Before I started Actually in 2019, social media was primarily just that: social. I’d share photos from my holidays or what I was eating for dinner on Instagram; type in plaintive or upbeat updates on my state of mind on Facebook. I’d periodically tweet about politics and link up with colleagues on LinkedIn. In my pre-Actually business, I would advise clients on how to integrate ‘digital platforms’ into their ‘overarching communications strategy’ and I once created a campaign that raised £1million in 28 days for the development phase of a lunar exploration mission using just social media and PR!

But social never really formed a large part of how I promoted my business because it never needed to.

That all changed four years ago when I became an ‘online entrepreneur’. All of a sudden I had business pages to organise; Facebook Groups to manage and algorithms to tame. Social media was no longer just ‘social’. Now it was business. I was spending 50% of my time creating content to ‘feed the beast’ and – to be honest – after a while it really began to suck all of the joy out of my work. 

Sound familiar?

I did what I usually do when faced with a new challenge. I read all the books; attended all the classes; studied all the systems. Then I ran an experiment with everything I learnt to see if it worked for me. And it got easier, more effective, more engaging – and, above all, more fun! 

I am still learning and experimenting to this day: as algorithms are refined, new platforms are launched and human behaviour on these vast networks changes. 

In this 90 minute masterclass I am going to share with you everything I’ve learnt – so far – about social media and content creation.  What works. What doesn’t. And how to create sparkling content that engages your audience and stops the scroll.

More importantly, I am going to help you to get over the fear, the procrastination and the overwhelm and find FUN, JOY and EASE with your content.

Let’s tackle the scary monster together! Come and join me…for Sparkling (not scary) Socials.

 Hi there! So, hopefully you already know that I’m Sara and I’m the Founder of Actually.

Much more importantly than that, I am a rebellious optimist.

I have always been a rebellious optimist – in spite of spending my entire career in the seemingly cynical world of  communications, advertising, marketing, PR and political campaigning. 

I’ve spent 26 years of my life helping big brands, companies, charities and individuals to make themselves heard. From launching Starling Bank to the late Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations; from helping Airbnb get a foothold in the UK to supporting SheDecides to secure 100s of thousands of supporters for their She Decides manifesto. I even helped a new space mission to raise $1m on Kickstarter in just 28 days with no budget for ads! 

I loved every minute of it but I got to the point where I simply didn’t care any more whether Kellog’s sold more cornflakes or British Airways sold more flights.

I wanted to make a difference. I wanted go back to the kind of work I had done when I worked for UNICEF in the early part of my career. Work that felt on purpose. Aligned with my higher goals. Work that would fulfil me again.  

Sound familiar?

You see….I dream of a world in which every business is led by purpose and every business owner is able to make a difference AND make a fantastic living. 

I believe that businesses can create change. In fact they already do. Just think about the impact of Amazon on the High Street and you can see how businesses impact the world around them. But imagine a world in which the change created by business was purposeful, considered and for the common good? In which all the energy, the innovative power, the resources of business owners and entrepreneurs – all of that was directed at creating BOTH wealth AND positive change! 

That’s the world I want to see come into being. And it may not happen in my lifetime – but I am dedicated to using every resource, every piece of expertise and every shred of experience I have to make the biggest contribution I can to that world. 

That’s why Actually exists. To help those who have a sense of purpose, to create healthy, growing, sustainable businesses. To encourage more and more business owners to get on board with purpose. 

Marketing advice, business strategy, mentoring, coaching, training – that’s what I do. But changing the world? That’s why I do it.