Social Media: The What, When, Why, and How of Posting

Running a small business can feel overwhelming at times. You are most likely wearing a lot of different hats, managing payroll, ordering inventory, scheduling employees, etc. Running your social media account may seem like it’s not on the top of your priority list. We created this resource to help any small business owner easily manage their social accounts with our simple What, When, Why, and How of Social Media Posting checklist.

The What of organic social media posting

starts with what is important to your business and what content your customers love to see.  Most importantly you should be posting high-quality photos and videos. Most smartphones today are equipped with great cameras, so this has become easier than ever. If you own a restaurant that is famous for its seafood and view of the water, you should be posting those things often on your social feeds. If you own a hardwood flooring business that specializes in large multi-floor jobs, and you don’t typically do smaller jobs, make that clear in your social media posts.

The When of organic social media posting

starts with again thinking about your customers. Hubspot has put together an ultimate cheat sheet template: The Best Time to Post on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, & Pinterest. The quick synopsis is on Instagram, posting between 1 PM and 5 PM typically garners the most engagement. Friday’s being the most popular day to post. On Facebook, Hubspot recommends 9 AM, or 11 AM to 12 PM. Those are the two most popular social media platforms, to see the others and Hubspot’s social media calendar checklist check out the link above!

Why post on social media?

The answer is simple, posting on social media frequently allows your customers to have a place of community and direct communication with your business. It is important to maintain a sense of community with your customers, they want to see and hear directly from you about specials, or upcoming events. It is very important to check your social media messages and comments as well, make sure to always respond to comments even the negative ones. By responding preferably quickly to messages or comments new followers and current customers will likely feel more inclined to trust your business!

How should you post to your social media accounts?

There are plenty of free tools to schedule 2 of your accounts up to 5 days in advance, which is often the easiest way to knock out your week of scheduled posts. There are plenty of options for free social scheduling accounts.

You should post as often as you can but 4-5 times per week is a good starting point. You should also be aware of hashtagging. It is a great way to get noticed on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitters discover sections. Check out Ingrammer which uses AI to generate the best hashtags for your business. 

In summary, 

What: Post quality content your customers want to see.

When: Noon to 5 PM works best for Instagram, 9 AM or 11 AM to 12 PM for Facebook.

Why: To reach new customers and create a community for current customers.

How: Use scheduling tools, use hashtag tools, and post 4-5 times a week.

If you are interested in running targeted Facebook ads in under 10 minutes starting from only $154/mo

Get Started

If you are curious about how Honeysuite makes creating online ads easier check out our how it works page!