Julia Linehan

Really grateful to two market-leading Editors of subscription-led businesses and terrific ex-colleagues of mine, Catrin Griffiths and Alastair McLellan, for spending time with me last week on B2B content strategy. If you want to watch on-demand there is a link below. Highlights for me included: Impact on content strategy of the move to a paid subscription business model 17min46 Building a high value B2B content proposition 14min02, 23min05, & 31min29 How to motivate editors & editorial teams 29min42 & 50min47 Removing Print as a platform 45min02: https://lnkd.in/gbwftfwR

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Why proactive PR strategies are essential for ambitious B2B brands To maximise media coverage Create the story, lead the story, be the story. Proactively engaging with journalists and influencers ensures your brand is consistently in the spotlight, enhancing visibility and credibility. To shape the industry narrative Lead, challenge and guide. By leading conversations rather than reacting to them, your brand can set industry trends and become a thought leader. Proactive PR allows you to control your brand's narrative and influence market perceptions. Strengthen stakeholder relationships The more I see you the more I like you. Regular, proactive communication builds stronger relationships with stakeholders. It demonstrates your commitment and foresight, making your brand a trusted partner in the industry. To accelerate business growth The more I like you the more I trust you. Consistent media presence and positive coverage fuel business growth. Proactive PR strategies attract new clients, retain existing ones, and boost overall brand equity. Ambitious B2B brands can't afford to be passive. Implementing proactive PR strategies is key to staying relevant, influential, and ahead of the competition. How does your brand lead the narrative - Teddy 👇👇really wants to know? #Marketing #B2BPR #InstinctToBeDistinct #TechPR

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Looking forward to exploring the future of magazines in today's ever-evolving media landscape at the PPA 2024 Festival with industry leaders Katie Vanneck from #Hearst and Phillip Swinden from #Haymarket. 📚✨ Key issues we will look at include: 🔹 Consumer brands have some of the deepest connections to their readers around. How do you sustain this amidst the rise of creators and influencers? 🤝 🔹 The challenges and realities of consumer media venturing into B2B verticals. Is this shift as seamless as it appears? 🔄 Let me know what your key questions are. #MediaInnovation #PPAFestival2024 #PublishingFuture #DigitalTransformation

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Great piece Andy. The age of accountability demands that organisations step out of their comfort zones and meet heightened expectations for transparency, collaboration, and trust-building. The new political and regulatory landscape will be relentless, and businesses must pivot from “managing” issues to owning them. The message is clear: reputation isn’t about spin, it’s about substance. That means ditching outdated playbooks and embracing authenticity, humility, and action. As communicators, we’re uniquely positioned to lead this charge, pushing for honest conversations in the boardroom and shaping strategies that endure scrutiny. Long-term trust beats short-term fixes every time. Let’s redefine what it means to truly build relationships with all stakeholders. In 2025, standing still is no longer an option. It’s time to lean into the uncomfortable, acknowledge flaws, and lead with care and conscience. #ReputationManagement #AgeOfAccountability #Authenticity #TrustBuilding #Transparency #CorporateCommunications #Leadership #StakeholderEngagement

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📰 The Future of News: A Two-Tier Media Landscape? A stark warning from parliament.uk: without action, we risk a fractured news ecosystem, with informed citizens on one side and disengaged communities on the other. 💡 “Having informed citizens with a shared understanding of facts isn’t guaranteed—and may not endure.” The UK’s media has defied the odds these past 15 years, with exciting new formats and diverse perspectives. But it’s not all good news… 📉💔 🔎 Trust in journalism is falling 🙈 News avoidance is rising 💸 Revenue streams are drying up 🤖 And AI? It’s shaking up EVERYTHING The risk? A “two-tier” system where some stay informed while others fall into news deserts or questionable online sources. So, what’s next? Tax breaks for local news 🏡, smarter AI policies 🤝, and more innovation💡 could help us steer away from the cliff edge. We are doing our bit at Contribly by trying to innovate the audience engagement side of the news, by getting real people’s voices included and heard in a safe way that social media doesn’t provide. The aim is to build trust and relevance! Let’s keep the news serving everyone, not just the privileged few. 🌍💪 What’s your take on this? Let’s chat! 👇🗣️ https://lnkd.in/enjesFrY

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The Value in Measurement report from JICMAIL and DMA (Data & Marketing Association) UK is available and is an informative and interesting read for anyone looking to understand effective cross channel measurement for marketing campaigns. Staggeringly 65% of respondents still report a misalignment on measurement and reporting across channels. That's a crazy figure but does highlight challenges of measuring each marketing channel fairly. The report provides recommendations on how to create an aligned view for looking at performance. You can access the report at the following link. I would thoroughly recommend https://lnkd.in/ehXasu4C #jicmail #dma #paperplanes #measurement

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Appreciate the shoutout PRWeek UK, and great to see the original comment about agencies adopting AI making your most-read articles this year. I would however update my original comment to include a fourth category that we will see emerge in 2025... 0. Agencies that integrate custom-built PR assistants directly into the comms channels of their clients - these assistants will have domain-specific expertise and the ability to execute tasks (Agentic) 1. Agencies that build their own proprietary technology (AI-Powered) 2. Agencies that employ prompt engineers/experts able to get the best results out of existing AI tooling (AI-Literate) 3. Agencies that allow their employees to leverage consumer-grade AI software (AI-Adoptive) Whether communications has a seat at the c-suite table or not, it will be integrated into every company department by the end of 2026 - turning companies into comms departments.

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What are the conditions to create a thriving environment for employees, that also unlocks sustainable company performance and impact for customers, clients and communities? This podcast episode gives you a bit of a flavour for intentional brand, customer and people alignment. #culturematters at dragonfish UK

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How, then, does a business optimise its journey from PR to lead generation? It comes down to ensuring that the PR fundamentals are rock solid, followed by an effective foundation phase (where you build trust, awareness and credibility), which then leads organically into lead generation but please exercise patience and stick to the strategy. There is no silver bullet here, however there is a tried and tested approach that will go a long way in ensuring your success.

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Grab this insightful survey report on predictions for AI and PR in the coming year. As Gini Dietrich notes, it's likely no surprise that "AI-powered PR" is the biggest deal coming according to those surveyed. Most interesting to see that 74% is the sum of all responses who believe this will be so, with wide variances depending on roles - solopreneurs are in the lead at 86% saying this. Download the PDF for all the insights ⬇️

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Although #demandgeneration is a well-known term amongst #B2Bmarketers, there are a lot of misconceptions about what it really means. In this video, Francesca MacKenzie dives into demand gen to clear up any confusion and offer insights on its crucial role in shaping #B2Bmarketing strategies. Get in the know – download the knowledge, today https://lnkd.in/eZ_4pNEi

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A few days ago, I published the post below here on LinkedIn and on other social networks about my blog being in Vuelio's listing of the Top 10 UK PR blogs 2024. Some nice reactions here (thanks!) and there. On LinkedIn, though, within a few hours, I'd received email pitches and DMs from people wanting me to publish guest posts, with the promise that they'd promote the posts and "amplify my SEO presence," to quote one. All in exchange for "just a few carefully selected links," to quote another. It’s clear that LinkedIn is fast becoming a breeding ground for inauthentic, spammy, approaches. But the real question is: How do we maintain trust and authenticity in a space that’s increasingly being exploited?

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New Episode! "88. Re-evaluating demandgen: what marketers need to know" In this episode of The Unicorny Marketing Show, Clare Jones, CMO of System C, challenges the common perceptions around demand generation, explores the changing dynamics of B2B buyer behaviour, and discusses the complexities o...

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Mass Media Scandals Strikes + Redundancies. But you CAN still grow your media coverage results in this troubled and shrinking market. See how we've been doing it in our latest B&T article. Thanks Tom Fogden. #MakePeopleBetter #pr #marketing #media #journalism https://bit.ly/3T0kxG1

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We've been creating again. Here's our latest mini-guide to crafting a meaningful PR strategy in a changing environment. What are your key PR concerns today?

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Good morning today spent with one of our clients at 44 Communications Ltd talking through the results of recent research into one of their core channels. In the past (read: pre-covid) we used to run semi-regular Focus Groups to find out what employees were interested in for the channel. Whilst they were valuable, they took a lot of time to organise and pulled hard-pressed workers off the job for an extended period of time. Not easy to do when there are deadlines and priorities competing for attention. So, this time we worked with the client on a programme of 'Speed focus groups' - fast conversations with employees asking a set of questions and quickly exploring themes. No more than a few minutes of time but some great insights and ideas raised. Added to survey results, these give some flavour and life to the numbers, helping us work with the client to frame an action plan. It's not the first time we've done these. It can be hard getting opinions from front line workers whose priority is service delivery on tight schedules and with limited resources. So, it's important we take time to design measurement approaches that fit their world rather than demand they fit into ours. Just goes to show, research and insight can be done even when operating circumstances may make it seem difficult. It's always worth asking the question "what do you think about...". #internalcommunications #research #engagement #measurement #channels

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The Women in PR x PRWeek UK mentoring is live. This is an incredible opportunity for anyone looking to access some of the best mentoring within the PR industry, from an incredible line-up of Comms leaders. I'm a huge fan of mentoring and I genuinely believe that this is the best investment you can put into yourself and to achieving your career goals and here's why: 1) You get to have someone focused on helping you to achieve your career goals, with actionable steps and a strategy of how to achieve it. And you become accountable, to someone and more importantly to yourself. (I like to set goals and KPIs so that you have a clear direction and plan to aim for). 2) The chance for personal growth and the development of your leadership skills. My best advice is to ask your mentor for what strategies they have used to get to leadership positions and incorporate the ones which resonate. 3) A fresh perspective - there is real value in having someone else help you problem solve and navigate a situation. Use your mentor as a sounding board for real life career problems whether it's negotiating for a promotion, going for a dream job or helping you to upskill. 4) You get to open up your network by tapping into your mentor's network and contacts - use this and ask for introductions. 5) You get to form your own community with other mentees and have a ready-made support base to turn to - use this community because they will become your support system and biggest cheerleaders. So what are you waiting for. For all details on how to apply see below and good luck! #mentoring #leadership #femaleleadership #publicrelations

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