A Melbourne-based social marketing startup has raised $1 million in funding.

Tiger Pistol raised the funds from technology venture fund Rampersand, along with existing investors, according to published reports. The funds will go toward marketing and growth, including the company's planned expansion to Silicon Valley within a calendar year.

Tiger Pistol offers custom Facebook marketing plans that include content-based posts, offers, and advertising. The company's system collects data on an ongoing basis to continually learn more about its clients' needs and businesses, and is capable of updating marketing plans in real time. Client businesses use that marketing plan to create their own content, which is then published by the Tiger Pistol system at optimal times.

Tiger Pistol is named after the tiger pistol shrimp, a small shrimp with disproportionately large snapping claws that allow the animal to emit a disruptive wave of bubbles. The company hopes the name becomes an apt metaphor for its disproportionately disruptive technology