Instagram & Facebook Post Ideas to Boost Engagement For Your Small Business
Coming up with Instagram and Facebook post ideas can be challenging when you’re running a small business. You have orders to fill, and customer to serve. We’re sure the last thing you’re thinking about is how to boost your digital marketing presence. Digital marketing is a powerful tool to automate a lot of your small business marketing efforts and get in front of a targeted audience. In today’s post, we’re going to be talk about post types on social media (specifically Facebook & Instagram), and how to boost social media engagement for your small business with theses simple, yet effective tips.
Facebook & Instagram Content For Business
A lot of the clients we meet with know that social media marketing can positively benefit their business, but they’re still not entirely sure how to utilize it. From Meta (Facebook & Instagram), to TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat – there are many platforms to choose from. As professional digital marketers ourselves, we have seen the benefits that Facebook and Instagram, in particular, have added to business-to-consumer (B2C) clients.
Whether you’re looking to build a stronger connection with your customers or promote a product, there is a place for your small business on social media. The biggest draw to social media marketing for small business is that for the most part, using the platforms are completely free – hence, getting in front of your ideal audience does not cost anything, but your time.
Post Types on Facebook & Instagram
As a small business owner, you might understand the benefits of social media marketing, but you’re not entirely sure what to post. We know that your friends and family love seeing the photos of your kid’s soccer game, but your customers might not be all that interested. For them, it would be like walking into a coffee shop and being served beer. If you’re in a coffee shop, you expect coffee! If you’re following a small business, you expect content related to their business!
When you’re creating a “safe space” for your customers to engage with your business online, our number one goal is to help you make your customers feel at home – and to remember to come back! This is why it might be beneficial to understand “post types” on Facebook and Instagram and how to use them to your benefit.
Post types are the type of media an app like Facebook/Instagram is able to publish on your behalf. This might be videos, photos, quotes, and more. Meta (Facebook and Instagram) offer a variety of post types including:
Post Types on Facebook & Instagram
Posts: words with videos and/or photos
Stories: instantaneous video or photo that expires after 24 hours
Reels: short-form videos (less than 1 minute long)
Live: engage with your audience via video in real time
Facebook & Instagram Post Ideas For Any Small Business
One of the simplest and oldest forms of content on Instagram and Facebook is a Post. This consists of some written content with an attached photo or video – or sometimes multiple photos and videos, known as a carousel.
Facebook and Instagram “Posts” are a great way to share multiple photos at once with a relevant story to your business. Maybe you recently held an event at your store, or your sold out of your best product. Take a bunch of photos (or you can combine photos and videos) and tell your customers a compelling story!
People are wired for storytelling. The more you’re able to share how your product or service positively impacted your customer base through storytelling, the better your engagement on social media is going to be. Don't be afraid to build suspense, create questions, and have some fun with this!
What’s a Facebook and Instagram Story?
A lot of small business owners are confused on how to use Stories. Stories expire after 24 hours, meaning, this is not evergreen content (content that is relevant at any point in the year). Use Stories in your business to share about time-sensitive events, like flash sales, or the outcome of your recent big holiday sale.
Stories are intended to be raw, and share an authentic message without putting too much effort into branding. Meaning, don’t be afraid to be yourself and don’t worry too much about “staying on brand” – within reason. This is your chance to bring your customers in and allow them to get to know you. It expires in 24 hours anyways – if you didn’t nail it this time, what better way to practice than to keep posting?
Facebook & Instagram Reels
The newest post type to Meta is Reels. These are short-form videos (truly inspired by TikTok) that are driving huge engagement for companies, influencers, and people alike across the world.
Instagram/Facebook Reels are a great way to get in front of a large global audience, and your organic one. If you’re looking for massive growth in a short amount of time to a huge amount of people, Reels are a great way to do this. If you need some Reel ideas for your small business, take a look at the Reels tab on Facebook or Instagram, see what other people are posting, and get inspired.
Consider making a video to a trending sound (which can be seen at the bottom of every video) or if you see a video you liked, consider remaking it into your own. You can also “Remix” other videos online – which essentially is your chance to share someone else’s video in your industry to your page and give your opinion. We always recommend remaining respectful, positive, and on-brand in these instances.
Facebook & Instagram Live vs. Reel - Why You Should Go Live
Another form of video on Meta is their “Live” feature. This is where you essentially broadcast your business in real-time to your organic audience – similar to how T.V. shows used to be.
Reels are considered evergreen content that your audience can refer to at any time – whether that’s educational, inspirational, promotional, or entertaining. “Live” content is used to build your engagement and get to know your audience better.
You might want to use the Live feature to hold a Q&A session about an upcoming sale, or to talk about how you’re going to handle an upcoming event. Essentially, relavent things in your business. You could also use the Live feature to host a free "webinar” to share more about your product or service and how it helps others to get the word out about what you’re business offers. The possibilities are endless!
Why Social Media Marketing Matters For Your Small Business
At the end of the day, remember that no matter what you post for your business – social media is your tool, not your business. Meaning, using it to enhance your marketing efforts, not take away from your business. And as always – whatever social media post type or strategy you choose, remember to remain consistent. This is key to longevity and success of your digital marketing efforts.
You got this – see you in the next one!
