About

Modern skills in social media and digital marketing

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Successful career in corporate marketing and brand-building, UK and internationally

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B2B and Professional Services specialist

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Modern skills in social media and digital marketing ✦ Successful career in corporate marketing and brand-building, UK and internationally ✦ B2B and Professional Services specialist ✦

Empowering you to get results from social media marketing

It’s my mission to remove the frustration, flounder and false starts that surrounds social media marketing for Professional Services and B2B firms.

I know how tough it is for businesses like these to express their unique offering to the world through social media. When what you sell is knowledge and service to other businesses, versus a tangible product direct to customers, it’s harder:

What do you talk about when you can’t ‘show’ what you sell?

How do you prove you’re different to the competition?
How do you start conversations?
How do you ensure that you’re relevant and authentic?

How do you get the team involved?
How do you keep things going?
How do you know if it’s working?

Whilst some might think that success with social media comes down to creativity and big ideas, I believe the magic actually lies in strategy and the rest naturally follows. Ask yourself;

Where are you going, and how are you going to get there?

And that’s where many firms go wrong. They skip this strategy step and dive straight in. The typical outcome is that their marketing misses the mark and their efforts fizzle out.
But strategy doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated. You just need a system to work within and someone to guide you. And to understand that ultimately, success with social media marketing is as much down to the way you work as it the work that you produce. The ‘how’ as well as the ‘what’. Because if the way of working is relentless and inefficient, it’s not sustainable.

That’s why I created Social Strategy Builder to combine the two.

As the analogy goes, I wanted to teach businesses how to fish and give them the net. I wanted to demystify social media, make things simpler and easier for my clients, and equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to run their marketing themselves. Long term. Social Strategy Builder does just that.

Why Professional Services and B2B?

Because I believe there’s the biggest gap and huge opportunity for businesses in this industry to harness the power of social media. Some people think B2B brands have no place on social media, but I believe it’s the perfect place for growing an audience, increasing discoverability, building relationships and driving leads. Many companies just need to dig deeper into what makes their clients tick, learn how to humanise their communications and bring their sense of brand to life. I created Social Strategy Builder to do those things and so much more. You can read more about why I think Professional Services firms can’t afford to ignore social media as a marketing channel any longer here.

On a more personal note…

I started my professional career in Business Development at Allen & Overy LLP, so I’ve been in the trenches. I know how tough Marketing is in this world (directory submissions anyone?!), and so I want to help make things easier and make social media less of a drain on time, energy and head space.

From Law I moved to Financial Services marketing, working for two giants of the consumer finance world. So I know first-hand how challenging it is to do marketing in heavily regulated and complex markets, as well as what it takes to get things done when there are multiple stakeholders, moving goalposts and competing priorities.

Those experiences set me up brilliantly for being your consultant and mentor.

In 2008 I relocated to The Netherlands, where I joined the exhilarating world of global brand consulting. I spent over seven years working with 20-30 different brands across a diverse set of industries on market strategy, brand positioning, brand activation, marketing capability building, global brand team effectiveness, and org design.

That breadth of knowledge and experience gained across disciplines and touchpoints is something you can tap into if we work together. Plus, if I spot something in your wider marketing or business that could do with a tweak, then I’ll make suggestions.

In this chapter of my career, working with clients and external agencies in many different countries meant adapting to different cultures, leadership styles and structures. As a result, I’m incredibly respectful of cultures, traditions and ‘the way things are done round here’, and I’m adaptable and flexible. I believe these qualities make me a better consultant and mentor.

Turning to social media

When we returned to the UK (now with 2 children in tow) I embarked on an Advanced Diploma in Strategic Social Media Management with the award-winning digital training company Digital Mums. And my freelance career was launched.

Since then I’ve created strategies and campaigns, managed social media marketing for clients, created content, designed and implemented email marketing campaigns, paid social media ad campaigns, and PPC campaigns, co-ordinated brand partnerships with influencers and even chipped in with PR, direct marketing and events. Alongside my Social Strategy Builder work, I also love to deliver in-person and virtual training sessions/webinars on how people in B2B can build their professional reputation and win business for the firm by mastering LinkedIn.

My beliefs about social media

I’ve always had a passion for connecting people to each other and around knowledge, information and common interests, whether it’s been in my work or my private life.

And if the global pandemic proved anything, it was that even as we lead more isolated lives these days, humans have an intrinsic – primal, even – need to come together and belong.
All good social media marketing is founded on the principles of community, human emotion and storytelling. It’s what puts the ‘social’ into social media.

I believe that done the right way – authentically and with integrity – businesses and brands be a meaningful part of that, whilst using social media to grow their bottom line.

As for me…

Nestled in the Chiltern Hills
Wife to one, mother to two, owner of one rowdy Black Labrador
Budding Padel player

Frustrated garden enthusiast

Relentlessly on the hunt for new recipes and info on food and nutrition
Once rode an ostrich
If I were anywhere else, I’d be in Western Australia (preferably drinking ice-cold white wine and scoffing garlic-laden seafood)

Testimonials

Pippa provides clear, helpful, straightforward guidance on all things social media. Working with her to build our social media strategy was an absolute pleasure. Breaking down the process into easily accessible elements Pippa helped us have greater insight into our brand and build a social media marketing strategy around what we want to achieve. I cannot recommend her highly enough! (Plus she is a joy to work with.)

Adele Martins, Partner and Head of Employment Practice, Magrath Sheldrick LLP

Everyone on the call got so much out of listening to you and you were so generous in sharing your insight and knowledge with us all. Ruth and I thought it was an excellent session and topic and you really brought it to life. You were incredibly engaging so thank you very much indeed.

Gail Jaffa, Managing Partner, Professional Services Marketing Group

Pippa was a fantastic asset and managed to get a real feel for our complex business. She was easy to talk to, always going above and beyond, and was proactive, which was of great benefit for us as newcomers to the social media market.

Laura Handley, Change & Improvement Lead, RedWizard Consulting

Pippa really helped us carve out the essence of our brand, our passions and our point of view, which together created the foundation of our social media strategy. Having been through the programme we feel even more convinced that social media really does have fire power, and now understand how to be truly strategic and targeted with it.

Anna Traniello and Kate Jones, Kana Consult

When it came to social media marketing I was lacking in confidence and dreaded putting anything out on socials as a result. It was taking up too much of my time and energy. The Social Strategy Builder programme has helped me to understand my customer and her needs better, and my social media immediately feels less self-centred and more service orientated as a result. Plus I spend less time worrying about what I ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t’ be writing about. The course content is thoughtful but Pippa’s feedback even more so. It’s always abundantly clear that she takes the time to really understand my business and its purpose.

Lillie Pusey, Mama Nourish

Pippa walked me through a wide range of items to help me develop my social media activities. It was very clear, concise, and outlined the steps I need to follow. If you are looking for an honest view, a clear plan of action, and a good sounding block, I can recommend Pippa.

Jim Livesey, PMO Consultant

Pippa is very professional in her approach and very knowledgeable. Our experience with any social media as a business is a whole new approach, so we needed someone to start at the beginning and take us through each step of the process. Pippa has been more than patient and helpful on the whole process and is always at the end of the phone when we encounter a ‘blip’. We would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone who wants to engage with social media. Not only does she know how it all works, she is interested in your business and takes a lot of time to understand your target audience.

Beth Ashton, Architectural & Interior Designer

Social media posting always felt like something of a burden or a chore, and I tended to be rather reactive and chaotic with my posting. Pippa came up with an incredibly detailed plan with a whole range of ideas for me to use. It feels really balanced across the different areas of my business and reflects my priorities. Now I feel super equipped to create content that will appeal to my client (rather than me randomly posting things I like the look of!), helping me to be more focussed, professional and targeted with my social media marketing.

Jenny Kaye, Photographer at Jenny Kaye Photography

You're a star! It's been a real pleasure working with you. You've really understood what I've been trying to do, and your work has all been of such a high standard. I've been able to relax knowing that my social media is in safe hands. It's been wonderful!

Sue Parry, Garden Designer at Gardens Designed by Sue

Thanks to your expertise I can now put a strategy in place and build the platforms to engage with our target market and increase our following. Your in-depth knowledge and handy tips have made the whole social media minefield a more manageable and less scary aspect of the business for me. With your clear and concise plan, you have built the foundation to our social media campaign, and I am looking forward to working with you in the future.