Battenhall

Helping clients and internal teams to implement innovation-related work, such as new and niche social media platform campaigns, and experiments that break new ground in the industry.

Senior Consultant, Innovation

Helping clients develop and roll-out their communications strategy, with a particular focus on social media/community management.

Senior Consultant

Concourse

•	Promoted to new role; helped oversee the redesign of the company website.
•	Defining marketing strategy and creating full marketing plans for the company, repositioning it as a leader in sustainability within the industry
•	Handling all social media strategy and content creation
•	Managing virtual event participation (online trade shows and webinars) and handling press requests

Marketing Manager

•	Managing marketing activations and permanent visibility projects for FMCG clients in travel retail
•	Liaising with retailers to build relationships and ensure full and timely implementation of programmes
•	Working on briefs for internal team and external parties when necessary on behalf of clients
•	Implementing toolkits and brand guidelines within activations and permanent furniture

Client Project Manager

JING Tea

•	Responsible for all trade marketing initiatives in the hospitality sector
•	Liaising with customers and distributors to support marketing activities and campaigns, from the development of bespoke menus to masterclasses and events
•	Agreeing, implementing and evaluating the brand’s participation at relevant industry trade events 
•	Establishing and overseeing partnerships with industry associations and potential brand partners
•	Developing proposals for tenders, head office deals and other prospective customers
•	Managing a Trade Marketing Assistant

Trade Marketing Manager

Beam Suntory

* Brand development in the travel retail/duty free segment for spirits brands such as Bowmore, Laphroaig, Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Courvoisier, Yamazaki and Hibiki
* Responsibility over customers' marketing budgets
* Managing and implementing promotional activities at airports
* Identifying local opportunities through networking and influencing
* Training staff on brand and category knowledge

Customer Marketing Manager

Freelance Writer and Blogger

* Writing freelance features for a range of publications
* Corporate translation work

Freelance Journalist 

CUBICLE 7 ENTERTAINMENT LTD

* Developing the publisher's presence within social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter
* Managing PR opportunities and establishing contacts within key specialist media outlets and blogs 
* Producing content for the company's website
* Attending trade shows and events
* Short-term contract

Social Media and Marketing Manager

William Grant & Sons

* Brand development in the travel retail/duty free segment for spirits brands such as Glenfiddich, Hendrick's, The Balvenie, Tullamore DEW and Monkey Shoulder 
* Implementing promotional activities at airports
* Identifying local opportunities through networking and influencing
* Managing POS production, order and budgeting
* Attending trade shows and events, liaising with stakeholders of all levels from senior executives to shop staff
* Training staff on brand and category knowledge, being the team expert on spirits

Promotion and Merchandising Executive

Metropolis Business Media

* Redeveloping DFNIonline.com, liaising directly with the IT and design teams
* Responsible for increasing traffic on DFNIonline.com from around 3,500 unique visitors in November 2007 to over 23,000 in November 2012, and for establishing the magazine’s social media presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
* Establishing key contacts with industry stakeholders that led to exclusive interviews and breaking news stories, including retailers and luxury brands
* Liaising with and managing freelance contributors and their output on a regular basis
* Travelling to events, conferences and to chase stories in four continents

Deputy Editor

Sportstranslations

* Translating copy on sports ranging from football to rallying
* Translating official communications from entities such as FIFA to local federations
* Working languages: German, English, French and Spanish to Portuguese

Translator (freelancer)

Revista Paradoxo

* Writing film reviews, culture and entertainment features and interviews for Brazilian weekly webzine Revista Paradoxo.

UK correspondent (freelancer)

At Battenhall, I help clients and internal teams to implement innovation-related work, such as new and niche social media platform campaigns, and experiments that break new ground in the industry. I have over 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, and project management, with a focus on social media and community management.

I am a CIM Member and a lifelong learner, always eager to explore new trends, tools, and strategies in the digital space. I have a passion for sustainability and social impact, and I enjoy working with clients and colleagues who share this vision. I am also a proud geek, a dog lover, and a Wordle enthusiast.

Fun fact: I once slept through an earthquake in Japan.

Nicole Mezzasalma

I’m in a lot of networking groups, and a common theme at the moment is how tough the job market is right now.

Freelancers, full timers, it doesn’t matter – many people are struggling to find a new role after redundancy, or to get regular client work if they work for themselves.

There’s also a spate of what looks like phantom roles being advertised on LinkedIn, which get hundreds of applications only to reappear after a month or two.  

So today I’m doing something a bit different: using my platform (small but perfectly formed!) to help connect job seekers with anyone who’s hiring. 

The rules are simple: if you’re looking for work, comment saying what you do or what your ideal job is. If you’re hiring, let us know what positions you have open, and the best way to apply to them. 

Hopefully this way we can all do a little bit to give someone who may be struggling a boost before the festive period.  

And if you feel like sharing a similar post to your own feed to continue the virtuous circle, please do! 

PS: I know being out of work is no laughing matter (I’ve been through redundancy twice), but the meme is relevant and hopefully will resonate with some!

Senior Consultant @ Battenhall | Social Media, Innovation and General Geekery | MCIM | MarketingKind Member

Meme of man riding a bicycle in three acts:
First, he’s riding with a caption “looking for a new job”
Then he’s losing his balance and the caption reads “spend all day on applications”
Finally, he’s fallen on the ground and the caption says “no response”.

I'm a big believer in the power of sharing knowledge, which is one of the reasons I enjoy attending and speaking at events so much.

So I was incredibly honoured when the lovely team at SocialDay ® asked me to be a part of their Programme Committee for Social Media Fest 2026, helping to define the topics and speakers at the event.

I have been attending the event for a few years now, and am excited to have a say in shaping the agenda for what will undoubtedly be another stellar experience.

That said, if you'd love to speak at Social Media Fest 2026, submissions are now open and you don't need previous experience to apply! Just make sure you make a compelling case and have an interesting topic which will still be relevant in six months' time. 

(And if you use AI to complete your entry, I may notice it, so do it at your own peril – unless you're speaking about AI, in which case that is encouraged.) 🤣

Keen to take the stage? Let us know here: https://lnkd.in/eF_3aFJK

An infographic introducing three of the Social Media Fest Committee members: a blonde lady called Ruth Lee, a brunette woman called Nicole Mezzasalma, and a white man wearing glasses called Marcus Foley.

If you could see anyone speak on stage at a social media event, who would it be and why?

And if there are any topics you'd love to hear about, what would they be?

As part of my role as a member of the Social Media Fest steering committee for 2026, that's the question we've been asking: who'd be on our speaker wish list, and what themes shouldn't we miss.

I have thoughts on this (of course), but I want to hear yours. So hit me with your suggestions: content creators who are killing it, brands that you're jealous of, burning questions you need an answer to – I want all of it.

Feel free to tag anyone you think is brilliant and should be on stage talking about it too!

A photo of a large event from the back of the audience but focusing on a stage, where three women and a man sit on a panel about AI in social media.

My LinkedIn feed this week has been dominated by two things: gender swapping and fake apologies.

The first one I already covered in a different post, so today we'll focus on the second bit. 

You may have seen on other social media platforms a newish trend to post fake apology letters – essentially a way to humblebrag about your products or services. The format is the same: an "official apology" statement which actually lists the benefits of your brand instead.

My favourite so far was seeing a brand issuing an apology for not being able to avoid the temptation of jumping onto the apology trend – so meta! 🤣

However, not everyone is a fan of this trend (I'm personally one of them), and some organisations have missed the mark when trying to look cool (see the UK's Department of Education).

Which brings me nicely to Battenhall's annual Year Ahead of Social report, because this year one of the things we flagged is trend fatigue, and how brands need to switch things up as consumers are more switched on than ever, and ready to pounce on inauthentic or bandwagonny (is that even a word?) behaviour.

We called it "The End of the Trend", which of course doesn't mean trends will stop existing, but it does highlight that copying everyone else is not how you stand out in a crowded social space. Kudos to Molly and John for a very thought-provoking piece!

You can of course read the full report right now and for free here: https://lnkd.in/eFTnc_Qm

screenshot of a report that reads "End of the Trend – Molly Redmond and John Iglesias explore how and why trend fatigue is reshaping content marketing"

includes pictures of a smiley white woman with curly hair and a man with light hair wearing a turtleneck jumper.

LinkedIn has quietly responded to the questions about how someone’s gender may influence your visibility.

In an engineering blog posted this week, the platform categorically states that demographic information such as gender, race or age is not used by their AI systems to determine the visibility of any content, profiles or posts. 

They also addressed why different but similar posts get different levels of engagement, and the answer here is a bit less clear. 

Essentially, hundreds of signals including your position, industry, network and activity are used to determine what content appears on anyone’s feed.

“A side-by-side snapshot of your own feed updates that are not perfectly representative, or equal in reach, doesn’t automatically imply unfair treatment or bias,” the blog adds.

It also says competition due to an increased volume of posts in recent years also has an impact. 

Since posting about the gender swap experiments on LinkedIn earlier this week, I have seen many more of these that seem to confirm that changing your gender does not have a significant impact on reach. 

The question then becomes: what content has been used to trained the LinkedIn LLM and algorithm, and how is the platform tracking whether there is bias in any way, shape or form due to the AI?

And on the competition point, what is LinkedIn doing to differentiate AI slop from truly original content, if anything? We know there are plenty of creators with big followings – thus imbued with implied trust and authority – who use AI, pods and other automations, which are technically against the terms of service…

Too much for a Saturday morning, maybe? When else do we have time for a long read and a long think? 😅

Here’s the full blog for reference:

Open article: Putting members first: testing and measuring how content appears in your Feed by linkedin.com

Putting members first: testing and measuring how content appears in your Feed

Older adults (early Gen X and Boomers, if you care about that sort of thing) are watching more influencer content than ever on social media.

New research from Ampere Analysis shows 55 to 64 year olds are increasingly getting into influencer videos on platforms like YouTube and TikTok. In the US, 54% of adults in that age group reported watching influencer content at least weekly in Q3 2025 (up from 44% in the first quarter of 2020). In the UK, the proportion within that cohort rose to 38% from 30% in that same time period.

Interestingly, adults aged 55-64 delivered the highest growth in YouTube’s monthly viewing between Q1 2020 and Q3 2025, up by 25% in the US and 14% in the UK. 

Among all internet users from the US and the UK, 70% watch influencer videos at least once a week, up 18% since the first quarter of 2020.

While the research doesn't specify what types of influencers this older group follows, I'd imagine it will be very varied – but likely these will include peers, older creators, and business influencers as well as those focused on niche interests (ie Critical Role for TTRPG fans).

All of this to say: if your brand is only focusing on Gen Z influencers, you may be missing a trick, depending on who your target audience is.

Network Rail

Lead and manage the paid social and PPC campaigns, with an Omni-channel approach for Network Rail's recruitment marketing and engagement function.

Lead and manage media agencies, supplier relationships and work delivery for Network Rail's recruitment marketing and engagement function with a focus on, but not exclusive to; Ad-tech, affiliate marketing, paid social and programmatic campaigns, as well as content creation.

Create and deliver a high-level, multi-year programme of coordinated paid social and digital marketing activity which supports the strategic aims of all recruitment marketing campaigns using Facebook and Instagram Ads, LinkedIn Ads, YouTube Ads and Google Search and Display Ads; with a sharp focus on optimisation, bidding strategies, lead generation, conversions, data capture and retargeting campaigns using 1st party data and platform Pixels.

Data analysis, creating meaningful reports and dashboards that align with strategic aims, giving a clear line of sight on conversion data and channel attribution using Google Analytics and Data Studio.

Using a data-led approach, identify actionable insights and implement strategies based on data analysis to ensure all KPIs are met or surpassed.

Subject matter expert on paid social, PPC, digital marketing and Ad-tech across the business, advising on the benefits, value, trends, and emerging platforms. Build and influence a partnering approach with all Network Rail stakeholders and communities to increase digital advocacy across the business.

Train, develop and guide direct report, Social Media Executive.

Talent Acquisition Manager (Paid Social & Digital)

Champion and deliver the corporate social media strategy while driving brand awareness and lead on sourcing, producing, editing and publishing content consistent with Network Rail’s overall corporate communications strategy to deadline and budget.

Lead on social aspect of corporate campaigns and supply advice and expertise to ensure tactical assets and messaging are created with each channel and end user in mind.

Create meaningful reports and dashboards that align to strategic aims and reporting requirements, conversion data and social listening tools.

Identify actionable insights and then implement strategies based on data analysis to ensure social KPIs are met or surpassed.
 
Champion digital brand policies, guidelines and governance with a view to achieving consistent tone, style and design across all Network Rail’s corporate social channels, as well as deliver highly effective social media training company wide.

Advise on and design escalation procedures for customer contact ranging from passengers, train operating companies, MPs, verified users and important industry stake holders while building and cultivating positive fast-growing online communities.

Social Media Manager

Support the Digital & Content team to source, produce, edit and publish content for social media and website, delivering to deadline and budget. 

Plan, populate and schedule content that align to corporate themes and messages through diverse and engaging content. 

Create meaningful social media reports on the performance of content and advise on actionable insights using analytics and conversion data. 

The social lead for corporate campaigns and advise from creation to conception.
 
Work with the rest of the Digital & Content team to translate overall strategy into an actionable social media plan.

Social Media Executive

Social Media – I monitored and administrated our Social Enterprise Networking tool, Yammer. I wrote key messages and signposted staff to the relevant sources of information.
 
SharePoint site - the business function had an independent SharePoint site. My responsibilities included the day to day maintenance of this site, from creating, amending and archiving pages (5 to 7 avg per week), to researching and writing regular news stories (2 stories per week).

Newsletter – research, wrote, created images (through photography, etc.), designed and distributed the quarterly business function newsletter (950+ colleagues) with a highly successful email open rate.

Communications Executive - Business Operations

Moorfields Eye Hospital, London

Managed social media for Moorfields Eye Hospital using Facebook; Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. Also monitored and analysed key data through Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, Google Analytics and Precise Media.

Media relations, the first line of call for all phone and email enquiries, liaising with other members of the team and staff around the trust to provide responses to national, international and regional media: Media monitoring, compiling and distributing press cuttings.

Contributing to the production of corporate publications, including researching, compiling and writing articles as directed, manage the distribution process and alternative copies.

Monitoring, reviewing, updating and refreshing content on the intranet and website.

Responding to requests via the general information communications inbox which has a monthly traffic in excess 300+ emails.
  
Manage trust wide communications. Writing and distributing all-staff emails on urgent topics. Compile and distribute the weekly e-bulletin.

Assisting with organisation of internal and external events including the trust’s Annual General Meeting and art exhibitions.

Assist the PR and communications manager facilitating arrangements for filming on trust premises.

Providing all administrative support for patient information literature, maintaining an up-to-date database of all patient information leaflets, writing and distributing minutes. Ensuring all actions are documented.
 
Maintaining departmental records on key stakeholder contacts, maintain an up-to-date database of all external stakeholders and databases for communications.

Communications Assistant

Guerrilla Creative Productions

Shoots attended and worked on: 
The Charlatans @ Beatin Rhythm/Manchester canal/Corbiers bar/ Charlatans studio (Big Mushroom studio) - client Yahoo Music 
Amy Winehouse @ Club Sin - client Yahoo Music
Orson @ Kentish Town Forum - Wrigley’s Extra venue (Queue jumper) client Yahoo Music 
Keane @ Alexandra Palace – client Yahoo Music

• Researching for specific projects 
• Making initial contacts with potential clients by phone, email, and the internet 
• Digital production; digitising tapes and creating stills from captured footage 
• Checking all masters for any errors, logging timecodes and assisting the editor 
• Log all types of film stock into the Guerrilla library and file them away, management of rushes and assistant to cameraman 
• Reception – run the main switchboard, deliveries, pick-ups, update the editing and equipment boards, check and set up all lighting, sound and camera equipment 
• Prop management sourcing, locating, maintaining and supplying props for use.

Researcher/Runner

Tesco Media Publishing Centre

Anticipate needs and requirements of the photographers and the studio 
All merchandise/samples, sets, props and lighting are in place for the photographer 
Ensuring and look after the needs of clients, guests, freelancers, models etc. 
Assist in the lighting set up and that all equipment is in working order 
Ensure that the location shots have power points and communication facilities 
Maintaining the studio inventory 
Resizing and checking images.

Publishing Executive

Argos Retail Group (photography studio)

Anticipate needs and requirements of the photographers and the studio 
All merchandise/samples, sets, props and lighting are in place 
Welcome and look after the needs of clients, guests, freelancers, models etc. 
Ensure the production coordinator is informed of any faulty equipment.

Photographer's Assistant

A highly experienced marketing expert with a proven career history in paid social, Google Ads, social media and digital marketing; with a voracious appetite to build on my knowledge of the Ad-tech industry. 

A strong team player who thrives working and collaborating with diverse teams in fast-paced environments. Practised in being data-led through research, best practice and analytics, whilst delivering highly successful Omni-channel campaigns using paid social, PPC campaigns, programmatic advertising, affiliate marketing and organic social. Adept at devising strategies, communication and creating content that reflect the wants and needs of the customer. Meticulous at planning, delivery, bidding strategies and budget.

Certification: Google Ads - Search (credentials below)

Please feel free to contact me.

taplio

The Battle

Nicole Mezzasalma

Ricky F.

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreNicole Mezzasalma's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Nicole Mezzasalma

Ricky F.

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Nicole Mezzasalma's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreNicole Mezzasalma's LinkedIn Performance