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Some people just don’t want to make content. And, contrary to popular belief, social media managers don’t want to make those people feel uncomfortable for the sake of a post.

Content creation would be so much more efficient if SMMs knew who was happy to get involved and which type of content they’d be happy making.

This is our call to People & Ops teams to include questions like these in the onboarding process and 1:1s.

Are you comfortable being filmed or having your photograph taken?

To what degree? Are you okay being directly in front of the camera, or would you prefer being in the background?

How do you feel about speaking on camera?

Would you be okay with doing voiceover content?  [Show examples]

Our marketing team often shoots fun content like this [show examples]. Is this something you’d be happy to get involved in?

Have a look on our social channels. What type of content would you 

We also have a blog and newsletter—would you be interested in providing comments and insights for those?

For you, how much notice would you like to be given before being asked to contribute to content?

Sometimes we use our content for promotional purposes—would you be comfortable being featured in this?

The main thing to note here is that not all content is the same. Someone who hates speaking on camera might not mind if they’re in the background of a shot. Other people are happy to contribute their insights in an article, but they’re not going to dress up as an elf for a festive skit. Everyone has their reasons.

While team content can impact company culture for the better, forcing people to contribute to content when they don’t want to can have quite the opposite effect

. But by asking your team their preferences, you show that you respect their privacy and personal autonomy.


An easy form-builder to ask those questions

Perks don’t make a strong company culture

Alex* has worked in marketing for over 15 years. In their early career, they were employed by a company that made a lot of fun, team content. And while this was great, there were a couple of things Alex wished they did differently to make it a better experience for everyone.

Let’s start on a positive—what did you like about working in a company that got the whole team involved in making content?

Involving everyone in content creation can be great for team building! It encourages the exchange of ideas, and everyone can share their input to produce something fun and engaging. I always enjoyed this aspect, and in many ways it made me (and my teammates) feel more connected to the business and often more valued.


For you, what were some of the problems with that company’s approach to team content?

It’s one thing to help make content, but to be in it too is a whole other thing entirely. If you’re having a difficult day, feeling low in confidence or feeling a bit stressed with workload, the last thing you feel like is having a camera on you! So it can create frustration with people, and be off-putting. Another issue is that people like to feel like they are being authentic, and when asked to participate in content that doesn’t feel like you’re being yourself can be hard— even when it is part of your job!


I also think timing is key, and you have to read someone’s mood. If featuring in content is your core role, I get that you’d need to be available to do it on the company’s terms. But if it’s not, and you have other tasks and deadlines to worry about, it’s easier when you have the time (and energy) to participate!


How do you think your employer could have approached team content better?

Better forward planning! Requests to feature in content often came up at the very last minute, meaning dropping other tasks already on deadline and putting additional pressure on the team. This could have been avoided if it was planned in advance so that the team could plan around it.


I think it’d also have been better if people felt they could say “no thanks I’d rather not” more easily and without fear of this being held against them. Not everyone feels comfortable being featured in a photo or video.


What advice would you give to businesses and social teams looking to create content with their wider team?

When it comes to asking your team to feature in content, be clear about where/when/how the content will be used so that you can ensure the person is comfortable with it.


Forward plan as much as you can! It means people know what to expect, and can plan it around their workload. If you’re able, also give them a brief—e.g. This is what we are creating and why, this is what you’ll be asked to do. Plus relevant details like what to wear, because people could be worrying about such things. Additional detail will put their mind at ease!


And finally, don’t force it! Unless someone has taken a role that specifically requires featuring in content, people should have the ability to say no without any consequences. From personal or cultural reasons, to just personal preference, there could be many things that mean they don’t want to. It’s best not to force them into it even if you think it’s great for them or the business.

this idea from Dr Bronner that lists some of their employee benefits

. We love that it shows the real people bringing this product to life.

Employee content: What to ask your team and new hires

10 years ago, the role of a social media manager looked very different. It was a “behind the scenes” role, where now, social media managers are presenting on camera.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when this shift happened. But the meteoric rise of TikTok certainly had its part to play (

their user base grew 58% between 2019 and 2020

). Brands went all-in on video and SMMs became the unofficial faces of the brands that hired them.

So what happens to your brand’s social presence when that familiar face hands in their 4-week notice? Will people unfollow your account? Will it damage your brand if they become the face of another brand?

There are a couple of ways to approach it.

Mob is an online recipe platform. Earlier this year, one of their legacy content creators left the business to do his own thing.

But instead of hiding in the kitchen and drowning his sorrows in a big bowl of 

a beautiful post about Toby’s contribution to the brand

This not only let Mob’s community know why they wouldn’t be seeing Toby in future content, it was a picture-perfect example of a positive and uplifting company culture.

Especially if a social media manager or content creator has been the face of your brand for a long time, people will trust them. And so, it could be a good idea for them to introduce the next person who will be taking over their role. A couple of fun videos featuring the existing SMM and new SMM could make the transition a lot smoother.

Brands that feature many faces on their social channels prepare for the inevitable. When someone on their content team leaves, it isn’t such a drastic change.

 does a great job of this. You’ll see content 

. Their community is so used to seeing different faces pop up in Half Magic’s content, that only the super fans would clock a new SMM.

It’s very unlikely these days for someone to stay at one company for their entire career. And so, brands should be prepared for the face of their social accounts to change. It can be a lot of pressure to expect one person to represent a company that isn’t theirs—but if there’s a strategy in place for their eventual departure, your SMM will have a better experience with your business while they’re there (which might make them stick around for just a little longer).

Social media managers became the fashion frontline

Ryanair’s SMM resigned over toxic work culture

We love with Agustina is doing at Death to Stock

A best-in-class example of a founder who’s the face of their brand

In the pool with…Lottie Legget from Swyft

, looking after all things marketing with a background in digital marketing. She’s based just outside Portsmouth, but Swyft is fully remote with the team based all over the UK and a few overseas too.

What’s Swyft’s approach to featuring team members in social content?

There are a few reasons why we use our team members across social and ads. The most important being that at Swyft we have some of the most passionate team members I’ve ever worked with. Our team genuinely loves our brand and knows our products inside out.

Another reason we do this is that we want to show real relatable people. Our mission is to make sofa buying easy for everyone. Yes, we sell beautiful aspirational sofas with a big focus on style but we’re also solving a real issue when it comes to getting sofas into our homes. Therefore we don’t want to feel out of reach for people. Sometimes using glamorous models for everything can make products feel out of reach for everyday people and we feel using relatable down to earth team members in ads helps with this. As does talking to camera or doing voice overs as they make content feel more genuine.


Have you ever had a face of the Swyft brand leave? How did it impact your content?

We try not to have one face of the brand for exactly this reason. We invite different team members to each shoot to try and get a variety of faces out there and make sure we’re not relying on one person too much.

That being said, we also follow performance and have had one team member perform best, particularly when it comes to talking to camera, so it is tricky. We still tend to primarily use Erin when it comes to voiceovers/talking to camera but we try to make sure other content, where we don’t need a voice, features a variety of team members.

What advice would you give to brands that are thinking about featuring their team on social?

Make sure your team is comfortable doing this. It isn’t for everyone and it really shows when someone has been pushed into it.

Try not to rely on one face if you can. It puts pressure on them and can harm your brand if they leave.

Unfortunately the internet isn’t always the nicest place. So another one for me is to support your team if they’re getting negative comments on social comments. You do have to have thick skin sometimes when featuring in social content as some people weren’t taught that if you have nothing nice to say then don’t say anything at all. For us, this has resulted in some team members who were featured in ads deciding they no longer wanted to be. You have to be ok with that, it’s not ok to push someone into that situation just because they perform well for your brand.

Which piece of content did you and the team have the most fun making?

Personally for me this would be our model 06 launch shoot. This is our big squishy fully modular sofa and so the content showed us building the sofa and changing the configurations. This meant lots of pillow fights, jumping on the sofas and generally having a lot of fun. I also loved when we turned the sofa into a big square configuration and snuggled down to watch a film. It’s a hard life on shoot sometimes haha!

Sadly the fabric this was filmed in has now been discontinued so the content has been archived. Hopefully that means another shoot just like this in the near future as it performed really well.


Ask your team to sign a printed version of their team headshot and film their reactions. 

This version from the Los Angeles Chargers is hilarious

What the team wore to our social media agency

What do you do when the face of your brand leaves?

 found that nearly half of a company’s reputation and market value are attributable to the CEO’s reputation.


 say CEOs who have social profiles are better representatives for their companies than those who don’t.


 prefer working for a CEO who uses social media.


Undeniably, it’s beneficial for CEOs to be active on social, but what are some benefits of them creating 

People like people with a sense of humour

While “CEO” is a serious role, the person behind it doesn’t have to be serious all the time. Take Luxury Realtor, Mike Hege from 

Earlier this year, he posted a video captioned “

I asked my Gen Z employee to edit a video for me and she sent this back to me

That short video—a compilation of Mike’s “millennial pauses” and mid-sentence breathing—got 50 million views and 5 million likes in 

 followed shortly after—exposure any business would dream of!

And all of this came from a social media manager with a great idea and a CEO who wasn’t afraid to be the butt of the joke.

You can show the fun, human side of your business

If someone wants the inside scoop of a business, who better than the CEO to let them in?

 are experts on this type of content. Best friends, Leah and Yasaman, left their jobs to start a snack company and launch their “Hot Girl Pickles”. Here’s some of their content we think is super fun:

Instagram followers if any of them were in a pickle, and offered advice

reaction to a storm washing away their entire cucumber supply

deep-dive on their beloved illustrated characters—GiGi and Pick

We love that Leah and Yasaman are building in public and letting their best-friends-to-co-founders dynamic shine.

How Mike followed on from his viral “gen z edit” success

Wait, CEOs pay this musician to make fun of them?

How to get your CEO on a podcast (so they can show their personality)

Do people care more about the Founder than the brand?

In the pool with…Olivia Morris from Caroline Hirons

Olivia is a Social Media Manager who specialises in the beauty industry living in London. She previously worked with one of the biggest beauty retailers in the UK and now does incredible work for 

From your experience, how important is it for a CEO to have a personal brand?

In my experience, people crave human connection and want an authentic voice. We’ve seen many examples of companies that use their staff as the face of the brand and how well their community engages with it. It comes down to the passion a CEO has for the brand they’ve built, it radiates through the camera whether they have a personality that belongs in front of the camera or not.

Caroline’s voice and authority in the skin care industry are among the many reasons we can vouch for Skin Rocks. Her straight-talking tone, combined with the warmth of her personality, makes every discussion conversational. A very common comment from Caroline’s community is that they say, “It’s like talking to a friend” when listening to her. Caroline already had a community to speak to which made our job a little easier!


We wanted to have a new way to speak to, communicate, engage and educate Caroline’s community. As I mentioned, Caroline already had a very engaged audience, affectionately called “The Freaks” (self-titled). They already knew her personality, but this allowed them to see Caroline in a new avenue. Interacting with someone else, there is a bit of back-and-forth, Caroline is so quick on her feet, so it’s entertaining for both of us, and it’s a really fun way to give information.

Caroline loves a brew and her followers know that. Also, the pop culture reference to “tea” to spill the tea influenced the name. Everything Caroline tells us in Tea with C isn’t brand new information, her approach is refreshing and it can come across as she’s giving “insider info”.


Which piece of content did you have the most fun making?

 when we asked Caroline’s community to comment on what they’d ask Caroline if they got to do Tea with C. When we came up with the idea, both C and I had a glistening in our eyes because we knew what would happen in the community. The comments were so entertaining to read.


What’s your process for collaborating on ideas with Caroline?

Caroline is easily accessible. I only sit a few desks away from C in the office so it’s as easy as walking over to her or in our case just shouting at one another. Otherwise, we’re always on WhatsApp sending one another ideas and trends and planning to film when we’re next together.


What advice would you give to social teams with CEOs who are reluctant to go in front of the camera?

Find their niche, if they’re not confident in front of the camera find a topic that they can just talk, talk, talk about and they’ll be instantly more comfortable

Don’t force them to film when they’re not up for it, this will come across in the content and ultimately no one will be happy with the outcome

Adding personality to a brand is paramount. People don’t like to be “sold” to. Having a “normal” personality as part of a brand makes it a bit more relatable. More and more, we’re seeing the “rise of the office” personalities rather than influencers making a brand sought after.

And let's face it, people love to be nosey. Whether they want to admit it or not, everyone is nosey.

So simple! No lines. No rehearsing. The perfect entry video for a CEO making their content debut.

"Asking our non-strict boss hypothetical questions

Adds humour and relatability to your brand.

We're here to help make your social content more fun and engaging. 

Why CEOs should make fun social content

, everyone wants to make sure they’re getting a solid return on their investment (ROI). That’s where ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) comes in. It allows you to work out what’s driving profitable revenue so you know where to focus your efforts.

ROAS is a simple ratio that measures how much revenue you earn for every pound spent on advertising. It’s calculated like this:

For example, if you spend £1,000 on ads and make £5,000 in sales, your ROAS is 5:1 (or simply 5). This means that for every £1 you spend, you earn £5 back.

: It keeps your ad spend in check and ensures you’re 

investing in campaigns that actually deliver

: With clear targets, you’ll know when to tweak, scale, or hit pause on your campaigns.

ROAS Target = (Product Price – Costs) / Ad Spend

In this case, your target is 3:1, meaning you need to earn £3 for every £1 spent on ads to hit your profit goals.

: Test your campaigns with a lower budget before going all-in.

: Regularly monitor your campaigns and adjust as needed.

: If your customers are likely to buy from you again, factor that into your calculations. Higher LTV can justify a lower initial ROAS.

Calculating ROAS targets doesn’t have to be rocket science. By understanding your costs, defining your profit margin, and setting realistic goals, you’ll have a clear roadmap for ad success. And remember, marketing is all about testing and learning so don’t stress if you don’t nail it right away.

If you need help weighing up the costs and benefits of your social ads then 

calculating target return on ad spend at a laptop

Calculating Your Return on Ad Spend

In the world of digital marketing, especially when leveraging 

, adaptability is key. Meta has been shifting its focus towards Advantage+ campaigns while phasing out more 

. This shift marks a significant change from the long-standing best practice of segmenting data to create highly targeted and relevant ads.

While it's important to test and adapt to these new approaches, sometimes stepping outside the conventional playbook can yield remarkable results. Here’s how we recently did just that for one of our clients.

The Challenge: Optimizing Remarketing Performance

Meta’s Advantage+ promises simplicity and automation, but we wanted to explore whether a more hands-on segmentation strategy could still deliver value. Our goal was to see if dividing product types across ad sets would help the algorithm perform better and drive better results.

We segmented a single remarketing audience into multiple ad sets, each promoting a different product type at the ad level. For example:

Although the same audience was targeted in each ad set, the creatives and products displayed were specific to the ad set's product category. The idea? Allow the algorithm to learn how different segments of the audience interact with specific product types. This refined data analysis helps the system optimize performance on a product-by-product basis.

Conversion Rate: Increased by 2.43% month-on-month (MoM)

Ad Spend: This did increase by 40%, but the overall budget for this campaign remains low.

While some of this growth could be attributed to seasonality, the data suggests that segmentation played a crucial role. Even with the additional spend, the return on investment has been strong.

By splitting the product categories into separate ad sets, we allowed Meta’s algorithm to fine-tune its delivery. Even though the audience remained constant, the system could better analyse and optimise the performance of individual products.

Test, test, test: Don’t be afraid to experiment with campaign structures, even when platform recommendations lean towards simplicity.

Leverage segmentation strategically: Even with automated systems, breaking down your campaigns by product type or creative can unlock new opportunities.

Monitor and optimize: Analyse your data regularly to refine your approach based on performance trends.

 to explore how we can transform your PPC performance and drive measurable growth for your business. Let’s make your campaigns work smarter, not harder.

analysing ppc campaign performance following strategic segmentation changes

PPC Campaign Win: Boosting PPC Performance with Strategic Segmentation

Once upon a time, a single, grainy photo on Instagram could rack up hundreds of likes, while today’s audience expectations are quite different. Ironically, TikTok has recently started allowing single photo uploads, and they’re seeing surprisingly high engagement.

Ultimately, engaging content depends on understanding platform-specific trends and what resonates with each audience. Let’s dive into some of the most effective content formats for different platforms and explore how to choose the right content format for your audience.

Instagram remains a visual powerhouse, but the format of choice has shifted. Currently, the best content formats for driving engagement (and reach) on this platform are Reels and carousels. Reels offer a fantastic opportunity to reach new audiences, especially when they’re entertaining, inspiring, or aligned with trending sounds. Carousels (up to 20 slides) are ideal for 

, giving users a reason to swipe through multiple slides. To maximise content performance, consider experimenting with both formats and keeping an eye on emerging trends.

Originally a video-exclusive platform, TikTok now supports various content formats, including carousels and single images. Each format has the potential for virality, but short, captivating videos still lead in terms of engagement. Like all platforms, TikTok tends to prioritise new features, so jumping on the latest content format as soon as it’s released can give you a visibility boost. Finding the right content format here may require some trial and error, but it’s worth it given TikTok’s massive reach.

On LinkedIn, text posts accompanied by an eye-catching photo or value-driven PDFs perform especially well. With LinkedIn’s focus on professional engagement, choosing the right content format here often means emphasising educational and thought-leadership content. Recently, LinkedIn has become more video-friendly, even introducing a video tab on the mobile app that mirrors the explore page on Instagram Reels or TikTok’s For You Page. Experimenting with video formats on LinkedIn could potentially help increase content performance and 

Selecting engaging content formats for different audiences and platforms requires attention to platform-specific preferences and constant adaptation to trends. By testing a variety of formats and tracking engagement metrics, you’ll be better equipped to choose the right content format for your unique audience and goals.

If you’re looking for support with your 

phone showing instagram posts content formats that drive engagement

Content Formats That Drive Engagement

There’s something magnetic about a well-told story. It pulls you in, gets your heart beating, and keeps you on the edge of your seat - even if the “plot” is about something as simple as a product or brand. That’s the magic of storytelling in 

: it allows you to connect with your audience through their feelings.

At its core, brand storytelling isn’t about shouting from the rooftops about how great you are or telling people what they should buy. It’s about painting a picture where your audience can see themselves.

Think of storytelling like swimming in a strong current - if you try to force your message too much, you’ll struggle, and your audience will drift away. But if you move with the current, gently weaving your story to include both your brand and your audience, the message will flow naturally. It becomes effortless, carrying your audience along with you, right where you want them to be.

In content marketing, stories stick because they’re engaging and instead of bombarding your audience with data and generic sales language, storytelling gives your brand a human touch. It makes your audience 

 something, whether it’s excitement, curiosity, or even a bit of nostalgia.

The trick? You need to find the balance. Too much focus on your brand, and your audience tunes out; too much focus on them, and you disappear. That’s how you 

 that not only grabs attention but keeps it.

The process of crafting a compelling story

Storytelling might appear a little overwhelming at first, but in reality, it’s just a process - one that anyone can master with the right steps.

So, how do you take an idea and turn it into a story that 

, resonates with your audience emotionally and ultimately, drives engagement? Here are some pretty important steps you need to follow…

A good story begins with a purpose. Before you start drafting your story, ask yourself: 

Is it to introduce your brand, share a customer story or share your company’s story? The key is understanding the message you want your audience to take away at the end of your piece.

Like any great story, context is everything. So where does your audience come in? Frame the situation in a way that’s relatable to them - whether it’s a challenge they face often, an opportunity they desire, or a situation they can easily picture themselves in. It’s the hook that draws them into your story and makes them feel ‘seen’. For social media, this could be as simple as opening with a question or a statement that instantly resonates, like “Struggling with low views on your reels?” This sets the stage for your story to unfold.

For a story to be engaging, it needs to include a challenge, problem or tension. In content marketing, this is where you show your audience the obstacle. It could be a common frustration they face, or a struggle they’re dealing with. This is where your audience feels

For example, “You’ve been posting consistently, but your followers aren’t increasing. Frustrating, huh?”. This is the moment where your audience should think, “Yes, that’s me!”.

Now this is where so many brands get storytelling wrong - they make themselves the hero of the story. The mistake? A stranger doesn’t care about how amazing your brand is. They want to know how you can

them. So instead, think of yourself as the guide and position your product or service as the solution without making the story all about you. Remember, storytelling is a fine balance of making it about you and them. It’s like showing someone the right technique to swim through a rough tide, rather than bragging about how good of a swimmer you are. The goal is to make 

The stories that hit us the hardest, are the ones that make us 

something. Whether it’s empathy, vulnerability, humour or inspiration, emotional connection is the glue that holds your story together. Using metaphors, analogies, and real-life examples is a brilliant way to tap into those emotions. 

This is where you’ll tie everything together - ending with a clear call to action (CTA). This can be asking your audience to follow you, downloading a free guide or simply visiting your website. The key is to keep it direct but align it with the emotional tone you’ve built throughout the story. This isn’t the time to go in for a direct hard sale. Instead, think of it like reaching the end of a trail. You’ve led them through the twists and turns of your story, but now they need a clear signpost to know what to do next.

Here’s an example of how a clear call to action (CTA) can be incorporated into storytelling if you were a hairdresser…

"When Sarah first came to us, she was frustrated with her hair - struggling with dryness and breakage that no product seemed to solve. We took the time to understand her hair’s needs, and after a full consultation, we found the perfect solution. Now, her hair is healthier and shinier than ever, and she feels more confident every day. It wasn’t just about the products we used; it was about listening to her story and giving her hair the care it deserved.

If you’re ready for your own hair transformation, book a consultation with us today. Let’s find the right routine that works for you 

In content marketing, storytelling isn’t about selling - it’s about connecting. By following this process and focusing on your audience’s journey as much as your own, you can create a story that truly hooks and engages with your audience. Every post should be seen as an opportunity to take your audience on a ride, one that leaves them feeling a certain emotion and wanting more from you.

So, next time you craft a piece of social media content, remember; to start with the why, build the emotion and guide them through the waves. If you feel like you need a helping hand, then give us a shout! At Swwim, we specialise in all things content marketing so we can help get your brand floating. You can reach out to us via our 

woman working on storytelling content on a laptop

The Art of Storytelling in Content Marketing

Interviews 💦 Marketing Examples 💦 Social Media Trends 💦Content Ideas 💦 Useful Links

We find the best examples of brands making a splash on the internet, so you don’t have to. 

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