Meet The Nu Image Team: Emily

We don’t shy away from the facts: we can do what we do because of the people on our team. Each individual is here because of their work ethic, passion, expertise and drive, plus their bright personalities that blend to create the perfect team.

These meet-the-team posts are for anyone considering working with us, about to work with us, or who already does and wants to get to know us better. We’ll be introducing every member of the Nu Image team over the next few months so that you can learn what makes them tick.

Next up is Emily, one of our directors and our head of digital, she ensures that everything in digital runs like clockwork and that we deliver an experience that surpasses clients expectations. She likes everyone to feel like they’re in safe hands. Let’s have a look at who Emily is, what makes up her role, and her long, long list of favourite Nu Image moments (she’s been here 8 years, what did you expect?). 

Tell us about yourself

I’m Emily, or Em, or Smiffy. I’m one of the directors of Nu Image, and I predominantly head up the Digital Marketing department.

Outside of work, my time is largely filled with winding up my partner Danny, filling my cup by spending time with family and friends, trying new spots in and around Norwich/Norfolk, going to SGPT sessions at Tibbs Fitness, reading, and prioritising holidaying in new countries over adult life admin.

Tell us about your role

My role is extremely diverse, as it always is when you’re a director or manager; you kind of do a bit of everything and get involved where needed.

Primarily, being Head of Digital means I cover the following responsibilities:

• Recruiting, training, managing and supporting the digital marketing team – currently consisting of 7 strong, clever, incredibly talented humans.
• Onboarding and overseeing client management, success and satisfaction.
• Handling and pitching for new digital marketing enquiries.
• Reviewing, updating and introducing new processes to improve efficiency.
• Chief decider of who gets to play Kerplunk for a chance at winning the rarest of prizes (such as my infamous homemade Biscoff and chocolate chip banana bread).

As a director, my role can involve strategy planning the entire direction for a business’s growth one day and replacing a light and clearing up a leak in the stairwell the next. I thoroughly enjoy the variety, over the years it’s given me skills and capabilities that make me feel quite dependable.

What do you enjoy about what you do?

Where do I start? As cliché as it sounds, there’s a good reason why I’m here 8 years later and plan to be long into the future.

1. Learning about new industries. I love getting to the core of a business and understanding how they operate and why. When it all just clicks and comes together, the best work is done, right? I genuinely come away from meetings buzzing, partly from collaborating and getting to know a client and their business better, and partly from the flow of ideas running around that need to be actioned into a strategy plan. I’m fascinated by the businesses you wouldn’t think about in your normal day-to-day, but who are an essential cog in their corner of the world. I won’t list my favourites from over the years now, but maybe another time, hey. 

2. Training. I’m so passionate about what we do and the impact it can have on a business when done right, so I love training and supporting my team to be able to do this to the best of their abilities. Seeing their confidence soar when they get it right and knowing a client is in safe hands with them working on their account, it’s just a good ol’ serotonin boost.

3. Pitching to new clients. I’m proud of the proposal documents we present. Just knowing that everyone we see is more in the loop with how their business is performing online and is confident to make more informed decisions about their business, without any catches or obligations, leaves me with a good feeling every time.

4. Constantly improving what we offer as an agency. We’re not ones to shy away from criticism or accepting the way we used to do something doesn’t work anymore. In fact, I relish the challenge of improving something so we can provide a better service to our clients, improve results, and ease our team’s day-to-day.

Do you face any challenges in your role? How do you overcome them?

Yes. I don’t think there is any role that doesn’t face challenges. I face them in various different areas, every day. But, contradictorily that’s something I thoroughly enjoy about the role. 

The most obvious one that springs to mind is the constant changes in digital marketing that create hurdles to overcome. These could include an update to the SERPs, the complete replacement of the version of Analytics you use, algorithm updates on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, the loss of a tool or plugin that is no longer supported, the required rollout of cookies consent, and the decreasing amount of data we’re able to measure and analyse nowadays, to name a few. 

Sometimes, especially recently, it can feel like you can’t catch a break from the changing digital landscape. Fortunately, the digital marketing department doesn’t consist of just two people now; we have a team of 9 (including myself and Ian) who can sit down and review these changes, environments where we can test solutions (with the help of our internal web developers), and work out new processes to enable the solutions to these changes to be carried out seamlessly.

What’s the most satisfying part of your role?

Again, I don’t think I could pick just one.

1. Stepping back and reflecting on what Nu Image was when I first joined and what it is today fills me with an immense amount of pride. When I joined there were only 7 of us, which is the same size as what just the digital team is now. To have a total number of 16 and still have the original core values of the company going strong is no small feat.

2. Seeing the impact of the work we do. The impact it can have on a client’s business and, in turn, their life feels extremely purposeful and drives you to want to do better each day for that very reason

3. The people. Work is where we spend most of our time and I’m lucky to be surrounded by good people who make me laugh, care about each other and don’t take themselves too seriously. I have to include a special mention for Ian and Nicole here, too. I can hand on heart say I wouldn’t feel as confident in my role today and becoming a director if it wasn’t for the mentoring, opportunities and belief I’ve had from them every step of the way. I’ll be forever grateful.

4. Is it sad to say I feel like I’ve made it when I come in and have a cup of tea sitting on my desk waiting for me? The small things are sometimes the most satisfying (speaking of, chuck 3pm finishes on a Friday in there too, the novelty never wears off).

Got any favourite work memories?

To keep it fair, I’ll pick one from each year of working here:

1. The wife of one of my colleagues baked and decorated a Harry Potter-themed cake for my 21st. I’ll never forget that, it meant a lot.
2. Being finalists at the EDP’s Small Business of the Year awards.
3. All of the Norfolk Bloggers X Nu Image events.
4. Every team social event, including paddleboarding trips, karaoke nights, pub lunches, and summer BBQs.
5. Various important and successful campaigns that I’m proud we were a part of including The Women in Construction and Men’s Mental Health in Construction campaigns with Rockthorn, and our own International Women’s Day campaigns, too (check out our socials for these over the years).
6. Moving into the new studio space in 2022.
7. The fundraising work we’ve done has a special place in my heart, including the EACH auction night, the Bubble Rush Run and Muddy Race for Life, our 24-hour cycle for Endometriosis UK, and our 24-hour walk for The Feed.
8. Finally, it wouldn’t be right to not mention the annual Christmas night out, our week-long buffet, and the Secret Santa/quiz day.

Want us on your team?

We know how to keep things balanced here at Nu Image, perfecting the blend of good times and quality output. If you’d like our help growing your business, add us to your own team. With people like Emily on the roster, you’ll get results without the stuffy non-relationships you might find elsewhere.

The Nu Image team is full of passionate individuals with unique expertise and specialist skills, from fab website creation to expert SEO mastery. Interested in working with us? Call 01603 859007 today to chat.