A small-business social plan that fits around the actual business.

The populated example uses two hours and fifteen minutes, two channels, one offer, real photos, and two short reply windows. Change the business—not the need for a realistic limit and a customer action.

Use this week

A simple weekly plan connecting real business moments, customer questions, posts, replies, and orders

2h 15m

Total weekly example

Planning, capture, writing, review, replies, and learning included.

Use what happened

A real question and an ordinary preparation moment give the week its material.

Leave room to reply

Publishing is not finished until practical customer questions receive an answer.

The full bakery week, ready to rewrite

The example explains where every input comes from, who can approve it, what gets reused across channels, and which result matters. Download it as Markdown after adapting it to your own hours and customer action.

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# Small-business social media plan — one realistic week

## The business
Neighbourhood bakery with one owner and one part-time assistant.

## The customer action this week
Increase Friday and Saturday pre-orders for the autumn pastry box. Success means completed orders or useful availability questions—not a target number of likes.

## Capacity
- 2 hours 15 minutes for the whole week
- Instagram and Facebook only
- Owner approves prices, availability, and ingredient claims
- Assistant can photograph the morning preparation and schedule approved posts

## Monday — 20 minutes: choose from real inputs
- Check pre-order availability before writing anything.
- Choose one repeated counter question: “Can I collect after work?”
- Ask the baker which preparation detail customers usually find surprising.
- Confirm the order link, collection window, price, and allergen wording.

## Tuesday — 35 minutes: capture once
- Take three natural photos during ordinary preparation: ingredients, shaping, finished box.
- Keep the counter clean and avoid showing customers or staff without permission.
- Record a 15-second vertical clip if the process is easy to see. Skip it if filming interrupts production.

## Wednesday — 40 minutes: make two useful posts

### Instagram carousel
**Job:** Help a nearby customer decide whether the box suits their weekend.
**Slides:** Finished box → what is inside → how it is made → collection details.
**Caption:** Lead with the collection window. Add the real preparation detail, price, allergen note, and order deadline. End with the order link in bio.

### Facebook local update
**Job:** Make availability easy to understand and share.
**Copy:** State the neighbourhood, Friday/Saturday collection times, remaining order window, price, and phone or order link. Use one clear photo rather than rebuilding the carousel.

## Thursday — 15 minutes: review and schedule
- Recheck stock, price, collection times, link, and allergen wording.
- Read both posts aloud and remove anything the owner would not say at the counter.
- Schedule Instagram for Thursday at 18:00 and Facebook for Friday at 08:00 because those are proven customer planning times for this bakery. Change these times when your own records say otherwise.

## Friday — two 10-minute reply windows
- Answer practical questions at 09:00 and 17:00.
- If availability changes, update the original posts instead of relying on a buried comment.
- Save new customer wording that could improve next week's post.

## Monday review — 25 minutes
- Orders attributed to either post
- Calls, messages, and useful questions
- Visits to the order page
- What customers still could not find

**Decision rule:** Keep a subject when it creates customer action or a useful question. Improve confusing details. Stop formats that consume production time without helping a customer decide.

Keep the plan smaller than the work it supports.

How often should a small business post?+

There is no honest universal number. Begin with one or two channels and a rhythm you can sustain without hurting the work customers actually pay for. Increase only when the extra post has a clear job and enough real material.

What should a small business post on social media?+

Use material already present in the business: customer questions, current availability, real work, useful decisions, local changes, product details, and offers with complete terms.

Do I need professional photos?+

Usually not. Clear, well-lit photos of the real product, person, place, or process are more useful than generic stock. Get permission before showing customers or identifiable private information.

Which results should I track?+

Track the customer action the post was meant to support: calls, bookings, orders, qualified messages, store visits where attribution is possible, or useful questions. Reach can explain distribution, but it is not the business result.

See how Emelyn fits a small business.

Customer questions, real material, review, publishing, and useful outcomes in one place.

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