I’m Kim Townend
I’m a UK-based social media strategist specialising in audience insights, and social intelligence.
I translate data into insights and insights into strategies, allowing you to cut through the noise and achieve your goals.
I’ve been a freelance social media consultant for over 15 years, and during that time, I have:
- Authored the GDS Social Media Playbook.
- Run social departments both agency and client-side.
- Delivered multiple social media masterclasses.
- Written strategy for award-winning creative projects.
- Worked with tiny start-ups and multi-national corporations
What I work on
I love working with conscious brands, I’m a fandom nerd with loads of experience across TV and entertainment. Although I have experience across most verticals, these days, I’m more concerned with working with good people on interesting projects.
My main focus is on helping with the following:
How I work
I use a combination of audits, social listening, audience insights and search data to discover up-to-the-minute insights that can put you ahead of your competitors.
Who I work with
Brands, broadcasters, SMEs, and agencies that want to understand their audiences and optimise their social performance.
My availability
I am taking on new projects from March 2023
Get in touch to see how I can help.
Some of my previous clients
I’ve worked with clients across the board, from early-stage start-ups to established global brands, to government departments and most things in between.
Kind words from clients
“Kim is a powerhouse of social strategy, with some of the world’s most beloved brands under her belt. She’s meticulous, funny, precise, and always brings her immense understanding of audience data to the table.”
Nerd Pirates
The Nerd Pirates"Kim has helped guide the strategies of our brand’s digital presence by clear, concise and actionable facilitation and research. Her work has helped instil social best practices into our organisation."
Farrah Frost
Senior Content Editor, Pernod Ricard"Kim delivered a session on Social Media for Bellyfeel and Christine Pyke Media on their Turbo Charging Social Media, Social TV and Storytelling course at MediaCityUK. She made an instant impression on the participants with her in-depth knowledge, warmth, humour and ability to get complex issues across. She backed up information with relevant case studies which were tangible. She is an excellent communicator and I would recommend her for training and course and session delivery as well as guest speaker."
Christine Pyke
CEO, Christine Pyke Media“Unfortunately there are many bullsh****rs still in the social space. Kim is definitely not one of them. At the coalface of social user behaviour, she knows what's happening and can translate this into brand action. A lot of fun to have in the studio too!”
Niku Banaie
Founding Partner, The Upside"Wow! Wish I'd come up with that" That's often my first impression of Kim's work and thinking. Having been lucky enough to work with Kim on a near daily basis for over a year, I've been consistently impressed. Kim's been great at both improving our approach in social as well as actually managing and engaging a loyal and passionate community across Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest. Beyond an impressive work ethic and her encyclopedic knowledge of culture and the social sphere, Kim is genuinely intrigued by the internet. It's this curiosity and her thorough likability that makes her such a pleasure to work with.
Yin Chung
Group Communications Planning Director, BBDO"Kim is great. My first favorite thing about working with Kim is that she actually knows what she's talking about, and she'll give it to you straight. She gets it, and she can explain it; a quality that is rare among the social set. My next favorite thing about Kim is that she's cool. Which is a skill that people rarely talk about, but it's pivotal in the social realm. No one wants to follow or talk to a person or brand who is "not cool." Kim doesn't have that problem. And don't even get me started on her content curation skills… seriously. All in all, Kim has done stellar work building and engaging a global community for Owen's Illinois, the largest manufacturer of glass packaging. In short, she's the real deal. I highly suggest hiring her immediately, and hope to work with her again!"
Jessica Engle
Senior Brand Strategist, Doremus"Kim’s knowledge and passion for her subject we found to be invaluable across a wide range of social TV projects. Kim does not only have a thorough understanding of the theory, but critically for us, she was able to quickly and robustly turn her considerable knowledge into practical application. Kim’s unique straight-talking combination of strategic skill, creative flair and popular culture nouse, adds value to any project she turns her hand to."
Lisa Matchett
Head of Planning, Red Bee Creative“It was a pleasure working with Kim. Less of a fountain, and more of a tsunami of knowledge, she’s hard-working and solution-focused. Marrying insightful social listening skills to fun meaningful creative that stands out from the crowd. Please feel free NOT to hire for your next job as she’ll be working on mine!”
Phil Lethbridge
Creative Director at Pernod Ricard UK“Thank you so much for everything you've done, all the insights have been brilliant and very useful. And it's been a pleasure to work with you.”
Josh Ford
The Game Is Now“Kim is a brilliant strategist and analyst; a rare combination and so valuable. Kim worked with us at Regent Street Cinema to develop the 2020 media strategy and repositioning to deliver exceptional insight and advice. Highly recommend, so much so that we continue to work with her today.”
Simon Wylie
Chair - Regent Street Cinema"It was brilliant working with Kim on our Social Media Strategy. Kim understood all our requirements and produced a realistic and actionable document that we could roll out effectively. It was such a pleasure working with Kim who is clearly an expert in all things digital."
Deborah Underdown
Director of Communications - Concern Worldwide UK"If you want someone who lives at the cutting edge of social media, then Kim is the woman for you."
Tom Loosemore
Digital Director, Government Digital Service"Kim was a dream come true after a series of meetings with fairly useless social media strategists. Kim gave us a super in-depth breakdown of what we should and shouldn't be doing and, despite not having much experience within the jewellery industry, she gave us a better idea of our competitors and where we were going wrong than even some BD's we'd met in the past. Thanks for your thorough, no bullshit advice Kim - forever in your debt!"
Charlie Purchase-Trotter
Head of Marketing, Laura Lee Jewellery
