Welcome to the games: New rules, same chaos

Cracks knuckles…

So, you want to dominate digital marketing in 2025? Fair warning - this isn't a game for the faint-hearted. We've watched countless businesses get eliminated because they thought posting once on LinkedIn and throwing money at Meta ads would cut it. (Spoiler alert: it didn't.)

🟢 GREEN LIGHT: Your Winning Moves

Round 1:  Gone are the days when you could shout into the void and hope someone important heard you (well we never thought it worked in the first place.) In 2025, 76% of B2B buyers are making decisions based on trust, which means you need to know exactly who you're talking to. We're talking deep-dive research here - understanding their tech stack, catching their coffee-break browsing habits, and figuring out where they go when they're stuck at 3 AM looking for solutions.

Round 2: Here's where most players get eliminated. They think churning out generic "thought leadership" posts will save them. Wrong. The winners? They're seeing 92% ROI because they've cracked the code: create content that makes your audience feel seen, heard, and slightly uncomfortable about how well you understand their problems.

Mix up your content like you're crafting the perfect playlist. Start with meaty case studies that show real results (not just vanity metrics), sprinkle in some webinars that solve actual problems (instead of hour-long sales pitches), and top it off with blogs that don't sound like they were written by a robot having an existential crisis. And as always, don’t forget the personal content! You are human, right?

Round 3: Want to see your competitors sweat? Start playing in multiple arenas. Companies using three channels are seeing 23% more ROI, but push that to five channels and you're looking at a whopping 35% boost. It's like having extra lives in the game - you might stumble on Instagram, but your LinkedIn and email game keeps you in the running. But remember, don’t just play in every arena going, find out which ones will work best for you and your business. 

🔴 RED LIGHT: Ways to Get Yourself Eliminated

The fastest way to get eliminated? Thinking you can win by copying what worked in 2023. The second fastest? Treating every platform like it's the same game. Your LinkedIn audience isn't on LinkedIn for the same reason they're on TikTok (shocking, we know).

💎 The Ultimate Power-Up: First-Party Data

This is your golden ticket. While your competitors are playing pin the tail on the donkey with their marketing budget, you're sitting on a goldmine of actual customer insights. Every click, scroll, and engagement tells a story. Learn to read these signals and you'll be playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers.

💎 The Final Round: Adaptation

The game keeps changing - what worked yesterday might get you eliminated tomorrow. The winners in 2025 aren't the ones with the biggest budgets or the fanciest tools. They're the ones who can pivot faster than a contestant in Red Light, Green Light.

Think you're ready to play? We've been in this game since before it was cool. We know where the traps are, which moves win, and most importantly - how to keep you from getting eliminated.

Want to level up your marketing game? Give us a shout. We promise not to make you play the honeycomb challenge. Though we might make you sit through one of our strategy sessions (they're more fun than they sound).

💎 Behind the Scenes: Holiday Survival Mode

While you lot were fighting over the last mince pie, our team was busy creating their own chaos. Time for some team gossip...

The Marketing Mastermind Goes Rogue

 Jem kicked off the festivities with an adventure to Camden (because apparently Yorkshire wasn't chaotic enough). She dragged Josh and Charlie along for what we can only assume was a mission to find the weirdest and most wonderful corners of London's alternative scene.

Christmas Day saw Jem dominating the kitchen with her famous roasties. (If you've never had one, you haven't lived.)

Speaking of dominating, she hosted New Year's Eve at hers and all that relaxation must've charged her batteries because she's stormed into 2025 like a player with a point to prove. First week back? Two new clients and someone signing up for training. While most of us were still trying to remember our passwords, she's out here making power moves. Well done Jem!

💎 Behind the Morgenmuffel's Madness

Spoiler alert: it involves coffee. Lots of coffee.

Moving on to Sarah (aka our resident Morgenmuffel and content genius) who's been on her own emotional rollercoaster. She marked Joe's anniversary surrounded by his family, proving that some bonds just get stronger with time. And yes, she got some quality cuddles with Bart the dog - because sometimes four-legged therapy is the best kind.

New Year's Eve? Oh, that's her jam - even if she did leave the planning until last minute. But in classic Sarah style, she somehow turned last-minute chaos into an epic night of pre-drinks and partying. Then came the booze pong tournament where her inner competitor emerged (seriously, who knew she could get that intense over plastic cups and ping pong balls?).

Speaking of surprises, after SEVEN years of debating (yes, we've been counting), she finally caved and bought a fancy coffee machine - she named it Tyrone. Now she's on some self-appointed mission to sample every coffee bean in Britain. Taking bets on when we'll find her swinging from the ceiling after one espresso too many.

💎 Cath's Countdown Begins

Grab your calendars - Cath's about to level up to 'Mum Status' this February. While most of us were nursing New Year's hangovers, she's been prepping for the ultimate game changer (and we don't mean a new marketing strategy).

She's diving into the wildest balancing act of 2025 - juggling baby cuddles with client work. Though if anyone can master this multiplayer mode, it's Cath. She's already got the whole organised-superhuman thing down pat (seriously, have you seen her spreadsheets?).

And because the SocialJems squad isn't your typical corporate snooze-fest, we're all here for it. No stuffy policies or awkward conversations - just flexible working and enough support to build a bridge to the moon. Though we might draw the line at babysitting duties... unless bribery is involved. 😉

February's going to be epic. And Cath? You've got this. We're just wondering if the little one will inherit your love for colour-coded organisation systems.

💎 Twinnie's Tales

Meanwhile, Sarah (aka Twinnie) decided the holidays were the perfect excuse to throw another epic party - because apparently one Sarah hosting New Year celebrations wasn't enough chaos for 2024.

And while most people drag themselves back to work in January with all the enthusiasm of a sloth on sleeping pills, she's bouncing in like someone switched her coffee to rocket fuel. Who gets excited about coming back to work? Twinnie does. (We're not sure whether to be impressed or concerned about her sanity.)

We'd love to tell you more about her holiday adventures, but she's already disappeared into a whirlwind of work tasks. Classic Twinnie - can't keep her away from a to-do list for long.

💎 A Different Kind of Game: Where Everyone's a Winner

Speaking of game-changers, we've got a side quest that's turning into something spectacular - Be Kind Give Time. Think of it as the anti-Squid Game: nobody gets eliminated, everybody wins, and there's zero chance of falling through fake glass (thankfully).

It all kicked off in 2023 when Wilkos dropped their plot twist, leaving their team facing an unexpected final round. That's when our very own Jem (in true player 001 style) reached out to Zoe Starbuck with a power-up - one hour of LinkedIn help.

That single hour created more buzz than a TikTok trend. Zoe took those LinkedIn tricks and shared them faster than gaming strategies on Discord, helping her colleagues level up their careers. While Zoe went on to join forces with her husband Paul at Starbuck & Associates (where they're busy transforming executives into boss-level players), something bigger was brewing.

Enter Be Kind Give Time - the charity equivalent of finding the ultimate cheat code. Founded by our dynamic trio:

• Jem Bevan (our resident marketing mastermind)
• Paul Starbuck (the executive coaching guru)
• Zoe Starbuck (the inspiration behind this whole epic saga)

The rules? Ridiculously simple. No glass bridges, no creepy dolls - just professionals donating one hour monthly to businesses who need a boost. It's like having a team of high-level players sharing their winning strategies with the newcomers.

What started as one player helping another has evolved into the most wholesome multiplayer game we've ever seen. We're talking hundreds of hours donated, countless businesses levelled up, and zero eliminations - now that's our kind of game!

🎮 Ready to Join This Epic Side Quest?

Whether you're stuck on a tricky business level or you're a seasoned player ready to share your cheat codes, head over to bekindgivetime.org. Because in this game, the more players we have, the better everyone performs.

Remember: Nobody wins until everybody wins. (See? We told you it was nothing like Squid Game!)

Click here to find out more.

💎 Final Round: Your 2025 Mission

While our team's been busy causing chaos over the holidays, we haven't forgotten about you players still navigating the marketing game. Our January blog is about to drop faster than eliminated contestants - and we're tackling your most-asked social media questions head on.

Got burning questions keeping you up at night? Strategy dilemmas making you feel like you're playing the glass bridge blindfolded? Send them our way. Consider us your Player 001 - we've got the insider knowledge to help you survive and thrive in this game.

2025 is here, and the rules are changing faster than ever. Whether you need a complete strategy overhaul or just someone to tell you which moves to make next, we've got your back. No ddakji challenges required, just drop us a message.

Remember: In this game, you don't have to play alone. And unlike the actual Squid Game, we're here to make sure everyone wins.

See you in the next round... if you survive January's algorithm updates. 😉

🎮 Game On, 2025! 🎮