So in the spirit of keeping ourselves safe from Covid-19 and not posing a risk to anyone else, we’ve decamped from Sookio HQ and are working remotely.

But we’re still keeping it business as usual!

Let me update you about particular services and explain how we can support you more widely, whether you’re a current client or just a friend of Sookio in need of a sounding board.

Training and workshops

We’re adapting our digital marketing training sessions so they can be delivered remotely.

• Resources circulated beforehand for you to fill in during the session

• Activities that can be done as homework, emailed over and sent back with constructive feedback

• Workshops broken up into shorter sessions run over several days, so we’re not asking people to concentrate for extended periods of time

It’s an opportunity to open things up, allowing people to attend who previously wouldn’t have been able to come. If we can record it you have an extra resource to use in the future.

It’s also a positive, sociable activity for people who might be starting to feel cut off after several weeks of home working. Learning about writing for the web, video production or SEO might be quite fun and rewarding what with everything else going on!

You can also try one of our Sookio School courses on digital marketing - sharpen your blogging skills, start on TikTok for your business, learn how to write a press release, and build a Twitter strategy. There’s lots to learn!

Follow this link for two months’ free access to Skillshare, and fill yer boots!

Video projects

With video, we may have to adapt the creative concept if you are temporarily out of the office and we can’t come in and shoot.

More animation, quality stock footage, or an extended voiceover…we thrive on being inventive, and can come up with a beautiful solution to make sure the video still meets its overall business objective.

What we’re trying to avoid is a sudden rush of projects when this has all blown over. So we’re aiming to do as much pre-production as possible so everything is all lined up and ready to go!

Even if the actual shooting is tricky, we can still work wonders with existing footage. We can edit clips for your social media channels, or bring old video content up to date with new captions or narrations.

Copywriting, strategy, social media and SEO

It’s more important than ever to make sure your business communications are up to scratch.

People may have more time on their hands to browse the internet…but they may be feeling a little distracted.

So it’s essential that your messages are clear - we can refresh your website copy, run up-to-date keyword research or advise on using social media for crisis communications.

For in-house marketing teams or other agencies, please do lean on us and let us take the strain with ad hoc content creation. Maybe you need someone to write the blog while your focus is elsewhere, or you need a targeted social media campaign around essential guidance you need to share with customers.

We’re also here if you need to change tack with your digital marketing strategy, whether you need to make a wholesale change or just need to talk it through.

How else can we help?

We know it’s a really difficult time for everybody. I keep having these ripples of everything sinking in…one moment I’m thinking calmly about the situation and the next I’m feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of it all, both as a business owner and as a normal human being worried about the potential impact on loved ones and people in my local community.

I suspect I’m not alone in this.

One thing that helps though, is helping other people. It takes my mind off it all!

Current clients, past clients, friends of Sookio from the last twelve years - we’re nimble, resilient, and on a practical level can advise you on the best tools to help you manage projects and stay in touch.

We have so much knowledge to share and we would love to help. So, just ask!

How are we managing this as a team?

I wasn’t unduly worried about the prospect of us all moving to remote working. As you may be aware, we suffered huge disruption last summer due to the Mill Road fire and spent over two weeks working from home, cafes, client offices, the church opposite…anyone who would have us really!

So I know it can be done, but at least this time we had some warning!

The first thing I did was ask our Administrator, Naomi, to do an assessment of everyone’s home working arrangements, in case we’re in this for the long haul.

We’ll continue to use Slack to chat about individual projects, Streamtime for project management and our trusty Capsule CRM to keep on top of sales. We’ve also moved to a daily catch-up over Zoom each morning so we can wave at each other and say hello!

Thinking back to my freelance days when Yahoo Messenger was my lifeline, it really hit home how important proactive communication is when you’re working remotely. If the only time you hear from your colleagues and superiors is when something is wrong, it can make you feel quite isolated or worried about your performance.

So I intend to keep in regular contact - by phone, video and Slack - and have asked Clark, our Project Manager, to check in regularly too. This helps us to deliver projects on time and stay sane.

Speaking of which, I’ve also emphasised the importance of looking after your mental health. There’s nothing like a global pandemic to heighten anxiety even in people who are usually on an even keel. We have to look out for each other and take regular breaks from the scary news cycle.

So…take care everybody! If you need anything at all please do get in touch.

PS: Our annual birthday gathering is pencilled in for 18 June - and I’m telling you now, this is jolly well going ahead, even if we have to share a cocktail over Skype!