Social Media Marketing for Small Business: What to Post and How Often

If you sell one thing all year, like a book or a course, you don't need to post on social media every day. Once a week is plenty. Nobody buys from a post anyway. They hear about you somewhere else, then they look you up. Your page just has to show you're still there. And for people who've never heard of you, that's what ads are for.

Where social media brings in a buyer

A friend brings up your book over coffee, or someone shares a link to it in a Facebook group. A few days later, she types your name into Instagram or Google to see who you are.

She scrolls your page. She's checking if the book is for someone like her, and if it ships to Ohio and what that costs. She wants to know if she'd get a copy in the mail or an ebook she can read tonight.

Then she closes the app and gets on with her day. She might come back next week, and the week after that, before she spends a dollar.

Your book is on sale every week of the year, so she can look you up in any one of them.

Mine is too. That's AI Jargon, if you're curious.

A social media page that went quiet looks closed

You had a free week and posted almost every day. Then work got busy, and nothing has gone up since.

Months later, a buyer looks you up, and the first thing she sees is that old post. Your book is on sale today, but to her it looks like you stopped selling it.

How often a small business should post on social media

Pick a day you can keep in your busiest week.

The post can be simple. A photo of the book open to a page you love. A stack of parcels on the way to the post office. A few lines about who you wrote it for.

I'd rather see one post every week for a year than seven posts in one week and then silence.

What a social media post is worth when almost nobody sees it

A post on a business page reaches some of the people who already follow you, and almost nobody else.

But the post stays on your page. A month from now, a buyer who heard about you from a friend scrolls down to see if you're for real. She finds this week's post, last week's, and the one before that.

Paid social media ads reach people your posts never will

Your posts are for the people who already know you and the ones who come looking. Everyone else needs an ad. An ad can put your book in front of someone in Calgary or Vermont who'd want it and has never heard your name.

When an ad sends her to your page, she scrolls before she pays. A post from this week is waiting there.

We run Facebook and Instagram ads for product businesses, along with SEO and Google Ads. Our digital marketing services page shows what each one covers.

Things you can stop posting on social media

Daily posting can go if it falls apart by the middle of the week, even if someone told you the app rewards it. You have a book to sell and other work to do.

Unless you have an AI employee who can take posting off your should-do list and do it well. Then yes, post daily.

Countdowns and "last chance" posts can go too. Your book is on sale all year, so there's nothing to count down to.

So can the same post on every platform at once. One platform, done well, is plenty.

And the filler. A "Happy Monday" graphic tells a buyer nothing about your book.

Social media marketing help for a small business

If you sell one product all year, we can work out where your posting ends and paid ads start. Book a call.

Frequently asked questions

How often do I have to post on social media?

Once a week. If you miss a week, don't make up for it with three posts the next day. Post on your usual day and carry on.

Which social media platform should I pick if I only have time for one?

The one your buyers already open. Ask your last few buyers where they first heard about you, and start there. You can add a second one later.

Do I need to make video for social media?

No. A clear photo and a line or two about it is a full post. Make video if you like making it and have something to show.

Can I post the same thing on every social media platform?

You can, but it shows. One platform done every week beats three done in the same afternoon.