategy That Works

07/28/22 • 4 min

Welcome to the 2022 summer hacks series! These are really short ‘food for thought’ bite-sized episodes so you can dive in when you have a moment.

I decided to focus on planning tips over the summer. Why? Because when people think about comms planning, they often focus on what they are going to say. You have a great product or service and you want to tell people about it. Focusing on the message seems the logical first step.

But before you start typing, let alone promoting your offer, there are some vital actions you need to take. I’m going to give you an overview of the 7 steps to effective comms planning over the summer hack series. I use this process with all my clients, no matter whether it’s a new product or we’re marketing a built environment project.

This second episode in part one of the series is all about researching your audience

Let’s dive in!

Links mentioned in this episode

My FREE Seven Steps Webinar - https://mailchi.mp/henbe.co.uk/free-webinar-7-steps-190722

How to find your customers and help them buy: https://bit.ly/FindCustomersHelpThemBuy

Liked Listening today? What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business.

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource: Find out more here.

Hire my expertise

Work with me closely

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback on this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

Ep 136. Deep Dive with Jo Twiselton - Strategic Communication & People-Focussed Change

Communication Strategy That Works

10/19/23 • 41 min

I'm delighted to have on the podcast this week Jo Twiselton, human change specialists, executive coach, facilitator and consultant. Jo is also a qualified executive and wellbeing coach.

She works with leaders, managers and teams, who want help during times of upheaval, and she does this through her business Twist Consultants. Jo's worked with lots of people over the years, she has worked across tech transport, healthcare, media, and service industries, helping them create change for the better for many, many years. By focusing on the fundamentals of human change, Jo's specific approach is designed to help minimise organisation disruptions in times of change. And we talk about everything today, mostly about Jo's squiggly career and how that can lead to really rounded skill sets. She talks about what big changes and how any kind of change can affect people in an organisation. Plus, she shares some tips and links with us all that Jo has her own podcasts coming out in 2024.

Let's dive in.

How to get in touch with me:

www.twistconsultants.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jotwiselton/

Twitter/X - @jotwis

Links mentioned in this episode:

Twist Consultants Wellbeing and Change Report

https://www.twistconsultants.co.uk/downloads

Further info:

Wraw (Workplace Resilience and Wellbeing): https://www.twistconsultants.co.uk/resilience-wellbeing

Health and Safety Executive - 6 management standards - https://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/

Get started on improving listening skills (blog post): https://www.twistconsultants.co.uk/blog/want-to-improve-your-listening-skills-and-have-better-conversations-this-might-help?rq=listening

Wellbeing and resilience report for SMEs:

https://whatworkswellbeing.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/small-business-Oct2018.pdf

Liked Listening today? What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business.

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource: Find out more here.

Hire my expertise

Work with me closely

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback on this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

Ep 152. Rerun: How brand advocacy could help manage reputation impact in your business

Communication Strategy That Works

04/04/24 • 13 min

Do you wish more people were telling their friends about your company? When people are looking for recommendations on LinkedIn, you wish your name was being tagged.

When someone at an industry event is asking for examples of people in your niche, you want your brand to come up in the conversation.

What about when things do not go to plan? A network of trusted people can also help test your response in a crisis and help you out of a reputation hole.

One way to do this is through finding brand advocates, those who rave about how good you are when the going is good and when it’s not so good.

Today I delve into this topic with a focus on crisis management and stakeholders and give tips on what to think about before you start, whatever your programme.

Let’s dive in!

Liked Listening today? What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business.

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource: Find out more here.

Hire my expertise

Work with me closely

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback on this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

Ep 148. 4 Ways to Implement AI into your Workflow

Communication Strategy That Works

02/22/24 • 8 min

Today I present practical insights on integrating AI to streamline your team's processes and enhance collaboration. Drawing from my recent conversation with Ben Lee, let's elevate your content, energize your team, and optimize performance.

Let’s jump in!

Liked Listening today? What to do next:

Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business.

Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource: Find out more here.

Hire my expertise

Work with me closely

Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback on this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.

Ep 147. Deep Dive with Ben Lee: Embedding AI into your team

Communication Strategy That Works

02/15/24 • 37 min

Ben has been working with GenAI at Bidwells since early 2022, determined to focus on the art of the possible. Having seen a few technological shifts in a 20-year career as a journalist, public affairs consultant and PR professional, Ben quickly recognised this one as the most seismic.

So when ChatGPT landed in late 2022 his team were already using AI tools each day to transcribe interviews, edit videos and create content. Since then, Ben has been focused on leading AI adoption across his business and speaks regularly on the topic.

His team won Best Use of AI in the 2023 B2B Marketing Awards after delivering a four-figure ROI for their AI adoption work.

So let's dive in!

Links mentioned in this episode:

Descript - https://www.descript.com/

Fireflies - https://fireflies.ai/

Japer - https://www.jasper.ai/

ChatGPT Team -https://openai.com/chatgpt/team

Microsoft CoPilot -https://news.microsoft.com/reinventing-productivity/

Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benlee22uk/

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