All posts by : Anna Simpson

Last night saw the fourth instalment of Manchester DM — and with it, another round of genuinely useful talks, proper conversations, and the kind of honesty that’s hard to find in a webinar or polished conference session.

We kicked off with Abi Bellion-Carey, Head of Paid Media at Overdrive Digital, whose talk “B2B More Like Boring 2 Boring – Bringing Life Back to Your B2B Campaigns” pulled no punches. Abi broke down exactly why so much B2B content falls flat – and what to do instead. From knowing who you’re actually trying to reach (and why), to using trends in a smart way (yes, even TikTok), to making room for personality in even the driest of sectors, it was a brilliant reminder that B2B doesn’t have to mean boring.

Next up, Henry Smith, Head of SEO at Dark Horse, tackled “Stop Selling SEO Like It’s PPC.” His talk explored why SEO and PPC need to be measured differently, why we do both a disservice when we report them in the same way, and how to frame SEO’s longer-term value for stakeholders who are used to more immediate results. There was plenty in there for client leads, strategists and anyone who’s ever had to explain why SEO takes time.

Closing the evening was Paddy Moogan, Founder of The New Leader, with “The Effective Manager Framework: Four Core Skills That 82% of Managers Don’t Have.” Taking a step back from pure channel talk, Paddy’s session focused on what makes a good manager – especially in digital, where people often end up leading teams without any formal leadership training. From coaching to feedback to setting clear expectations, it was one of those talks that had people scribbling notes and quietly nodding along.

The Q&A at the end brought out some great discussion around team structures, reporting challenges and career development – and, as always, the post-event drinks turned into a mini strategy session in themselves.

It’s been great to see Manchester DM grow over these last few months – not just in numbers, but in the quality of conversation and the mix of people turning up. Agency, in-house, freelance, junior, senior – everyone’s got something to share, and that’s exactly what we set this up for.

We’ll be back again in two months with a new line-up and fresh topics. In the meantime, if you’ve got an idea for a future talk or want to get involved, just give us a shout.

Thanks again to Abi, Henry and Paddy for a cracking line-up – and to everyone who joined us for another full room and a great night.

Manchester DM returned last night for round two – and it was another packed evening of smart ideas, honest conversations, and some very enthusiastic chat about content, strategy and social search.

Hosted again at the Feel Good Club, the second event kept the same laid-back format: three sharp talks, good people, and free drinks and pizza to keep things moving. It was great to see so many familiar faces back, along with plenty of first-timers.

The Talks

Aimee Jones – “Creating an SEO Strategy and Roadmap That Factors Business Priority, Seasonality, and Search Opportunity”
Aimee kicked things off with a practical, grounded look at building SEO strategies that don’t sit in a silo. She walked through how to prioritise activity based on real business goals, seasonal trends, and genuine search demand — not just gut feel or keyword volume.

Ray Saddiq – “Diversify Your Organic Traffic via Social Search”
Next up, Ray dived into the growing influence of platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts on organic discovery. He made a clear case for treating social search as a serious part of any traffic strategy — especially for brands seeing stagnation in traditional organic channels. A real eye-opener for anyone still on the fence about whether Gen Z really does use TikTok like Google.

Ellie Wraith – “Why SEOs & Digital PRs Must Prioritise Content Quality to Protect Brand Identity”*
Ellie closed the evening with a sharp, thoughtful talk on the role content quality plays in long-term brand health. From SEO copy to reactive PR pieces, she showed how cutting corners for quick wins can cost more in credibility than it’s worth. A great reminder that content isn’t just a vehicle for links or rankings — it’s how people meet your brand.

The Atmosphere

As always, the vibe was open and down-to-earth. No sales pitches, no corporate fluff – just three thoughtful talks and a room full of people who care about doing better digital marketing.

The Q&A sparked some great follow-ups, with questions covering how to actually get buy-in for content improvements, ways to measure social search performance, and what a “realistic” SEO roadmap looks like in a fast-moving team.

Afterwards, we stuck around for another hour of networking – with chats ranging from tech stacks and agency life to what people are testing right now. The pizza was, once again, gone within minutes.

What’s Next?

Manchester DM exists to bring the digital marketing community together – to learn from each other, share what’s working, and keep things real. We’ll be running these events every two months, with new topics and new speakers every time.

If you missed this one, don’t worry – we’ll be back soon. And if you’ve got an idea for a future talk, we’d love to hear it.

Thanks again to everyone who came along, asked questions, and made the second event even better than the first. See you at the next one.