Greggs-ellent
Greggs isn't everyone's cup of tea (devotees of Jesus or veganism, look away now), but the baking brand now has a place on most British high streets and its online popularity is growing almost as fast as its store footprint. Clever PR activity – such as this year's Valentine's Day campaign – has been gaining notable column inches, while a shameless, down-to-earth social media style embraces brand values rather than apologising for them...
BRU planet
It's hard to think of another product so synonymous with its founding nation as IRN-BRU is with Scotland. With this kind of iconic status comes great responsibility, and a recipe change earlier this year provoked a strong reaction among 'Bru fans'. Dealing with the associated fallout while cementing the brand's burgeoning reputation as a master of social is all in a day's work for the man at IRN-BRU's online coalface...
Scot what it takes
The rapid rise of social media as a marketing tool has undoubtedly proved an unnatural bedfellow for some industries, while fitting seamlessly into the raison d'être of others. VisitScotland's social supremo told PRWeek how the organisation harnesses the medium's obvious visual characteristics to reach further and wider than ever before...
Four the many
You could be forgiven for thinking TV channels have an easy job on social, with truck-loads of ready-made content and a team of experts able to cut and package it to suit. However, the sheer number of broadcasters out there renders it a major challenge to stand out from the crowd. Channel 4 has definitely managed it, and here's how...
Virgin on the ridiculous
There is no 'one size fits all' for management of brands on social – that's why Virgin Trains divides it into different workstreams, run by people with different skillsets. PRWeek persuaded the transport operator's head of social media customer service and its head of social content to reveal what it's like trying to simultaneously execute a social strategy and handle customer queries. And yes, it does include the much-discussed Avocard launch...
The next series of Confessions of a Social Media Manager will kick off in the new year – email rob.mckinlay@haymarket.com with your suggestions for brands/organisations that 'do' social better than most.
Read next: 11 of the best PR campaigns and activations of 2018 (according to you)
