The last six years have been filled with pinch me moments.
How has your career in automotive progressed so far?
My career is pretty much the cliché of a tale of two halves. The first five or six years after university were spent trying to earn a living with the summit being a role as a Key Account Manager for a science journal. It paid the bills but fulfilled absolutely nothing in terms of job satisfaction, other than working in a great team.
The second half has been a journey following my motoring passion. After getting a lucky break as a writer for DriveTribe, I’ve done everything I can to stay in the industry I love. I’ve been a Writer, classic car Salesman and finally Social Media Manager. Six years down the road and I’m working for what I consider to be the ultimate target for any historic motorsport enthusiast – Goodwood.
What attracted you to social media in automotive?
From my time as a writer at DriveTribe, I felt a certain buzz when my content was posted to the social media channels. That instant feedback on your work, something traditional writing doesn’t really have, was a real rush. I knew instantly whether the audience enjoyed the material or not which made it easier to learn how and what to write about.
Even though I’m not in a writing role anymore, at Goodwood I get to be creative every day and make content I hope the audience will enjoy. They’ll certainly tell you if they don’t…
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
The biggest challenge is the sheer amount of content we must produce in such a small team. I have high KPIs to hit over the year, so my current social posting strategy has to be an intense one. There’s really no time to relax as the next posting slot is always approaching and you want to make sure it’s content of value and that matches Goodwood’s high standards.
What has been the pinch me moment of your career?
The last six years have been filled with pinch me moments, but meeting Nigel Mansell will always top the list. We celebrated 30 years since his Silverstone victory at the Festival of Speed and after his balcony moment where a mass of fans cheered for him, I had 15-20 mins to film some content with him. His emotions were running high, my emotions were running high and after he’d filmed a few videos for us, we just chatted. Having your racing hero discuss driving his racing hero’s car, Jim Clark’s Lotus 25, is just surreal and something I’ll never forget.
Is there anything you wish you had known about the job when you started?
I wish I’d known more about video production and the editing process. We have a very talented video team at Goodwood, and as someone with virtually no experience whatsoever, learning what it takes to produce high quality video content has changed my thinking when it comes to presenting that content to the audience.
I’ve spent more and more time on our shoots and you start to spot opportunities for content you just wouldn’t have considered if you weren’t part of the action.
How should someone get into automotive social media management?
If, like myself, you had no experience in the automotive sector, do as much content on your own channels as you can. It’s the easiest way to showcase what you can do. It’ll also help you learn what does and doesn’t work which, when discussing in a job interview, immediately makes you more interesting.
If working in automotive is your goal, don’t turn away roles in other sectors. Social media practice is pretty universal, so you can learn the skills needed in any social media role. This’ll put you in a much better position when that perfect automotive role is available.
The social media landscape changes pretty quickly, so mastering the latest platforms is a good way to solve problems many companies have. TikTok didn’t exist when I started in this role, and it’s now our fastest growing platform.
What are your career aspirations?
If you’d asked me this five years ago, I’d have answered with Head of Social Media at Goodwood! Now that I’ve achieved that, it’s hard to consider new career aspirations. I suppose I’ve always dreamed of working in Italy, so Head of Social Media for Ferrari would be something to aim for. I just need to crack on with my Italian Duolingo lessons.
