Brightpod Customer Case Study - Simon Bateman of Social Disrupt

Simon Bateman, Managing Director of Social Disrupt // London, UK

Simon's favorite news-reading app is Buzzfeed. His favorite time-saving trick is 'Google it. Most people have asked what you need to know before!' His favorite blogs are Social Media London and Bad Pitch Blog.

What does your company do?

We are a full-service social media marketing agency, who are no-bull and are here to help out SMEs tackle the every-changing world of Social.

Describe an average day at your company?

Busy! Being a start-up we’re constantly looking at ways to grow our business. Our excellent relationships with our clients mean they trust us to try new disruptive ways to generate thumb-stopping content. This means having our finger constantly on the pulse with Social, but you have to if you want to stay ahead of the game.

We spend a lot of time each day researching different approaches. Sometimes we’ll come up with a good plan for a client – but then we turn it upside down and it becomes an amazing plan. It’s all about managing expectations and then maximizing opportunities.

What is your work routine? How do you start and end your day?

Well, the first thing we all do is sign into Brightpod (no, we weren’t paid to write this). We have a very close relationship with our clients, so we keep our finger on the pulse for new opportunities. We keep them updated on progress via the platform and ensure all communication is transparent, so they can see exactly where we’re at with projects.

Before we even think about packing up, we get our house back in order. With multiple events and projects running at the same time, you need to make sure everything is on track. Going in to Brightpod to tweak deadlines and ensure relevant information is shared is key!

"We use Brightpod to collate tasks, set deadlines & keep information flowing to & from the client."

What are your top 3 productivity hacks that help you work smarter?

First create a plan that works for you. There are so many ‘best practice’ documents out there, but it doesn’t mean it’s the right fit for your company or clients – if you know what you’re doing from square one, things will move quicker.

As before, Google it. We’ve seen companies waste too much money & time on the wrong kinds of training. The chances are, someone else has been stuck at some point too – so see how they got around it before picking up the Credit Card.

Be transparent with your clients. We’ll all massaged the truth before, but being open, honest and managing expectations will save you heaps of time and grief – and build trust with your clients.

How many projects and team members do you have in Brightpod? Could you give us some insight on what kind of projects/ work you manage with Brightpod?

We currently have seven team members and growing. Our clients are based around the world – and can have multiple projects on at the same time in different time zones and sectors.

We use Brightpod to collate these tasks, set deadlines and keep information flowing to and from the client. Our clients also set us tasks and ask questions through the platform – meaning no laborious long email trails!

Were you using any other tool or method before Brightpod? Why did you make the switch?

We’ve used heaps of project management tools in the past, e.g. Trello, but never found one that integrates so seamlessly into our objectives and our client’s ways of working so well. We made the switch out of sheer frustration we’ve faced in the past with sign-off process and mixed messages.

Have you ever relied on Brightpod for something unexpected related to a project or a client etc.?

Brightpod comes in extremely handy when working across time zones. Rather than 4am emails, our clients can login in wherever and whenever to see what’s going on – making it easier for them to check progress and cutting out time-consuming Skype calls.

"We love that our clients can keep track of progress using the platform!"

Was there a learning curve associated with Brightpod? How did your team adapt to a new software?

We’re not a team who are set in our ways – our nature as an agency is to disrupt, so we approached working on Brightpod the same way as we’d take on any project.

We immersed ourselves into the platform and figured out a way that would work for both us and our clients. We’re constantly looking hacks in Brightpod that can take time and steps out of the decision making process.

What is your favorite, or most used Brightpod feature?

As we’re all about transparency, we love that our clients can keep track of progress using the platform. However, the ‘Hide from Clients’ feature also comes in really handy for internal discussions on progress as we can keep all the conversations in the same place.

As an agency, we also love the timer function so we can manage expectations on how much time a project will take. This honesty with our clients helps build trust and makes our relationship even stronger.

How would you feel if you could no longer use Brightpod?

As with a lot of us Social marketeers, we dread the long email trails. Going back to this would certainly spurn a little bit of out productivity and we would have to find another solution.

We’re so immersed into Social Media, we view the platform as another network that needs the same care and attention as Facebook, Instagram etc.

Thank you for your time, Simon!