Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

TikTok

Contact

Launching your own business can be an intense process - where do you even start?! If you’re not a big social media user yourself, creating profiles for your new business can seem like a daunting challenge - but it doesn’t need to be! We’ve put together some of our top tips for starting your channels and some great first steps to take.

As with any project or new venture, a great way to get started is by setting yourself some goals, giving you something concrete to work towards. Start by writing down some short-term goals, mid-term goals and long-term goals. This will enable you to manage your expectations and avoid feeling discouraged if you don’t get everything done in your first week.

A social media strategy is essential to running and growing successful channels. First of all, you need to outline your goals, and then provide a detailed plan on the tactics you will be using to achieve them. You should also decide what metrics you will be tracking in order to measure your progress, these are your KPIs.

Content pillars are 3 to 5 topics that will underpin all of your brand’s content. While you should always leave room to be flexible and create reactive content where appropriate, having a plan and guidelines will ensure that you are sticking to your strategy, producing consistent content and are on your way to achieving your goals!


Not every platform will be right for your brand. It’s important to bare in mind that different audiences use different platforms, and the types of content that work well on one platform may not work as well on another. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach and testing and learning is important in helping you create a solid posting strategy.

Having a solid, consistent look across all social channels will help your brand's authenticity and visibility. Cross-platform synergy involves having the same or similar usernames, profile pictures, cover photos and profile biographies.

Make sure everyone who has access to posting / commenting on your channels is aware of an agreed tone of voice and persona attached to the accounts. You want to be consistent in your messaging in order to strengthen your brand personality.


Becky Shepherd writing her small business social media plan

Top Tips For Your Small Business Social Media Planning

You'll have a self-sufficient marketing team

Using a marketing agency vs having your own in-house team means they’re more likely to operate self-sufficiently. Saving you time to focus on other tasks required for your business.

The social media agency will have a more thorough and in-depth understanding of best practices and industry news. You can rely on them to be experts in their fields. They’ve also worked across several different industries and will have a wider understanding of what works well.

Agencies work with a variety of different clients, this could be beneficial for your own marketing in terms of collabs. They will also have contacts in similar areas of marketing for services they don’t offer, eg. videographers, copywriters, and translators. You never know when one of these will be essential to your marketing strategy!

Agencies typically have a whole team of individuals working on client accounts, meaning last minute changes or decisions can easily be adapted to. They’ll also acquire more physical resources in terms of equipment and tools, allowing them to create content to a higher standard.

An agency will have the knowledge and know-how to create high quality content for your social media channels, but they’ll also be technically minded so they’re able to analyse and report on the results from the content.

If you're thinking of hiring a social media agency then 

, we have a great team with knowledge ranging from community management, influencers, content creation & paid media channels.

Swwim girls at their social media agency portsmouth

What Are The Benefits Of Hiring A Social Media Agency?

People often wonder how Facebook knows them so well or why they’re seeing certain ads in their feeds. Well we’re here to tell you that no, Facebook isn’t ‘stalking’ you. Ultimately Facebook (Meta) is able to build a picture of who you are and what you might like, through the vast amount of data that it holds on you (the user). We’re going to run through a few of the different ways in which Facebook gains this information.

Facebook ad targeting uses several different signals to determine your likes and interests. One of the primary signals is the information you provide on your profile (eg. age, gender, location, page likes). Another factor is how you interact with your feed (eg. commenting on posts, liking certain videos). The algorithm will use this information to show you brands and advertisements which it deems you’ll most likely enjoy. Every single interaction strengthens this virtual picture.

Facebook gains information about you from third parties

Another way Facebook gains data on you is through third party apps and websites. Facebook receives signals from the websites you visit and when you use “Login with Facebook”, all of which are used within its ad targeting.

Brands can retarget you using the Facebook Pixel

Lots of brands will have a Facebook pixel on their website and this will send data back to Facebook so that brands can retarget you. So if you visited a website but didn’t make a purchase, brands can serve you ads in the hope that you’ll come back and complete a purchase.

The Facebook pixel is a powerful tool which can also be used to make Lookalike audiences. This means that brands can build audiences which look like (or are similar to) their customers, web visitors or social engagers. So the algorithm may use one of the previous signals to garner that you should be included in that lookalike audience.

Brands can upload email lists of their customers and target those people with ads, or build Lookalike audiences that look like those customers. If you’ve purchased from a brand they may use your data in this way to target you again, or people that look like you.

A common misconception is that Facebook listens to your conversations, while they aren’t allowed to do this, they can track your location which helps the algorithm understand your behaviours and make connections between you and the people you spend time with.

Looking for more help with paid social advertising?

If you’d like 1:1 advice about paid social advertising then it’s not too late to take advantage of our free social media workshops. 

Sign up now for a complimentary meeting where we can tailor advice to your specific needs.

computer screen showing facebook watching you and how facebook ad targeting works

How Does Facebook Ad Targeting Work?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock with no signal for the last 2 years - you’ll know that TikTok is one of the 

 and the place for all brands to be. At the end of 2021, it had reached over 

 - beating both Facebook and Instagram and firmly securing its place as one of the top dogs in social media.

But it’s not all just dancing and filters - TikTok is an excellent space for B2B companies to be a part of. The platform tends to retain users better than all competitors - which means they’ll come back to your channel for more. Another benefit for brands is that TikTok is great for cross-platform promotion. Users are frequently sharing their favourite TikTok’s to Twitter and Instagram - increasing the rise of viral creators and helping trends to migrate onto other platforms and drive new users to the app.

If you are ready to reach new audiences and engage on a more personal level, then read our top tips for B2B companies on TikTok below.

The most successful brands on TikTok are producing content that doesn’t feel like a sales pitch. Users want to see real people, creativity, and content that’s entertaining, informational and personal. Popular brand content on TikTok has included marketing managers, employees and CEO’s getting in front of the camera and getting personal. Try introducing your audience to the people behind your business!

Interacting with user generated content is a great way to expand your audience on TikTok. Similarly, encouraging followers to engage with your content and create their own by sharing their own experiences or thoughts is a great way to open the lines of communication. For example, in order to engage in conversations that are already happening in your niche, why not try using the TikTok ‘stitching’ feature? You can do this to add your opinion or insights from your business/department showcasing your expertise in your industry. Another approach to take would be to train key stakeholders / key opinion leaders in your team so that they’re able to post from their own professional TikTok accounts. That way you can interact with them from your business account, and start to build a community on the platform that is specific to your niche. This will attract those interested in similar topics. The new ‘repost’ feature also means you’ll be able to reshare any of their most relevant and engaging content to your business account.

An important thing to remember when joining the world of TikTok as a B2B company is that TikTok sets the tone. It’s not a newsletter, website or a boardroom - it’s a whole other ball game. 

20.3% of TikTok users are aged 40-49 and 11% are over 50

 so if that’s your target audience, you’re looking in the right place. However when it comes to your content delivery, adjust your tone to fit the environment

Hook that immediately draws in the viewer

You can afford to be more informal/casual

Look to other popular TikTok creators and identify trends in their style

Equally captions are much shorter and snappier than on Instagram where longer captions are more engaging. This is not the case on TikTok - the shorter the better!

By far the easiest and arguably most fun way to create on TikTok is by jumping on trends and challenges whenever you can. Applying them to your business and your industry will help you target your audience no matter how niche. Doing this is also likely to help boost your reach and engagement as TikTok’s that use trending sounds, filters and relevant challenge hashtags are more likely to get more views and go viral.

Some niche B2B companies may find it more difficult than others to engage with UGC, trends and challenges. For these brands, creating videos off the back of industry news in a ‘TikTok friendly’ way will help educate audiences and showcase your expertise. A good example of a B2B company doing this is 

. They’ve got a unique and creative way of sharing informative content relevant to their industry while fitting the app style and audience consuming it.

Interested in a TikTok training session for your team? Email us at 

 and we can share some information on our training packages.

mobile phone showing how to use tiktok for b2b brands

How To Use TikTok For B2B Marketing

If you're in charge of B2B marketing strategy, you might overlook social media as a channel, thinking that your business is based on personal referrals and that your target customer doesn't use social media to seek suppliers. But today, there's no business that doesn't benefit from social media marketing. And here's why. 

They are on social media, having conversations. They might even be having conversations about your industry or even your company. Having a presence will help you maintain relationships with customers and ensure you're not out of the loop.

New customers can find you via social media, plus having engaged and up to date social media profiles supports SEO - so if ranking on Google is important to your business, social media is a must.

Every company benefits from having strong branding and social media can help you position your brand. When done well, that positioning will in turn resonate with your target customers so you're front of mind when they are in that purchasing mindset.

Company social media channels build trust

If your business is looking to acquire new customers, building trust is going to be an important objective. Brands with a considered social media strategy and good community management will appear a safer choice compared to those without.

There's no other form of advertising that's as targeted

No matter how small your industry or niche is, you'll find your audience somewhere on social media. Whether it's baby boomers or gen Z you are looking for, they're congregating on social media so don't miss out on opportunities to build relationships with key players.

If you work in B2B and would like some advice with your marketing strategy, you can sign up for a FREE social media workshop with our team. Find out more 

person devising b2b marketing strategy on the go

5 Reasons Social Media Must Be Part Of Your B2B Marketing Strategy

We’re offering 1:1 social media workshops all summer. They're 30mins-1hour long via video call and we're happy to wade through your woes, splash some ideas around and dive into strategy chat too. These will run like a 'clinic' so there's no formal presentation - it'll be a casual chat which is all geared around your specific frustrations or questions. 

We’ve got experience with social media advertising, lead generation, TikTok management, Influencer marketing, the list goes on. 

We’re here to make managing social a balmy breeze 🏝

social media workshop with swwim marketing agency portsmouth london

We’re Offering 1:1 Social Media Workshops All Summer

March brings with it some exciting notable dates including International Women’s Day (8th) and the first day of Spring (20th). Keep scrolling for some key March dates to help inspire your content calendar this month.🙌

National Bed Month is an annual awareness campaign that has taken place every March since 1990, with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of sleep. This March, The Sleep Charity are encouraging us to dedicate some time to improving our sleep, which in turn can have a positive impact on our overall health.

Are you a brand with a focus on self-care? Could your customers benefit from tips for improving sleep? This could be a valuable way of tying in the awareness month with your brand content.

1st March - Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Day 🥞

We look forward to Pancake Day like we look forward to Christmas here at Swwim. Crepes, American style, banana pancakes, galettes, we love every type of pancake.

Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Day) always arrives 47 days before Easter and is the day before Ash Wednesday which signifies the start of lent.

Recipe Reels, topping themed polls and pancake puns are all fun ways to weave Shrove Tuesday into your March calendar.

This year World Book Day is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Each year World Book Day commits to boosting joy through reading and offers every child a free book in exchange for a voucher.  Each year WBD has a different theme, with this year’s being "You Are A Reader".

There are lots of great events going on for WBD, you can find out more over on their 

Books are a great talking point. Get to know your audience better by asking them what their favourite book is using an Instagram story question box. Or perhaps help them get to know your brand better by sharing your team’s top reads for March.

8th March - International Women’s Day 💁🏻‍♀️

provides an important moment to showcase commitment to women's equality and gives us an opportunity to celebrate the amazing ways women and girls around the world have continued to push forward in shaping a more equal future.

The theme for IWD 2022 is #BreakTheBias. The movement is encouraging us all to celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality. The IWD website has a wealth of information and 

 for brands, it’s well worth taking a look at.

The IWD website has some great ideas for ways that you can celebrate International Women’s Day including holding a digital event, launching a new initiative or delivering a female-focused activity. Perhaps you could hold an Instagram Live discussing ways to #BreakTheBias, or gather quotes from females close to you about how they break the bias.

Crufts ‘the greatest dog show in the world’ takes place in March and around 20,000 dogs are expected to head over to the NEC arena in Birmingham for the event. Crufts celebrates “every aspect of the role that dogs play in our lives" and depending on your brand, this could be a great theme to mirror within your content this month.

If Crufts is a relevant event within your brand industry, or something your audience is interested in, perhaps you could post a reactive story series as the event is going on and utilise the Instagram stickers such as the question box or poll. Everyone loves a bit of dog content, right?!

St Patrick’s Day began as a religious holiday and over time evolved into a full-scale celebration of Irish culture. On the 17th March, you can expect to see parades, music, drinking and a lot of green!

Has your brand got ties to Ireland? Share your favourite St Patrick’s Day traditions, create a green-themed recipe or share a roundup of the best events going on. Get creative and think of how you could incorporate your product into the content.

Spring will be springing this month and we are very happy about this! Warmer days are on the way, along with fresh starts, beautiful blooms and very cute baby animals.

There are lots of ways to move your content over from being winter-centred to more spring-focused. Think about switching up the colour scheme of your content to suit the bright tones of spring. If your brand offers seasonal products, now could be the time to switch up the focus to your warmer weather goods.

Mother’s Day provides us with the opportunity to celebrate all the mother figures in our lives, in the many forms they come in.

Celebrate the many roles of mother figures - perhaps share authentic stories from your team or customers. It's important to be inclusive with your marketing efforts when focusing on topics such as Mother’s Day, as whilst this day can be filled with love, that won’t always be the case for everyone. Make sure your content represents the diversity of your audience.