The PR Suite

20/11/2023

One of the positives of freelancing for more than seven years is that I am able to work with some really lovely people and organisations. Without intent, I have niched into working mainly with non-profits and in my personal experience, they seem to attract a pretty smashing bunch of folk.

On Saturday, I had the privilege of organising and attending Give a Kidney's first in-person supporters' event in four years. This meant I spent the day with a variety of people who had one thing in common - they had donated a kidney to a stranger.

Right now, more than 70,000 people in the UK are being treated for kidney failure and more than 1.8million in England have diagnosed chronic kidney disease.

Knowing there are people who are willing to help one of them without knowing anything about them, with the likelihood of probably never meeting them puts a huge smile on my face and keeps me positive when so many things right now are not.

29/09/2022

One of my clients is Give a Kidney who raise awareness of non-directed living kidney donation - in layman's terms, that's donating a kidney to a stranger.

As it's I thought it was important to share that England, Scotland and Wales have moved to an opt-out system, but it’s still important to record your wishes on the NHS Organ Donor Register and to share them with loved ones, so they know what you want.

Take 2 minutes to register your decision today:

If you needed an organ transplant would you have one? If so please help those in need of a transplant by opting to donate organs and tissue.

03/02/2022

It's day today. Now, more than ever, it's really important to check in with your mates.

Anyone is welcome at mine for a cuppa; the important question is how do you have your tea?

I may lose friends here because I'm a...2B to a 3B!

23/11/2021

Who's caved already? I'm tempted to this weekend 😬😬 but my inner voice says it has to be December!

09/11/2021

It's - kindness, it's not rocket science really, is it? There are so many ways to show support and kindness to other businesses including those that may be deemed competitors.

Social media can be a wonderful place but it can also give us a distorted image of society sometimes.

So let's do the good stuff today - my challenge to you is to hop onto 10 other business accounts and write a meaningful comment - it may make their day.

27/10/2021

Big news 🎉🎊

“Today, we’re launching the new Link Sticker 🔗 globally. This allows anyone, regardless of follower count, to easily share links in a story. We’ve received a lot of feedback over the years on limiting links to accounts with >10k followers, and we heard you, 🙏🏼”

21/09/2021

I'm currently working with the charity Give a Kidney who promote altruistic or non-directed kidney donation - the act of donating one of your kidneys to a complete stranger. This week, as part of Organ Donation Week, we'll be sharing stories of wonderful people who have donated a kidney and changed the life of someone forever.

Although the law around organ donation has changed to an opt-out system for adults in England, Wales and Scotland, your family will still be consulted if organ donation is a possibility.

Your family can overturn your decision if they aren't sure what you want, but 9 in 10 families support organ donation going ahead when they know that's what their loved ones had wanted.

Have you let your loved ones know of your choice?

We want to start Organ Donation Week by thanking all those who have chosen to donate a kidney to a complete stranger, like Joe from Dorset. You are all amazing.

Find out more www.giveakidney.org

04/07/2021

It's today and after the year of all years (or is it 18 months - either way, it feels WAY TOO LONG) it's a good time to reflect on what we're thankful for. Here's a few of mine:

🌟 My health always.
🌟 My family always
🌟 My wonderful friends near and far, who get me through the highs and lows (particularly these last 7 weeks).
🌟 My faith.
🌟 Anyone who in any way has helped during the pandemic from scientists to those who have shopped for housebound people.
🌟 The fact that I am still in business, with two new clients this month, after four years.
🌟 The beach.
🌟 Did I say the beach?

We're off to our son's football team's awards shortly and I am so grateful for all the volunteers at Phoenix Youth Football Club who give of their time every week with a wonderful enthusiasm. And I am going to find time to do a short litterpick - if only half an hour, I will feel like I have done some good!

Whatever or whoever you're thankful for today, I hope it's a good day for you.

❤️

11/06/2021

The million-dollar question I often get asked is “how does the Instagram algorithm actually work”.

Well, this week, Insta Chief Adam Mosseri gave an insight into how the network decides what users see. Am I now enlightened? Well, let’s just say it’s still complicated! But below are the stand-outs from his blog in terms of Instagram posts.

Ps why is 'algorithm' so hard to spell?

✨ 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 - both about how popular a post is, you know, the aesthetics of how many likes it got to the business end of things like when it was posted, how long it is if it’s a video, and what location, if any, was attached to it.

✨ 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 - how interesting the person might be to you, like how many times people have interacted with that person or business in the past few weeks.

✨ 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 - what YOU might be interested in and signals such as how many posts you’ve liked.

✨ 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 - how interested you are generally in seeing posts from a particular person. An example is whether or not you comment on each other’s posts.

The biggest takeaway from the above – ENGAGEMENT. Go and comment on, like, repost posts from the businesses you have synergy with, your ideal customers, even your competitors. Keeeeeep talking!

24/05/2021

I had to say goodbye to my office companion (and so much more) a week ago. Here's a blog I've written to honour this very special boy.

https://www.theprsuite.co.uk/post/goodbye-barney

Being a freelancer, I was able to tuck myself away last week and, in all honesty, not do very much work. Everywhere I looked in my house I could see glaring emptiness where he should have been. Clients (a new one included) were so kind and understanding and put no pressure on me. I am so grateful.

Our willingness to give our hearts to our dogs with full knowledge that they will be broken will seem incomprehensible to some. But the incomparable joy of having someone who gives continued unconditional love throughout your life is worth the price of my all-encompassing grief.

22/04/2021

Ah, this is why I cannot do back-to-back Zoom calls. Interesting article from Forbes on why our brains need to 'rest and reset' between virtual meetings with the headlines being:

1. Breaks between meetings allow the brain to “reset,” reducing a cumulative buildup of stress across meetings.

2. Back-to-back meetings can decrease your ability to focus and engage.

3. Transitioning between meetings can be a source of high stress.

Full article here: https://lnkd.in/dJRVBMu

20/04/2021

Seven months of inactivity (not even brushing some days & certainly not washing!) is a crime to haircare so I'm appreciating hairdressers everywhere today & particularly Charlie Francesco Group Winton 🙌🙌 Sadly, no such intervention for coldsores. Urgh.