How a Glasgow Watch Retailer earned nearly 2 Million Organic Views with staff-Led short form video
In under 6 months:
10X Facebook Growth
2M Views
1,500 TikTok Followers
25+ new videos every month
Building an organic social presence around the people who know watches
James Porter & Son is a fifth-generation independent jeweller and watch retailer in Glasgow's Argyll Arcade, trading for more than 165 years. Since April 2026, Shaka Social has run organic social media for its Watches accounts on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, powered by a monthly short-form video system built around the staff's knowledge and the shop's own history. In the first six months, the work earned nearly 1.9 million organic views. The TikTok account has grown from zero followers to almost 1,500, and customers are walking into the shop and saying they found it on social media.
The Challenge: Expert staff who were nowhere on social
The shop's advantage is the people in it. Customers get advice from staff who know watches properly. The business knew it needed to do more on social but hadn't yet taken the plunge.
When we audited the Watches account, none of that expertise was visible. Instagram had 14,800 followers and more than 2,500 posts, but the grid read like a catalogue, with much of it brand-supplied imagery. There were no staff on camera, no moments from the shop and little video made for social. TikTok had no followers at all, and Instagram and Facebook mostly carried the same posts.
The brief was a video-led presence that worked for collectors and newcomers alike, and a reason for people to follow the shop online and then visit it.
The Insight: Independents can't out-publish the big names, but they can out-know them
Most people research a luxury watch on social long before they step into a shop. Within our Social Media Strategy, we mapped four audiences by where they were in that journey: the watch curious, who don't know where to start; aspiring collectors, who want credible advice; enthusiasts, who want nuance and rare pieces; and destination buyers, who will travel for the right watch. The existing grid barely served any of them.
Many of the best-known watch retailers online are really media companies that sell watches, with the scale to out-publish an independent. James Porter & Son couldn't compete on volume, but it had something they couldn't copy: five generations of expertise behind the counter and 165 years of stories.
So the strategy rested on one idea: put the people who know watches on camera and let their opinions carry the products.
Our Approach: A Monthly Video System Built Around the People Who Know Watches
Each platform got a different job. Instagram became the community hub, Facebook the home for authority-led and heritage content, and TikTok the place to introduce the shop to new audiences through approachable, entry-level education.
A content system built around one shoot day
Short-form video only works if it keeps coming, so we built a system a working boutique could sustain. Every month, we spend a full day on location in the shop and capture 25+ videos in that single day. Staff speak straight to camera and answer questions as if the viewer were at the counter, colleagues sit down for podcast-style conversations, and studio macro setups give us close-ups to cut between.
Every video follows the same structure: a hook to stop the scroll, a clear conversational middle, and a reason to watch to the end.
Shooting in one day gives the shop a month of content in the bank, without the team filming constantly.
The system also learns. At the start of each month we review what performed, then plan the next shoot around it, doing more of the formats people watched and shared and less of the rest. We still shoot this way today, and each month's results shape the next shoot.
The formats that worked
David and Declan each chose what they'd buy for £3,000. What We're Wearing showed the watches on the team's own wrists. Sandy picked a holy grail watch, and another colleague recommended the best watch for travelling. A James Porter & Son pocket watch that had turned up in a local charity shop became a heritage story of its own.
The main trade-off was tone. This is a luxury retailer, so the look stayed polished, but we chose calm, confident conversation over fast-moving trends.
The Results: Staff-Led Videos Found New Audiences
In the first six months, from April to September 2026, the Watches accounts earned nearly 1.9 million organic views: 934,000 on Instagram, 665,000 on Facebook and 283,000 on TikTok.
On Facebook, organic views grew more than tenfold on the previous six months.
On Instagram, the strongest posts reached people who weren't already following the shop. David's £3,000 collection earned 30,100 views, and 73% came from people outside the shop's existing followers. What We're Wearing reached 19,600, with 79% from new viewers.
TikTok started from zero followers and produced 283,000 views in those six months. It has now grown to almost 1,500 followers. The pocket watch story was the standout, with around 40,000 views, 941 likes and 96 saves, and David's and Declan's £3,000 collections passed 10,000 views each.
Away from the dashboards, the shop has noticed a clear rise in awareness, and customers walking in regularly say they came because they'd seen James Porter & Son on social.
“Working with Shaka Social has been a fantastic experience. The team is attentive, highly engaged and genuinely takes the time to understand our needs. They consistently bring our vision to life across every social channel, combining creativity with a thoughtful and collaborative approach. We would highly recommend them.”
Simon Porter
Owner, James Porter & Son
What This Demonstrates: Start with what the business already knows
James Porter & Son already had the expertise and 165 years of stories. Our job was to find the ones worth telling, put the right people in front of the camera, and build a system that turns a single shoot day into a month of content that improves every cycle. That combination makes it easy for someone scrolling in Glasgow or anywhere in the UK to see why the shop is worth following.
What's next?
Six months in, the results are building, and we're continuing to work with the team on what comes next.
Ready to put your expertise on social?
If your business has knowledge people only discover once they walk through the door, we can help you show it online. Get in touch with Shaka Social.