You know you should be posting. Then a full day of running the business happens, and social media gets skipped again. A month later the last post is old news and it feels awkward to even start back up. A small business social media routine fixes this, and it takes about two hours a month rather than twenty minutes every night.
How many social platforms should a small business be on?
Two at most, and one is fine. Most small businesses do not need to be everywhere, and spreading across five platforms means doing all five badly. Pick the one or two places your actual customers spend time and do those properly. A contractor gets far more from Facebook and Google than from a platform built around dance trends.
How do you post consistently without doing it daily?
Batch it. Block two hours once a month, take photos of finished jobs, write a handful of captions, and schedule the whole batch in one sitting using a free scheduling tool. This turns a daily nagging chore into one appointment with yourself, and consistency is what the platforms reward anyway.
What should a small business actually post about?
Rotate four types and you will never stare at a blank screen.
- Finished work or product shots
- A quick tip your customers genuinely want to know
- Behind the scenes of your team or shop
- A review or thank you post
Finished work posts almost always perform best for service businesses, because they are proof rather than claims.
Does it matter what time you post?
Less than people think, and far less than whether you post at all. Posting consistently at a mediocre time beats posting perfectly timed once a quarter. If you want a rule of thumb, aim for weekday mornings or early evenings, then stop worrying about it.
When is it time to hand social media off?
When batching stops being enough, which is usually when comments and messages start needing same day answers. Target Marketeer builds and runs marketing for small businesses in Greensboro and the Triad, and social media is the first thing owners drop when the business gets busy. Our social media management service picks up the calendar and the engagement, starting with Social Media Setup at $250.
Quick answers
How often should a small business post on social media?
Two to three times a week is plenty for most local businesses. Daily posting is not necessary and is the main reason owners burn out and quit within a month.
Do I need to reply to every comment?
Reply to questions and complaints quickly, ideally within a day. Simple praise does not need a reply beyond a reaction, though answering does help your reach.
Is it worth paying to boost posts?
Only for posts that already performed well organically. Boosting a post nobody engaged with just buys a wider audience for something that was not working.
Should I post the same thing to every platform?
Roughly the same content is fine, but resize the image and adjust the caption length per platform. Posting a screenshot from one platform to another looks lazy and gets less reach.
What if I have no photos of my work?
Start taking them on your phone at every job, before and after. Two minutes on site gives you a month of content, and phone photos outperform stock images for local businesses.
If you are not sure where your social presence stands today, start with our Plan Builder and we will map out what to fix first. It is also worth deciding whether your local business really needs social media at all.
