Quick answer
A simple social media plan fits on one page: one goal such as enquiries or bookings, one or two platforms where your customers are, three content pillars to rotate, a posting rhythm you can keep, rules for replying to comments and messages, and a monthly review of what brought results. Keep it short enough to follow in a busy week.
Most small businesses do not fail at social media for lack of ideas. They fail because the plan, if there is one, is too ambitious to keep up: daily posts on five platforms, a strategy deck nobody reads, and a burst of activity that fades within a month. A plan that works for a small business is small. It decides a few things once, so you are not deciding them every time you pick up your phone. Use this checklist to write yours.
The checklist
| Decision | What to write down | Done |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | One business result: enquiries, bookings, sales, footfall | ☐ |
| Audience | Who you want to reach, in one sentence | ☐ |
| Platforms | One or two, chosen for where customers are | ☐ |
| Pillars | Three themes to rotate | ☐ |
| Rhythm | Posts a week you can sustain | ☐ |
| Look | Templates, colours and fonts | ☐ |
| Replies | Who answers comments and messages, and how fast | ☐ |
| Review | A monthly check of what worked | ☐ |
Goal and audience
- ☐ One goal that matters to the business, not “more followers”.
- ☐ One sentence on who you want to reach and where they are.
- ☐ One action you want them to take, such as message, book or visit.
If you are not sure who your customers really are, our one-page marketing plan helps you pin it down first.
Platforms
- ☐ Choose one main platform, and at most one secondary.
- ☐ Local services: Facebook and Instagram are usually the start.
- ☐ Business-to-business: LinkedIn.
- ☐ Products that demonstrate well: Instagram and TikTok.
- ☐ Complete every profile: bio, contact, link, opening hours, location.
Social works best when it points to a website you control, where people can see prices, examples and a way to get in touch. If you later want to put money behind your best posts, our guide to Facebook and Instagram ads for small businesses covers the first steps.
Content pillars
- ☐ Your work: photos and short videos of real jobs, products and results.
- ☐ Your expertise: tips, answers to common questions, myths corrected.
- ☐ Your people: the team, behind the scenes, customer stories with permission.
- ☐ An occasional offer or clear call to action, no more than one post in five.
Our comparison of Reels and static posts helps you decide which format suits each pillar.
Rhythm and batching
- ☐ Pick a number of posts a week you can keep for a year, not a month.
- ☐ Batch: plan and create a fortnight’s posts in one sitting.
- ☐ Schedule posts in advance using the platform’s own scheduling tools.
- ☐ Keep a running list of ideas from customer questions.
Our free social media calendar template gives you a ready-made weekly rhythm and themes for the year.
Look and feel
- ☐ Templates in your brand colours and fonts, so every post is recognisable.
- ☐ Real photographs over stock images.
- ☐ Sizes set up correctly for each platform.
Replies and the rules
- ☐ Decide who answers comments and messages, and within what time.
- ☐ Saved replies for common questions such as prices and areas covered.
- ☐ A plan for complaints: reply publicly once, politely, then take it to a private message.
- ☐ Paid partnerships and gifted products clearly labelled as ads.
The ASA’s guide to influencer marketing explains when posts count as advertising, and the usual advertising code applies to offers and claims on social media.
Simple measures to track
- ☐ Enquiries and bookings that mention social media.
- ☐ Website visits from social, in your analytics.
- ☐ Messages received each month.
- ☐ Saves and shares on your best posts, as an early signal.
Followers are a vanity number for most small businesses; enquiries pay the bills. Write the four numbers down on the same day each month, so you compare like with like and spot trends early.
Monthly review
- ☐ Which posts brought enquiries, messages or website visits?
- ☐ Which pillar performed best?
- ☐ Is the rhythm sustainable?
- ☐ One thing to keep, one to change, one to stop.
Ofcom’s Online Nation research is useful once a year for checking how UK audiences are shifting between platforms.
When things go quiet
- ☐ Keep a bank of evergreen posts, such as tips and past projects, for busy weeks.
- ☐ Post less rather than stopping completely.
- ☐ Never apologise for not posting; just start again.
- ☐ Ask a regular customer for a photo or a short review to share.
A worked example
A florist in Exeter had tried posting daily on four platforms and given up after six weeks. Her new plan fitted on one page: goal, wedding and event enquiries; main platform, Instagram, with Facebook for the same posts; three pillars, finished arrangements, behind-the-scenes in the workshop, and flower care tips; rhythm, three posts a week, batched on Monday mornings; replies within the working day. After three months she had posted consistently for the first time, and the monthly review showed wedding enquiries came mostly from behind-the-scenes videos.
Getting help
Our social media management is £249 a month and covers content creation, 12 or more posts a month, community management and monthly reports. If you want to run it yourself with on-brand templates, our social media design is £79 one-off. All our prices are on the pricing page.
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Frequently asked questions
How often should a small business post on social media? +
As often as you can keep up with good posts, consistently. For many small businesses that is two to four posts a week on their main platform. Consistency matters more than volume: three posts every week for a year beat daily posting for a month followed by silence. Pick a rhythm you can sustain.
Which social media platform should a small business use? +
The one where your customers already spend time and where your work shows well. Local services often do best on Facebook, visual businesses on Instagram, business-to-business firms on LinkedIn, and products that demonstrate well on TikTok. Start with one or two platforms and do them properly rather than spreading thin.
What should a small business post about? +
Choose three content pillars: for example, your work (photos, before and after), your expertise (tips and answers to common questions) and your people (the team, behind the scenes). Rotate between them, with an occasional offer or call to action. Real photographs and useful information outperform generic quotes and stock images.
How do I know if my social media is working? +
Measure what matters to the business, not just likes. Track enquiries and sales that came from social, website visits from social, and how many people message you. Check once a month, keep what works, drop what does not. Engagement such as comments and shares is a useful early signal, but enquiries are the real test.
