If you find yourself paralyzed by the question “What should I put on my company’s social media page?”, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve got 9 types of easy and engaging posts for you.

But first, let’s talk about why you should put time into social media in the first place. In 2020, it’s hard to overestimate the impact social media can have on your business. From building loyalty with customers who already know you to attracting new customers, “social” is a winner for businesses of all sizes and shapes. In fact, if you’re not on social it’s a sign of sleepiness, or even irrelevance. (Yikes!) So let’s climb aboard the social train.

To capitalize on the power of social media you have to post engaging content frequently. This is where people tend to get stuck. What can I post? Small business owners have a lot to handle and coming up with tip-top content can fall to the wayside. That’s where this guide comes in. Here are nine types of posts any business can do equipped with a run-of-the-mill smartphone.

1. Contests and giveaways

Add a little fun with a contest or giveaway. After all, who doesn’t like a freebie? Running one can be a low-investment, high-impact way of engaging people and getting your name out there. By offering a prize you can entice followers to like, comment, or share your content which can increase your brand awareness and reach. As with all social media posts, it’s best to be genuine and approachable. Get creative about your prize, too. You could partner with another business (and reach double the audience), or feature a particular product (maybe one that hasn’t been selling well, or one that you’ve just brought in). Use this opportunity to show off your brand personality while making your customers (and potential customers) happy. And don’t shy away from including a picture or video of yourself in the posts.

2. Product features

These kinds of posts serve as reminders about your products and services. Sticking with your sense of personality, take the opportunity to zoom in on a specific product or service. Consider them eye candy or fun features. Got a new dish on the menu or seasonal product that just arrived? These are perfect features. Done right, they reinforce your brand and attract people back to your store or website.

3. Behind the scenes glimpses

Bringing your customers “behind the scenes” establishes a sense of familiarity and loyalty while also really showcasing your, and your company’s, personality. Video is very effective in giving this content a “sneak peek” feel. Don’t worry too much about production values. You can shoot perfectly serviceable video on a smartphone and upload directly to your social media channels. People are very forgiving when it comes to social media posts.

4. Customer polls (in Stories)

If you’ve ever been on a long car trip you’ve probably played “would you rather”, the game that makes you choose between two hypotheticals. It’s an addictive diversion and you can harness its power on your social media channels by using the polls feature in Instagram Stories. Ask your followers to choose. It’s a super effective way to promote interactivity while also gathering market research on their preferences. Note that these are sprints not marathons. The polls lasts 24 hours--as long as your Story. Increase customer engagement by sharing the results as seen here when Toronto food court stall Kid Lee tested out two new juice flavours.

5. Community engagement

It’s always a good idea to engage with your community and an even better one to post about it. Create a campaign that involves local groups like schools or libraries to demonstrate your brand’s place in your community. You can double down on your positive image while making a real difference at the neighbourhood level.

6. Quotes

Quotes are bite-sized pieces of shareable content with a thought-provoking punch. Select messages that align with the business. While you may choose to go sentimental or serious, funny or poignant, they should always be on-brand. They can be as simple as white text on a solid colour from your logo, or add a compelling image to make your quote pop.

7. Sales and special offers

Like the contests and promotions outlined above, posts advertising sales and special offers can entice potential customers and drive traffic to your site while giving followers the feeling of being insiders to your business. Consider sharing advance notice of sales on one or more channels to incentivize following your brand.

8. Customer testimonials and reviews

Potential buyers turn to reviews during when they’re deciding whether or not to patronize your business, so why wouldn’t you put the best of the best front and centre? These positive, easy-to-produce posts belong on your feed--just don’t overdo them. You can take them from Google or Facebook reviews people have already shared. Don’t have any reviews? No problem! This is your opportunity to ask people to review your business—in a social post!

9. Messages to your community

This last type of post is perhaps the hardest to pull off but done effectively can really enhance your customers’ sense of attachment to your company. They’re an opportunity to show the human side of your business. Just like in person, speak directly and personally to create a real intimacy and deepen customer loyalty. Select a single thought and keep it simple (positive messages are your best bet).  

Posting to social media is a crucial part of marketing. Those who do it well reap the rewards, and those who don’t appear a little behind the times. These ideas are enough to fill your social profile for the next year. Put them in a rotation and remember to always include an image or video clip and to use hashtags so people other than your followers will see your posts.

See examples below:

Running any small business has its challenges, from hiring the right employees to managing changing market conditions to meeting cash flow needs. Bringing family into the equation is beneficial in many ways, but with that comes a host of unique difficulties. In this post we’re diving into three pitfalls of working with family that are among the most common⁠—and the steps you can take to mitigate or entirely eliminate them so you can all enjoy family harmony and a long-lasting business.

1. Informal work culture

When you work with the same folks you share a dinner table with it’s easy to fall into an informal work culture. While on the one hand this can create a fun and flexible environment, it might also lead to real problems.  It’s tempting to be lax when training or managing a family member, for example, and if you set that standard with one employee you pretty much have to make it a business-wide approach. This means that non-family employees are also treated in the same, informal way. Not only can this be difficult in practice, but it’s likely to dull one of the most valuable aspects of having employees from outside your family: their external point of view. “Fresh eyes” are critical for any business to thrive, but a non-family employee might worry that their opinions will be overlooked, or worse, rejected outright. Identifying and retaining external employees is often difficult because it’s so challenging to work as an outsider. Further, these employees may feel—rightfully or not—that opportunities for advancement are reserved for family.

The best way to handle this pitfall is to formalize your human resources practice. Build and implement a conflict resolution plan that provides a documented system and a safe place to handle disputes. If you don’t have the expertise to do this, hire an HR consultant. They can equip you with the proper documentation and act as an unbiased decision-maker when needed.

2. Lack of management and systems rigour

The same informal culture discussed above can also result in a lack of documentation, policies, and defined strategy and goals. This is just plain bad business practice. Without these things in place, finding capital to grow is going to be nearly impossible. And, even if things are going well, handling the question of profit distribution between related owners is tricky.

On a managerial level, it’s important to create a development plan for key family members. Avoid providing arbitrary promotions by putting family members on an education track, including professional development, so they can hone their skills and earn their rank. Consider requiring that people work elsewhere for at least 5 years to broaden their perspective. Be sure to have open conversations with them about their career path, and provide incentives for them to stick around.

At the systems level, you must put together proper documentation. Just because your business is run by your family doesn’t mean it should be treated loosely. Having clearly defined policies and procedures will help you run a tight ship, and a strategy will set your course. Attorney’s fees are business deductible and the cost and potential heartache avoided in the long run will make this a worthwhile expense.

3. Lack of succession plan

Succession planning, which lays out how to replace leaders after they leave, is crucial for any business but even more so for a family business. Without one, you’ll be vulnerable to a high degree of interpersonal politics and emotion (particularly in the case of a death) in addition to the organizational and managerial chaos associated with succession. All businesses need to plan for the future—and this goes double when it’s a family business.

The best way to avoid problems down the road is to proactively seek out advisors. Make sure you work with your CPA, your estate attorney, and other transactional attorneys. Finally, ensure that your business has one “quarterback”—an advisor responsible for driving your written project plan during the transition.

Running a family business offers plenty of rewards. If you’re proactive about avoiding pitfalls, these three common ones, in particular, you’ll reduce the number of administrative and interpersonal problems, and instead be able to focus on sales and growth.

As we head into a new year, now’s the time to revisit our business plans and make improvements. Typically lower on the priority list than time-sensitive tasks like inventory or cash flow, marketing is frequently put on the back burner. The downside, of course, is marketing feeds into your bottom line, so keeping it fresh and current will actually help the business prosper. The good news is marketing doesn’t have to be onerous. These three must-haves are quick, simple, and effective. Set aside the time and make your business shine in 2020.

1. Have a Google My Business profile
   It’s super simple and free to set up a Google My Business profile and it’s one of the most effective ways to increase your visibility to prospective buyers. This is because once you have a profile, your listing can show up on maps, in search, and across other Google platforms. Additionally, your profile will give you more channels to communicate with your customers and an easy way to receive customer reviews—both crucial elements to your marketing strategy. And, Google will send you statistics every month that can help you fine-tune your efforts.
    
2. Ask for Google reviews
   Google is one of only a few places buyers check before they patronize your business. Indeed, 99% of businesses are assessed this way. By adding a "Give us a review" ask to the end of your sales process, you’re likely to solicit more reviews and leave a great impression as a business that cares, even in those customers who don’t post. Even if only a small portion of customers review the business, by asking for the review you’re establishing that you are interested in their feedback, which will go a long way towards building trust and warm feelings.
    
3. Have a (good) website
   If you don't have a website, or if your site doesn’t look good or perform well, you're losing business. It’s as simple as that. Buyers are fickle. They're impatient. And they want the information they want when they want it. Your website—even a simple one—needs to provide people with the information (or functionality) that they want, on-demand. This will keep your business in the running with your competitors.

None of these tactics are earth-shattering yet without them you’re missing valuable opportunities to get your name out there, build your credibility and do more business. If you don’t already have these three things in place, put them on your first-quarter of 2020 to-do list.