Hive Social UK

Hive Social is a Marketing Strategy and Training Consultancy. 

Using my 20+ years of marketing experience, from agency, to in-house and then as a freelancer, I have worked on all sides of the fence. I am passionate about working with companies that share my values and have a purpose over and above pure profit.

I am now empowering small businesses to master their own marketing with a 6 month programme called 'Strategy Made Simple' for business founders (and staff members), to join where I help them clarify their strategy and then give them training, support and accountability to start implementing effectively.

Founder

Small Businesses

I worked in a variety of small businesses who needed marketing support. I could give smaller businesses the marketing support they needed without having to employ a full time member of staff. These projects included:
- creating and implementing marketing plans
- briefing and overseeing rebranding projects
- planning and overseeing new website design and build
- creating email marketing strategies
- overseeing google marketing activity
- consulting on social media strategies and supporting full time staff to implement these
- managing PR and press relationships
- day to day marketing enquiries

Freelance Marketing Consultant

British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

Responsible for all marketing related activity.  A varied role including publishing a monthly membership magazine, securing press coverage each month and managing a busy calendar of events. I was responsible for managing the marketing budget, developing strategies for targeting new members and developing member get member campaigns.

Marketing Director

WPNC

3 month freelance contract implementing mass media event for The National Autistic Society, sponsored by Vodafone. Responsible for implementing integrated campaign using radio, DM and online, managing the campaign budget, analysing and presenting all results to both parties and developing an ongoing strategy to reach the partnership objectives.

Freelance Account Director

GOOD Agency

Fundraising strategy development and implementation for charity clients (fundraising event generation and roll out). Developed new UK fundraising initiatives for Amnesty, Scope and Age Concern. Worked with other large charities such as RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Greenpeace and Macmillan Cancer Relief. 

Developing DM strategies for testing upgrades, renewals and conversions to monthly direct debits (eg. Amnesty)
Responsible for delivering campaigns on budget and within tight deadlines
Managed a team of 6, accountable for running multiple client relationships
Responsible for reaching team income targets, forecasting profit and reporting to senior management on a monthly basis
Strong knowledge of print production and artwork process

Account Director

Get Real! Marketing (merged to form Campus Group)

Assisting in running PR campaign for a SmithKline Beecham energy drink
Managed the drinks’ sponsorship contract with MTV
Coordinated a national sampling campaign.
Organised and assisted running two NPD/brand-stretching idea generation projects with Nestlé.
Account manager for Random House Publishing student brand manager programme – working with an account executive to coordinate a team of student brand managers based in universities across the UK.

Account Manager

Marketing strategy made simple for small businesses. Generate leads & income using marketing more strategically. Your guide from confusion ➡️ clarity. Strategy, coaching and training. 20+ experience. Take the quiz!👇

If you are feeling: 

❌ Frustrated with effort vs. results with your marketing
❌ Directionless with where to put your focus
❌ Lacking confidence using social media platforms effectively (I specialise in Instagram and LinkedIn)

Then you're in the right place. I am a marketing strategist helping businesses to achieve their goals. From developing a strategy to implementing it, and everything in between.

Together we will: 

✅ Pinpoint who you are targeting (you’d be so surprised how many established businesses haven’t really worked this out!)
✅ Clarify your broader business objectives
✅ Distil down some key marketing messages
✅ Work out your content pillars and a framework for your content

By joining my 'Strategy 'Made Simple Programme' you will:

⭐️ Beat the overwhelm with a clear plan to achieve your objectives
⭐️ Get 1:1 time with me for accountability and targeted action
⭐️ Be part of a community of other likeminded businesses in a similar position
⭐️ Receive practical marketing advice you can implement right away

What clients say: 

"We had 4 inbound enquiries in their first month of posting, having had none for 6 months"

"The BEST part is that one of my dream clients recently reached out. She said that my content resonated with her. Now, we are working together! I can't stop smiling!”

"I often leave our sessions buzzing as you’ve encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone! Working with you has been a game-changer.”

If you're ready to start creating income and impact with your social media then book a FREE strategy call using the link in my bio.

If you’d told me a few years ago I’d be doing this… I wouldn’t have believed you.

Back then, I was doing the odd bit of freelancing for small businesses, a bit of social media stuff, a bit of website work.

It was small stuff, not very well paid, but it was easing me back into the world of work after stepping away to raise two small human beings!

It wasn’t until post-covid, I was finally ready. I invested in myself and focused on the strategic thinking behind marketing, and then things started to change.

Parts of my brain that had lain dormant suddenly came back to life. It was the beginning of what led me to where I am now.

Which is....

⭐️ I’m working on a 3-day-a-week retainer at a senior level in financial technology.

⭐️I’ve created an online course.

⭐️I’m relaunching my group programme (yay, in January!)

⭐️I run strategy days.

I train LinkedIn to leadership teams.

⭐️I get to spend my weeks helping brilliant coaches and consultants build calm, sustainable marketing systems.

⭐️I share an office in a 500 year old barn with a friend (this pic is the day we moved in!)

4 years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you if you’d painted this picture for me.

But the path hasn’t been without its bumps and roadblocks along the way.

Growth was quiet and imperfect, and usually went unnoticed as I focused on what wasn’t working, rather than what was.

And there’s still a lot of room for improvement; it’s a constant effort.

But equally important to occasionally look back!

👇 What’s something you’re doing now that the old you wouldn’t have believed a few years ago?

Katie Brown

Marketing strategist for coaches + consultants. Creator of The Hive Method, a 3-stage system to turn messy, reactive marketing into steady, strategic visibility. DIY course | Marketing Momentum | 1:1’s. DM me! 💬

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My first official Christmas 'do'! 🎄

3 hours of non-stop chatter with this wonderful group of women. 

I joined the Wilder Collective as a founding member and I've watched it grow over that past year an a half or so to 200 strong.

It's hard to put into words what makes this community special, but they inspire, drive change, and there's purpose behind what they all do (and they're all really lovely!) 

It's a place where you can show up unfiltered and talk about whatever's on your plate. No judgement, no agendas. 

Thanks Nicky for another fab event. It's amazing how you can leave an event feeling simultaneously exhausted and energised! 🤣

Loved seeing Femke Harris Tanya Aldcroft Rebecca Cracknell Imogen Partridge Katie Elliott (HR Katie) Rebecca Hogan Sonia Kampshoff Georgie McIntyre Rosie McLaren Helen Smith Carly Claydon-Davies Candice Mason Lucy Horden and probably others!

You get invited to Christmas drinks by the wonderful Emily Penny , so you say yes, (of course) but arrive realising you only know 2 people! 

It could go either way right? 

Happy to say that Emily filled the room with creative superstars that she collaborates with , and the conversations certainly didn't disappoint!

Special thanks to David Lloyd  and Sarah Robb - we covered everything from petting zoo's, vodka shots, raves, M&S cardigans and intermittent fasting, and rounded off the evening with a group hug. 🥰 My kind of networking! 

Haven't laughed so much in a while. 

And Emily, thank you for my #AdventColander - it will be cherished! 

If you can't read the note it says: 

Your Holy Truth:
"Time"
Experience pours through us like water, and only certain moments cling to our mesh. This is not loss, but the way meaning slowly distills'. ❤️

Thank you Emily for being part of my network, it's certainly more colourful with you in it!

A spot of festive co-working yesterday (thank you Nicky!) 🎄

 A great chance to catch up, and surprisingly actually get some work done! 

And I have finally taken action on a job I've been ignoring for months - merging my email from an old platform into a new one. I didn't quite manage to do it then but it somehow spurred me on when I got home. 

Plus I had a massive email purge which was scary but also liberating! 

Funny how getting out of your routine sometimes gives you perspective on stuff you're avoiding doing! 

Progress is never perfect, but then action at least moves us along the path! 

Got any festive get togethers coming up? I will be at my clients Christmas party later today 🥳🍾

Lovely to see Yvonne Phillips Rebecca Cracknell plus others not on LinkedIn!

It’s funny, I wanted to do a degree in advertising when I left school.

My parents said no… I had to do a more ‘academic’ degree (with the best of intentions, of course!). 🙄

After scratching around, I decided on ‘Modern History and International Relations’ - I had an amazing history teacher who had really brought the subject to life for me in the last 2 years at school.

And International Relations… I’d had quite an international life, I guess, I honestly can’t really remember why I chose to study that.

It was fine, I guess. I certainly didn’t love it. The standout memorable subject was learning about the history of feminism (which I did love).

But at the end of my degree, I still wanted to work in marketing (doh!) 🤦♀️ and by now I had no experience, and no network.

My first break was in a tiny Soho agency that had an office that looked exactly like a private investigator's office… (not exactly the glamorous agency life I was expecting!)

Thankfully, things moved upwards from there…

Anyway, lesson learnt for my kids, I won’t be dissuading them from their chosen path of study (or not study, whatever the case may be).

How about you? Did you get put off certain pathways when you were young? Any regrets?

If I were rebuilding my marketing for 2026, here’s exactly where I’d start (in a nutshell):

1️⃣ Get really specific

No more fluff - you know how they are feeling, call it out.

Get straight to the heart of the issue, for a very specific group of people who immediately recognise themselves when they see your content.

2️⃣ Make your offers painfully clear

People shouldn’t need detective skills to understand what you do.

Name the problem, the process and the outcome.

3️⃣ Build a weekly rhythm you can actually stick to (not the one in your dreams!)

A simple structure that keeps you visible, even when life or client work gets busy. Make a commitment as to what’s non-negotiable with your marketing.

4️⃣ Create higher-quality touchpoints

Workshops. Short trainings. Free sessions.Have tangible outcomes.

This brings new people into your world and gives you an immediate, deeper connection to them. Make sure you leave them with a strong offer so it’s clear how they can take the next step.

People buy when they’ve experienced you and seen your expertise first-hand.

5️⃣ Show evidence every single week

Tiny wins. Client stories. Screenshots. Reflections.

Your audience isn’t asking “Can you help me?”

They’re asking, “Have you helped someone exactly like me before… and can you prove it?”

The way we market is changing; 2026 is going to be all about resonating with your target audience in an ‘impossible to ignore’ way.

They have less time, they're more switched on than ever, and they've seen you coming a mile off, so you'd better make it good.

Would you agree? What shifts are you making for 2026?

Whilst I am fully booked for December, there are new ways to work with me in January to get you set up for a successful 2026: 👇

📌 DIY marketing strategy course
📌 Marketing Momentum 6-month Programme (launching in Jan)
📌 Marketing Reset - 90 min x 1:1's
📌 2026 Marketing Blueprint VIP days

DM me to find out more!

Friday is a day to work on MY business (and get to the gym 💪).

It's good to have a slightly slower pace, a bit more thinking time.

- try to get my content lined up for the following week
- write emails
- working on a new lead magnet
- checking how my meta ads are performing
- still trying to wrap my head around GoHighLevel and be brave enough to move my whole mailing list over.
- spend half an hour on my finances
- working on copy for a new sales page

I could go on, but realistically, I won't achieve half of what I want to! 

The day disappears quite quickly! 

What do your Fridays look like? 

PS. Loving my new White Company mugs!

If you're a coach or consultant, you're most likely selling time for money. Which means you probably have this problem 👇

You’re either in delivery work or you’re selling 1:1 sessions. You want to be fully booked, of course, but with that comes the inevitable lack of time to work on your business rather than in it.

Then a client contract eventually runs its course and comes to an end, and suddenly, you reclaim those hours of your time.

The problem is that by then, you're feeling an urgency to replace clients, but that cycle can be lengthy (chats can linger for 6 months easily before turning into paid work).

So there's a lag that you can’t afford.

So you throw everything at your marketing until eventually you get another client or clients.

Once again bogged down by work, you loop back to shelving your marketing again.

And so the cycle continues!

It’s a well-trodden path (and your nervous system isn’t thanking you!)

What’s the answer?

It’s having a marketing system that can work alongside your client work. Because to get out of this cycle, you have to make some changes.

And yes, it does mean doing some foundational work, but once that work is done, it will have a lasting impact on your business (and your sanity)!

Does this sound familiar? How are you evening out these peaks and troughs?


📌 (If this is you, you might be interested in Marketing Momentum, which starts in January - DM me and I'll pop you on the waiting list, and send you the details soon!)

If you're a coach or a consultant, you didn't sign up for this much hard work alongside your day job...😤

But marketing is changing so quickly, it's hard for anyone to keep up.

I'm a big believer in simplifying things right down, hence these bite-sized observations might be helpful. 

They might give you a nudge toward what to focus on next.

What have you been noticing lately?

 Anything that’s felt different, harder, easier, or just… odd?
 Tell me below 👇


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I'm Katie, a marketing strategist helping coaches and consultants turn messy, reactive marketing into steady, strategic visibility.
📌 DIY marketing strategy course
📌 Marketing Momentum 6-month Programme (launching in Jan)
📌 Marketing Reset - 90 min x 1:1's
📌 2026 Marketing Blueprint VIP days

Scribbles from a strategist

Yep, we all know it can feel pretty heavy sometimes...

Your own marketing is in a long queue, usually way after loads of client stuff that needs prioritising. 

Here are some ways I help my clients make their marketing feel lighter, easier and more enjoyable. 

I know I bang on about foundations, but honestly, it does lighten the load. 

Would you add anything?

Lighten the load

There’s a knack to getting the kind testimonial that has others hammering down your door to work with you.

And it’s not by giving your clients free rein and a blank piece of paper.

I am working with a leadership coach at the moment, and she admitted she gets really variable testimonials, not because her work and her transformation isn’t outstanding. It’s just hard to capture that journey in a testimonial.

Clients often need a helping hand.

Having a testimonial system in place really helps.

💡 Ask them at the right time in your work together (when they are in the moment of really feeling a real difference and a change by your work with them). Work out when this typically is and diarise it for each client when you start working together.
💡 Give them a structure to work with - ask questions about their situation before they met you, what their experience was working with you, and what changed for them as a result of your work together.
💡 Make them dig a bit deeper than the surface level, capture more than you need or will use.

As a result, you’ll get those golden nuggets.

Or consider recording a Zoom call to run through the questions so they can talk about the experience. Afterwards, you can use the transcript to extract the best bits.

Have you got a system for this?


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I'm Katie, a marketing strategist helping coaches and consultants turn messy, reactive marketing into steady, strategic visibility.
📌 DIY marketing strategy course
📌 Marketing Momentum 6-month Programme (launching in Jan)
📌 Marketing Reset - 90 min x 1:1's
📌 2026 Marketing Blueprint VIP days

There’s usually no magical window to prioritise your marketing.

Who’s said this to themselves?

“I’ll start posting again when things quieten down’, or ‘I’ll get that weekly email going when I’ve got a bit more time'.

The tough lesson here is that marketing needs to carry on ALL the time.

Chugging along quietly in the background.

Which is really HARD if you’re constantly starting from scratch.

The trick here is having systems in place that allow this to happen.

Because if you don’t, and you are busy with client work, then it’s no wonder that marketing your business as well feels like it requires superhuman strength.

And even with systems in place, you’ll probably find every 6-12 months that things need reviewing or upgrading. Messaging and positioning need to be rechecked, and just getting a fresh perspective on everything is crucial to keep your momentum going.

Do you feel like you have a solid marketing system in place that carries you through the highs and lows of client work?


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I'm Katie, a marketing strategist helping coaches and consultants turn messy, reactive marketing into steady, strategic visibility.
📌 DIY marketing strategy course
📌 Marketing Momentum 6-month Programme (launching in Jan)
📌 Marketing Reset - 90 min x 1:1's
📌 2026 Marketing Blueprint VIP days

Some of the more unusual work situations I have found myself in over the years…

🎢 Clambering around a rollercoaster track at Legoland in high heels whilst the park was shut (taking a brief to fully wrap a train in Legoland graphics, amongst other projects).

📸 Casting for male models on the Kings Road with a photographer in tow (utterly mortifying and SO un-PC) for a campaign for Avery Office Labels (I know - weird!)

🛏 A free stay in a suite at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong so I could write about them for the British Chamber magazine (part of my marketing role for the British Chamber of Hong Kong) - a tough job…but someone had to do it!

🚐 Being forcibly removed from the press caravan we were staying in at the Lizard festival (for the solar eclipse of 1999), because the festival went bust and the bailiffs took all the caravans away (I was managing Smithkline Beecham’s sponsorship of the event)

🌷 Choosing the flower at Covent Garden Market at 4am, that was to become the icon for the Chelsea Flower Show that year and was featured on all the creative as an illustration.

Never a dull moment in a colourful career in agency life.

Annoyingly, I have no good photos, pre-iPhone days 🙄 (this is the best I could do from my HK working days!)

Give me your strangest working situation you found yourself in….

I’ve been marketing my own consultancy for 3.5 years now, and I’ll tell you what I've learned (the hard way). 👇

I’ve occasionally been derailed into following and absorbing advice from the wrong people.

Caught up in other people’s idea of success, instead of my own.

Rewording my marketing to reflect what other people think, which sometimes didn’t sit that naturally with me.

And whilst it might have got me to a certain point, there were times that it felt a bit uncomfortable and misaligned with where I wanted to be.

Because ultimately, your marketing needs to reflect you as a person and be truly tuned into your potential clients and what they’re feeling in that moment. That can’t be sold to you in a downloadable freebie or quick masterclass.

And you do inherently have that knowledge; you just need someone to show you how to use it.

It takes some deep thinking and delving, but once you find your own way of communicating your magic to the right people, that’s when all the stars align.

Have you ever tried things with your marketing that haven’t felt quite right for you?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Whilst I am fully booked for December, there are new ways to work with me in January to get you set up for a successful 2026: 👇

📌 DIY marketing strategy course
📌 Marketing Momentum 6-month Programme (launching in Jan)
📌 Marketing Reset - 90 min x 1:1's
📌 2026 Marketing Blueprint VIP days

The bit that no one talks about…

However glossy our businesses look on the outside, it’s rarely the story behind the scenes.

It’s all exciting to start with - the new website, photos, branding, the first posts.

Then suddenly, a few years on, it all starts to feel a bit messy.

Things don’t work as well as they used to.

Your audience starts to feel a bit stale.

You’ve not stuck at some of the things you started with good intentions, and now you wish you had.

You’re constantly looking over your shoulder at others who just seem to be overtaking you.

I definitely found there was a three year slump, and it was really hard to pick myself up from it.

What I’ve realised is that it’s a never-ending process of re-invention. You can’t afford to sit still, you can’t stop investing, you can’t stop re-imagining your business.

So, can we stop putting this pressure on ourselves to have it all figured out?

Literally no one does.

Those who are successful are in a constant state of reinvention.

I’d love to know what you think…

Some definite low patches, but some real highs too. 

Some stuff happened this year that I could never have anticipated, once again I end a year in a totally different place to where I started (or here I thought I would end). 

Enjoying the ride, working harder than ever, looking forward to battening down the hatches with some mince pies and mulled wine next week ad watching Love Actually on repeat. 🎁

Anyone else?

Rating 2025

A Christmas round-up! 🎄 It’s been the busiest run-up to Christmas work-wise, some balls were dropped on family stuff (thank you for picking them up, Murray Brown!)

Still managed to squeeze in some Christmas fun though:

⛸ Battersea Power Station Ice Skating
🎄 Henley Christmas Market
🍾 Client Christmas party in London
🎉 Christmas party with my business buddies
💻 Christmas co-working
 💬 Christmas Networking
🏙 And heading into London for a Christmas lunch on Monday.

Hope to be packing up work on Tuesday.

I’ll be having a bit of LinkedIn free time over the next week.

Will you be posting? Scrolling? Or switching off entirely?

Just putting it out there…👇

If you’re a coach or consultant who loves delivering transformational results for your clients, but cannot seem to get your marketing off the ground, I would LOVE to help you! 

You’re tired of relying on referrals and word-of-mouth (because it’s so haphazard), you’ve been doing piecemeal marketing based on random tips - a post here, a networking event there - but nothing connects up into actual client flow.

You know you need to invest some time, energy and money into your marketing, but you’ve been putting it off.

Maybe you’re a coach who would like to find your own clients rather that doing associate work (and getting paid less for it).

I can help give you a system for you marketing that works alongside your client work (so it’s not longer an either/or).

I work with clients to create solid foundations for their marketing, and then we build a LinkedIn first approach, so you’re finally finding new clients outside your network.

If this sounds like something you need, DM me and let’s chat (my new programme Called Marketing Momentum launches in January, and it will have a limited beta price for those who join first).

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