I Said What I Said: Social Media Pet Peeves Edition

Social Media Pet Peeves: 6 Mistakes Hurting Your Business

Social media marketing expert sharing pet peeves for small business owners

Three weeks into the summer holidays, and my patience is well and truly gone!

As a social media, PR, and marketing expert who has spent years helping small business owners get noticed, I see a lot of content online. Most of it comes from hard-working, hugely talented people who are doing their best to juggle a business, client work, and real life.

However, every now and then, I see trends and posting habits that make me want to put my head in my hands.

Here are my top social media pet peeves – well, six mistakes that are hurting your business, and what you should do instead… and if I upset you, I really am sorry. But they might just help you up your social media game!

1. Microbe-Sized Tiny Text

We have all seen those carousel graphics or Instagram stories where the font is so small you have to squint, take a screenshot, and zoom in with two fingers just to read a single sentence.

Yes, I probably should wear my glasses more often. But if your text is microbe-sized, your potential clients are not going to fetch their spectacles; they are simply going to keep scrolling.

Your audience is busy, distracted, and often reading your posts on a mobile phone screen while boiling a kettle or waiting in the school pickup line. Do not make them work for it. Keep your font bold, clean, and large enough to read instantly without needing a magnifying glass.

2. Generic, Unfiltered AI Posters

For the people sitting in the cheap seats: generic AI content makes you look exactly like everyone else who could not be bothered.

Let me be clear here: I use AI tools all the time in my own business. AI is brilliant for helping you brain-dump ideas, organise your thoughts, or draft a quick outline when your brain feels completely scrambled.

However, I would never let an AI tool spit out generic slop and post it directly to my page.

When you prompt AI to make a social media post without the information it needs on your voice, tone, style, vibe. When it doesn’t understand your customer. When it’s just doing something quick because that’s what you told it. You don’t woo and excite your customers. You make them scroll on, feeling that they really didn’t know you at all. 

3. Context-Free Cliffhangers

Another huge pet peeve of mine is the no-context cliffhanger. You know the ones: hospital check-ins with zero explanation, vague posts saying “I cannot believe this just happened…”, or asking a dramatic question and then completely leaving people hanging.

I am busy enough with my own dramas, and so are your ideal clients. We do not have the time or energy to play detective online.

If you have something valuable, exciting, or important to say, just say it. Respect your audience’s time by giving them clear context, real insights, and genuine value every single time you post.

4. Slapping Emojis Over Faces

This one pops up constantly, particularly in lifestyle, country, and family-run businesses. People post a lovely picture, but stick a massive, random emoji right over a person’s face.

I completely understand privacy concerns, especially when it comes to children or staff who do not want to be on camera. Privacy matters. But if you do not want someone’s face on the internet, simply do not post the picture!

Take a photo from behind, crop the image, focus on the hands or the product, or make your account private. Sticking a giant yellow emoji over a face ruins the aesthetic of your page and looks messy. Job done.

5. “Share This to a Random Account”

I frequently get comments on my posts telling me that someone will share my content if I send a direct message to a completely random account.

They are either up to something fishy that I cannot be bothered to work out, or they simply do not know how the share tool works. Either way, let us just pretend this whole interaction never happened.

Never fall for these spammy engagement traps, and certainly do not use them on other people’s pages. Real business growth comes from building genuine relationships with real human beings who actually care about what you do.

6. Fonts You Simply Cannot Read

If your chosen font looks like a tired spider crawled across the screen after dipping its feet in ink, it is a hard no from me.

Is it scroll-stopping? Maybe. Is it engaging? Absolutely not.

If your audience cannot read your headline in less than two seconds, they will swipe right past it. Fancy cursive fonts might look pretty on a wedding invitation, but on a fast-moving social media feed, readability wins every single time. Fonts matter. Choose clear, bold, easy-to-read typography that gets your message across fast.

Have I Been a Bit Harsh?!

Maybe… maybe not!

At the end of the day, social media does not need to feel like an overcomplicated science. It comes down to basic respect for your reader’s time and attention. Make your content clear, keep it honest, bring your real personality to the table, and make it effortless for your ideal client to consume.

Ready to Make Your Social Media Work Harder?

If you are tired of guessing what to post, feeling completely overwhelmed by social media, and wanting a simple, step-by-step strategy that brings in real clients without taking over your life, you do not have to figure it out on your own.

Sign up to be notified about my 60 sprint courses. They are short, hyper-focused, 60-minute training modules designed to give you practical tools to grow your visibility, polish your messaging, and get real results fast.

Or, for honest marketing tips, PR secrets, and practical advice on how to build a business you love, come and follow me on Instagram @rheafreemanpr

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Why You Need to Stop Marketing to People Who Don’t Like Fish

Why You Need to Stop Marketing to People Who Don’t Like Fish

Overcoming Fear of Judgment in Marketing: The Fish Lesson

I have a bit of a confession to make: I completely and utterly loathe fish.
I cannot stand the taste of it, I cannot tolerate the smell, and if you put a plate of seafood in front of me, I will pass on it every single time. I actually had to bolt for the door at a wedding when the fish course was served. But that is a story for another day!
Now, imagine for a moment that you run a high-end, premium seafood business. You spend your days sourcing the absolute best catch, and pouring your heart into your craft. How much weight should my personal opinion carry in your business?
The answer is zero. Absolutely none. I’m never going to be your customer.
Yet, every single day, I see brilliant, highly skilled small business owners take the opinion of people who will never give them a single penny, and adjust their plans accordingly. They put a piece of content online, launch a new product, or share a service they are proud of, and then they get a blank response, or worse, a throwaway negative comment from a random stranger.
And what happens? They freeze. They doubt their entire craft, step back from the spotlight, and completely sabotage their own growth.
If you have ever caught yourself pulling back on your marketing because you are terrified of judgment or putting off the wrong person, let us break down why this happens and how to fix it.

The Trap of Online Paralysis

We have all been there. I have certainly been there too.
You spend hours drafting a social post or working up the courage to talk about what you do. You hit publish, and instead of a wave of applause, you get silence or a off-hand comment from someone who was never going to buy from you in a million years.
Immediately, the internal dialogue starts creeping in:
  • Is my work actually interesting enough?
  • Have I completely missed the mark here?
  • What if people are judging me?
So, you retreat. You let that quiet paralysis set in, you step away from your keyboard, and you stop telling people about what you offer.
The thing is, when you quieten yourself down, your business suffers. You cannot grow a business if nobody knows you exist. When you let the opinion of someone who hates fish dictate how you run your seafood stall, you do yourself, your hard work, and your real customers a massive disservice.

Focus Entirely on Your Real Audience

Clever business owners do not waste time or energy trying to convert people who do not like fish. They focus every ounce of their marketing effort on the people who absolutely love seafood.
They know their ideal customer inside out. They talk directly to their specific needs, their daily struggles, and what makes them tick.
When you get crystal clear on who you are actually talking to, a wonderful thing happens: internet trolls and random negative comments completely lose their power.
The next time a comment or a lack of engagement throws you off course, take a breath and ask yourself one simple question: Is this person my target customer?
If the answer is no, move on. They are just passing through and picking a fight. Do not let someone who is never going to hand you a penny dictate how you show up for the people who are ready and waiting to buy.

Fear of Judgment is Ruining Your Marketing

Underneath running an independent business, the fear is real. We fear failure, we fear being disliked, and we fear being misunderstood.
However, listening to those fears gets you nowhere.
You cannot test your offers, refine your message, or build long-term momentum if you do not put yourself out there in the first place. Marketing is a simple process of testing, reviewing, and tweaking. If you hide away the moment things feel uncomfortable, you rob yourself of the chance to learn what actually works.
It is time to stop letting the loudest, least relevant voices in the room hold you back. Show up bigger, post consistently, and build something meaningful for the people who genuinely value your craft .

Ready to Show Up with Confidence?

If you are tired of  second-guessing every single post, and feeling completely overwhelmed by what to say to get real traction, you do not have to figure it out on your own.
Sign up to my mailing list to be the first to hear about the new 60 Minute Sprint Series of mini courses. They are short, hyper-focused, 60-minute modules designed to give you clear, practical strategies to build your visibility, nail your messaging, and attract your ideal clients without the headache.
Or, if you want regular practical tips on how to stand out, master your PR, and build your business on your own terms, come and say hello over on Instagram @rheafreemanpr.
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Why One Brand Walked Away from a £6 Million Ad Budget (And What It Means for Your Business)

Why One Brand Walked Away from a £6 Million Ad Budget (And What It Means for Your Business)

A major clothing brand just walked away from a £6 million digital advertising budget. And you might be wondering what this means for your business? Probably more than you think…
The company decided they were completely done with paying tech giants to get noticed. Instead, they chose to hand that money straight back to the people who actually wear and love their products.
If you are an independent business owner wondering how on earth you are supposed to compete with massive corporate ad spend, this is for you. Because it proves that you do not have to play their game if you get clever about yours.
The brand in question is Snag Tights, led by the fearless Brie Read. Brie was actually one of the extraordinary entrepreneurs I interviewed for my book, You’ve Got This, and she is an absolute masterclass in doing things differently.
Recently, Snag pulled off a brilliant marketing disruption. Rather than feeding millions of pounds into social media ad platforms, they launched their ‘Snagtivists’ initiative, taking their £6 million marketing pot and using it to pay their own customers for word-of-mouth recommendations.
It is bold, disruptive, and rewards the very people who built their brand from day one.
Here is what this move teaches us about growing a business, building genuine loyalty, and making your marketing work without burning through cash.

The Power of Elite Problem-Solving

Snag was not born out of a boardroom meeting. It started on a street in Edinburgh when Brie’s tights kept rolling down… to the point she had to remove them in public. She felt mortified, but when she started asking other women about it, she realised something fundamental: the problem was not women’s bodies. The problem was poorly designed tights.
She built a brand around fixing a real, everyday problem for real people. Because the product actually delivered on its promise, the customer base became fiercely loyal. They became flag-waving advocates because they finally felt seen, comfortable, and understood.
As businesses grow, it is far too easy to fall into the trap of pumping more and more money into paid ads without stopping to ask: Is there a better way to connect with the people who already love what we do?
Paid digital ads can be brilliant, but they are not the only path forward. When you focus on solving a core problem for your ideal customer, you lay the foundation for organic, unstoppable word-of-mouth growth.

Three Ways to Grow Without Relying on Paid Social Ads

You do not need a multi-million pound budget to take a leaf out of Snag’s book. You just need to focus on rewarding the people who already support you.
Here is how you can apply this disruptive mindset to your own business right now:

1. Build a Simple Referral or Affiliate Setup

Instead of paying ad networks upfront to find new eyeballs, reward the people who bring you customers. Set up a simple affiliate link or discount code system that allows you to track where new sales come from. When a client or customer recommends you, give them cash back, a credit toward their next order, or a meaningful perk. You only pay when a real sale happens.

2. Double Down on Owned Brand Assets

Relying solely on social media algorithms to reach your audience means building your house on rented land. If the algorithm shifts or ad prices skyrocket, you are left vulnerable. Shift your focus toward growing assets you actually own:
  • Your Email List: Build a direct line of communication with the people who want to hear from you.
  • Your Website & SEO: Optimise your website with helpful, search-friendly blog posts that answer your customers’ exact questions so they can find you naturally through search engines.

3. Nurture Your Core Community

Snag’s community thrives because they treat their customers like partners, not transactional targets. Look at your current client list or customer base. How can you make them feel genuinely valued this week? A handwritten thank-you note, early access to new releases, or an exclusive check-in can turn a casual buyer into a lifelong brand champion.

Looking at Your Budget Differently

This is not to say you should never spend a penny on paid ads. But if you have an objection to spending on big tech, if you want to try something different, or if you simply want to split your budget to test new ideas, options exist.

Ready to Streamline Your Marketing Strategy?

If you are tired of staring at a blank screen, feeling completely overwhelmed by social media algorithms, and wanting a simple, step-by-step marketing strategy that actually fits into your busy week, you do not have to figure it out alone.
You might want to sign up to hear about my series of 60 minute sprint courses. They are short, hyper-focused, 60-minute training modules designed to give you clear, practical tools to grow your visibility, master your PR, and get real results without the guesswork.
Or, if you want a complete breakdown on how to get journalists knocking on your door without spending a penny on ads, follow me on Instagram @rheafreemanpr for regular, practical advice.
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Overcoming Launch Paralysis: What Holly Willoughby Teaches Us

Why Judging Day-One Projects Is Holding Your Business Back

Overcoming Launch Paralysis: What Holly Willoughby Teaches Us

Overcoming Launch Paralysis: What Holly Willoughby Teaches Us

I watched Holly Willoughby’s first show on her new channel. Then I watched the online pile-on start straight after.

It made me sad. Not just for her and her team, because having a thick skin comes with the territory when you work in the media, but for what it says about the rest of us.

The moment someone tries something new, the internet holds them up against people who have had years of practice at that exact thing. Then everyone acts shocked when the brand-new effort is not quite as slick.

That is not a fair standard. Nobody meets it on day one. Not Holly Willoughby, not me, and not you.

Holly had the nerve to try. She took a massive leap, moving from mainstream TV star to launching her own independent channel. That is the bit worth clapping for, not the bit worth picking apart.

If you are currently sitting on a business idea, a product launch, or even just your very first social media post because you are terrified it will not be perfect straight away, pay attention. This is your sign to let go of perfection and just start.

Comparing Your Beginning to Someone Else’s Middle

When you launch a project, draft a press release, or publish your first video, you are putting out your best guess. You refine, tweak, and hone your craft as you go along.

Yet so many brilliant small business owners freeze, gripped by the fear that their work will look messy or unpolished.

They compare their day-one effort to an established brand that has a massive budget, a huge team, and a decade of experience.

It is like comparing a newborn foal to a Grand Prix dressage horse. It makes no sense.

Nothing new is ever polished into perfection on day one. Nothing.

If you wait until your offer, your website, or your marketing campaign feels 100% flawless, you will be waiting forever. You cannot improve something that does not exist yet.

Here Is What Nobody Says Out Loud

When you put yourself out there, you might get silence, a lack of engagement, or even a throwaway negative comment from a critic.

Here is the truth: the people slating someone the loudest are almost always the ones who have never had the balls to try.

It is easy to sit on the sidelines, sip a mug of tea, and pick apart someone else’s hard work. It takes real courage to step into the ring, launch your idea, and risk making a few mistakes in public.

The next time you catch yourself worrying about what people will think, ask yourself if those critics are actually buying from you.

If they are not your target audience, their opinions are completely irrelevant. Stop giving airtime to people who are never going to support your business anyway.

Three Practical Steps to Overcome Launch Paralysis

If you feel stuck in a loop of overthinking, here is how you can break free and get moving today:

1. Shift from Perfect to Done

Set a hard deadline for your next project, whether that is sending an email newsletter, launching a new service, or posting a video. Promise yourself that when the timer hits zero, you hit publish, regardless of whether it feels 80% or 100% ready. Real momentum comes from action, not endless planning.

2. Build Assets You Actually Own

Do not put off building your core brand foundations while you wait to feel confident. Use that nervous energy to grow things that belong strictly to you, like your own mailing list and website. Social media algorithms change constantly, but an email list is a direct pipeline to the people who truly care about your work.

3. Focus on Your Ideal Client

Ignore the noise of the crowd. When you write a post or create a product, speak directly to your one ideal customer. Ask yourself what specific problem you are solving for them today. When you focus entirely on helping your real audience, the fear of public judgment quietly slips away.

Ready to Get Unstuck and Take Action?

If you are tired of overthinking every single move, feeling isolated in your business, and wanting a simple, practical strategy that actually works, you do not have to figure it out on your own.

Sign up for the latest on my 60 minute sprint courses. They are short, hyper-focused, 60-minute training modules designed to give you one tangible result, whether that is mastering your PR, getting a grip on your marketing messaging, or setting up a clear strategy without the overwhelm.

Or, if you want honest business advice, practical PR tips, and a gentle nudge to keep pushing forward, come and follow me on Instagram @rheafreemanpr

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Building an Audience on Your Own Terms: Lessons from Holly Willoughby

Why Holly Willoughby’s New Channel Is a Wake-Up Call for Small Business Owners

When Holly Willoughby announced her new YouTube show, Together, the media instantly jumped on the usual angles: the show format, the studio setup, and her return to screen.

To me, they completely missed the point.

Holly is not sitting around waiting for a traditional TV network to hand her a multi-million-pound contract. She took complete control of her own distribution. She built her own studio (I mean, maybe not herself!), brought in her own commercial partners, and decided to publish on her own terms.

We see online creators do this every day. But for someone who was the undisputed darling of mainstream daytime television to step away from the traditional broadcast model? That is monumental. It signals a massive shift in how media, authority, and broadcasting actually work.

There are no gatekeepers. No permission needed.

When you run your own small business, it is far too easy to fall into the the trap of waiting for someone else to give you the green light.

If you are currently holding back on a launch, a campaign, or a new idea, here are four lessons from Holly’s big move, and what it means for your own business.

1. Stop Waiting for Permission

So many brilliant, highly skilled business owners spend years stuck in a holding pattern.

They tell themselves they are:

  • Waiting for the ‘right time’ to launch.

  • Waiting until their offer, website, or product is 100% perfect.

  • Waiting for a publisher, a producer, or a grand industry invitation to crown them as an expert before stepping into the spotlight.

The reality? Nobody is coming to hand you a golden ticket.

You do not need a publisher, a producer, or a seal of approval from a corporate authority to start sharing your expertise. The platforms are already sitting right there on your phone, waiting for you to use them.

2. The Platforms Are Free, Use Them

You do not need a massive production budget or an agency behind you to reach your ideal clients.

The barrier to entry has completely vanished. You have access to tools that allow you to broadcast directly to your target audience every single day:

  • YouTube and Podcasts: Ideal for long-form, authority-building content where you can dive deep into your subject.

  • Email Newsletters: The single best way to build a direct, uninterrupted connection with people who actually want to hear from you.

  • Social Media: Perfect for quick daily engagement, sharing behind-the-scenes moments, and answering real questions.

When you realise that you already have the tools to build a loyal, paying community, waiting around for someone else’s approval makes no sense at all.

3. Lean on Your Network

Growth rarely happens in a vacuum. Holly did not try to do everything by herself in a dark room; she brought in a team, secured partners, and leveraged her connections.

Look around at your current network right now:

  • Who can you collaborate with on a joint project or giveaway?

  • Who can you interview for your blog or newsletter?

  • Which complementary business owners share your values and serve the exact same audience?

Teaming up with aligned business owners allows you to share audiences, cross-promote, and grow faster.

4. Choose Formats Your Audience Actually Wants

Holly chose a talk show and lifestyle format because she excels at it, and it is precisely what her audience loves to watch.

Do not overcomplicate your content strategy. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel or copy whatever trend is going viral on social media this week.

Look closely at what your clients ask you for every single day. What are the common struggles, questions, and pain points that keep them up at night? Build simple, helpful content directly around those exact topics.

Take Control of Your Own Business Today

I am not saying you should never strive to work with mainstream media or traditional partners if that is what you want. And I say that as someone who’s had books published with Bloomsbury and been on mainstream TV. Both are lovely, genuinely.

What I am saying is that you do not have to wait for that break to happen. You can make it yourself. And, I did this too. My first book? Couldn’t get a publisher so I self published…

When you control every aspect of what you are doing, you pick who you work with, you decide on the content, and you reap the commercial benefits directly.

Bottom line: you hold the power.

Ready to Take Your Marketing to the Next Level?

If you are feeling completely overwhelmed by your marketing strategy, and wanting simple, practical steps to get real results, let me help you.

Sign up to hear about my 60 Minute Sprint Courses and Membership Group. The courses are short, hyper-focused, 60-minute training modules designed to help you nail your PR, master your messaging, and get your work seen without the guesswork. The membership provides ongoing support where I’m in your corner along with other awesome businesses just like you.

Or, if you want advice on building authority, mastering PR, and growing your business on your own terms, come and follow me on Instagram @rheafreemanpr

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Why Treating Your Business Like an Experiment Changes Everything

If you are currently toying with an idea, maybe a social media post or even a new product, but you’re feeling the fear, you’re in the right place. I have been there, and so have many of the brilliant business owners I mentor.

When you run your own business, every decision can feel heavy. We look at a new project, a fresh marketing strategy, or a new launch, and the first question that pops into our heads is: but what if it fails?

This single question has the ability to stop everything in its tracks. It creates a state of strategic paralysis, keeping you trapped in overwhelm and preventing you from taking any real action whatsoever.

But there is a simple piece of advice I give to my coaching clients, and to myself, over and over again. You need to adopt a business experiment mindset. It is a complete shift in how you operate, and it will entirely change how you run your business.

You need to treat it all as an experiment and adopt an experiment mindset.

Detaching Your Self-Worth from the Results

When we tie our success or failure directly to our self-worth, taking action becomes terrifying. We assume that if a product does not sell instantly, or if a marketing campaign does not bring in hundreds of leads, it means we are not good enough.

It is an exhausting way to run a business, and it is a fast track to feeling completely isolated at the helm.

When you adopt an experiment mindset, that pressure evaporates. An experiment cannot truly fail, because its entire purpose is to provide data. Just by doing the thing, you ‘win’. You are simply trying a new approach, observing what happens, and learning from the outcome.

Shifting the Goal from ‘Perfection’ to ‘Learning’

Think of your business operations like learning a new hobby. You do not expect perfection on day one (and if you do, you’ll be very disappointed very quickly!). You try something, see how it works, iterate, adjust your approach, and try again.

Your marketing and business strategy should be approached with exactly that same patience and curiosity.

Instead of demanding that every single move is a massive win, ask yourself: What can I learn from this?

  • If you launch a new short course and only two people sign up, that is not a failure. It is data showing you that perhaps the messaging needs tweaking or the timing was slightly off.

  • If an email newsletter gets a lower open rate than usual, it is just a signpost pointing you to test a different subject line next time.

  • If a post flops, become a detective and explore why. Can you experiment with different posting times, formats, captions, calls to action?

When you look at your business through this lens, it completely changes the game. It stops being a stressful, reactive chore and becomes a creative puzzle that you know you’ll succeed at eventually, but you have to go through the learning phases first.

Take the First Step

The next time you feel that familiar dread creeping in, take a deep breath and give yourself permission to just test the waters. You do not need a flawless, ten-year plan to move forward. You just need to run your next small experiment.

Make sure you follow me @rheafreemanpr on Instagram for more thoughts, ideas, and insights.

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Social Media Burnout: What Travis and Taylor Can Teach Small Businesses

Who would have thought we’d be chatting about what global superstars Taylor Swift and her husband Travis Kelce could teach small businesses around boundaries and burnout? But here we are. Let’s dive into social media burnout for small business (and how we can avoid it)

Social Media Burnout for Small Business

There is a loud, persistent narrative in the digital space right now telling us that we have to keep the cameras rolling all day, every day. We are told to film our morning routines, broadcast our deepest personal struggles, and share every single piece of our lives in real time just to feed an algorithm.

This is completely exhausting, not sustainable, and it is driving small business owners straight into a wall of absolute burnout. They desperately want to stay relevant, make sales, and be visible, but they also need to run the actual business.

But I have some wonderful proof that you do not have to buy into this panic. And it comes from what is arguably the wedding of the decade.

Recently, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift got married. The media reported that they invited around a thousand people, including some of the most high-profile public figures on the planet. Yet, despite the massive scale of the event, they kept what happened inside the venue a secret.

As I write this, there have been no leaked photographs. No behind-the-scenes videos. There were no real-time updates. There is talk that they might do something with that footage in the future, but it will be entirely on their terms, when they want to do it, not because they felt pushed by outside pressure.

If two of the most visible people on Earth can protect a private moment, it is definitive proof of something I have been wittering on about for years: you do not have to overshare your life in real time to remain relevant.

The Dangerous Myth of Real-Time Sharing

Our current culture tells us that if we do not share something the exact second it happens, it somehow does not matter. This creates a state of panic. I see people throwing content together in a rush, pushing things live before they have actually thought them through, just to tick a box.

The truth of the matter is simple: the algorithm does not own your private life.

When you run your own boutique service, creative practice, or rural lifestyle business, boundaries are not a luxury; they are an absolute necessity. Pushing yourself into the public eye under a cloud of anxiety only leads to messy marketing that doesn’t feel right for you. You do not owe the internet every hour of your day.

Authenticity is Not an All-Access Pass

People mistakenly think that to be authentic, they have to invite the whole world into their internal chaos. They do not.

Authenticity does not mean oversharing for the sake of it. It simply means that when you do show up, you are exactly who you are.

You can be vulnerable about a challenge or a business struggle after you have actually come to terms with the situation. Once you have processed the experience, you can approach it from a learning point of view. That is incredibly valuable for your audience. Broadcasting from the middle of a live emotional storm is rarely helpful for you or your brand.

Behind-the-Scenes Content on Your Own Terms

Showing the human side of your business can be a fantastic tool, especially for small businesses. Showing the messy studio, the early morning packing sessions, or the daily realities of your craft builds trust and relatability.

The key point, though, is that this content must be shared on your own terms.

You do not need to stream live. You can record a video today, edit it next week, and post it three weeks from now when it naturally fits into your business narrative. When successful brands and individuals market themselves well, they are not posting out of panic. They are sharing content because it makes strategic sense.

Take Back Control of Your Marketing Narrative

If you are feeling the weight of all of this, let the Travis and Taylor rule be your permission slip to step back. You are allowed to keep the door shut on your private life.

Marketing should be an organised, supportive system that helps your business grow, not a reactive chore that leaves you feeling drained.

Because I know exactly how precious your time is, and how frustrating it can be to navigate these constant digital pressures, I have built something highly practical to help you shake off the overwhelm. I have created a completely free strategy tool designed to help small business owners handle their content planning and execution seamlessly, without the panic, and in a fraction of the time.

[Click here to sign up for your free guide] and start building a visibility strategy that works for your business, entirely on your own terms.

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Polaroid’s Inconvenient Truth: What a Brilliant “Anti-AI” Billboard Campaign Teaches Us About Standing Out

Polaroid’s Inconvenient Truth: What a Brilliant "Anti-AI" Billboard Campaign Teaches Us About Standing Out

It feels like every single piece of marketing copy, imagery, and product development is frantically trying to bend the knee to artificial intelligence. If you open social media on any given Tuesday, you are flooded with hyper-edited, polished, and clinical AI-generated visuals that look sleek but feel completely hollow inside. Like they’re missing a soul or human touch. 

But recently, the iconic brand Polaroid decided to throw a massive spanner directly into the works. And I for one love it.

In the summer, Polaroid launched a brilliant, multi-layered out-of-home billboard campaign that is proudly, defiantly anti-AI, anti-digital, and anti-phone.

It is a masterclass in modern marketing, and it contains some powerful lessons for small business owners who are sick of shouting into the digital void.

The Coney Island Beach Billboard

It started with a soft launch last year when Polaroid began hinting at a more tactile, “analogue summer” aesthetic. But this season, Polaroid has gone hard.

It dropped a massive billboard right on Coney Island Beach with a simple, jarring message: ‘Get in the sea before the AI data centers suck it all up.’

And it did not stop there. Polaroid rolled out a network of out-of-home advertisements plastering London’s underground tubes and dominating King’s Cross station. Every single poster hammers home the mental, environmental, and physical realities of being chained to your phone, while highlighting the simple joy of being present in the real world.

What makes this campaign so clever is that it is not aggressively shouting or filled with high-pressure marketing drivel. It is completely factual, yet it taps beautifully into our raw, unspoken human struggles and anxieties. One billboard points out the exhausting reality of “basking in blue light” from our phone screens. The Coney Island sign uses a stark environmental truth: AI data centres require an astronomical amount of water to cool their systems.

Polaroid has looked directly at the things currently keeping us awake at night and spoken them out loud in a language that actually resonates.

Why the Human Eye Craves “Jarring”

Take a look at the design elements used in these billboards. In a world where corporate imagery is preened, polished, and airbrushed to within an inch of its life, Polaroid did something very disruptive.

  • Handwritten Fonts: The text looks like it was hurriedly scribbled by a real human hand.

  • Genuine Polaroid Pictures: The creative layouts are anchored by actual photographs with their iconic white borders.

The visual effect is definitely jarring. It acts as a pattern interrupt. When someone is walking through King’s Cross, completely overwhelmed by their daily operational juggle and strategic paralysis, their brain automatically filters out the glossy, artificial corporate ads. But a raw, human piece of handwriting? That makes them stop and think.

To make this hit even harder, Polaroid reportedly coordinated with a network of creators and influencers who agreed to “go dark” – meaning they stepped away from social media entirely to actually enjoy real-life experiences without recording them for digital validation.

Crazy, isn’t it?!

The Power of the Inconvenient Truth

At its core, this campaign works because it shares an inconvenient truth. The most powerful marketing messages are always the ones that dare to speak an unspoken reality in an authentic, genuine way, rather than out of spite or a desire to create controversy for the sake of it.

Polaroid is a brand built entirely on capturing a fleeting human moment, holding it in your hand, and then moving on to enjoy the rest of your day without spending hours scrolling through a screen or editing every pixel post click. It has aligned its deepest brand values with a cultural truth we are all feeling.

What This Means for Your Small Business

You do not need a multi-million-pound billboard budget to use this strategy in your own business. Here are three key things you can learn:

1. You Have Permission to Stand Against Convention

If your industry is sprinting in one direction, you are allowed to walk the other way. If you have a genuine passion for a traditional, tactile, or deeply human way of working, own it. Back up your stance with facts, figures, or real-world experiences. Standing out for all the right reasons is a robust business strategy.

2. Social Media is Not Your Only Platform

As a country girl at heart, I am always reminding my community that building a business solely on social media is like building a house on rented land. Polaroid’s success proves that out-of-home, print, physical experiences, and standalone brand assets can have an big impact when executed with clarity.

3. Stop Trying to Fit into Boxes That Hurt Your Brand

If a digital trend, an algorithm demand, or an AI tool does not fit who you are or what your business stands for, do not use it. Authenticity cannot be manufactured by software. 

If you enjoyed this, make sure you’re following me on Instagram where I breakdown lots of marketing campaigns and masterclasses, and share what we can all learn. I’m @rheafreemanpr.

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The Rise of the Yap Video: Why Unfiltered Authenticity Is Winning the Marketing War

the rise of the yap video

The digital landscape has shifted again. If you have spent any time scrolling through social media lately, you have probably noticed a massive change in the types of videos taking over your feed.

It is a trend commonly known as the “yap” or “yapper” video.

Don’t let the name fool you- it sounds far more complicated than it actually is. Essentially, a yap video is a simple, talking-head style video where someone does a direct piece to camera. There are no fancy transitions, no high-end editing suites involved, and absolutely no highly polished scripts.

The best ones work because people are showing up authentically, exactly as they are.

You will usually see creators filming these while sitting on a park bench, lounging on their sofa, or sitting in the driver’s seat of their car. It looks, feels, and sounds precisely like someone talking directly to a trusted friend. Because that’s what it is. And that is exactly why this format is so incredibly impactful right now.

The Backlash Against the Polished and the Artificial

We are living in an era dominated by artificial intelligence, where feeds are flooded with AI-generated videos (and images!) trying to communicate complex messages. If you look closely at the engagement metrics on those artificial posts, you will see they simply do not land well. And I’m not mad about that(!).

At the same time, people are growing exhausted by the endless sea of heavy filters and aggressive editing.

When everything is polished beyond belief to fit a corporate mould, it becomes jarring when a raw, unfiltered video pops up. It forces the viewer to stop and think: Hang on, is that a real person? What a crazy time we live in when that will be something people will think!

The moment we recognise a real human being on our screen, our perception changes. We instantly realise this is a genuine message about a real experience. It is the ultimate anti-corporate stance, and it is exactly what modern audiences are craving.

The simple truth is that people connect with people.

I don’t care how much AI advances over the coming years, or how sophisticated video editing software becomes, that fundamental truth will never change. Human beings connect with human experiences. The yap video succeeds because it strips away the noise and delivers human connection in its truest form.

How to Create a Successful Yap Video

If you want to leverage this trend to build deep trust, foster community, and increase your relatability, you need to know how to execute it well.

The good ones might look accidental, but they still follow a practical structure. Here is your breakdown of what you need to start doing today to create successful, high-value yap videos.

1. Focus on One Clear Point

You might be yapping rather than reading from a script, but your video still needs a clear point. Do not try to cover your entire business history in one go. Pick one single tip, one point, or one real-world struggle you encountered and want to share the lesson you learnt. Keep the video short and to the point. Aim to keep your run time between 30 and 60 seconds to maximise engagement.

2. Choose a Grounded, Comfortable Location

You do not need a studio backdrop or professional lighting. Film in a place that feels completely normal and good to you. Whether you are walking the dog, sitting on your sofa, or catching up between tasks in your car, the environment should reflect your actual daily life. That’s part of the charm.

3. Use Your Normal Conversation Voice

Speak exactly how you would talk if you were catching up over a coffee while juggling a busy afternoon. Do not put on a ‘presentation’ voice. Share your thoughts naturally, fillers and all, because that down-to-earth delivery is exactly what builds long-term brand trust.

4. Always Include Captions

While the yap video itself should remain unedited and raw, adding captions is a non-negotiable for accessibility. A huge percentage of people watch social media videos entirely on mute. You can use simple, low-friction tools like Adobe Express, dedicated editing apps (like Edits), or even the built-in tools inside Instagram and TikTok to generate accurate captions in next to no time.

Stop Overthinking and Have a Go

Building a robust, future-proof brand means moving away from the pressure of looking flawless online all the time. The next time you feel stuck staring at a blank screen wondering how to connect with your audience, take a breath, step away from the corporate expectations, and just press record. If you need to, blame me and say that you read it here and wanted to give it a spin.

You can hold your phone out at arm’s length or set it up on a simple tripod. The key is to just be you, keep those simple rules in mind, and have a play with the format without overthinking the outcome.

If you are looking for more practical tips on how to effectively market your business, ace your PR, and get social media working for you, follow me on Instagram @rheafreemanpr.

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The Golden Rule of PR: Is it New OR Newsworthy?

Here is a hard truth about getting your business into the press: the media does not care about you. They care about their audience. And this isn’t me being mean, it’s just the truth!

When you send a pitch, a press release, or an email to a journalist, you are not telling a story for your own gratification. Or if you are, we maybe have uncovered the problem. You are providing content for their readers, viewers, or listeners. If you want a journalist to pay attention to your business, you have to look through their lens, not yours.

To do that successfully, your story needs to tick one of two essential boxes: it must be new or newsworthy.

Here is the difference between the two—and why they both matter.

1. Is it NEW?

When we talk about “new” in a PR context, we are looking at tangible changes, additions, or milestones within your business. Journalists love a fresh angle. This includes things like:

  • Launching a new product or service line.

  • Opening a new location or expanding into a new territory.

  • Welcoming a key new member of staff who is going to shake things up or bring a unique expertise to your team.

If it hasn’t happened before, it’s new. And new ‘stuff’ has the potential to be interesting to the press.

2. Is it NEWSWORTHY?

Newsworthy means it has a wider impact. It’s the kind of information that makes a stranger stop and say, “Oh, that’s interesting.” Think about elements like:

  • Winning major awards or industry recognition.

  • Announcing groundbreaking research or data you’ve collected that reveals a trend in your industry.

  • Doing something completely cool, innovative, or unique that disrupts the usual way of doing things.

Newsworthy stories are the ones that connect your business to the bigger picture of what’s happening in the world right now.

The ultimate question you need to ask yourself…

The next time you sit down to draft a piece of communication for the press, I want you to step away from your own ego. Take a breath, read over your pitch, and ask yourself this single question:

Will the person reading this leave with something they didn’t know before?

If the answer is no, if it’s just a self-congratulatory announcement that only matters to your internal team, or maybe you’re regurgitating something that’s already been and gone? If this is the case, don’t hit send. Go back to the drawing board and find the hook.

Make sure you are delivering something genuinely new, or undeniably newsworthy. Focus on what their audience gets out of it, and you’ll find those journalist responses start landing in your inbox a whole lot faster.

If you’re looking for more tips on how to effectively market your business, ace your PR, utilise AI (the right way!) and get social media working for you, follow me on Instagram @rheafreemanpr

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