The top 10 Mynewsdesk UK blog posts of 2013

We thought we'd share with you the top 10 Mynewsdesk blog posts of 2013, just in case you missed them...

1. Could killing the press release harm the storytelling process? 

Mynewsdesk's Head of Marketing, Adam Cranfield, responds to Coca-Cola's global director of digital communications and his mission to "kill the press release."

Watch Ashley Brown's speech below: 

2. How a little elephant inspired so many big stories

As most of you will agree, having a strong and engaging story is the key to success for many brands. We look at how the social enterprise Elephant Parade have used the story of their mission to help Mosha, a baby elephant who had lost her leg after stepping on a land mine, to fuel their organisation and raise money for a good cause.

3. Content wars: creativity and PR porn

Mynewsdesk's Key Account Manager, Heather Athie, shares what she learned at Mynewsdesk and PR Moment's Content Wars #Mynewsnight. The speakers included Laura Chilvers, PR Manager of John Lewis, Neil Henderson, Head of Communications at MasterCard, Chris McCafferty, founder of Kaper PR, Kam Phullar, Digital Press Officer at HMRC, James Taylor of Taylor Herring and Mynewsdesk's Adam Cranfield. 

4. Why the brand newsroom will change PR for good.

100 years after the first ever press release which was published in 1906, Tom Foremski wrote "Die! Press release! Die! Die! Die!"and proposed that companies "deconstruct the press release" into factual valuable parts - with plenty of links, quotes, and visual content that journalists and bloggers can assemble into stories that their readers will actually want to read. So here is where the brand newsroom comes into play.

5. Digital tools for PR pros that will transform your working day

Online PR & social media specialist Katie Moffat was one of the presenters at Mynewsdesk’s first ever "Digitally Fit" breakfast seminar.  According to Katie, there are two major challenges that all PR and comms professionals have to face daily; having too much to do and dealing with information overload.  

Katie compiled a selection of tools which she would recommend to help you keep up to date with what’s important without taking too much time out of your day.

6. The next generation newsroom has landed

To keep up with the rapidly evolving media landscape and changes in digital comms, mobile and web design, we developed the next generation newsroom for you to effectively tell your stories and engage with your audiences online.

7. How Golden Wonder rubbed salt & vinegar into Walkers' wounds

We ran a Q&A session with Paul Sutton, Head of Social Comms at Bottle PR, who shared some insights into Golden Wonder's PR activity earlier this year...

8. Images in PR: 3 rules from the world's most famous artists

Rebecca Jarvest, the founder of Art-Links, which promotes the benefits of art in business, talks of the lessons PR pros can learn from art history when it comes to working with images. 

9. Create a buzz on a budget 

Thanks to the rise of social media and digital journalism, brands must now act like publishers and create content that engages with their consumers. If you’re an SME, chances are you don’t have a huge amount of cash to throw behind a big budget, multi-channel emporium of content.  

However, don’t let that hold you back - you can still create valuable content that your audience will love and, as a result, boost your business. It’s really not as expensive as you might think...

10. Period Drama: the inside story of Bodyform's viral campaign of the month

Matt Golding, Creative Director of Team Rubber, writes about how Bodyform responded to a Facebook comment by unleashing a viral video sensation in just 8 days.