About Me

As I delved into to social media back in 2010 I soon realised that following the same pathway as everyone else really wasn’t my idea of fun. Whilst they were seeking out thousands of Facebook Page fans and hundreds of Twitter followers, I knew that the businesses I was working with would be way better off with truly interested fans rather than zillions of not so interested fans. It’s not about how many times you can post or who has the best memes/images and videos. It’s whether those techie toys really help to explain who you are, what you do and why people should pick you.

Quality over quantity

I know for a fact that beating that drum lost me business as a social media manager, but I had to stick to my values and what I knew to be right.

The quality of the content comes from the words you use and the message they send.

My interest & curiosity in the use of words stems from a long time ago. I recall watching my father, when I was only seven years old, create signs for the lunchtime specials in our small family restaurant & hotel in the seaside town of Ilfracombe, England. With no marketing experience whatsoever he managed to make a two course meal sound like a banquet for only £1.50 and inadvertently created his very own Menu of the Day.

Fast-forward to creating a price list for the hair & beauty salons I ran with my husband in the West Midlands and again choosing the right words for the right people at the right time became an important skill to have.

During the early days of working in social media in Spain, I realised that the offline skills of selecting the right words to connect with your audience are just as important online. You can not take short cuts, no matter where you tell your story. But in fact your offline skills are vital to your online success.

However, for many business people those skills suddenly become worlds apart, when you add the word ‘social’ or ‘digital’ in front of ‘communicating’. For some reason these really eloquent people freeze up.

Teaching is another passion of mine. When I was younger it was probably more about being in charge and a bit bossy to be honest, but in fact after some formal training back in 1992 on how to teach, I obtained my City & Guilds 7301/2 certificates for lecturing at post 16 education level.

Who would have thought over 20 years later I’d suddenly find my interest in ‘all things social’ & teaching would combine.

I love explaining complex topics and reducing them down into small easy to understand pieces of information that you can use in your daily activity, to your advantage.

In my opinion the single handed power for the solopreneur, over larger companies, when it comes to social media and online communication is knowing which words to use, how and when. But if you don’t know how to do that, what happens?

If you are the business, and to gain valuable customers they need to know like and trust you, how are they going to do that unless you’re telling them the right story.

You know everything there is to know about your business. So make it part of your business to share that. Get that right and it’s a huge asset. Invest in that asset and you have a rinse and repeat situation that keeps on giving.

Today I use all my skills from the world of offline business in the world of digital marketing to support you in mining for that asset and making it so shiny that you wonder why you thought it was so darn tricky in the first place.

If you need help and you’d like to know more about working together, get in touch.

Drop me an email to fiona@fionacatchpowle.com

Keep it short an sweet if you can.

My preferred way to connect is via a video call, so let me know if you’re happy to chat face to face and I’ll reply with the very special link.[please note if you want to embark on training with me I conduct this via the same video platform, so this will be your minimum skill requirement to get started]

I have some hearing difficulties so really hate phone calls and take these by appointment only.

Cheers,

– Fiona Catchpowle #CyberGran

PS. If you want to send snail mail the address is: Apt 23, Alexandra House, Rutland Street, Leicester. LE1 1SE