Social Garden

We use to find it really hard to recruit graduates at Social Garden. A few years ago our pipeline of emerging stars had completely dried up. It dawned on me that we had let our graduate ("Sprout") program slide down the priority list. So we made a commitment to improve the program. We redesigned the program content and dialled up the intensity to be 3 days per week for 12 weeks. We also committed to always bring on a minimum of 2 at a time to enhance the learning experience and made it a paid internship. We split the program into 4 blocks: 1) Copywriting & Search Engine Marketing 2) Digital Advertising & Campaign Management 3) Storytelling, Content & Design 4) Key Project (to bring it all together) The Sprouts have a mentor who supports them through the program plus they have a different sponsor/coach for each rotation. The whole program is owned by Sprout Alum (Lauren Lucas, Serena Yong & Kiera Eardley). They look after everything from the interview process all the way through to graduation. I get the pleasure of assisting with mentorship and sitting through the final project presentation. I'm really proud of how this program has evolved and the opportunity it gives people who entering our industry. I'm stoked to have hired both Francesca Morabito (in the video) and Oliver Cutinelli out of the program this year. We're in the process of recruiting our next batch of Sprout's for early next year. If you or anyone you know is interested in joining please get in touch. I'll also link some additional info in the comments below for those interested 👇

INFLUENCER CHILDREN? Adult Children are often huge decision-makers regarding where their parents will retire or what aged care provider they’ll choose. They do the research, weigh in on options and sometimes convince Mum and/or Dad to take the next step. BUT most aged care providers don't include them as part of their marketing! We see fantastic results for our Support at Home and Retired Living campaigns when allocating a portion of the campaign to do just that. If your marketing isn't including these influencers it’s a missed opportunity and I think it’s time for you to change that. I'll be back tomorrow with my last tip for the aged-care space. It's the biggest win we give our clients and it might seem bloody obvious at first.

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. I was filming in the studio the other day when the guys handed me a photo of Mike and I at the Social Garden 10-year celebration. Since day one at Social Garden, Mike and I have worked side by side. We have brought different approaches that have somehow fit perfectly together. We don't always see eye-to-eye and regularly engage in healthy debates. Over time, we have become very good at listening and understanding each other's perspectives to achieve an outcome that works for both of us. Reflecting on the journey, I think this has been fundamental to both our personal and business growth. Here are a few things I've learnt from working with Mike over the past decade: - Great partnerships are built on complementary strengths, not carbon copies - It's not about who's right or wrong but finding a solution that works - It's important to create 'thinking' space for partnerships to thrive - Don't ride the highs and lows too hard - keep it balanced - You can achieve things you never imagined possible with the right mindset - I would find it extremely difficult to be a solo founder - Have fun, focus on the process, and the results will likely follow It is true what they say, teamwork makes the dream work! I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on the topic of partnership.

Having someone work with you for over a decade is an absolute privilege. Gabriel was the first person we employed when we started Social Garden 12 years ago. Gabe would say we took a chance on him.. but really he was the one who took a chance on us. When Gabe joined us, he was a bright-eyed designer with some development skills. He used to spend over 2.5 hours a day on a train to come into the office. His curiosity and problem-solving skills have seen him evolve from design to frontend development to digital transformation to product design. He now leads a team of engineers and is responsible for the product development of homeshelf.com.au. He’s the guy everyone leans on—the one with the answers, the stories, and that unwavering passion for what we’re building. I love hearing what’s kept him here: the big moments, new challenges, the Social Garden community, and a culture that feels like home. Culture is key, but in my experience, creating new challenges and opportunities for people to grow and transform is critical to staff retention. Thanks for taking a chance on us, Gabe. We wouldn't have got this far without you! cc Darcy Keely Mike Bird Nik Sproal

Struggling to hit your leasing goals? Here’s a quick-fire summary of how we helped Seasons by Azure, a built-to-rent project in Brookwater, Queensland, turn things around. The Challenge: Competing in a tricky rental market with fluctuating rates and tough competition. The Solution: A tailored two-phased digital campaign that reached key audiences, including health professionals, military personnel, and young families, through targeted ads on Meta and Google. The Results: 99 quality leads in the first month 9.37% conversion rate on Facebook 17.02% CTR on Google Ads With over 266 leads generated in just 4 months, we set Seasons by Azure up for success — and they're now on track to meet their leasing goals Want to know how we can do the same for your project? Let’s chat about how we can drive real results for your next campaign. #DigitalMarketing #LeadGeneration #BuiltToRent

This is a tool we use internally to help simplify marketing tech decisions for our customers. If you’re keen to get a copy hit up George Glover

Welcome to the team The Natives | Your Brand & Shopify Partner. Excited to have the creative firepower joining the team 🚀🚀🚀

Our co-founder Mike Bird sharing his thoughts on the changes in the CRM space in Australia

Some awesome insights coming out of our Student Garden video series 🔥

Legends of the Garden 👏🌱