How a smaller charity can punch above its weight in PR

Smaller charities can be so far stretched to cover all business- as-usual bases in communications, it can be difficult to be strategic and sustained when it comes to PR.

Getting cut through with the media and breaking through the noise can feel daunting, without the time for effective planning or indeed the availability of budget. PR can be treated as an afterthought, watered down and formulaic, losing a sense of purpose.

And I'm not surprised. A quick scan of any communications manager role in the charity sector reveals everything but the kitchen sink in terms of roles and responsibilities that are spread thinly.

But with more competition than ever for fundraising, creativity is needed. Time must be dedicated to thinking strategically, smarter and out-of-the-box. This will make life considerably easier (or should that be less stressful!), raise money and change lives.

Branding and strategic positioning

Nailing your branding and strategic plan involves communicating your vision, mission and how you want to make a difference. Storytelling needs to connect your audience to this editorially, making it clear exactly how you are doing this and why it matters. When it comes to communicating this, key messages and a call to action are the foundation of any charity campaign, and this may need to be broken down further for stakeholders.

Topicality, timing and consistency

It's of course great to align with key milestones of your organisation - anniversaries, new data and insights, awareness weeks and fundraising campaigns, but why should media care? A PR-first campaign should always start with anticipation and insight as to what matters to your audience and the media combined. So instead of thinking: "Oh, we've got an awareness week coming up this year, what shall we do for it?" think: "What issues are the media going to be talking about and how do we enable our voice to be leading on making a difference to this?" I'll expand a bit more in the creativity section.

It is also important that your campaign has long-term potential. Flash-in-the-pan, one-off ideas give little to no opportunity to offer clarity to your audience. Media will get to know you better, and in the long term, if you offer consistency, as they will have a clear awareness of when and why you are getting in touch (or when they need to contact you).

It is also worth noting that demand for services has risen ‘a lot’ for more than half of charities in past year (Charities Aid Foundation research, 2024), so it's also important to consider the impact of bigger bang PR on services, your messaging and call to action for any given communications campaign, if you are smaller.

Media training

I think everyone in a small charity should be media trained. This not only helps build media presence but also empowers staff to be ambassadors of the charity's work with everyone they meet. Perhaps they're at a golf club event and meet a journalist or potential donor - you never know!

It is always music to my ears when a client agrees to media training. There is no better feeling than seeing someone grow in confidence and channel their energy and passion for your cause, empowered to confidently handle questions due to the right preparation.

Don't forget your case studies and campaigners. Effectively building and engaging this cohort requires planning, safeguarding and meaningful charity engagement. The media-facing aspect of engaging this group will only work if it reflects a brilliant and sustained experience with the charity's work and/or its campaigns. I was able to manage filming on The One Show, all thanks to a bank of brilliant campaigners from the charity Changing Faces supporting its #IAmNotYourVillain campaign.

Content creativity

Making your PR storytelling work smarter, not harder, does rely on creativity, agility and a knowledge of what's going on in the real world (also read as: media landscape).

• What key insights can you pull together from your own data and case studies to ensure it is saying something new, in an authentic manner?

  
  

• Perhaps you have leads with potential ambassadors, but how are you going to activate them to maximise success and in the right time frame?

• How is your campaign shifting the dial? What are you calling for or changing and how can this strengthen your story?

• Often, I see a reliance on human interest stories that can sadly fall into the 'clickbait' category if not handled correctly, without any communication of a solution, hope or change. Again, this is where strategic media targeting comes in.

• What is the output for your story - a video, a petition or an opinion piece? Your media strategy can pack a punch for little to no budget if you have the right message at the right time. I once secured national coverage for a small charity after filming a video address by the CEO on Zoom (It was over the festive break, a costume was involved and there was a very hard-hitting call-to-action).

• The charity also had a well-stocked and good quality asset library with appropriate media release permissions granted that were easily repurposed for media (b-roll from charity project filming/shoots is a good example of this - even better if it's done with PR in mind!). Think of social media and how to resize video to support the campaign across channels - and keep it high resolution.

Partnerships

Don't forget to expand your reach by bringing partners into your campaign. Whether industry or consumer-based, there are always creative and strategic opportunities to build on audience reach and media appetite by offering new and innovative ways to voice an issue.

I recently spotted Diverse UK's sensory calm spaces at Glastonbury on the BBC and Independent, showing the power of contextualising your mission in a big cultural moment.

Through my own work, including in the TV and Film industry with Bectu union, partnerships with Screen Skills and the Film and TV charity, as well as collaborative work with Equity and institutions like the BFI and the charity Changing Faces, I created high-impact campaigns on very little budget.

During the Panto Parade in the pandemic, to raise awareness of the impact of a lack of support for the arts, I achieved front page of the Guardian.

All sounds good but not sure where to start? Let me guide you. Book a discovery call to see how I can help - contact me here.

From London to Liverpool - 5 things I've learnt as a remote freelance PR consultant

I loved working in London for a decade. PR in the capital is not just a hub of journalists, agencies and celebs, it's an always-on opportunity to network, attend events and be immersed in daily creative inspiration (and I don't mean floating a giant rubber duck along the Thames).

I'll elaborate briefly: my first job in the smoke in 2010 was working in regional comms and PR for Macmillan Cancer Support at their HQ in Vauxhall. Our perhaps too-close-for-comfort high-rise office next to MI6 gave me some indication of why office rents in 'charity towers' were some of the lowest in central London.

Lunch involved walking to Westminster for lunch with my sister, and afternoons were spent looking out of the office window at Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt filming Salmon Fishing in the Yemen on the Thames (yes – I did maximise the opportunity to get a signed Macmillan vest for an auction, as Ewan had previously sponsored one of our Macmillan cycling fundraisers, enabled by the fact the film set's security guard had been supported by the charity – true PR impact).

Fast forward to 2020, and I'd enjoyed a faster PR creative pace with some of London's best creative agencies and minds, including Frank and Ready10. Throw in a pandemic and a cancelled freelance contract, I found myself back on Merseyside, with a need, like many, to build up from zero.

My top 5 learnings from being a remote PR consultant near Liverpool are:

Choose your co-working spaces carefully

I soon realised the buzz of a PR office would need to be substituted for shared co-working spaces. However, I’m not keen on the cookie-cutter culture of spaces that lack synergy and inspiration. I prefer the free workspace in the Royal Liver Buildings – its high ceilings, airy feel and sense of history make it ideal for creative thinking. There’s a lovely café that isn’t too busy, and booths for team catch-ups, with a great balance of energy and quiet. A close second is the historic Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden for deeper focus work. I go in the mornings and immerse myself in the first-floor library rooms, planning my time there when I don’t have calls. It also has a lovely café. For something more informal, the café inside Baltic Creative in the Baltic Triangle has a creative feel and friendly atmosphere – great for a few productive hours or a relaxed client catch-up.

Consider how you build online and offline networks

Moving back to the North West and living slightly outside of Liverpool's city buzz, I was concerned that "networking" meant paying £25 for a mini croissant and the pressure of doing an elevator pitch in the function room of a pub with a thatched roof on a Thursday morning.

In London, I had been lucky enough to build a network of trusted freelancers, freelance recruiters, former colleagues and clients who would kindly refer me by word of mouth. I'd also undergone training with the PRCA, and many PR networking events take place in the capital.

Moving back to the North West, I realised that there is no shortcut for building on a trusted network. It comes from meaningful work, input and advice, sometimes pro bono, alongside a willingness to confront the need to explain what you do to new people (also known as 'putting yourself out there' – how many independent PRs are good at promoting themselves?)

Fortunately, the North West is well-served by experienced professionals who run regular events and networks tailored to independent PR consultants. The North West regional PRCA group offers a great freelance rate, and there’s growing momentum behind PR networks and platforms like Nibble – the first and only AI-powered PR-focused platform that connects brands with a digital network of only highly recommended PR freelancers.

Online, I'm connected to numerous independent PR professionals who really provide the motivation that can be lost from the shift that takes place between being office-based and fully remote, via WhatsApp groups, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Encourage F2F meetings with clients and journalists where possible

Sure, it's easier to do a video call, but nothing beats face-to-face rapport in a room. I've managed to locate journalists in the region for lunch/coffee, which has been great, and I've suggested in-person meetings with clients, tagging onto a weekend in London, to ensure the benefits of human interaction are fully realised. All it takes is some careful planning.

Don't forget to leave the house

It can be tempting to treat your home like an office – even at the weekends. It's important to make plans in the real world, take a lunch break and even pretend that your morning commute still exists. Fun fact – you can get 10,000 steps done in one hour, perfect to fit in before your working day, doing something for you, like listening to a podcast. (I'm listening to the BBC Uncanny Summer Special at the moment.) I've also been known to rearrange my office furniture every three months and change the artwork for a change of scene!

Consider volunteering / enjoy nature!

I do believe working from home and outside of London has been more productive for me, and I choose to use the extra time I've gained by working pro bono for local charities or indeed volunteering within the local community. It's been very rewarding. I've managed to get publicity for a local horse charity's fundraising appeal, as well as secure BBC North West Tonight for a local earth group on Earth Day. But it's also important to get outside and if you can combine the two, that's ideal.

We hear so much about nature and animals helping our wellbeing - I've worked on several campaigns that highlight just this. As an animal lover, I have also helped care for Carneddau ponies on the horse charity's farm in Thornton Hough with Horse Sense Wirral – it's a great way to meet local people, hear stories and be inspired.

If you're thinking of going freelance and would like to chat, drop me a line - I'd be happy to share my experiences.

Why thought leadership matters in your PR strategy

Whether CEO or founder, communicating your expertise is hugely important, as part of a PR strategy.

Raising the profile of what you do and why people should listen involves being vulnerable - a key leadership quality - what are your values and beliefs? What topic, issue or campaign do you seek to change or shed light on? I've worked with CEOs and founders to communicate and crystallise, in their own words, their insights and experience. Not only does this help to build trust with the trade sector and national media, it is part of an always-on press office strategy that is essential to profile building.

Increasingly, the human face behind organisations can help build and maintain the reputation of an organisation in the good times and the bad. You help make the organisation more accessible, relatable, transparent and accountable.

AI generative search is also increasing the need for good quality thought leadership pieces that are often sourced as links in results, meaning you're more likely to be recommended or found. However, your approach to media has to be strategic, provide a new lens on a topic and be tied back to something topical. Why now?

How does your perspective add to a debate, conversation or make a point that can be summarised in one headline? Is it backed by reason and insights?

How can you use your expertise to future gaze and highlight the nuance of your industry or sector? The key here is depth and breadth. I don't mean the repurposing of marketing content either. This won't get picked up and will read as far too promotional by the press. Thought leadership requires a PR-led approach.

You will also have to factor in the editorial requirements of a target publication. This means there is no room for generalisations and cliches or a 'one size fits all' approach.

Authenticity and values must shine through, as well as citing credible sources, providing new information and fresh expertise backed by clear examples.

Personality must come through too. The extent to which depends on the media target, but if your tone is homogenous or bland, you might as well not bother.

I've worked with industry leaders across the creative industries, hospitality and the third sector to generate proactive and reactive thought leadership opportunities across print, online and broadcast media. If you'd like to chat more on how to raise your profile, get in touch.