Most small businesses today have at least a Facebook and Instagram page. But what are you supposed to actually do with those pages? How should you use them as a marketing tool to increase business? It’s important to engage with your audience on a consistent basis to increase brand awareness. In honor of Leap Day, here are 29 social media post ideas for your small business.
Spotlight an employee.
Your employees are a major part of what makes up the culture of your business. Share your appreciation for your team members and build engagement with your audience by spotlighting an employee of the month. People love to connect with people, and your employees are the face of your business.
Share a testimonial.
Testimonials are a great way to build buy-in for your product or service. People are more likely to try out a new product or service if they know that other people support it. You can repurpose your online reviews as testimonials, or reach out to specific customers and ask for a more detailed review of your business.
Create a “Did you Know” series.
Your social media accounts shouldn’t be all about self-promotion. Sharing facts and information with your audience is a great way to provide value to your customers. Create a series of “Did you know…” facts that are relevant to your business and will be interesting to your audience.
Promote a featured product or service.
My favorite local boutique does a great job of featuring a product or outfit they know their audience will love. Choose something eye-catching to remind them to stop into your store or shop online. This works for service-based businesses, too, but remember to include a call-to-action like driving people to an inquiry form or Messenger.
Offer a sale or promotion exclusively for social media.
If you’re already running a sale or promotion, be sure to advertise it on social media. Or you can create a specific offer or discount code specifically for your online followers. This will encourage people to follow your site and keep an eye on your page.
Create a contest.
People LOVE contests, and they’re a great way to increase engagement and visibility on your page. And it doesn’t have to be something expensive and extravagant like a Louis Vuitton. A percentage off an upcoming visit or a gift with purchase is plenty. Just be sure to follow Facebook’s policies regarding promotions and contests.
Cross-promote with another business.
Cross-promotion is a great way to support another small business and potentially grow your audience. You can choose a business that you support personally, someone local to your area, or another business that you admire.
Go “Live” on your social media platforms.
Going “Live” on Facebook or using the live video feature on Instagram adds a fun, personal touch to your content. Share a tip or educate your followers on something relevant to your business that will be interesting and helpful for your audience.
Explain how you solve a problem for your customers.
Remember, your social media content should be more than self-promotional. Provide value to your followers as often as possible by sharing educational content. Create a post that helps to solve a problem for your audience. If you’re a cleaning company, share a stain removal hack. If you’re a financial coach, share a budgeting tip. Your audience will appreciate the tips and will share with others if they see the value in your message.
Get silly.
Does your office have “Fun Friday”? Did you celebrate a staff birthday recently? Maybe you have an inter-office softball or kickball league. Sharing fun, silly content allows your audience to connect with your business on a more personal level.
Share something personal.
Speaking of connecting on a personal level, if you feel comfortable you can also share something a little more serious that is important to you or will likely resonate with your audience. Rise Marketing Solutions works with other small business owners, so I chose to share my “why” with my followers. Many of my clients are parents and choose to run their businesses in a way that allows them flexibility for family time, so I knew this would resonate with my audience. Allowing your audience to see the human side of your business helps build credibility and form a bond with your customers.
Share a quote.
Everyone loves a good quote. Share something motivational or inspirational, and brand it with your logo so your audience connects the content with your business.
Review a book.
Book reviews are a great way to provide value for your audience. Choose a book that is relevant to your work and will be interesting to your audience, and then explain why it was helpful to you.
Make or share a funny meme or GIF.
Let’s be real…cat memes have pretty much taken over the internet. There’s a cat meme for everything, and people think they’re hilarious.
Link to your website.
Increase your website traffic by sharing links to your site when promoting your products or services. If you want to generate more leads, link to your Contact Us page. Want more online sales? Link to a featured product or service.
Share an infographic.
Infographics help share information in a visual way that is easy for your audience to share. Share stats, a timeline, a comparison or list. Need a good tool for creating infographics? Check out Canva.com.
Share your mission statement.
Your mission statement is your “why”. It’s the reason you do the work that you do. Sharing this with your audience helps them understand the motivation behind your business, and customers are more likely to support a business they connect with and share similar values with.
Share your “office view”.
Do you have an interesting or unique “office view”? Share it with your followers, and encourage them to do the same. Especially if you have a non-traditional office space or are working “off-site”. Traveling for work? Share the view from your car or airplane window. Using a coworking space? Share a view of the location.
Write a blog post and share it on your social media pages.
Blogs are a great way to drive traffic to your website and increase organic SEO. Share links to your blog posts on Facebook and Twitter, and utilize Instagram stories to highlight a portion of your blog content.
Create a poll.
Social media polls are a great way to gain insight into what your customers are looking for. Looking to expand your services or provide a new product? Poll your customers to find out what they’re most interested in seeing from you.
Celebrate an accomplishment or achievement.
Your customers are part of your community, so be sure to include them in your celebrations. If you’re celebrating an anniversary or big milestone, share that with your audience, and thank them for their part in helping you get there.
Reuse some “evergreen” content.
“Evergreen” content is any content that you share that isn’t “dated”. It’s content that doesn’t lose its relevance within a certain time period. Blog posts highlighting best practices, information spotlighting your core products or services or posts that share tips or educational material are all examples of evergreen content.
Give a tutorial.
Here we are back to that educational content again. This is especially good for product-based businesses. Give a tutorial on how to use a new product that you’re offering. It will entice your customers to learn more about the product and will showcase its value.
Share a #throwbackthursday photo.
#throwbackthursday is a super popular hashtag and a fun way to add more personal content to your page. Maybe you share a photo of your business when it first opened, or a photo of a previous generation if you run a family business. Share content that shows how your business has grown or evolved over time.
Share relevant industry news.
Tap into the resources of experts in your field, and share that knowledge with your audience. Articles, newsletters, Ted Talks and podcasts are all great resources to share via social media.
Provide a tip or piece of advice.
Creating a tip series, like Rise’s #socialtipstuesday, builds consistency with your audience while providing relevant and valuable information.
Celebrate a holiday.
A lot of businesses will use social media to celebrate the major holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween. But there are tons of wacky, obscure holidays that are fun to celebrate, too. Did you know that March 4th is National Pound Cake Day? A great holiday to celebrate if you’re a coffee shop or bakery!
Link to a podcast episode.
If you have a podcast, you should definitely be sharing your new episodes via social media. But even if you don’t have your own podcast, you can share episodes or shows that are relevant to your business and will be interesting to your followers.
Post your job listings.
Social media is a great way to get the word out about available employment positions. You can use Facebook’s job posting feature, or you can link directly to the Careers page of your website.
Now that you have some great content ideas, you’re ready to start building a social media calendar for your business. Not sure how to get all these great ideas organized? Connect with us to start building out your social media strategy today!
