Coffee and a chat
With a homely mug of coffee and the rain gently pattering on the roof of The Social Planner’s Plymouth based office, BTN sits down on a comfy sofa and starts to chat with its director, Jade Scott.
The first thing I should mention here is the emphasis on the word ‘chat.’ Interviewing someone is often seen as quite a formal thing. Interviews tend to be structured. Questions asked. Replies noted.
With Jade, the interview process is slightly different. It’s most definitely a chat. We begin with her recent trip to London and end up talking decor (her new surroundings are about to undergo a transformation with lots of lovely plants and furnishings).
In short, Jade is someone who you can chat with. And that’s really important for anyone in business looking to engage with any type of social media platform. Being social is at the heart of The Social Planner.
‘We create content, scheduling, hashtags and advertising. By finding out everything about a business, we can accurately produce strategy and planning for a client,’ says Jade.
‘It means we can provide all of their content, from graphic design through to photography. We even do videography, complete with onscreen captions.’
‘The Social Planner provides you with your logos plus cover photography and profile pictures. We can project manage your whole image.’
Jade works closely with a web and graphic design team so the final product meets to your exacting specifications. And there’s real care and dedication which goes into creating the ‘pitch perfect’ social media image.
‘I’ve always been very inquisitive. I can spend three hours fact-finding. You can never tell me too much. I find out everything I need to know to ensure we are absolutely on point with your marketing strategy.’
The Social Planner began back in May and already has 24 very happy clients, all of them discovered her following ‘word of mouth’ recommendations.
Marketing and branding
And it’s a strong array of businesses that have positively engaged with her services, from those in the music industry through to restaurants, bars and business groups.
‘Marketing and branding is a story and we tell it the way that the client wants it to be told. Clients consider me to be part of their corporate family which means nothing is too much trouble as I’m happy to chat at any point of the day.’
And being a corporate ‘sister’ means she’s not just someone who you can quickly and easily turn to but she’s also someone who’ll know your business inside out – a crucial ingredient for marketing success.
‘We combine the way you think and speak about your brand to create a social media strategy that is perfectly aligned with your goals. Our approach ensures your brand’s digital presence is optimised for guaranteed exposure.’
The Social Planner aims to start to deliver results for the client within the first six months of your engagement with the team.
Month One is largely focused on establishing not just the facts for your business but also all of the nuances of what you’re about. In other words, what makes up the strands of your corporate DNA.
This four week period is the time when Jade really gets to know you: to see how you think and what makes you, well, you. It allows her to develop a plan which ensures your goals are met.
After phase one is completed, the next stage sees the campaign kick into gear and your online content starts to become established.
‘I had been running a small business consultancy and it just grew and grew into what it is today. I’ve always been heavily involved in networking and this business became a natural evolutionary step.’
Refreshing approach
As you may have guessed from Jade’s relaxed way of speaking, she doesn’t ‘do jargon.’
It’s a refreshing approach as so much of the media industry uses technical terms that clients are keen to avoid – they only want results. And it is results which is the driving force for Jade.
In fact, she will shortly be combining her online talents with her natural persona and heading off to corporate events where she can represent clients.
It’s a smart move as it’ll allow her clients to continue to focus on their day to day work, without the hassle of not just having to go to and from exhibitions but also the time spent setting up and dismantling stands.
Then there’s the face-to-face interaction with potential clients, the noting of their details and the handing out of brochures. You know the routine. She knows your business back to front and so can do all that for you. Wow!
Her role as your representative means she can head out there and pick up those all-important leads, not just in the local area but around the whole of the country.
It’s an impressive end to our one-hour appointment. Her next client is already here and the coffee machine is brewing up another top-notch cappuccino.
They say marketing is all about selling someone the aroma of freshly ground beans, but not the actual contents held within the cup itself. To take my analogy to a natural conclusion, Jade is providing both substance and results. In other words, the coffee here is very, very good.