Alex Tucker

When chima mmeje🏳️‍🌈 moved to the UK in 2022 and launched the Freelance Coalition for Developing Countries, she quickly noticed something surprising: 90% of people signing up for the Tech #SEO training thought it meant “SEO for tech companies”. This was a simple misunderstanding caused by a lack of awareness and she knew she needed to do something about that. She realised many people from developing countries had historically gravitated toward content work, as it’s often the easiest entry point into the industry. Chima shares how she herself first got into SEO through content, simply because it was something she could teach herself without formal training. Chima also shares how instrumental Aleyda Solís was in getting the FCC off the ground in its early days - and how she didn’t hesitate for a second to offer her help. Watch the full episode here https://lnkd.in/eyaWT7Ks

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Top tip for my freelance marketing homies out there: Stop trying to justify the costs involved in what you provide. Focus on the value/deliverables it will provide instead. I see a lot of people breaking down the fact that their prices include insurance, software, equipment, holiday pay etc. And whilst that’s all absolutely true, I’ll let you in on a little secret: That potential client doesn’t give a toss. They only care about them getting results/returns from whatever the service is that you’re selling. Try this instead: “That price is a bit steep. Especially as we didn’t get any results last time we did this.” “Interesting. How much did you pay for this last time, what did you get for it, how was it implemented, and what did you get back?” “We spent £300 on [let them specify shit deliverables from the fella from Fiverr] and got nothing back” “What’s an avg client worth to you?” “£3000”. “Ok. Well for [insert price], here’s a full breakdown of our process, all the exact deliverables you’ll get, how they’ll be used, and the metrics we’ll measure to show how they’ll affect your bottom line. I’ve also attached 3 examples of businesses similar to yours that we’ve done this for and the results they got. If we can land you [x] new clients from this in [y] time, how much profit does that leave in your pocket each month?” People think they want someone to “do a thing”. What they ACTUALLY want is confidence that there’s a clear system behind the investment that will return more than they’re putting into it. Frame your conversations this way and you’ll have a much nicer time on sales calls. P.S- there are plenty of people out there that are inherently just cheap/daft and will always place price above logic/evidence. Don’t waste your time or energy on those. The economy will teach them harsher lessons than you ever could. #Freelance #Marketing #Sales

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A note on how to handle redundancies (and how not to), for PR & Comms agencies 💡 Redundancies in the PR agency market seem to be higher this year than last - despite PR Week reporting there would be less in 2025 vs 2024. Would you agree? I'm cautiously optimistic we're over the worst. However, having spoken to many people on the receiving end it's clear there are good vs not so good practices surrounding this. My top tips: - Don't drag the process out. Anticipation (especially for those with anxiety) and being kept in limbo is difficult for everyone. The best processes I've seen are ones where staff are given the notice they're at risk and the decision is made as quickly as possible. - Be fair with severance pay. Some agencies seem to be giving the bare minimum/statutory - others are giving more generous severance payouts which reduce stress for employees at a difficult time. - Consider voiding their garden leave. Candidates shouldn't have to wait 1-3 months and let opportunities slip by, they should be able to work immediately. - Don't behave weirdly. One candidate I spoke to said that like a breakup, she knew it was coming for months. Slowly being frozen out, distancing and even after the news, an awkward and tense atmosphere at work. This compounds an already difficult situation and what for? - Clear communication with the rest of the team. Explain why the redundancies were made, what the plan is for the business and the health of the business going forward. Whilst no one can guarantee anything, communication and transparency are crucial to avoid a domino effect where others leave out of concern for their job security. What are your thoughts, anything I've missed? #bradshawsearch #redundancies #pr #communications

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❓ I've been asked a few times this week how to get the most out of #pDOOH...the simple answer is integrate it into you digital marketing mix....but things are never quite that simple.... ❓ Recent research from Skyrise shows combining #DOOH with other digital channels provides an uplift Vs control of 18%-118%. Varying significantly by sector and application. This resonates with research from Meta back in 2019 which showed a 1.6x improvement in sales by combining DOOH with mobile social. In reality pDOOH is a tactic, the use of which should be defined by the brand/campaign the strategy, which in turn should be derived from your business objectives....Place this is a measurement framework designed to gather actionable iterative intelligence (ask yourself what do I need to know to improve my next campaign) and you are set up for success! 🚀 Follow these simple steps to get the most out of integrating #pDOOH into your digital marketing mix. Get in touch to start your journey in The Middle East today [email protected] Ben Wilkins Mark Burton Displayce Blis Adform Hawk (an Azerion company) The Trade Desk The Neuron VIOOH JCDecaux Middle East JCDecaux 👀 💬 👇

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This is me at the lectern last week giving a talk on AI, SEO and Digital PR. It was a Figaro Digital event for marketers working within financial services, professional services and B2B. I've been asked quite a lot about this subject recently so here are a few of the main take-aways from my talk: 1. Don't panic. Yes things are changing and it's ok to feel overwhelmed by the avalanche of AI news, but things aren't changing quite as quickly as some would have you believe. AI search is tiny compared to organic Google searches and the intent behind those searches is quite different. You have plenty of time to consider your approach and adapt activity before Chat-GPT overtakes Google, if it ever does. 2. SEO isn't dead. If you are doing best practice SEO then you are already doing most of what the LLMs care about. Ignore the hype. Rather than being dead I think we'll see the opposite, a boom in demand for good SEOs who understand how to rank in both search engines and AI. 3. Brand mentions are vital. Having your brand spoken about and reviewed in the press and on social channels is one of the most important things if you want to get more AI traffic. That's why being great at Digital PR is a superpower. 4. Data is limited. We're at the start of things so the tools we are used to haven't been created yet or are far from where we need them to be. Those great keyword suggestion tools and the ranking software you're used to aren't really a thing yet. This is important if you are requesting or defending budget for this work as it's a lot harder to do projections and harder to prove value. I was hoping people would find the talk useful and thankfully the attendees did, with 94% of the room rating it "very good" or "excellent". With that in mind I'll be delivering it at other event in the coming months. Watch this space.

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The graphs on page 3 and 9 of this research feel particularly accurate to how a lot of marketers are feeling. I hope it at least makes you feel a bit more 'seen' and less alone! Earlier this year, The Marketing Meetup embarked on our first-ever big piece of research to enquire into the 'state of marketers' (not just the state of 'marketing'). In the past few weeks I've delivered a bunch of talks, and met a lot of marketers 'doing the job'. Conversations have led me to a place of pointing them to this report, as I think it helps a bunch of us feel a bit more 'seen' as it represents their experiences, too. From 1,070 responses - some key findings included: - 46.5% of marketers described their work as positively challenging - top of the emotional list. - 41.1% feel uncertain, 39.3% stressful, and 36.7% overwhelmed. - Only 5.4% described their work as calm. - Marketers rate their current job satisfaction around 7/10. - They’re more optimistic about marketing’s future than their present - The most common daily challenge is “too much to do, not enough time”. - Lack of time for creative work ranked as the second biggest challenge. - Mid-sized teams (6–10 people) report the highest satisfaction. - Solo marketers and those in very large teams feel more isolated and stressed. - AI enthusiasts report 15% higher job satisfaction than AI avoiders. - Enthusiasts rate their job satisfaction at 6.8/10 vs. 5.9/10 for avoiders. And plenty, plenty more. The full report is below (ungated and freely accessible). We'll run the survey again in 2026. We'd also be interested in partnering with brands to do more, too. Whatever you take from it - I hope you find it interesting, useful, and perhaps even feel a little 'seen' by the findings (in the sense of not feeling alone). A big thank you to everyone who filled in the survey ☺️ ✌️ P.S. For more stuff like this, plus invites to free/choose-your-price online/IRL events - do get on our newsletter list, found on the TMM website!

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90% of the CEOs running the world’s largest companies have no marketing background. Even more when it comes to CFOs. But many think they understand marketing just because they’ve been marketed to…which is like thinking you can dance just because you’ve been to a Beyoncé concert. Here’s the problem (or one amongst many.) Despite their absence of knowledge and understanding, these are the people controlling the allocation of resources CMOs need to do their job: people, time, capital. And because they don’t know what to expect, what not to, or on what timeline, they’re suboptimal stewards of these resources. Which makes the CMO’s job harder (and it’s already the hardest job in the C-suite), and also means growth is diminished company by company. And when you add that up at scale, global GDP—2/3rds of which is consumer spending—takes a hit. When CEOs and CFOs don’t understand marketing, they’re not just making the CMO’s job harder, they are slowing punching growth in the face and slowing the necessary and continued evolution of capitalism itself. All of which is good for no one and no-thing.

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CEOs. Neglect LinkedIn at your peril. If your work in any way connects to corp comms, can I point you to Helen Dunne's excellent, weekly ‘Corporate Affairs Unpacked’ Newsletter. The latest one is right here https://lnkd.in/eZHYnJQm. It’s 15 minutes well spent for interesting views and information. I don't love a self-promotional plug BUT digital exec comms is a hot topic of mine, so, full disclosure, I do feature in the latest one (feel free to eye roll me. Let's not get into the argument that ALL LinkedIn posts are self-promotional). To expand on the lunchtime chat I had with her, this is what I'd say to those in senior corporate positions: 🟢 Traditional media isn’t enough: press opportunities are shrinking. LinkedIn has become a credible alternative front page for modern business, where audiences and journalists already are. In a crisis, it also enables CEOs to speak swiftly and directly. 🟢 People perform over pages: CEOs generate 35% more engagement than their brands, despite having less than 10% of the following. Their voices cut through further than logos ever can. 🟢 Authenticity is expected: stakeholders want leaders who are human and visible. A credible digital presence now signals modern leadership - building trust, reputation, and even career advantage. And should you want to go even deeper here, you can read our full report on People Over Pages. https://lnkd.in/eijARMuQ

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You’re not alone I’ve worked with agencies across the UK, US, and Australia. Different structures, specialisms, and markets. But the same five challenges show up again and again. They’re not caused by a lack of ambition. They stem from systems that haven’t evolved to support the pace, complexity, or commercial demands of agency life today. Here’s what I see most often, and where to focus if it sounds familiar. 1. Success is defined differently across the business Creative wants standout work. Client service focuses on delivery, margin, and retention. Strategy wants to challenge the thinking. Ops manages risk and resource. Everyone is working hard, but in different directions. That friction drains energy and slows decisions. Start with shared clarity at the top. Define the kind of clients, work, and growth you want more of and make sure every team understands how that translates into priorities and decisions. 2. Leadership becomes a bottleneck when the conditions for leadership are missing Founders try to step back. SLTs carry delivery. Teams look up for answers because they don’t have the tools or confidence to lead. Most people are capable of more. But they need commercial visibility, clear decision rights, structured coaching, and feedback that builds judgement over time. Without that, progress flows back to the top. 3. Account management is asked to do more, without being shown how to lead The role has expanded, but support hasn’t. AMs are expected to grow accounts, protect margin and shape client experience, but few are taught how to influence outcomes or lead conversations. That changes when agencies redefine the function, make commercial expectations clear, and build confidence in strategic decision-making. 4. Teams are sometimes not burnt out, but emotionally flat Workloads are stable. The chaos has eased. But energy is low, and momentum is missing. This is what happens when autonomy increases but clarity and feedback disappear. What teams need is alignment on priorities, meaningful one-to-ones, and regular input on how they’re tracking. 5. The positioning looks credible, but doesn’t convert You have strong work and solid creds. But conversion is slow, and too much relies on individuals selling the story. The issue is often relevance. Most propositions are shaped internally, without testing against what clients are actually trying to buy. You can’t mark your own homework. If the brand isn’t doing the heavy lifting, your team will always have to. So where do you start? Clarify what kind of growth you’re building toward. Strengthen your leadership layer with clear roles, commercial context, and coaching. Build habits that connect ambition to action. If you’re unsure where to focus, I’m happy to share the questions I use with new clients to uncover what matters most. I'm here to help.

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