It’s time to meet the man behind our social media platforms! Rennie joined us in December 2023 as our Digital Marketing Assistant Apprentice. Rennie completed his Apprenticeship last year and progressed to Business & Brand Development Associate.
As part of his role, Rennie is responsible for driving our digital marketing & social media output as well as taking a proactive approach towards business development. To help you get to know Rennie better, we asked Rennie a series of questions about his role and the importance of prioritising Marketing:
How do you think marketing has changed over the last few years when it comes to helping businesses grow?
Marketing, and in particular social media, is the modern way to grow your business. You have organic marketing which is free and great for increasing brand awareness. A recent trend has seen PPC become extremely popular. This is a paid approach to marketing and is key for lead generation. Both help businesses grow and are key to business success.
What role does marketing play in helping people understand who we are and what we stand for as a business?
Our marketing activities are often the first impression someone from outside the business will have of us. Therefore, it is crucial we get off on the right foot. Our marketing must be clear about what we do and what we can offer, but we aim to do this in a fun and engaging way.
Our tone of voice is key here too. We want to share how we solve problems for others and do so in a supportive and constructive way.
From a personal point of view, I think social media is an opportunity to express ourselves, have some fun while continuously sharing our knowledge.
Have you seen a particular campaign, message, or approach really connect with people? What do you think made it work?
I am continuously researching recent social media trends and trying to get ‘ahead of the game’ with our marketing approach.
Norwich City’s mental health campaign video was extremely powerful and is one that resonates with me for a couple of reasons. The message behind the post is so important and Norwich’s delivery of this message is exceptional. From a marketing point of view, the video is extremely creative too.
Why do you think it’s important to keep showing up consistently with marketing – even when things are already going well?
Marketing is all about consistency. This comes in a few forms – be consistent with your posting schedule – don’t post four times a week so two weeks then only once over the following two weeks. Plan ahead and have consistent posts ready to go out (including backup posts for when things don’t go to plan!). However, your tone, message and branding must also be consistent. I want people to look at our posts and recognise instantly that it is one of ours – help create familiarity.
What do you think modern audiences expect from marketing now, compared to a few years ago?
Short-form content is massive now and resonates a lot with a younger audience. People want to know what the video is about in 30 seconds or less – if it sounds interesting then they’ll explore more. Longer form content still has its place – e.g. in-depth interviews. TikTok/Reels/Shorts have recently taken off and it is because of this change in behaviour.
I’m always keen to try something and produce ‘different’ content to what our competitors are doing. I want our approach to stand out.
How do you think our marketing supports the wider business – beyond just attracting new clients?
I want marketing to be something that the full team buys in to. Every post/piece of content can be a way of attracting new clients, even if it is not originally intended to. Marketing activity is a way of sharing our message and our work in an impactful and effective way.
What would you say to a business that still sees marketing as an ‘optional extra’ rather than a core part of growth?
Personally, I believe marketing has to be the first function that a business owner recognises is essential. Without marketing, you’ll never bring any clients in. Even in-person networking is marketing! If you don’t have an online presence, you will soon get left behind by those who do.
Get Marketing Right With The HR Booth
Marketing has played a big part in the success of our business. Focusing on social media and website optimisation has given us the opportunity to showcase our service to a wide range of businesses throughout the UK. We want to give our clients the opportunity to improve their marketing activity without the big price tags. Therefore, we’ve designed a Marketing service so you can benefit from our Marketing team’s expertise. You can find out more on our website.