24 July 2025
Hot Off The Feed: How to Make Headlines Go Viral on Social
How PRs can win the new social battle: Insights from Metro’s Video Lead
This week, we hosted a brilliant conversation with Metro’s Chris Buswell, diving into how PR professionals can better connect with editorial teams and land impactful coverage across social platforms. With a career that started in social at an ad agency a decade ago, and evolved through leadership roles at PinkNews, LADbible, and now Metro, Chris shared valuable insights into the rapid transformation of social content in newsrooms – and what that means for brands today.
As Head of Commercial Video, Chris is at the forefront of reshaping how traditional publishers approach content for social. No longer just a channel for repurposing print stories, social is now a content destination in its own right – driving original formats, talent-led storytelling and commercial success.
We covered everything from the shift in newsroom thinking to how PRs can craft ideas that resonate with editorial teams and social-first audiences.
1. Social isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s the starting point
The days of simply adapting print or online stories for social are over. While print and online still hold real value – and remain important pillars of Metro‘s editorial strategy – social is no longer a bolt-on. In fact, many stories are now led by the social team, with ideas built specifically for platforms like TikTok, Reels, and YouTube.
Social content offers a powerful way to reach millions of highly engaged viewers – Metro’s main page has 2M followers. PRs should treat it as a primary platform, not an afterthought. That means bringing ideas that are inherently visual, shareable, and designed to live and thrive on social from the outset.
2. Understand the format before pitching
Whether it’s Decision Dilemma or another ongoing series, understanding how your story fits the format is important. Pitching content that naturally fits into an existing structure not only increases your chances of success but also ensures the message feels authentic to the audience and doesn’t disrupt the flow of the content.
3. Editorial integrity still rules
Just because it’s social video doesn’t mean the rules of journalism go out the window. Chris emphasised that his team looks for editorially sound ideas with strong human stories – not brand-led scripts. PRs should focus on audience value first, working collaboratively with the team on subtle integration rather than pushing brand messages upfront. Engagement and authenticity are key.
4. Know who to approach and how
Working with the right people matters. While Metro’s presenters front the content, the editorial and commercial leads behind the scenes are also commissioning and shaping ideas. Building relationships with both is important.
And if social coverage is your goal, make sure the social team is looped in from the start. While newsrooms are becoming increasingly integrated, there’s still work to be done – and assuming that a general PR pitch will automatically reach the right people can be a missed opportunity. Being clear about your objectives and directing ideas to the social or video teams where relevant is key.
5. Big opportunities lie in focus areas
Metro is doubling down on verticals like travel, property, food, and money – areas with strong audience appetite, visual potential and commercial momentum. But while these are core areas of growth, Chris shared examples of brands finding their way into content in more surprising, cross-vertical ways. Working flexibly with the team can often lead to creative opportunities that you might not have anticipated. The team is constantly testing new formats and has a busy pipeline in the works – sometimes the perfect brand fit emerges in an unexpected way.