UK Startup & Scaleup Week

In this interview, Sophie Tunnah (Founder & Director, Literally Marketing), talks about how businesses can build online visibility, demonstrate credibility & drive efficient growth in today’s complex digital landscape.

With almost 20 years of experience in senior marketing roles for ecommerce & travel businesses (DFDS, Hays Travel) as well as for marketing agencies before starting her own business in 2024, Sophie shares why even with the rise of AI, classic marketing principles are more critical than ever.

The Core Marketing Challenge: Growth Efficiency

Sophie highlights that most businesses share a common struggle – achieving efficient & effective growth. This often breaks down into two issues:

• Tactics vs. Strategy: Some companies are overly-focused on short-term tactics & ad-hoc activities without a clear strategy, while others have a grand vision but fail to translate it into actionable marketing plans.
• The ‘Always Done It’ Trap: Many businesses continue with marketing activities simply because they always have, often without correctly measuring the commercial impact. Sophie emphasises the need for measurement to identify what is driving objectives, allowing businesses to reallocate time & resources from ineffective areas into new opportunities.

The Unchanging Power of On-Site Content & SEO

Despite the dominance of social media platforms, Sophie argues that the fundamentals of building credibility have not changed. While social channels prioritise keeping users on their sites, on-site content & strong SEO are essential for long-term brand equity & discoverability.

• The ‘House for Content’: Your website should still be your main house for content. Relying solely on social platforms is risky – if an algorithm changes or the platform disappears (citing Twitter/X as a warning), a significant portion of your brand’s content equity is lost.
• Winning with AI Search: As AI changes how people search for information, the businesses that genuinely demonstrate topical expertise through high-quality, in-depth on-site content will ultimately win in search rankings.

Strategy for Platform Selection & Content Repurposing

The digital world requires a strategic approach to platform use & content creation:

• Audience First: The decision on where to focus marketing efforts should be guided by where your target audience resides. For instance, LinkedIn remains the strongest platform for reaching business decision-makers, while platforms like Instagram can be great for building a creative showcase & generating internal advocates. Resource constraints demand being selective & consistent in platform choices.
• The Power of Repurposing: A single piece of long-form content, such as a 1hr live interview above, can be a massive asset. By utilising the transcript, video & audio, you can repurpose the material into:
  • Blog summaries (like this one) for SEO & search visibility.
  • Short-form video clips (Reels, Shorts) for social media engagement.
  • Audio files for a podcast (below).
  • Multiple social media posts, potentially providing months of content from a single effort. This amplifies the message & maximizes return on time invested.

Credibility, Trust & the Role of AI

In an age of endless content, trust & authenticity are paramount.

• Demonstrate Expertise: Hosting in-depth conversations, like the live broadcast above, or speaking at industry events (like our PLATFORM or UK Startup & Scaleup Week events) are crucial ways to demonstrate real-world expertise & build trust with potential clients, leading to valuable referrals & repeat business.
• AI as a Complementary Tool: Sophie advises using AI to streamline processes (e.g. turning a transcript into a blog draft) & enhancing content, rather than letting it ‘run wild.’ In paid media, for example, over-relying on platforms’ AI-driven strategies can be costly & inefficient, as the human element is needed to refine & target activity for specific business goals.

Beyond her work, Sophie is taking on 7 extreme physical challenges in 2026 (including the London Marathon, Total Warrior, a full Iron Man contest, the Great North Run & a Sahara Desert trek) to mark her 40th birthday & raise money for charity, specifically in memory of her father who passed away 30yrs ago. You can find out more about her training journey & fundraising efforts at www.justgiving.com/page/2026-sophie-tunnah

If you’d like to know more about Sophie & / or work with her, Follow her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/sophietunnah/ or visit https://literallymarketing.co.uk

ps You can also listen to this interview on Paul’s ‘SuperConnector Show’ podcast which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible or Spreaker via our ‘Podcasts‘ page.