TUTORIAL ARTICLE

Beginner

9 min

Social media for small businesses: what to post and when

Essential advice for any small business building a social media presence + 15 content ideas

What you’ll need
Practice in the app

For small businesses, social media can be a way to “level the playing field” and compete with more established businesses in the industry. While larger and more well-known companies may automatically have a larger following, all opportunities are equal. With great content and strategic thinking, businesses of all sizes have every chance of using their social media presence to increase brand awareness, make sales, and ultimately grow their business online.

The best social media channels for small businesses.

At the end of the day the best social channel(s) for you is wherever your audience spends their time. The following is an overview of the key demographics of each social channel:

  • Facebook audience: largest age group — 25-34 (29.9%), 44% female, 56% male

  • X (Twitter) audience: largest age group — 18-29 (42%), 34.1% female, 61.29% male

  • Instagram: largest age group — 18-24 (30.8%), 48.2% female, 51.8% male

  • TikTok: largest age group — 18-24 (21%), 54% female, 46% male

  • LinkedIn: largest age group — 30-39 (31%), 43% female, 57% male

  • Pinterest: largest age group —25-34 (28.5%) 76.2% female, 17% male, 6.6% unspecified

  • YouTube: largest age group — 15-35, 51.4% female, 48.6% male

However, it’s worth noting that some social channels are more shoppable than others, such as TikTok with its addition of TikTok Shop, as well as Shoppable Pins on Pinterest.

If you’re in the craft industry or create handmade items to sell online, then Pinterest is a great place to market your products. Many small businesses have also found a great deal of success through TikTok by creating content that showcases their products, the creation of their products, or even the packing of orders.

Due to the popularity of video content and its success when it comes to marketing small businesses, it’s worth including at least one video-centric channel in your marketing strategy (such as TikTok or Instagram) if you’re approaching a multi-channel strategy.

How to use social media as a small business.

In order to begin with any chance of growing your social channels and becoming a credible source of information, it’s important to have your profiles fully complete and filled in. You also need to have all your key information readily accessible on your profile and easy to find — whether it’s a pinned post of FAQs or a series of Stories saved as a Story Highlight on Instagram.

When it comes to your social media content, while your primary goal may be to sell your products or services, a strategy filled with 100% promotional content is not going to do the job. The purpose of your social media channels should be to interest your social media audience and attract their attention — which, believe it or not, is not going to happen if you're only trying to sell. You should build your social media content strategy with the intention of including no more than 20% promotional content, with the remaining 80% intended to entertain, provide value, or educate your target market.

On the flip side, having a social media presence isn’t just about posting content. It’s easy to pour all of your focus into your social media content strategy, but you mustn’t forget the power of actively managing your social media channels. The most successful small businesses on social media have an active social media manager to monitor for mentions of your brand (and more), look for opportunities to strike up a conversation, reply to comments and DMs from your audience, and form connections with those in the same industry. It’s worth taking the time to also work out a social media support strategy so you can use social media as a tool to provide excellent customer support. After all, engaging in customer service requests on social media can bring a 20-40% increase in revenue per customer.

The best time to post on social media as a small business.

The best time to post on social media will be the time that the majority of your audience is online. While it’s wise to look at research around the best online posting times, it’s important to remember that your audience is unique and experimentation with your posting times will enable you to find the absolute best posting times for you.

To get you started, here are the best times for posting on each social media channel that we recommend, based on user activity:

  • Facebook: Weekdays between 9am and 11am, Thursdays at 11am

  • Twitter: Wednesday 9am-3pm, Tuesday and Thursday 9-11am

  • Instagram: Monday, Tuesday, and Friday at 11am, Tuesday at 2pm

  • TikTok: Monday-Friday 6-10am, Monday-Friday 7-11pm

  • LinkedIn: Tuesday 9am - 12pm, Wednesday 9am - 2pm, Thursday 9am - 12pm, Friday 10-11am

  • Pinterest: Friday 8-11pm, Saturday 8-11pm

  • YouTube: Every day between 7pm and 10pm.

How often should you post on social media as a small business?

The recommended frequency for posting will vary from channel to channel. However, another important consideration is also consistency. To continue growing and building a steady following (who won’t unfollow you at a later date) you need to keep up a consistent stream of content over time instead of publishing unpredictably based on whenever inspiration strikes.

Recommended posting frequency per channel:

  • Facebook: 1-2 times per day

  • Twitter: 1-3 times a day

  • Instagram: 1-2 Instagram reels per day, one image or carousel post per day

  • TikTok: 3 times per day

  • LinkedIn: 1 time per business day

  • Pinterest: post or pin to Pinterest 4-10 times per day

  • YouTube: Once a week

What to post as a small business on social media and 15 ideas to get you started.

1. Product videos.

One type of video that small businesses have found to get good engagement on TikTok as well as on Instagram with Reels is video content that shows their product being created, packed up to send to a customer, or used. If done right, an aesthetically pleasing (potentially ASMR-style) video that shows off your product and the effort that goes into your business behind the scenes can be a great way to showcase your product in a positive and desirable light.

2. Employee and founder profiles.

People like buying from people, so don’t allow your business to morph into a cold and faceless brand. The relatable emotion from personal and very human stories behind a small business is often one of the biggest reasons why people will take an interest in you and your brand. Whether you’re a small business of one, or if you have a team, showcase you and your colleagues on social media and don’t be afraid to show some personality. If video content is your thing (and we hope it is in this climate), consider carrying out interviews with team members or creating speak-to-camera videos or Stories to explain who you are and what you do.

3. Office tours.

Everybody can appreciate a look behind the scenes. A short video or Story can be a great way to give your audience a brief tour of the office, showing where things take place, who works where, and where the best spots are. Remember to convey a positive working environment to be associated with your brand — it might even help with recruitment, if that’s something you’re thinking about.

4. Your mission and origin story.

A personal story/journey around how your business was started can be incredibly powerful in motivating your audience to support your business and make purchases — but you must be authentic. Alternatively, sharing your mission, what you’re looking to achieve with your business, or what problem you are trying to solve can also be a great way to highlight the benefits of your products/services and motivate others to support your cause.

5. Customer stories.

It’s one thing for you to brag about how great your products or services are — but when positive feedback is coming from your real-life customers, it can be a thousand times more powerful in your marketing strategy. Whether you choose to put together a short social media video of one customer or a few, or simply take quotes from your customers to turn into graphics to share on social media, letting your audience sing your praises can be an incredibly effective way to grow your business and convert passive scrollers into happy customers.

6. Industry news.

Sharing news from your industry can be a really simple way to maintain the interest of your audience by providing them with relevant and valuable content. Better yet, any commentary you can add about the latest headlines will increase the value of your content and encourage your audience to engage with you in the discussion.

7. Industry-relevant debates, polls, and discussions.

If you find that you’re lacking in engagement, it might be because you’re not asking anything from your audience. Content that explicitly asks for your audience’s input and gives them something to have an opinion on is great for stirring up conversation.

8. Interviews with people in your industry.

Carrying out interviews with some of the names and faces within your industry can be a great way to get a lively (and incredibly relevant) discussion going that is sure to be of interest to your target audience. Furthermore, it’s also a great way to get exposure to new audiences if the content is promoted on the social channels of the creator or business you are partnering with.

9. Blog sharing.

The sharing of blogs is a staple part of any social media content strategy. Whether you’re sharing blogs from your own website or articles from other publications, sharing these posts with your audience is great for providing them with more long-form content about the topics that interest them the most.

10. Ask for opinions.

One benefit of building a social media presence is that you can use it to carry out some easy basic customer research and get some guidance on your overall business direction. If you’re thinking about releasing a new product, ask your audience for their opinions. Not sure what content they want to see from you? Just ask them. Instagram question stickers and polls on Stories can be great for collecting feedback.

11. Competitions and giveaways.

Competitions and giveaways can be a great tool for growth by attracting attention from users that you may not normally reach. They can also be a fantastic way to give back to your audience and show your appreciation for their support.

12. Use humor.

Humorous content can be an entertaining way to increase your engagement and followers, as well as make your content more sharable. Tickle your audience’s funny bone by using popular GIFs and memes, as well as joining in with social media trends (where appropriate).

13. Set a challenge.

Take a leaf from the book of Rowntree’s with their “Chew Challenge,” encouraging their audience to eat a fruit pastille without chewing it. A challenge related to your products can be a unique way to stir interest around your business and encourage sales. Everybody loves a challenge, and the feeling of accomplishment if achieved, as well as sharing that process with their friends and family.

14. Tips and tricks.

Who doesn’t love a handy tip or hack? If your product fixes a problem or can be used in multiple ways, then don’t be afraid to share this with your social media audience. Show off the many ways in which your product can make the lives of your customers easier.

15. Q&A sessions.

Q&A sessions are a great way to show up for your audience to offer them information about your business and your products, guidance and advice, or some industry insight. Whether you choose to use comments to respond to your audience or host a Q&A session on a livestream, this is a very effective way to offer your expertise and draw attention from social media users.

Social media is being increasingly used as a place for consumers to search and discover products and services. As a result, building a social media presence is an essential step for any small business hoping to grow and find customers. With platforms like TikTok and Pinterest making products shoppable in-app, it’s only a matter of time before other social media channels introduce similar shopping features and the social media landscape becomes even more focused on business growth and consumer engagement.


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