Gather Social Wrapped - Our 2021 Highlights

2021 is coming to an end and it's been a crazy year. At Gather Social, we thought it would be nice to honour the end of another successful year in Social Media marketing by putting together a blog of each team member’s highlights. Have a read and find out what our greatest accomplishments and biggest career highlights were during the past year!

Maddie - Social Media Content Creator

1. Since day one at Gather Social, I've been encouraged to improve my video production skills. I've had the opportunity to work closely with Sophie Palmer on Spotlight. Spotlight is a podcast and video platform, where we invite local CEO's, MD's and business owners to our studio to share their success stories! I've loved working on this project with Sophie, hearing inspiring stories from our Spotlight guests and overall improving the quality of the project!

2. My role at Gather Social has changed since I began back in April 2021, I now focus my time solely on Gather Social's marketing rather than our clients. Within my first few weeks working on our internal marketing, I created several high-quality videos for our Culture website! (www.culture.gathersocial.co.uk) I filmed my colleagues around the office, interviewing them on their time at Gather so far and edited a video that showed off what a typical 'Day in the Life' looked like as a member of the team. I believe each video conveyed our culture at Gather Social well and I'm extremely proud of how they turned out! 

3. One of the main responsibilities in my role is to manage the agency's TikTok account. I absolutely love making TikTok videos around the office. I enjoy capturing all the funny things that we get up to and persuading my colleagues to take part in the latest trends. Since starting at Gather our TikTok account has grown slowly and we've had multiple high-performing videos. The process is ongoing and one of my goals for 2022 is to grow our TikTok account even further. This has definitely been one of my 2021 highlights as I still can't believe making TikTok videos is part of my job!

4. My final highlight of working at Gather Social in 2021 has to be working in a dog-friendly office! As a huge animal lover, I love working in an office where all our furry friends can join. My Springer Spaniel, Ruby, has visited the office on numerous occasions and she loves all the attention from the team. I'm so grateful I work in an office with office dogs, it makes coming into the office every day that little bit better. 

Sophie - Social Media Content Creator 

1. Firstly, this year I’ve had the opportunity to work on multiple client shoots on location. Everything from shooting a live hair transplant with Danielle Tucker to being out about shooting e-bikes with the team. Creative shoots will always be one of my favourite parts of my role.

2. Working in an office where dogs are welcome will always be a highlight for me. No matter what type of day you’re having, having a little furry friend around is bound to put a smile on your face.

3. Heading up both our Spotlight project and James Taylor's Unprecedented Leadership project has been another great highlight for me this year. I’ve been able to listen to inspirational stories from a wide range of business leaders all while doing something that I love. Maddie Bonser and I worked together to improve the quality of the project and it’s been great to have creative freedom with this.

4. Finally, watching the team grow at Gather Social has been a real highlight. Not only has it helped me grow in confidence but it has also added even more creativity to the office. As you can see we love a good team evening out, from mini-golf to bowling!

Mary - Social Media Content Creator 

1. I have had the opportunity to work regularly on client product shoots, which has been incredible! My favourite shoot was for Ashleigh Baking, where there may have been a cheeky tasting session after of the baked treats. 

2. One of my favourite highlights of the year is finding an amazing job that comes with an amazing team. We have had many social evenings and team-building nights including mini-golf, bowling, and cocktail making. It’s amazing to be part of such an inspiring and creative team.

3. In my career, my proudest moment has been developing my website design skills and experience. I have designed four websites this year, with three for clients at Gather, and have received a bottle of champagne from a client as a thank you. (This didn’t last long and was shared with the team!) 

Amy - Social Media Content Creator

1. From working on shoots with some of our biggest clients with Danielle Tucker to helping run events with businesses like the London Stock Exchange, I've worked on so many incredible projects across the year and feel so privileged to have met so many incredible people along the way. Every day is different too which makes it even more exciting to be a part of such a fabulous business.

2. My second highlight has got to be bringing my favourite little boy to the office before he passed away in October this year. He absolutely loved every moment and of course, adored meeting the entire team. Now I get to relish in all the other office dogs, with pretty much a different puppy every day. It makes working a lot more wholesome and such a happy place to be, that's for sure. 

3. My final highlight has got to be the fun we've had as a team over the year, whether that's in or out of the office. We've had so many fantastic trips out, from crazy golf to cocktail making, it's been so good to be a part of a team where we get along so well and have so much fun together. 

Danielle - Creative Content Lead

1. One of my favourite parts of my job is the amazing client shoots I get to lead. A definite highlight for me this year was shooting a live hair transplant at Hillside Hair Clinic, Sophie Palmer and I had the most amazing day shadowing the surgeon- not something I ever thought I’d be doing, but every day is different. 

2. Obviously, another highlight for me is our office dogs, working in a dog-friendly office makes it such an amazing, happy place to be. Our clients love that they can bring their doggies to see us too! We’ve had so many dogs come and see us and make our days brighter, soon to be joined in 2022 by my baby dog.

3. One of the best parts of my job this year has been watching our team grow. I feel lucky to work with such an amazing team of creatives and have such a fab group of people around me. We love a team-building activity at Gather and some of our highlights have been Glory Holes Golf (I won), Cocktail making and Roxy Ball Rooms.

4. My favourite part of my job is the graphic design, logo design and general branding side. I get to design and rebrand some amazing Clients, create cute brand cartoons and envision how brands will evolve into the future. This is the most amazing way to express creativity and I love the trust that clients place in me to bring their visions to life. Thanks to all of the amazing clients that have let me loose on their branding this year!!

Juliet - Digital Marketing Manager 

1. Last month I was asked to feature on The Drum to talk about my top tips for landing a social media career. This has been a huge highlight for me, I enjoyed writing my part and it is such an honour to be alongside such a brilliant array of women on the article. (Will post the link below).

2. 2021 has been a year of challenges and stepping out of my comfort zone has helped me to grow both personally and professionally. Last year, talking in front of a camera scared the shit out of me but practice makes perfect! A huge highlight has been working with Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University and enrolling on the Help to Grow course which I am halfway through.

3. This year has seen the Gather Social Limited team double in size. We hired Maddie Bonser Mary Wheatley and Amy Young back in April and it has been an honour to see them flourish and grow within the business. I am so proud of everyone in the team and the culture that we have grown in 2021.

4. Lastly, we have so much fun as a team. We have had a great year of fun both in and out of the office. Particular highlights are crazy golf at Glory Holes and doing a tour of Nottingham to find murder mystery clues.

Sam - Founder and Managing Director 

1. One of my first highlights from 2021 has got to be growing the Gather Social team. In April, the business doubled in size after we hired three Social Media Content Creators to join the team. We also achieved 100% talent retention this year, in a crazy talent market. Proving the work that we’ve been doing over the last few years to make Gather Social a great place to work has paid off. 

2. Hosting Macildowie’s Funding for Growth zoom event, which was in partnership with The London Stock Exchange was my second highlight from 2021. The speakers came to the Gather Social office and it was overall a great experience to meet them and listen to their presentations. The event was full circle for me as I always wanted to be a Stock Broker when I was younger. It just goes to show that even though I never became a Stock Broker or worked for LSE, in some way those childhood aspirations can come true. It was also so lovely to chat with the speakers and receive feedback on the business and be complimented on the office environment, our culture and the way we run Gather Social.

3. Launching our Culture website in 2021 was a big milestone for the business. Originally a presentation for the D2N2 Upscaler Rethinking Recruitment event, our Culture website successfully showcases Gather and will in the future aid us in recruitment. Every employee got involved in the making of the website and I’m really proud of the culture we have created in the company. 

4. Juliet Leah finally got the recognition she deserved in 2021. She has been interviewed by Industry magazine The Drum for her top tips to landing a social media career and by Nottingham Trent University to showcase our business’ career progression opportunities for graduates in an SME. Working with her is a dream and I’m glad she’s been recognised for all her hard work.

5. In 2021, I watched Danielle Tucker develop into her role as Creative Content Lead. She helped train up the new starters and has successfully introduced the Macildowie family to our forward-thinking marketing approach. I’m so grateful for all the hard work she has done over the past year and both me and Juliet continue to be proud of her efforts.

6. Finally, this year I was appointed Marketing Director at Macildowie. Been brilliant to work with the likes of James Taylor, James Stewart, Darius Matusiak, Chris Huffen, Gulied and the gang at Macildowie and I am excited for what is to come in 2022. 

Thank you to each and every client for your support in 2021 and for an incredible year of working together. Also a big thank you to Dave and WebWorks team for all their hard work and ongoing support with the Gather Social Platform. Here’s to 2022!