We sit down with Hannah Albone, our PR and Social account manager for a cuppa and a chat. We find out how and why she loves all things content, what she’s most proud of and what motto helps her at work.
What inspired you to get involved in PR & Social? Was this something you always wanted to do?
At my last agency we worked in integrated teams, meaning I worked alongside a PR team for the first time in my career. Previously I’d been a bit of a ‘jack of all trades’ marketing executive and knew I wanted to find a way that combined writing and relationship management into a career path. Although I was sat marketing side in previous roles, I always wanted to find a way that meant I could use my written skills alongside my client relationship skills. Seeing how the PR team were always on the go, working on amazing jobs, turning throwaway lines from clients into releases and running large scale press events made me realise that was what I wanted to move across into. After a year freelancing as a content and copywriter, I decided there was still more agency life could offer me and I joined Cogent as PR & Social Account Manager, and haven’t looked back since.
What is it that makes Cogent different to other places you have worked at?
It’s a lot bigger for a start! What really makes Cogent stand out is the freedom and trust you’re granted as an employee. I’m trusted to get on with my job and that autonomy in turn helps me work better. Independence in my work is important to me and I definitely get that at Cogent.
What is your career highlight to date? Something you are proud of!
Setting up my own freelance business during the pandemic sounds relatively mad but really was something I went full steam ahead with. The pandemic meant I had to make some tough choices, and ultimately I decided the best thing for myself and my partner at the time was for me to freelance. I had a really successful year running my own business but I don’t miss managing my accounts and taxes! Working for myself pushed me to be much more confident and helped me prove to myself that I really did have the skills and ability to deliver on content-driven jobs while still managing client relationships, deadlines, and money.
Do you have a motto or ethos that helps you in your everyday work?
I fully subscribe to the motto ‘Never Stop Learning.’ I love learning and no matter what the subject is, I can get my teeth into it. I read widely and I read a lot, everything from news articles to blogs to books on pretty much any subject. Being so widely read means I can draw on lots of different snippets for inspiration when I’m working for clients. As I work mostly on B2B clients, which can be quite technical and dense, being able to dig into it with a positive attitude to learning has definitely helped me.
What part of your job do you enjoy the most and why?
For me, it’s always got to be the creating and writing aspect. Getting together with the team to brainstorm ideas, turning that into concepts and campaigns and seeing it roll out across the press and media is incredibly satisfying. Being able to collaborate creatively and then turning that into written releases or snappy social content is by far my favourite thing to do.
That’s all from Hannah. Keep an eye out for next month’s TeaTalk where we’ll be sitting down with another member of the Cogent family.