The Under 16 Social Media Ban: What Does it REALLY Mean for Your Brand?

The landscape has shifted again. On the 15th of June 2026, Keir Starmer announced a massive change when it comes to social media. That is, that by next spring, the UK is planning to introduce a social media ban for under-16s.

If your brand relies heavily on marketing directly to under-16s via social media platforms, this is going to be a significant change for your business. Currently, most platforms have an official age limit of 13, but we all know that millions of younger children are active on them anyway. However, as a legitimate brand, you have a responsibility to be seen upholding the rules, doing the right thing, and ensuring your business is robust enough to survive these shifts.

Look, we can be cross about it (and I am!), or we can get on with it. Or a combination of the two(!). With massive change always comes massive opportunity. It’s time to move a few things around in your thinking and your daily efforts. Here is your breakdown of what you need to start doing today.

1. Adjust your target audience

If your current social media marketing targets young people aged between 13 and 16, it’s time to refocus. You need to pivot your social media content toward the gatekeepers, as in, the parents and grandparents.

When you shift your target, your messaging has to shift with it. Stop trying to look cool to a teenager who won’t even be on the app to see it (well, legally). Instead, focus entirely on the parents’ problems and pain points. How does your product or service make their lives easier, safer, or more enriched? So rather than saying something will ensure they’re the person everyone will be jealous of at school, think about why the parent or grandparent would actually get on board. Will it improve grades? Will it help support challenging tasks? How will it make the parent’s life a bit easier? Adjust your thinking.

2. Map out where your new target audience hangs out

Following on from shifting your audience, you need to audit your platform strategy. Different demographics thrive in completely different spaces online, and they consume content differently.

If your brand has been heavily reliant on TikTok because it captured that younger crowd, you may need to start shifting your focus toward platforms like Facebook or Pinterest, which traditionally attract a slightly older parental demographic. Do the work now to figure out where the parents are spending their time. Look into the specific publications they read, the websites they browse, and the influencers they actually trust.

“As much as I love social media, it is a platform built on rented land. We don’t own our followers. Not even a bit.”

3. Grow your list (aggressively!)

If you have relied on social media as your primary engine to share your messages and educate people about what you do without having a robust mailing list or website, you’ve been building your business on borrowed land. See this as your sign to get a grip.

Social media has never been owned by you, and it never will be (unless your name happens to be Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk, and if it is, hi there!). If an algorithm decides to stop showing your content, or if your account gets thrown into ‘social media prison’ for no apparent reason, you are completely powerless. Use this government ban as the ultimate wake-up call to start building your own email database, and build it aggressively.

4. Engage beyond the social media box

Under-16s might be getting banned from social media apps, but they aren’t disappearing from the face of the earth…or the internet. They are still going to be consuming media and interacting with the world, just in different ways.

Start thinking well beyond the digital social media box. Look into experiential marketing, physical pop-ups, print magazines, and standalone websites. There are endless creative ways to engage a younger demographic in the real world. App blocks can stop a scroll, but they can’t stop real-life experiences.

5. Double down on your SEO

Social media might be off limits for teens, but the rest of the internet is completely wide open. When people are looking for answers, hobbies, or shopping recommendations, they (and their parents) are going to use search engines.

Put real effort into your website’s Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Make sure your site is fast, engaging, up-to-date, and packed with high-value blog posts. Optimising your content gives search engines like Google the best possible chance of recommending you. Furthermore, it ensures that as AI-driven search continues to grow, AI models can easily find and utilise your content to answer user queries.

In summary – Take action today

The absolute core takeaway here is simple: Don’t panic. You have plenty of time between now and next spring to start actioning these steps and putting them into place. None of the strategies mentioned above will hinder your current social media marketing, or your wider marketing strategy in any negative way. In fact, they will only make your entire business structure infinitely more robust and future-proof. It’s time to ensure you can market to a U16 audience in a way that is highly effective, entirely ethical, and completely legal.

Follow me on Instagram @rheafreemanpr for more social media, PR and marketing tips and tricks.

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What images the press need from you and your business

Getting featured in the media is one of the most powerful ways to build credibility, expand your reach, and grow your brand. But when you pitch a story or a product to journalists, there is one critical element that can have a huge impact on your chances of success, and that’s your imagery.

The thing is, PR isn’t just about a great written pitch. The press needs high-quality images to accompany their articles, whether these are in print or online. If your photos don’t meet their standards, they will likely pass on your story, no matter how incredible your product is.

To maximise your chances of success, you want to tick every box on this list…

1. Keep images clear and crisp

First things first: your photography must be visually flawless. The press expects clear, crisp images. By which I mean…

  • Avoid motion blurs, soft focusing, harsh shadow or poor lighting.

  • Ensure your subject is sharp and the details of your product are easily visible.

  • If a photo looks grainy or unprofessional on your desktop screen, it will look even worse in print or digital media.

2. Ban all watermarks and logos

If you have invested in a professional photographer to shoot your brand assets, that’s brilliant! However, before you send those files to a journalist, ensure all watermarks are completely removed (and you’ve got the correct permissions to share!).

Why this matters: A media outlet cannot and will not publish a photo with a giant watermarked logo cutting across it. Similarly, avoid adding your own business logo onto the corner of the image. Over-branding makes the photo look like an advertisement rather than editorial content, making it difficult for the press to use. And if you want to stand out for the right reasons and get coverage, you have to stack the odds in your favour. Always.

3. Always provide high-resolution files

Never send low-resolution web files or compressed thumbnails to a journalist. Print newspapers and magazines require high-resolution (high-res) files to ensure the ink doesn’t pixelate on the page. Digital publications also prefer high-res images because they can crop into them without losing quality.

If you only supply low-res files, the editorial team simply won’t be able to use them in print, and your feature could be cut.

4. Say no to AI-generated imagery

Yes, professional brand photography costs money. But trying to cut corners by sending AI-generated images to the media is a major red flag. Journalists value authenticity and real-world storytelling. Expecting an editor to publish an AI-generated rendering to promote a real, physical product isn’t a viable option and can damage your brand’s credibility. Invest in genuine assets.

5. Make sure you have the correct permissions

Let’s talk about image copyright and permissions. If you hired a professional photographer, ensure you have paid them properly and that your contract explicitly grants you PR and media distribution rights.

Do not expect busy journalists to run around chasing down photographers to ask for permission to use an image to promote your product. You must handle the paperwork and have clear rights to share the images before you pitch.

6. Watch out for expiring download links

If you are sending your press kit or product images via a downloadable link (like WeTransfer or Dropbox), make sure the link doesn’t expire after three days. Journalists, editors, and features writers work on varied timelines. An editor might love your pitch today but not work on that feature for weeks, or they might see a future opportunity that’s perfect for your product. You want to give the press the opportunity to download and use your imagery when it suits their editorial calendar, not just when it suits yours. Use permanent sharing links or long-term press folders so your assets are always accessible.

Stack the odds in your favour

By making your imagery as accessible, professional, and easy to access, you turn yourself into a dream source for journalists. Keep your files high-res, unwatermarked, and permanently accessible, and watch your media coverage grow!

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Why You Don’t Need a PR Agency: The Small Business Guide to Free Press

Why You Don’t Need a PR Agency: The Small Business Guide to Free Press

If you run a small business, you already know the every penny counts.

When budgets are tight, every investment needs to actively move the needle and drive you closer to your goals. Unfortunately, traditional public relations (PR) is often viewed as a playground exclusive to big corporations with massive budgets, a luxury where you throw thousands of pounds at an agency and hope for the best.

But, you do not need to spend thousands of pounds on a PR agency to get featured in the press.

When done well, PR can reap monumental rewards for your brand awareness and your bottom line. And the best part? You can get started right now, by yourself, entirely for free.

If you are ready to stop letting a lack of budget hold your business back, here are the three essential steps to kickstart your own DIY PR journey.

1. Identify Your Gatekeepers

Before you write a single pitch or send a single email, you need to understand exactly who you are trying to speak to. Stop sending generic press releases to blind info@ email addresses. They’re a lot less likely to find the right person in a timely manner!

You need to identify the precise gatekeepers for the media sectors you are targeting:

  • Magazines and Newspapers: Look for specific section editors (such as the Business Editor, the Lifestyle Editor, or the Features Editor). If you are struggling to reach them, look for the editorial assistant of the publication first. They are fantastic allies and often help route great stories to the right desk, and also tell you who the right person is!

  • TV and Radio: Forget the presenters or the face of the show. You need to find the producers. They are the creative engines behind the scenes who actually curate the guest line-ups and choose the topics.

2. Study the Outlets

A terrible pitch is incredibly obvious. It’s usually a copy-and-paste mass email that offers zero value to the journalist. To stand out, you have to do the research time.

Pick the specific publication, radio slot, or website you want to be a part of and study it intensely:

  • What kind of recurring features do they run?

  • What specific topics does their audience engage with the most?

  • What is the tone, style, and rhythm of their content?

If you put the research time in first, your eventual pitch will make perfect sense to them. The journalist will instantly recognise that you understand their world, that you’ve done the work, and that you are there to add genuine value to their platform, rather than just begging for a free advert.

Pro Tip – Note down features and interviews you particularly enjoy/ed, this will come in useful for when you pitch as it shows you really have done the work!

3. Demolish the Fear of Rejection

Here is where most small business owners fall at the final hurdle. They do the mapping, they do the hours of deep research, and then they completely chicken out at the last second because they are terrified of getting a no.

Let me tell you something from personal experience: you will get ignored – a LOT – and that is completely fine.

Early in my career, I was ghosted more times than I can count. But every single time a pitch was met with radio silence, I didn’t view it as a failure. I viewed it as a data point. I analysed it, learned from it, and used it to sharpen my strategy for the next time. And I just kept going!

Because of that resilience, my pitch hit-rate today – and my clients’ hit-rate – is incredibly high. Rejection isn’t a wall if you don’t see it as that, it’s actually just feedback. The more times you put yourself in front of the right people, the higher your chances of success.

Building Your Asset for the Future

Even if an editor or producer turns you down initially, it doesn’t mean your effort was wasted. Sometimes your business simply isn’t a perfect fit for what they are working on at that moment, it’s a just a no for now.

However, by reaching out professionally, doing your homework, and presenting a high-value concept, you have made a great first impression. You are now on their radar. You can add them to your growing press list, nurture that relationship, and set yourself up for massive editorial wins down the line.

PR isn’t about having a massive corporate bank account. It’s about strategy, research, relationships, and having the guts to show up anyway. Again and again and again!

Want to Master Your Own PR Strategy?

Learning how to navigate the media landscape and pitching your business like a seasoned pro is entirely within your reach.

For insider PR tips, actionable tricks, and deep-dive breakdowns of the marketing campaigns making headlines right now, come and join the community on Instagram! Follow along at @rheafreemanpr and let’s start getting your business the visibility it deserves.

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The Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir: A PR Masterclass Where Everybody Wins

The Hawkstone Farmers Choir: A PR Masterclass Where Everybody Wins

If you were watching television this weekend, you didn’t just witness a piece of entertainment history, you witnessed an absolute PR masterclass.

The Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir winning Britain’s Got Talent is an incredible triumph for the choir itself, but it’s also a blueprint for how modern PR, community amplification, and brand alignment should actually work. It was a rare, beautiful moment where every single person involved walked away a winner.

Let’s break down exactly why this campaign was so brilliant, and the key lessons you can steal for your own business.

1. It Was Rooted in Real Community (Not a Corporate Stunt)

To understand why this win felt so powerful, you have to look at how it started. The choir wasn’t manufactured by a marketing agency to sell beer. It was originally set up by Jeremy Clarkson, whom we all know from Top Gear and Clarkson’s Farm, to support local farmers and raise awareness for mental health.

Farming can be an incredibly isolating job. Last year, the choir appeared in a Hawkstone campaign video that went completely viral. They were real, raw, they swore, they sang beautifully, and they grabbed massive press attention because they were completely authentic. And the fact that Jeremy said the ad had been banned…

When they stepped onto the Britain’s Got Talent stage, they brought that genuine community with them. It didn’t feel like a manufactured PR stunt, it felt like real people with a real purpose (because that’s exactly what it was!).

2. It Shattered Industry Stereotypes on Prime-Time TV

While Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime has done wonders for changing public perception of agriculture, taking the choir to ITV for Britain’s Got Talent opened the floodgates to a completely new, mainstream audience.

For a long time, farmers have been saddled with a grumpy, old-man stereotype that is hard for the general public to connect with. The choir completely blew that up on prime-time television.

Looking at that stage, the audience saw:

  • Men and women of all different ages.

  • People of all different sizes from all over the country.

  • Real, hard-working human beings who face the exact same struggles we all do, working tirelessly to feed us.

By showing the human faces behind the industry, they built an emotional bridge with millions of viewers who usually feel completely disconnected from agriculture.

3. The Power of “Snowball Effect” Amplification

One of the reasons this campaign reached such heights was the sheer scale of the amplification. Because so many different camps were passionate about the cause, the message snowballed naturally.

It wasn’t just the choir shouting about it. You had the entire ecosystem working in perfect sync:

  • The Star Power: Jeremy Clarkson was backing them publicly.

  • The Cast: Clarkson’s Farm favourites like Lisa Hogan, Kaleb Cooper, and Charlie Ireland were constantly championing them.

  • The Judges: Amanda Holden even visited the team on their home turf during a previous show to support them on their journey.

  • The Grassroots Hub: They held a massive watch party at Jeremy’s pub, The Farmer’s Dog, bringing people together physically to watch the final.

When you combine mainstream TV, hyper-engaged social media support, and real-life community hubs, your brand message becomes unstoppable.

The Ultimate “Everybody Wins” Result

The best PR campaigns aren’t zero-sum games. The Hawkstone Farmers Choir victory proved that when PR is handled with genuine care, the ripple effect of success benefits everyone:

Who Won? What Did They Gain?
The Choir They literally won the biggest talent show in Britain and a life-changing platform. The first choir to do this in the show’s history.
The Farming Industry A massive prime-time PR boost and a brilliant spotlight on the reality of modern agriculture.
The Hawkstone Brand Priceless, money-can’t-buy brand awareness, visibility, and positive sentiment.
Mental Health Awareness Vital awareness around isolation and mental health challenges within the farming community, encouraging people to speak out and find help.
Clarkson’s Farm & Jeremy A beautiful, positive nudge for his show right as it returns to our screens.
Britain’s Got Talent A massive dose of genuine, feel-good television that engaged an entirely new audience.

What Can We Learn as Business Owners?

As business owners, we can extract a massive amount of value from this masterclass:

  • Community is your superpower: Nurture your community fiercely. When your audience feels like they are part of a movement, they will vote, share, and fight for you.

  • Storytelling is magic: A great story doesn’t just inform—it captivates and educates. The power of a human story will out-perform a slick sales pitch every single time.

  • Commercial goals can be positive: Just because a campaign brings commercial benefits and brand awareness to a company (like Hawkstone), it doesn’t detract from the positive social impact. That is, if it is managed with true authenticity.

On Britain’s Got Talent, the Hawkstone Farmers Choir made history. But they also reminded us exactly what happens when you lead with real people, real passion, and a great story.

Want to elevated your brand’s PR?

Learning how to extract the gold from major cultural moments is exactly how you build a standout brand strategy.

If you want more practical PR tips, behind-the-scenes campaign breakdowns, and actionable tricks to give your product or service the spotlight it deserves, make sure to follow me over on Instagram at @rheafreemanpr! Let’s get people talking about your business.

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How to Get the Press to Notice Your Business: 3 Non-Negotiable Rules

How to Get the Press to Notice Your Business: 3 Non-Negotiable Rules

Let’s be completely honest for a second. Getting the press to pay attention to your business, your new product, or your service can feel like trying to shout in a crowded stadium (and no one hearing!). You send off an email, you wait, and then absolutely nothing happens. This isn’t necessarily you, journalists are incredibly busy people.

It is incredibly frustrating. But more often than not, it isn’t because your business isn’t interesting, or your new product isn’t great. It could well be because that person’s inbox is overflowing with requests, but it can also be because your pitch didn’t give the journalist exactly what they needed to do their job.

Journalists, editors, and producers are some of the busiest people on the planet. They are drowning in deadlines and wading through hundreds of pitches a day. If you want them to pick up your story, you have to make it as easy as humanly possible for them to say “yes.”

If you want to drastically increase your chances of media success, you need to embed these three fundamental rules into your PR strategy.

1. High-Quality Imagery is Non-Negotiable

You could have the most life-altering product or the most inspiring business story in the world, but if your imagery is rubbish, your pitch is heading straight for the bin.

Think about it from their perspective: if a journalist loves your story but you haven’t provided a decent photo to run alongside it, they can’t publish it. You’ve stopped them in their tracks.

Here is what you need to keep in mind:

It doesn’t have to be a professional photoshoot. While professional shots are great, standard smartphones are incredible these days.

It does need to look professional. Your images must be crisp, clear, well-composed, and never blurry.

Watch your background. Make sure the background is tidy, decent, and fits your brand aesthetic.

Think about sizing. Provide high-resolution files that can be easily resized or cropped for print or digital.

Do everything you can to set yourself up for success from the very first click.

2. Keep Your Pitch Concise

It is tempting to write an essay when pitching your business. You want to explain everything from how you came up with the idea, your life history, your vision, for the future and maybe even where you went to primary school (I’m only half joking!).

Stop right there. They do not want your life story.

The golden rule of pitching the press is to keep it as concise as it can possibly be while still delivering the vital facts. Your email should be punchy and straight to the point.

💡 Insider PR Tip: If you absolutely have to add extra context or background details, do not clog up the main body of your email. Instead, create a clear ‘Notes to the Editor’ section right at the bottom. This keeps your introduction clean, while still giving them extra info if they choose to scroll down.

Before you hit send, ask yourself: ‘Is this extra paragraph helping my chances, or is it just making a busy editor close the document because they don’t have time to read it?’. If it’s the latter, you know what to do…

3. Include a Clear Call to Action

Let’s say the magic happens and a member of the press reads your pitch, loves your product, and wants to run the story. What do they do next?

If there isn’t a glaringly obvious next step staring them in the face, you are creating friction. You should never force a busy journalist to go on a weird, adventurous treasure hunt across the internet just to find your website or your imagery.

Make the next steps totally seamless. Inside the body of your email, explicitly state what to do next:

Provide a direct link. Always include your exact website address.

Offer more assets upfront. I always say something like, “If you need additional information or images, please let me know.”

If you like, link a shared folder. You could include a link to a Google Drive or Dropbox folder containing your press release and image library if you want. Do not, and I repeat DO NOT, send a link to a file that expires in a few days… you’re not helping them and that means you’re not helping yourself.

If they want to publish your business, make sure their readers actually know where to find you.

Want More Practical PR Tips?

Mastering your own PR doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It’s all about understanding what the media needs and delivering it to them on a silver platter.

For loads more actionable tips, behind-the-scenes tricks, and strategies to get your product or service the massive promotion it deserves, make sure you’re following me over on Instagram at @rheafreemanpr! Let’s get your business noticed.

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Are you still an equestrian business coach and mentor?

Short answer yes, yes I am, but let me just expand this… hold tight!

Are you still an equestrian business coach and mentor?

It’s a funny world we live in, isn’t it? You start off down one path and things happen that open doors and opportunities… and you either say yes and crack on, or say no and stay in your shell and never leave. I’m an option one person. Even if I’m not entirely sure what that opportunity looks like or where it’ll lead, I say yes, then worry about it later.

Let me take you back

A few years ago, I was in a pub beer garden with my friends and my then puppy, Indy. The phone rang, I didn’t recognise the number, but I answered it. It was BBC Radio 5Live asking me if I’d come on the radio and discuss a PR story as they had me on their system as a PR expert and would like my insight. I remember walking loops of that beer garden doing a briefing call, wondering what on earth was happening, sure that someone would say ‘hahah, gotcha!’. But they didn’t. In fact, I did go on the radio and it was a catalyst to a lot I didn’t see coming. In the weeks that followed I did a lot of TV and radio – I think my max was 15 interviews in one day. It blew my mind. I was able to put my YEARS of experience, learning and everything else into words on air… and people loved it. More than that, I LOVED IT. Since then, I’ve been on BBC News, ITV News, Channel 5 News, Talk, LBC, Heart, lots of BBC radio stations… and the list goes on. I even have my own radio segment each week now on BBC Hereford & Worcester, BBC Shropshire, and BBC Stoke.

And just like that, the niche that I’d be in for many years, wasn’t the only place people knew me. My experience, my insight, my analysis, was being sought on a much larger scale. And that attracted attention. And that opened up doors.

And when these doors open, you decide whether to walk through, or whether to stay put…

I think we all know what happened, don’t we? I walked through. This ‘walk’ allowed me to do additional qualifications, land Bloomsbury as a publisher, appear on more TV and radio, write for newspapers and magazines, speak on stages in front of over 2000 people. It didn’t change who I was, but it meant people saw me for who I was, and what I could do for them.

This meant that instead of just equestrian businesses, I had enquiries from people with looser connections to the space – still very much equestrian, rural, canine or country at first, but working alongside Help to Grow and Small Business Britain as a mentor, far more diverse than that.

This gave me the opportunity to think about who I want to coach and mentor

…and when I did that deeper dive into this, when I had the confidence to look beyond a niche, I realised that my clients are often equestrian, canine, country or rural, BUT most also have the following traits…

  • They’re female founders (this doesn’t mean I don’t coach and mentor men, but this is the theme!)
  • Driven
  • Talented
  • Think outside the box and aren’t content with mediocre
  • They usually have a dog, horse or cat – and those animals are discussed or sometimes appear on calls
  • They want to grow and develop their businesses and make them work for them. This doesn’t necessarily mean multi-million pound turnover, it means a business that does what they need it to do.
  • Have a sense of humour
  • They are incredible – they have done the work, they don’t BS, they’re inspiring and brilliant

…and all of this has led me here. To writing this blog. To sharing how my identity has evolved and changed but how my core values, my experience, my skill, the transformations I support, haven’t. And that’s led to a post I’ve felt weird about writing for SO long, but one that’s important for me.

And if you’re reading thinking you fit my ideal customer and want to grow and take things to the next level, then I might have a few slots coming up in the near future. If this is you, I’m inviting you to send me a message so we can arrange to jump on a call with me for a chat to see what magic we might be able to create together…

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