What Should a Small Business Post on Instagram?

If you've ever opened Instagram, stared at the little + button and thought:

“I genuinely have absolutely nothing to post.”

You probably do.

In fact, if you've been working today, you've almost certainly come across something you could turn into content.

The problem usually isn't that small businesses don't have enough to talk about.

It's that you don't notice something as content while it's happening.

Stop trying to think of content ideas

This sounds slightly ridiculous coming from someone who creates content for a living, but stay with me.

When you sit down and tell yourself:

“Right. I need to think of five Instagram posts.”

You've given yourself a completely blank page.

And blank pages are hard.

So you Google social media content ideas for small businesses and get told to:

• introduce yourself

• share an inspirational quote

• post a fun fact

• celebrate a national awareness day

• ask your audience coffee or tea

And none of it has very much to do with the business you're actually trying to grow.

Instead, start with the business.

Your working day is full of content

Imagine you're a hairdresser.

A client comes in convinced she needs one thing, but after a consultation you recommend something completely different.

That's content.

You're an accountant and a client asks you a question you've already answered four times this month.

That's content.

You're a builder and you're fixing something that was done badly during a previous renovation.

That's content.

You're a beauty therapist and someone tells you they've put off booking because they're nervous about what their first appointment will be like.

That's content.

You're a photographer and you've just spent ten minutes moving furniture around because the best light isn't where people assume it is.

Yep.

That's content too.

The things that feel completely ordinary to you often aren't ordinary to your customers.

You know them because you do this every day.

They don't.

Start noticing the questions

One of the easiest places to find content is your inbox.

What are people asking before they buy?

What are they confused about?

What do they worry about?

What do they regularly misunderstand?

What do you find yourself explaining again and again?

If one customer has asked something, there's a good chance other potential customers have wondered the same thing without asking.

Instead of answering it once in a DM, answer it publicly too.

A mortgage adviser who keeps being asked whether self-employed people can get mortgages has content.

A personal trainer whose clients worry they'll be too unfit to start has content.

A wedding photographer who's constantly asked what happens if it rains has content.

Your FAQs aren't boring admin.

They're a map of what your customers want to know.

Notice the things you have an opinion about

You also don't have to teach all the time.

Some of the strongest business content comes from having something to say.

Maybe there's a common practice in your industry you don't agree with.

Maybe customers regularly come to you after trying something cheaper.

Maybe there's something people assume matters that you don't think matters very much at all.

Maybe you've changed the way you work after years of experience.

Maybe there's something you'd never recommend.

Those opinions tell people how you think.

And that's useful when somebody is deciding between you and another business offering roughly the same thing.

Your expertise isn't just what you know.

It's also the judgement you've developed from actually doing the work.

Show the bit before the finished result

Small businesses are often very good at posting the end.

The finished kitchen.

The perfect nails.

The beautiful cake.

The completed branding.

The smiling client.

But there's usually far more content in how you got there.

What did it look like before?

What decision did you make?

What problem came up?

Why did you use that material?

What did the customer ask for?

What would have happened if you'd done it another way?

What took the most skill?

What happened that the customer never even saw?

That's the stuff that helps someone understand the value behind the finished result.

Talk about the experience of buying from you

This one gets forgotten all the time.

You know what happens when someone books your business.

They don't.

They might be wondering where to park.

Whether they need to prepare anything.

What happens at the first appointment.

Whether you'll make them feel silly for not knowing the terminology.

How long something takes.

Whether their children can come.

What happens after they enquire.

What they need to bring.

Whether you're going to try to sell them something else.

Those might not feel like exciting Instagram topics.

But they can remove the tiny bits of uncertainty that stop somebody taking the next step.

And that makes them very useful content.

Tell people what's happening in the business

You don't need a groundbreaking lesson every time you post.

Sometimes you're allowed to document.

You've had a delivery.

You're preparing for a busy day.

You're working on something interesting.

You've changed something about your service.

You're learning something new.

You're celebrating a business milestone.

You've had a lovely conversation with a customer.

You're testing something.

You're restocking.

You're packing an order.

You're heading to a job.

You're making a decision.

You're having one of those days.

People don't only need polished educational content from businesses.

Sometimes they just need to see enough of the business over time to become familiar with it.

Think about what the post needs to do

Not every piece of content needs to make someone buy immediately.

Some content helps a new person discover you.

Some helps them understand what you do.

Some makes your business easier to remember.

Some builds trust.

Some gives someone a reason to buy.

And some gives existing customers something worth recommending or sharing.

That's why looking at an individual post and asking “Did this get me a customer?” isn't always particularly helpful.

People rarely discover a business, understand it, trust it and buy from it because of one Instagram post.

Your content works together.

What should you post this week?

Don't start with Instagram.

Start with your business.

At the end of each working day, ask yourself:

What happened today that a customer might find useful, interesting or reassuring?

Write it down.

Don't worry about whether it's a Reel, carousel, Story or beautifully designed graphic yet.

Just notice it.

Do that for a week and you'll probably find you have far more to talk about than you thought.

Because you don't need to spend your evenings desperately inventing content for Instagram.

Your business is already producing it.

You just need to start noticing.

Want useful social media advice without making it your entire personality?

The Butterfly Broadcast is my Monday morning email for small business owners.

One thing worth knowing. One thing worth trying. One thing you can forget about.

No algorithm panic. No pressure to become a content creator. Just the social media stuff that's actually useful when you've got a business to run.