Since setting out solo to specialise in digital/social media PR (but still offering traditional PR to those who aren’t convinced of digital), there’s been many of those 5am moments where I’ve wondered if I made the right move. After all it can be a scary thing, especially in a country which has been slow to embrace a lot of the positives of digital communications for reaching out to customers.
But now I know there’s money to be made in social media – Gordon Beattie’s looking for people in that area.
Now lots of people have opinions about Gordon, but one undeniable fact is this: he’s a damn canny businessman with one of the most successful traditional PR companies in the UK at Beattie Communications (you could also argue that he was behind the success of The Big Partnership as well because it was his seniors from Beattie who started that after working with Gordon) and he doesn’t throw money into schemes that he doesn’t think won’t make money back. And he now has a house in Monaco to prove how successful he’s been, which by any benchmark is a job well done.
(interesting sidenote: I see on the Beattie homepage, it now says ‘London PR Agency’ – has the company moved away from its Scottish roots?)
It’s also good to see the larger PR companies accept and realise that social media and digital comms have a role to play. I know I was banging on that drum more than two years ago when I worked at Beattie, so it’s good to see Gordon taking a lead amongst the agencies in Scotland. He already has the very talented Chris Marritt on his books so the person coming in will need to know their stuff and I’m sure they’ll be able to create some good work worth talking about.
The knock-on effect is that others will also have to keep up and start hiring/training which in turns means more people out there showcasing the benefits of digital and social media communications in Scotland.
Gordon Beattie: still trailblazing. Heh. That gives me a chuckle over my cornflakes.
(Anyway, for those interested in the positions: the programmer job is based in Falkirk but the social media post can be in any of the Beattie offices.) (And if you need to ask how to apply then you haven’t grasped enough of social media yet.)
3 responses to “Now I know there’s money in social media: Gordon Beattie’s hiring”
If I were cynical, which to be fair I am, I wouldn’t say that Gordon is moving into social media to make cash but perhaps because he can’t afford not to. Clients of all sizes now expect PR companies to have some social media smarts and pitches are being lost on such things.
That said it is digital is the wway forward for PR, not the only skill we will need in the future but a core on, so try not to worry too much at 5am 🙂
(Disclosure, I used to work at Beattie Media a good few years back)
Craig – Gordon announced Beattie was a London- based agency about four or five years ago to broaden his opportunities for new business. Sadly, being labelled Scottish hindered opportunities, despite his UK network.
Ah, I never knew that, thanks Emma. And yeah, as you say, that is quite sad, but it seems to have paid off for him. I wonder if it had an adverse on Scottish companies wanting to do business with Beattie Communications. I know it wasn’t an issue when I was there…