Virtually Savvy

30/04/2021

It dawned on me the other day that I have been self employed 10 years this summer. I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve experienced and most importantly learnt in that time. The list was long but here are my 10 most important ones.

1) Many people will always think you just have a “little business”, especially if you’re a women with kids. The reality, as you know, is very different but in my experience just learn to smile - they’ll NEVER understand how hard running a business can be (especially when you have two 😉)

2) Working alone doesn’t have to be lonely. You will always find your tribe and your self employed business friends will become your sounding board and the people who push you to move forward - I’ve had some brilliant mentors and friends along the way but namely and obviously (both hugely talented business women).

3) You NEVER know enough and you can always learn more. Never stop investing in that.

4) Never let the people who knock you win. We’ve had a lot of this. Jealously, insecurity, fear who knows what goes through their minds but IT IS NOT YOUR PROBLEM. It is theirs. Don’t rise to their issues.

5) Be selfish - it’s your business do it your way. There is no wrong way!

6) Don’t listen to everyone’s advice - there is a huge amount of bu****it (and bu****itters) in this online world. Learn to go with your gut.

7) If you have to ask if somethings ok it probably isn’t.

8) Being married to an accountant was one of my best life choices! I suggest you all do the same too 😂

9) 10 years of using social media and ads yet people will always question if you know enough. Especially when you’re not a youngster anymore 😂. Never ever be forced to make guarantees. They’ll learn.

10) Be yourself. People want to know you? Not who you think they want to see/hear. If they don’t like you then that’s good. I don’t like everyone either 😉

Would I ever be employed again? Nope. Never.

28/01/2021

This is going to be an awesome day! Hosted by and jammed packed full of excellent speakers.

Who is going to join Laura Moore and I? All the information you need is below or at www.summit.AgoraPulse.com

Hopefully see you there. 👏🏻

12/01/2021

True dat 👇🏻
Anyone else wishing they’d paid more attention at school 😬

16/11/2020

It’s Anti Bullying Week this week so the perfect time to tell you about who provide tons of support and advice to help anyone suffering from online abuse.

Check out their site where you’ll find lots of resources and also be able to get 1:1 support if you or your children need it.

We’ve supported Cybersmile for a while now and have helped them provide 1:1 support to over 400 people (not sure on exact number right now!)

If you’ve got any of our toolkits or been a student in the Ads Manager Academy then you’ve helped us do this. So massive thank you 🙌🏻

12/11/2020

Life lessons 1 & 2 👆🏻
Need I say more?

Before you ask - candle is from

06/11/2020

It’s important to understand your strengths and celebrate them but also possibly more importantly is to acknowledge your weaknesses and your time limitations.

There are lots of things I am good at but this isn’t what this post is about. It’s an opportunity to sing the praises of the people who I work with who are ace and mean I can do all the parts of my job I love and hand over the bits I don’t.
In no particular order:
- her techy Ads skills are 👌🏻
her insta game in strong!
for her calm yet strong ads game.
for everything that hurts my brain.
for her amazing graphic design
who is the mother of all organisers and will bring us much needed time!
for helping us with alllll the data.
for keeping the 👀’s on the community and socials. 🙌🏻
for being an awesome Laura 2 who can do clever things!
Plus our accountant and bookkeeper despite the imminent tax bill!😑

Lots of people ask me how I do all the things I do, well the answer is because of these people who are all so awesome at what they do. 😛

Who helps you to achieve what you need to do?

30/10/2020

Reasons why I’m quiet:
- it’s QTR 4 (need I say more?!)
- my clients are keeping me busy (which is good)
- is very busy (which is also good)
- we’re two thirds of the way through our Ads Academy with over 100 awesome social media pros working their way through the modules (with our support)
- it’s half term with three kids
- I have a puppy
- I’ve had builders here
So unfortunately my award winning 😉 content has gone on the back burner. I’ll be back after I’ve made my clients lots of money for Christmas 🤪 (obvs still sharing life, paint colours and work shizzle on stories and content on )

21/10/2020

This is a snippet of the chaos I’m surrounded by:
- builders constantly around - banging, drilling, knocking, needing a wee, needing a drink....
- A puppy that is fascinated by the builders and their tools, anything that dangles and ringing her training bells.
- I work from the kitchen table to manage the above two which isn’t ideal.
- The kids still have staggered starts, pack lunches and too many things I need to remember - most importantly it means my dedicated work hours, due to the staggered starts/end, has reduced by 2.5hrs a week.

LIFE IS MANIC.

But I’m grateful to have:
- two thriving businesses
- A puppy that I can now walk to wear out!
- A soon to be dedicated office for me
- A patient business partner who often has to hear me shouting “Margoooottt” 375784 times a day.
- Kids who are absolutely loving being at school despite all the changes & restrictions.
- A husband at home all but one day a month to help share the load.
- Awesome clients I’m genuinely excited for and love seeing their success and results.

Yesterday I felt fed up and quickly realised how bloody lucky I am at the moment. In this crazy world we live in at the moment I really have nothing to moan about.

What frustrates you at the moment? Spill 👇🏻👇🏻

06/10/2020

This 👇🏻

We’d love to address the elephant in the room when it comes to how much businesses should pay for social media management / how much social media managers should charge.

As a business owner / freelancer you have no doubt the following goals (and probably more)

- to pay the bills
- to make a profit
- to grow year on year
- to hit your personal income goals
- to feel successful whatever that means to you personally.

So it's really frustrating when business owners don’t see the value in the very skill that is going to help them to reach those goals.

To grow your business and reach paying customers in 2020 and beyond you need social media. Both organic and paid.

Social media marketing is not an admin job. It is not simply posting some photos on Instagram or popping up a post on Facebook.

True social media marketing is strategic. There is a plan in place to connect with your audience, turn them into fans and get them to buy as quickly as possible and then remain as paying customers for as long as possible.

This is what social media managers do.

They know how to talk to your audience.

They know how to turn them into customers.

They know how to retain them and keep them buying from you for as long as possible.

They understand sales funnels, customer service, crisis management and far more.

So if you are being quoted £400 a month quite frankly you are getting a bargain.

And if you are charging less than this you are undervaluing your skills.

I’ve said this before but I’m saying it again as it’s so important. Social media management is NOT AN ADMIN JOB.

If you want to pay £50 a month for social media management go ahead. But you won’t get the results you want. You’ll be getting some posts on social sure but they won’t make an impact on your business in the way you want.

As a business owner/freelancer you have no doubt the following goals (and probably more)ad, many social media marketers do power hours for £99-250. That is a way better way to get value and results from your small budget. And you’ll be able to increase sales and income so you can afford to outsource in the future.

Please start to value these people as they really can help make the difference between your business ticking along as it is now and being a true success making a shed load of money.

Anyone agree?

05/10/2020

I bloody love a good exam! 🤪 (I’m lying, I don’t - I’ve always been a coursework kinda girl but I digress).

Facebook launched their new Community Manager Certification last week (which is a mash up of community management and social media management if I’m honest) but we couldn’t resist booking us in for a quick “go”!

We passed. Which is reassuring 🤪🤪

Anyone else giving it a go?

01/10/2020

Never have I seen a better quote. We had someone confidently comment about how they include growth hacking in their packages for businesses in The Social Media Manager Group yesterday (don’t worry both and I gave our thoughts). It never ceases to amaze me how people can consider this a good way to grow an audience for any business.

Maybe more needs to be done to educate people on how to “authentically” grow? Thoughts?

30/09/2020

Tell me, do you spend more time searching for biscuits or am I fairly average?! 🤪