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Resume

Shawny Alison Creative

Community & Social Media Strategist | Writer | Accessibility Consultant

I help creative teams, indie studios, and small businesses build thriving communities and tell better stories online.

With over a decade of experience across social media strategy, community management, copywriting, accessibility consulting, and live event support, I’m all about connection — between brands and audiences, players and devs, creators and communities.

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I’ve worked with game studios, online platforms, content creators, and community-first organisations to craft authentic engagement strategies that get results. Whether it’s designing Discord onboarding flows, writing punchy launch copy, or running a narrative game Kickstarter, I bring clarity, care, and just enough chaos to keep things interesting.

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Currently open to full-time, freelance, and contract work across:

  • Community strategy and support

  • Social media & content strategy

  • Writing (copywriting for web & social, writing for games & creative projects)

  • Accessibility consulting

Experience

Freelance (Feb 2025 – Present)
Community & Social Media Strategy · Content & Reputation Management

  • Led community and social strategy for Hopetown, a narrative RPG that reached 400% of its Kickstarter goal

  • Managed Discord, social media, and backer communications pre- and post-launch

  • Built content plans, created assets, and supported influencer research and outreach

  • Monitored player sentiment to adapt messaging and maintain engagement

  • Developed content and community strategy for a leading EdTech company

  • Created weekly social media plans, long-form posts, and brand-safe community engagement

  • Supported reputation management through audience listening and adaptive content planning

Bonsai Collective (Jun 2021 – Mar 2025)

Community & Social Media Manager

  • Built and nurtured the Luna Abyss community across Discord and socials

  • Revamped content strategy, boosting engagement by 45%

  • Managed community beta testing, bug tracking, and feedback loops

  • Coordinated dev livestreams and live event engagement (GDC, Gamescom, PAX, Steam Next Fest)

Blind Burners (2023 - Present)

Volunteer Guide & Organiser | Community & Marketing Support

  • Aided in organising a pilot programme pairing blind and visually impaired game devs & aspiring game devs with sighted industry professionals at events like Develop & Pocket Gamer Connects, improving accessibility & inclusion.

  • Supporting community, social media, and marketing efforts to secure sponsorships and funding for these programmes.

MouseWasTaken (2018 - Present)

Content Creator & Freelance Emote/Branding Artist

  • Built & grew an online brand as a content creator & artist.

  • Produced and hosted diverse livestreams on Twitch, including gaming, panel discussions, talk shows, & creative content.

  • Designed graphics & branding for numerous streamers & brands, including emotes for Twitch’s “Food Fight” bit event in 2019.

  • Led & participated in campaigns which have collectively raised over $100,000 for various charities.

GW2Community (2013 - 2019)

Co-Founder & Community Manager

  • Grew an online community from 50 to 20,000 members, becoming the largest European Guild Wars 2 community.

  • Organized large-scale virtual events, achieving milestones recognized with formal accolades.

  • Led moderation and conflict resolution across forums, voice channels, and social media.

  • Increased engagement by overseeing Twitter, Facebook, Discord, and Reddit strategies.

Skills

Community Management

  • Community building & growth strategies

  • Discord server setup, onboarding, management, & moderation

  • Event-driven engagement & in-game activations

  • Trust & safety, moderation training, & conflict resolution

Social Media Management

  • Social media strategy & content planning

  • Voice development & copywriting

  • Copywriting for blogs, posts, & newsletters

  • Platform analytics & engagement tracking

Writing & Narrative Support

  • Copywriting for web, social, game updates, and announcements

  • Narrative editing & branching dialogue support

  • Lore, worldbuilding, and narrative design tools

  • Narrative playtesting & feedback synthesis

Accessibility Consulting

  • Making community spaces & social content more accessible

  • Accessibility reviews for content & community spaces

  • Inclusive design feedback for in-game and live events

  • Navigation support & accessibility mentoring for conferences

Production & QA Support

  • Community beta testing workflows

  • Bug triage & player feedback reporting

  • Dev support during live campaigns & launches

Software & Tools

  • Community & Social Media: Discord, Discord Bots, Social Media Platforms, Steamworks

  • Scheduling & Analytics: Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social, Later, Google Analytics

  • Content Creation: Canva, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects, CapCut

  • Project Management: Jira, Confluence, Trello, Notion, Miro

  • Writing & Narrative Tools: Twine, Arcweave, Scrivener, Google Docs

  • Other Tools: OBS, WordPress, GSuite, Squarespace

Education

Abertay University | 2011 - 2016

BSc (Hons) Forensic Science, 2:1​

Loughborough University | 2016 - 2020

PhD Researcher - Forensic Chemistry​

© Shawny Alison 2025

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