From Halifax to YouTube Success: How One Social Pro Shaped JD Sports' Digital Empire

10 Questions with YouTube channel lead Chloe McCullough

1. You are the OG of all things social, how did you get into social to start with? 

It was a bit of a fluke really, I came from a broad marketing background and joined JD Sports to niche down on influencer marketing, my initial role was to manage their brand ambassador Chunkz. 6 months later I was asked to manage the re-launch of the YouTube channel and the rest is history.

2. ⁠Talk to me about the social scene in Manchester, how did you get your first “in” career wise? 

I actually moved from Halifax (my home town) to London because I really wanted to get into a brand, that was before COVID & remote working was an option. My first role in marketing was a contract role at Rimmel on their Global marketing team, from there I moved to a few different brands before niching down on influencer & YouTube.

The scene in Manchester is popping, a lot of the bigger brands still run from London but Manchester is really having its time at the moment, a lot of cool indie brands are coming out of Manchester as well as brands like Adanola & Refy who are really taking the fashion & influencer world by storm.

3. ⁠Since navigating all things social, you’ve moved across to JD Sports heading up all things YouTube - YouTube is a totally different ball game when it comes to social, how did you up skill yourself on YouTube? 

I’m really lucky in that I have the opportunity to work with some of the UK’s best YouTubers. I have built up an amazing relationship with them and they’ve become my team and my main source of information. I don’t come from a YouTube or social background so I’ve really had to throw myself into it, push myself as much as I can and be open to asking questions. The past 18 months have been a trial and error for both me and the channel which has been great and a fast track to learning what works vs what doesn’t.

4. ⁠Generally speaking, how do you stay ahead of all the trends and such a fast paced industry? 

Trends on YouTube tend to move slower that on the other platforms but I constantly observe what other channels are doing on the platform. I also stay really close to our analytics so I know exactly what our audience want and resonate with vs what they don’t relate to.

5. ⁠If someone was looking to build a career in YouTube, what’s the one thing they need to know? 

I would say be open to failure. You’re not going to get it right 100% of the time, some videos can be incredible until you put them out and they flop. Everything you do is a learning and overtime you become more resilient. 

6. ⁠Outside of work, you have your podcast as a side-hustle - how do you juggle both a full time career and running your own podcast? 

It’s hard. I’m super ambitious and have high expectations of myself. The older I get the more I understand that not everything needs to be a priority so I’ve really learnt over the past few years to time block and manage my time better. It’s so easy to become a busy fool so prioritising tasks helps me to balance everything that I do.

7. ⁠What’s the toughest part of getting your podcast out there and heard? 

Being consistent and fighting the noise. The podcast space is so crowded however I do think that if you stay true to who you are, stick with your goals and keep your messaging single minded enough you will break through. 

8. ⁠How do you think the next big thing within the podcast space will be? 

Good question, I’m biased but I think YouTube is really having its time at the moment. There is a lot of data to show that more people are consuming more YouTube than Netflix or TV so I think video content will start to take over audio in the podcast space.

9. ⁠What’s the one podcast you couldn’t live without? 

Generic but I’ve been listening to a lot of Grace Beverleys podcast lately. I love listening to female entrepreneur stories, I think it’s really inspiring listening to down to earth conversion that I can relate to as well as take something away from.

10. How are you levelling up your career, what’s next for you?

My 20s were all about pushing myself as much as I could to make something stick. Over the last couple of years I’ve really learnt to trust myself where my career is concerned. I’m incredibly ambitious so I trust that I will always push myself as much as I need to. YouTube is something that was never in the plan yet I’m really good at it so I’ve taken my foot of the gas a little in terms of constantly pushing for the next thing. I’m enjoying right now, I grow every day and I’m excited to see where I take it.