Six months at Brighton Chamber

Hannah Jackson joined Brighton Chamber at the start of this year as Membership and Marketing Executive. Hannah talks with Amy Lishman, Head of Member Engagement about starting a new role during a pandemic, remote induction, and what’s it like getting to know members and the team on zoom. 

Hannah, some might know you from working at the Chamber (or some might have met you already through the Chamber), but could you tell us a little about yourself and your role?

I’ve got a lot of experience in customer- focused and marketing roles, so Membership and Marketing Executive is a perfect mix for me. My job at the Chamber is all about supporting members, helping them to make the most of their membership, plus creating lots of content about the Chamber, and of course our members, for marketing. 

You started at the Chamber during lockdown, how did you find starting a new role remotely?

Like lots of people this was my first time starting a new job remotely, and that could have been really challenging. But, despite the drawbacks of not being able to physically meet the team, it’s been a very positive experience. 

The Chamber team are a very welcoming and friendly bunch (as I’m sure Chamber members can attest to!) Although it wasn’t until March that I got to meet some of the team outside of little Zoom boxes, I don’t think I’ve ever had such a warm and welcoming start to a new job. 

I missed meeting members face to face, but working online has given me the opportunity to really understand the Chamber, what we do, and what our members’ needs are. I’ve been able to fit more into my day – meeting more members from different sectors, plus have more time for learning.

Now things have opened up, it’s been great getting out for in-person events, meetings with members, and surprising the team with how short I am in real life. Apparently, I give off ‘tall person energy’ on Zoom!

You mentioned events – have you got any highlights from Chamber events over the past six months?

There are so many to choose from! When I started in January, the events programme was all virtual, so I’ve been able to attend a lot more events than I had would have had they been run in person. 

Brighton Base Camp: En Route in April was a fantastic virtual taste of what the Summit will be like in 2022. My highlight was hearing Sabrina Cohen-Hatton’s keynote – her story, determination and drive left me feeling so inspired.

Now that we’re running a hybrid events programme, I’ve also been able to attend some in-person events. My first ever in-person Chamber event was Netwalking, a brilliant new series where we take members to different places around Brighton for walking, talking and networking. You could say it was something of a trial by rain – by the end everyone was a little on the soggy side, but I was so impressed with the number of members who still turned up despite the rain with a smile on their face, ready to network. 

You create lots of content about Chamber members, is there any standout content you’ve been working on?

A big part of my role is helping members to raise their business profile, whether that’s through our website, in email marketing or on social.

I’ve been focusing on building the Chamber’s LinkedIn profile, sharing content like our Meet a Chamber member blogs to shift the focus towards telling our members’ stories. It’s been really rewarding working on these with members, and the profiles are a bit different to how you might chat to people at say, a networking event – you always learn something new and interesting about people and their business. 

Outside of work (and the pandemic), we know you like to travel – any fun stories about your adventures?

About three years ago, my partner and I decided to sell up everything and travel for 18 months, which included living in a campervan for a year whilst travelling round New Zealand. 

Along the way, we found some of the more weird and wonderful jobs – I’ve harvested apples, wrangled sheep (and shaved their bums!), hand-made over 10,000 bags of muesli and worked in a palm tree nursery. I was also a milk lady for a short spell in Australia, so I guess you could say I have a lot of transferrable skills with varying degrees of usefulness!

What can we expect in the next six months?

Two big things I’ll be focusing on are improving member experience online, particularly focused around our website, so you might notice a few changes rolling out over the next few months. 

I’m also planning to mix up some of our email marketing to get members more engaged – we want the focus to be on telling stories about our members, the work they’re doing, and what’s going on in our city. We also have an exciting hybrid event towards the end of the year and some new faces joining the Chamber team. 

I’ll still be out and about at networking events, so if you see me, please come over and say hi! 

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