Phoebe Sophia Russell

If you invest in your personal brand now, you’ll save time later when it comes to applying for jobs. Recruiters, headhunters and the hiring agent will notice you for actually *showcasing* the skills many individuals only have written on their CV. I’ve hired countless people from connections I had on LinkedIn whose thoughts and opinions on topics piqued my interest and when a job came available I thought they’d be a great fit for, I reached out before I’d even published the spec. Invest time now, reap the reward later.

If you don’t yet know your audience, you shouldn’t be making any decisions about marketing. You’re a small business over so every penny counts and throwing s*** at the wall and hoping it sticks is not indicative of a good ROI. First, understand your audience; what content do they enjoy, how do they search, how do they feel about ads, what creative do they find most appealing, how old are they, where do they reside. Then you can accurately map the correct platform to invest your time and money in. And start with one platform and do it well. I recommend TikTok due to its randomised algorithm allowing anyone to go viral. It also has the biggest link with brand and non branded search terms so it’ll work harder for your money, which is key

Utilising creators is KEY to success on the platform There are 2 ways to exceed on the platform and drive quality traffic to your site: 1. Creating content that goes viral on the FYP (aligning to trends and music) 2. Creating content that ranks and dominates TikTok SERPs when people are searching for your product/brand or service Using creators is a good (and faster) way to do both these things. People trust people more than brands and the best marketing strategy will always be getting other people to recommend your brand/service so investing in creators/ influencers from the onset of your strategy will shorten the length of time it takes for success. Note: the influencers can be micro (Followers does not equal influence)

I found one of the best forms of referral marketing on social was done by a burger brand in America. This struggling burger brand did something GENIUS For a few days only, the brand let you pay for your burger with a TikTok. In exchange for a post on your feed, you ate for free. They had to use specific hashtag, tag the brand and have the post active and the burger was free. It meant 100s of TikTok videos flooded the FYP all about this small burger brand. The result? An inadvertent referral scheme that has led to a profitable business. Being smart with how you receive referrals is everything. TikTok is a smart place to start due to its randomised algorithm.

Without creativity, you just have “strategic thought”. And thought provides no forward solution. It certainly doesn’t work as a vehicle for translating the strategy in a way which will be inherently understood by the target audience. Strategy in its most simple sense is logic. Creativity in its most simple sense is language.

Another great question. A creative thinker has to also be a strategic thinker. You can’t separate the two. This is a fundamental flaw in majority of advertising agencies where you have two individuals doing the job of one. A creative takes a strategic thought and assembles it differently. Easily digestible to the target audience. A strategist assembles the original thought but doesn’t possess the skill to take it beyond just a thought. A great creative can do both. Making it by far the hardest role to recruit into. I’ve been looking for a senior creative for over 6 months now as I’m looking for someone who can do both. A unicorn. 🦄