Blog Article

Daisie-Belle joined the Ballyhoo Crew back in March. In this blog post she talks about her first few weeks in her new role…

Perhaps it is because we have reached the fifth month of the year in the blink of an eye, or maybe it’s because I feel like I’ve been in the job for a lot longer than two months, but I thought I would take the time to reflect on my first few months at Ballyhoo PR so far…

I have followed Ballyhoo’s journey for a while, and I messaged Emma earlier this year at a time I felt I was needing more consistency in my work week-to-week.

I needed something that would challenge my mind – something I could really get my teeth into, but all the same something I have a passion for and will enjoy long-term.  Emma and I seemed to have very similar goals with what we wanted from my part-time role as PR and Social Media Assistant at Ballyhoo and, on my first day, I was given a warm welcome from the team.

I have always been on the other side of public relations – working in local radio, where my passion has always been hearing people tell their stories and allowing a space for small, local businesses to engage with their local community. Now, at Ballyhoo, I am experiencing the other side of this, helping the team to send press releases they have carefully curated to give our clients a voice and sending these to various radio stations as well as magazines and newspapers.  The environments are similar – they’re fast paced, exciting and involve building great relationships and a trustworthy network. On air or at Ballyhoo PR, the aim stays the same; to help drive brand awareness and raise their profile in the community.

At first, I had no idea how long it would take to understand the flow of the business, how I would keep up to date with all of the clients and how I would build relationships with clients across the UK during my two days a week.  I felt I had a lot to learn!  It turns out, I had more a less touched base with most clients and a lot of the media outlets in the first three weeks.  This was helped by Bhangals Construction Consultants – one of our clients – hosting an office launch and birthday celebration, which was my first outing with Ballyhoo.

I always thought of PR as a very glamorous role and this party was just that!  Here, I met our lovely clients face-to-face, as well as some of the local press for the first time, too.

Flexible working

I love the flexibility of the role, but I love going to the office, which is tucked away in a barn based in the beautiful landscape of Lamport.  When the sun is shining through the windows, it really is a beautiful setting to be working at your desk.  The option to work from elsewhere is nice too and I have also had the luxury of working from Vulcan Works – another of our clients – which is a beautiful co-working space in the centre of Northampton.  This is what I really enjoy, being in the hustle and bustle of everything and enjoying the rapport you make with colleagues only from working together in an office and in person.

I have had a busy few weeks and I have loved being able to throw myself in to the role and being trusted to work independently.

Already, I have researched awards that we can enter on behalf of our clients, produced content across all social media platforms, created client social media content plans for the year and have also compiled various bespoke media lists to target our clients’ specific audience.  Most recently, I put together the monthly social media reports for each client to note their progress and enjoyed having some input towards the next issue of the Northamptonshire Chamber’s In Business Magazine, which we edit for the organisation.

When I am on air and a listener sends a text in to tell you they’re enjoying what they’re hearing, it always feels amazing.  The equivalent of this in public relations, I’ve learnt, is securing client coverage.  I have helped get one of our clients into the national educational outlet Education Today and have started to build relationships with other media outlets throughout the UK.  These wins day-to-day fill the office with excitement.

Next week, I’ll be attending my first Chamber Business Exhibition with the team and attending one of our clients’ anniversary parties! It’s all go!

I love being part of a small, local business and moreover, a female-owned business. I look forward to my two days a week in the office with the team.  I have learnt a lot so far in a very short amount of time and I look forward to learning more about this ever-changing industry.