Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

TikTok

Contact

In an era dominated by de-influencing and micro-influencers, relying solely on polished product content and glossy paid advertisements is no longer enough. As we’ve previously discussed here at Swwim, today’s consumers seek more than just a transaction; they desire a connection with a brand. In fact, consumers need to be exposed to a brand message 

 before it registers and starts to influence their purchasing decisions. The key to building this trust lies in User-Generated Content (UGC).


User-generated content encompasses content created by real users for social media, online forums and reviews, that provide authentic opinions about a brand, product or service. This kind of content, often shared by customers, employees, or UGC creators, holds a unique value in today’s 

Unlike traditional influencer marketing or brand-generated content, UGC social media content provides a more authentic feel. This authenticity gives way to trust, with millennials trusting UGC 

than brand-created content. Hearing unscripted, unfiltered opinions from real people strengthens a brand’s reputation, subsequently fostering stronger and more trustworthy connections between brand and consumer.

Furthermore, incorporating UGC into your social media strategy is an effective way to boost brand exposure. When people create content about your brand it reaches their networks, exposing your brand to potential new audiences. Think of UGC as the digital form of word-of-mouth marketing, and with word-of-mouth marketing proving to generate more than 

 of paid advertising, it is a valuable opportunity for brands looking to elevate their presence.

For those still sceptical about the power of UGC, consider this - consumers find UGC 

more impactful than influencer content. So not only is UGC a more trustworthy and impactful form of marketing, but it is also cost-effective.  Furthermore, UGC marketing will also drive conversions, with 

turning to UGC reviews before making a purchasing decision.

If you’re struggling to source user-generated content for your brand, introducing incentives can encourage more people to share their opinions. Offering features on your social media, discounts on their next purchase or even implementing an ambassador/affiliate scheme are all effective strategies.  For a more consistent stream of authentic content, consider investing in UGC creators.

Want to explore how UGC can elevate your brand presence and build lasting connections with your audience? Get in touch at 

ugc creator making content for social media using their phone

User-Generated Content (UGC) on social media is a powerful tool. So let's take a look at how to use User-Generated Content to your advantage.

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

B2B marketing is a different kettle of fish. But your B2B marketing strategy should still include social media, here's our top 5 reasons why.

Why Your B2B Marketing Strategy Must Include Social Media

Use Instagram analytics and 3rd party software to track and monitor the best times to post from your accounts. Sites like Hootsuite, Later and Iconosquare can tell you the most engaging times to post every day, and when your followers are most active so you can target them while they are online. You can also select times based on the content of your post, for example if you are posting a recipe idea, try sharing in the afternoon so it can serve as dinner inspiration for your followers and encourage them to engage.

Make the most of Instagram’s features and use story stickers to open up conversations with your followers. There’s a Q&A feature, polls and quizzes that can be added to your stories to help open up a two-way stream of conversation between you and your followers, so you aren’t just talking at them all the time, but with them. Also including prompts in your captions can get discussions going in the comments - make sure to reply and engage to keep them interested!

According to research, the most popular caption length in 2020 was over 400 characters! And these posts were found to have more engagement. So make sure to pack all your info into the caption and keep your audience interested.

Instagram saves are a great way to boost engagement. To increase post ‘savability’, create content that your followers will want to revisit. This can include ideas, inspiration and tips, like if this post appeared on Instagram! Check out our blog post on 

Views are an extra source of engagement for Instagram posts, so try to get lots of video content on your feed. They generally tend to perform better with audiences and can be fun to make! Instagram reels are also a great way to be experimental with bite-size content in a creative way. If you’re wary about broaching the Tiktok world, this can be a good taster.

Hopefully these top tips have inspired you to create more engaging content. If you're looking for more help and advice, 

Need to boost your numbers? Suffering from a severe case of in-active followers? Read on for our five top tips on how to increase engagement on Instagram.

How To Increase Instagram Engagement

Job Title: Content Creator / Social Media Executive

The ideal candidate will have a passion for social media and experience in creating engaging content across various platforms. This role will be responsible for managing social media channels, creating content, and collaborating with clients to achieve their marketing objectives.

Develop and execute social media strategies for clients across various platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more

Create engaging content for social media channels, including videos, graphics, photos, and copy

Manage social media channels, including posting content

Collaborate with clients to understand their marketing goals and objectives

Monitor and report on campaign performance, providing recommendations for optimisation and improvement

Stay up-to-date with social media trends and changes to algorithms, adjusting strategies as needed

Attend client meetings and presentations as needed

Manage content calendars, ensuring consistent and engaging content across all channels

Work with other team members, including designers and copywriters, to create cohesive campaigns

Maintain strong relationships with clients and ensure their satisfaction with our services

Experience in social media marketing, preferably in an agency setting

Knowledge of social media platforms and best practices for marketing on each channel

Strong written and verbal communication skills

Ability to think creatively and strategically to develop effective campaigns

Strong organisational skills and attention to detail

Ability to work independently and manage multiple projects simultaneously

Proficient in creative/design software and social media management tools

This is a full-time position, with a flexible schedule and the potential for remote work. If you are passionate about social media marketing and have experience in creating engaging content, we encourage you to apply for this exciting opportunity.

Our social media agency is seeking a content creator / social media executive to develop and execute creative and effective social media strategies for our clients. 

New Job - We're hiring a content creator / social media executive

When you think of Pinterest, you wouldn’t be alone in associating it with moodboards, wedding planning and your go-to source of hair inspiration. Perhaps one of the last things you would think of is it being a money-making machine. But as all evolving technology seems to do, Pinterest breached the world of commercial sales.

Through increasing brand authority and awareness, and now being able to sell products directly on the app, Pinterest is quickly becoming more and more popular with brands who are discovering that it can benefit their store in more ways than one.

How you can use Pinterest to drive traffic to your ecommerce store

Often left behind when competing with the likes of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, Pinterest is another social media site that can help brands connect directly with existing and potential customers.

By sharing aesthetically pleasing pins and pinboards that match branding and create synergy between platforms, companies can establish more trusting relationships with their audiences, therefore helping drive traffic to their websites.

However, this more ‘organic’ method is not the only option anymore when it comes to traffic driving from Pinterest.

Last year, Pinterest partnered with the popular e-commerce software, Shopify. This collaboration has allowed customers to buy products directly from Pinterest with ‘Buyable Pins’, making the site an additional sales channel and a valuable asset for brands.

Promoted content has higher success rates on the Pinterest app, making paid campaigns worth the ad spend. But don’t just take our word for it, the stats speak for themselves! 1 out of 2 Pinterest users have made a product purchase after seeing a brand promoted pin, and a whopping 

 of users use the platform to plan their purchase decisions. With more than 

 monthly ‘pinners’ it comes as no surprise that Pinterest is the number 2 overall source of social media traffic to Shopify stores.

It’s clear that for brands seeking e-commerce store traffic, Pinterest is quickly becoming an essential and popular business tool. Have we got you ‘Pinterested’? Reach out and see how we can help you make money on Pinterest!

Stat Sources - Pinterest Business and Shopify

Pinterest's new partnership with Shopify has opened up a world of opportunities for paid marketing. In this post, we delve into how brands can use Pinterest to drive sales.

How To Make Money On Pinterest

Following a year of lockdown restrictions, our homes have become entertainment hubs more than ever. With the warmer weather, garden based content such as DIY garden improvements, garden party inspo and gardening tips will be sure fire ways to drive engagement on TikTok. If garden based content compliments your social strategy consider using the hashtags #gardendiy #gardenparty #gardenmakeover #gardeningtiktok and #homegrown.

Summer Food - ‘Wrap Hack’ but make it summer

Food is a popular content topic every day of the year, but the sunny weather ups the inspiration levels with the addition of picnics and BBQ’s. If food compliments your marketing strategy, consider creating summery cooking tips or inspiration using hashtags such as #bbqrecipes #picnicaesthetic #summerfood.

What is a summer without a holiday, ammiright? With lockdown restrictions putting an end to many holiday plans in 2020, vacation inspiration and tips are now driving high engagement, with so many of us getting excited about the potential of travelling again. If your brand is ready to engage with summer travellers consider using hashtags such as #staycation #tiktoktravel #travelessentials

As more of us realise the importance of taking a moment just for ourselves, self care based content has risen in popularity. What better time to engage with this trend than when the weather is warm and inviting and the days are longer. If the theme of self care fits in with your brand consider using hashtags such as #selfcaresummer #wellness and #selfcareroutine

Joining these active conversations provides the opportunity for brands to engage and partner with creators and the broader community to share tips, tricks, and inspiration for the products to make this summer the best one yet! Other ways to join in with the summer conversation:

Big summer events e.g music festivals and sporting events,

Popular celebration days e.g Bank holiday weekend

Big days out e.g Theme park visits and beach trips

Longer evenings, ice-cold drinks, the beach and positive vibes. Summer brings all of this with it and we are here for it. With the lifting of lockdown restrictions, summer is as popular a seasonal topic as ever and we’ve put together some of the hottest summer TikTok trends to help fire up your TikTok engagement.

 TikTok Trends To Fire Up Your Content This Summer

First of all, wtf even is the Metaverse? Here’s what we kind of know:

The metaverse is the future of the internet.

The metaverse is a shift in how we interact with technology.

They are virtual universes that merge reality and the virtual world.

A metaverse’s timeline syncs with real-world timing.

The metaverse does not pause or end when you leave them. They continue indefinitely.

They’re a fully functioning universe that allows users to create, own, sell and invest.

Whilst it sounds quite daunting at the moment, if you put it into perspective, it’s not too far off from how we’re living right now. A lot of us already use our phones 8-10 hours a day and spend our spare time binge-watching TV or playing video games online with our friends or strangers. Whether we want to admit it or not, we are already heavily immersed in digital life.

A poll of 2,000 adults found the typical week will see 59 hours – the equivalent of more than two full days - spent using the internet. - The Independent / NordVPN


According to Meta, the metaverse they are envisioning is still 10-15 years away, however there’s no denying that things are starting to look less IRL and more VR lately.

Companies are now thrusting themselves towards virtual trends before they get left behind. So far already in 2022 we’ve seen a booming rise in VR headset sales, Gucci sold a digital bag for $4,115 (their physical bags cost $3,400 in stores), a virtual H&M clothing collection with Maisie Williams and PLT using their first virtual model.

It’s all escalating pretty quickly right?

So what does this mean for marketing in the metaverse?

The metaverse isn’t just a trend, it’s here to stay so make sure you stay up to speed with the latest updates.

The metaverse we are all imagining isn’t quite here yet (and may be years away still) but virtual trends and worlds are happening right now.

Create virtual experiences that tie in with your real-world marketing.

Could you offer immersive experiences that users can interact with?

Keep up to date with Decentraland to see what others are doing in a virtual world.

The metaverse will allow brands to reach new audiences in fresh and creative ways.

Start thinking about how and when your brands can show up in the metaverse.

Connect with already existing members and experts of the Metaverse to build strong campaigns.

Be open and willing to experiment but also aware of the challenges you may face.

Consider that the later you join, the costlier it may become for marketing efforts.

And that’s just scratching the surface! We strongly advise you jump down that rabbit hole of metaverse research so you can help to keep your brands relevant.

The Metaverse is the topic of the moment. But what actually is it? And what will metaverse marketing involve? Here's everything we know so far.

Are You Ready For Metaverse 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. 

Sign up for the not-so-serious side of social media.