The coronavirus pandemic has seen many businesses diversify or pivot to offer additional or completely different services to help meet a new or altered demand.
Ballyhoo PR, a PR agency in Corby, has done just that by offering a virtual PR & Comms Team service to local businesses.
The service gives companies, who might not be able to afford to employ a team of experienced copywriters and PR professionals, the option to have their own PR & Comms Team in Emma Speirs, Catherine Bontoft and Katie Macdonald, but working remotely.
For a set fee each month, Emma, Catherine and Katie can work remotely as a team, managing all company communications and PR activity including daily management of social media accounts, website content, weekly or monthly blogs, email marketing, press releases and other articles.
Those that sign up to the monthly contract service also receive free media opportunity alerts from journalists, comprehensive social media reports and updates on any PR coverage gained.
Founder and company director, Emma Speirs, said: “While we have always offered these services, there are so many advantages to managing the whole comms mix through one central team. This ensures consistency in language and messaging and tone of voice. And, naturally, when we upload a new blog for a client, it makes sense that we have access to share it on social media for them too, likewise with any press coverage.
“During the pandemic, communications have been more important than ever. The landscape is constantly shifting. We found at the start of lockdown, when many businesses closed their doors and staff were furloughed, some decided to scrap marketing activity completely or simply didn’t have the skills in-house to do it anymore because they had to furlough their team or key marketing/PR person. Meanwhile, customers or potential clients were checking the company social media accounts, websites and Google for updates and nothing was going out.
“Using this new service means that businesses can have their own small team on a rolling contract basis with none of the commitment that comes with employees, such as holidays, sick pay and pensions, but they can also get their messages out there to generate new business and recover from any impact Coronavirus has had.”
Get to know the Ballyhoo Crew
Collectively, the team at Ballyhoo PR have more than 40 years of PR and marketing experience.
Emma
Emma Speirs set up Ballyhoo PR in April 2016. By that point she had worked as in-house press officer; an editor on several business, trade and membership magazines; and for PR and advertising agencies, serving clients in a wide range of industries. With a desire to help small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to share their story and raise their profile, Emma got to work and has helped many clients across the UK to get noticed and grow their businesses. She now works on a wide range of projects from top-level comms plans, crisis management and PR strategies, to writing email newsletters, brochures, web copy and acting as a press officer and PR consultant for clients.
Catherine
Catherine Bontoft joined the team in April, at the peak of lockdown. She joined the company from Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce, where she managed the organisation’s press office and edited its bi-monthly magazine inbusiness. Prior to that she worked for a PR agency which specialised in the education sector, and was Assistant News Editor at the Northamptonshire Telegraph. At Ballyhoo PR, Catherine specialises in press release, article and blog writing.
Katie
Katie Macdonald has recently celebrated her second anniversary with Ballyhoo PR. She manages the social media accounts of several companies and is always on the look-out for national media enquiries for clients. She also coordinates photo shoots and press events (when they can go ahead) and pulls together the monthly client reports.
For more information on the Virtual PR & Comms Team service, contact Emma on emma.speirs@ballyhoo-pr.co.uk
