I used September to take some time out to read, build local networks, meet new people and catch up with colleagues. It's been rather brilliant - inspiring, motivating, busy and exhausting - more on this in a separate post soon.
Quite a few of you have quite rightly asked me what I actually do as a marketing consultant. The term is so very helpfully vague and broad that it requires some unpacking. Four months into freelancing, I'm now able to define what my niche is and where I can add the most value as a marketing freelancer. So here's a quick summary of the 3 main areas where I add the most value to my clients:
Purpose-led marketing
Firstly, I've been asked if I 'just do charities'. And actually, the answer is no. In my first 4 months, I've been lucky enough to work with social enterprises, registered companies and CICs.
What unites my clients, and where I want to focus my own work is that they are all purpose-driven organisations. They are defined as much by their social outcomes, clients, partners and communities as by the income they make.
That's why I was drawn into the world of museums at the start of my career - that history, arts and culture show the best (and worst) of humanity through the stories they tell. And the charities I've worked at - both Parkinson's UK and Volunteering Matters have people and communities at their heart.
Because of my own personal values, a belief in the power of people and experience working in both the cultural and third sectors, I'm able to help clients build a deep understanding of their brand, purpose and products to better connect with their audience.
Campaign management
I've probably managed over 100 campaigns in my career. From big, high-profile campaigns such as the RA's 250th Summer Exhibition to online-only campaigns with a minimal budget. That's been one way that I've been able to help launch a new CIC at the start of Sept. Yep, I helped launch a new rare disease organisation called HBA Support. And I'm really, really proud to be the Marketing and Community Manager for HBA Support so I can work with the founder to keep the momentum going and continue to build the reputation and profile of the organisation, keeping the rare disease community at its heart.
Copy-writing and SEO
And lastly, on a practical level, I've been working with all my clients on long-form web copy, blog posts and social media content to boost engagement, awareness and understanding depending on what their needs are. I really enjoy this, adding value by getting shit done but also creating space to ask questions, be a critical friend and help clarify their product offering to help generate new business or support their sales teams, for example.
I've also taken some time out to refresh my skills by enrolling on a few SEO, Analytics and copywriting courses, so I can be confident I'm adding value with the technical knowledge to back up my creative copywriting skills.
So if you need a bit of help or are interested in how I may be able to help you - or someone in your networks - on any of the above, drop me a line at david@david-salmon.org.uk.
Nice one, ta!
(and thanks to Tor from Real World Consultancy for giving me a nudge to get this post out!)
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