Day in the life: Senior PR and Outreach Manager

We heard from Ruth Walker to learn more about her role as Senior PR & Outreach Manager at Evolved Search.

About me

I run the PR & Outreach department and oversea a team of 4, while managing my client’s campaigns.

I’ve been working at Evolved Search for a year now. Since then the team has doubled in size and we now gain national coverage on a regular basis and have the likes of BBC, Times and Daily Mail contacting us directly for comment on our client’s campaigns and the topics they cover.

Evolved Search have picked up 14 award shortlistings in the past 3 months. I’m so proud to work for a company that not only has the best clients, people and campaigns, but also smashes it on the daily.

I have been shortlisted for One To Watch for the Women in Marketing Awards 2018.

I’m thrilled and honoured to be shortlisted for the One To Watch Award alongside some incredible women in marketing for this year’s Women In Marketing Awards. I couldn’t have got to where I am today without the help of everyone at Evolved Search and those who have helped me throughout my career.

I have a background in media and finance with 10 years’ experience writing for B2B and B2C audiences for print and online. I have been featured in BBC News, The Guardian, Daily Mail, Huffington Post, Business Insider, Metro and Woman Magazine.

My strong PR and outreach skills have helped me to gain regional, national and international press and radio airtime for my clients.

My clients have been featured in The New York Post, Fox News, Daily Mail, Independent, i news, The Times, BBC News, The Telegraph, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Grazia, Cosmopolitan, TES, The Sun, Express, Mirror, Daily Star, Metro and ITV News and on BBC Radio, in addition to local news outlets and radio stations.

During my free time, I run a movie review site: www.ruthlessonfilm.com that since launching in 2012 has gained a loyal readership spanning Europe, United States, Russia, Vietnam and Australia.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I get in early every day to get on top of things. I catch up with my team to see how their campaigns are doing.

Talk to the Directors and management team about everything from new business pitches to internal training.

I review my current campaigns and promote them accordingly.

Press opportunities can come in at any time so I deal with these and ensure journalists have everything they need to cover the story.

I also help journalists out with their own stories and have recently been featured in BBC, Huffington Post, Business Insider and Woman Magazine.

How did you get in to marketing?

I studied journalism at university and worked in the media for 5 years. When the recession hit it became clear that the path into journalism was getting harder, so when the magazine I worked at folded I delved into internal communications. This was a great learning experience and helped me see the other side of PR. One of my clients was Barclays so I was extremely grateful for the time working alongside them. Wanting more variety I then went agency side and have never looked back. Each day is different from the last, with a new challenge around every corner.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

• The ideation process.
• Seeing the content and design all come to life.
• The promotion process itself. Talking to journalists etc.
• Seeing the whole team’s hard work paying when the coverage comes in. Everything we achieve is as a team; Content, SEO, Design and PR & Outreach.

What would your advice be to anyone considering a role like this?

Go to networking events. It’s all about the relationships that you form.

Follow journalists and those in the industry on Twitter to get a feel of the campaigns that work well.

If possible it’s worth running a site, blog or social media account in your own time to show prospective employers what you can do and what you’re all about. It also allows you to constantly refine your writing approach and find what works for you.

What’s been your proudest moment so far in your career?

We ran a campaign highlighting the ongoing issues connected with the gender pay gap that gained national and internal press coverage. It was great to be part of something that made a real difference.

Link to article here: https://www.creditangel.co.uk/blog/15-ways-finance-is-rigged-against-women

In a similar vein we recently conducted an investigation for a client in the cost of personal information sold of the dark web. This went above and beyond what we normally do and again, it made a real difference to the general public. The research was picked up here in the UK and overseas including The New York Post, Fox News, Daily Mail, Independent, i news, Metro, Mirror and The Sun to name a few.

Link to article here: https://www.moneyguru.com/insights/how-much-is-your-data-really-worth-to-criminals

Link to study here: https://www.evolvedsearch.co.uk/case-studies/money-guru/