My first years on social media
I remember sitting down with my dad, back in 2013, not long after I'd turned 13, and creating my very first Facebook profile. My first year or so on social media was very strange because none of my friends were allowed accounts yet. I think most of my time on social media was spent chatting with my grandmother!
A year later, as my friends still weren't allowed on social media, we all set up Instagram accounts - our parents weren't on that platform! I went through very random phases with my Instagram profile. At times, I'd be actively trying to grow a following around whatever hobby I was hyperfocused on at the time. And then, I'd get ill, I'd get my heart broken, or I'd fall out with my best friend and I'd switch my Instagram account to private and remove all strangers from my follower base.
Using it as a marketing tool
In 2016, my dad (who has MS), my sister (who was 18 at the time) and a family friend decided to spend the summer riding from North Wales to the Pyrenees to raise money for the MS Trust. As the techy one of the family, I was put in charge of creating a Facebook Page. I wasn't the only admin of the page, and it was quite a team effort to get the content posted, but all the maintenance, planning and behind the scenes was left to me. And I loved it!
That summer, we raised over £7000 for charity and although I didn't yet realise it was a potential career path, I really fell in love with social media marketing.
My first social media job
Fast forward to 2021 and I was a 21-year-old who'd finally managed to find a flat to rent after having spent a winter in a very cold caravan at the bottom of my Aunty's garden. I needed a job, but transport was difficult and leaving my dog (who had severe separation anxiety wasn't an option). I managed to find a role through the Kickstart Scheme and became the social media administrator for a HR Consultancy. How I got the job with no HR knowledge and no social media marketing expertise, I have no idea - but it changed my life!
That role was on a six-month contract, but by then, I knew I wanted to keep working with social media. I did apply for a few jobs, but none of them really excited me because I really wanted to keep working with small businesses.
And so, I made the terrifying decision to set up my own business - and the HR Consultancy became my very first client!
Where I'm at today
Now, as we approach the start of 2025, I'm so thankful that I made that decision. Over the past three years, I've learnt so much and supported so many amazing small businesses.
That Instagram profile I set up years ago is now my "switch off" account, I keep it under 100 followers and mainly use it to share special moments and keep a record of where I'm at in life.
That Facebook Profile that my dad helped me create was lost years ago, before I knew how to keep a profile safe from hackers. The replacement profile I created is linked to loads of amazing small business pages, some clients, and some who needed a second admin they could trust to keep their page safe.
Thanks for reading! I share a blog like this one every other Tuesday, and if you feel like they help your social media presence, and more importantly, your business - then please consider leaving a tip.
Every time this tip jar reaches £15, I'll run a giveaway on social media so a small business can access my membership group for two months.
Tesni xx
