The thing I hear most from small business owners is that they don’t have time for social media. It sounds like:
“I know I need to be on social media.”
“I know I should be posting more.”
“I know I should be engaging.”
“I know I should probably make a Reel.”
Between the customers and the emails and the meetings and the orders and the bookkeeping and, oh yeah, actually running your business, social media is the first thing that gets pushed to the bottom of the list.
I get it. Between client work, events and being B’s mom, finding a whole extra hour in my day is so hard to find, and I’m guessing it isn’t easy to find for you either.
What if you didn’t need an HOUR?
What if you set a timer for 15 minutes, a few times a week, and knocked five little tasks off your plate that will still do a whole lot for your business?
You don’t need to overhaul your whole strategy or plan out a month of content for this to work (although if you want help with that, you know where to find me!).
Grab your phone, set your timer, get a few things done and get on with your day.
Doing that two or three times a week can make a HUGE difference in how your business shows up online.
With the holidays coming up, now is a great time to start.
Here are the five tasks, plus roughly how long each one should take you.
1. Actually BE Social
I say this ALL the time, social media is supposed to be SOCIAL!
Spend a few minutes leaving comments on other local businesses’ posts, replying to a customer’s Story, congratulating someone on a big win or answering a question someone asked in a community group.
Try to write an actual comment instead of scrolling and double-tapping, because a comment puts your name in front of people and gets a conversation going, which does a lot more for you than 15 minutes of scrolling and calling it “working on social media.” (Yes, I’m looking at you, and YES, I’ve been there and done the exact same thing!)
You don’t need to get to 50 accounts either, so pick a few and say something meaningful to each of them.
2. Answer Your Comments and Messages
Next, check in on the people who are already talking to you.
Did someone leave a comment yesterday that you forgot to answer? Is there a message sitting in your inbox? Did someone tag your business in their Story?
Take a couple of minutes and answer every one of them!
These people already took the time to reach out to your business, so don’t leave them hanging, because the person asking you a question today could be the person buying from you, booking with you or recommending you to their sister a month from now.
3. Capture Something
Notice I didn’t say post something!
Grab your phone and snap a photo of what’s going on behind the scenes, whether that’s an order you’re packing, your workspace or a product you’re working on, or record a quick five-second video.
You don’t even have to post it today, just save it.
One of the biggest reasons people tell me they don’t post is that they sit down to make a post and have NO idea what to share, so every photo you save now means one less time you’re staring at a blank screen later. (I shoot pretty much everything on my iPhone, so your phone is all you need for this one!)
4. Look at What Worked
You don’t need to dig into your analytics every day (save that for when we sit down together for an audit!).
Scroll through your last few posts and look at which one got more comments, which one got shared or which Story people replied to.
Your audience is telling you what they like all the time, so if your behind-the-scenes posts always get more love, make more of them, and if people respond every time you show your face, show your face more often!
If something flopped, that’s okay too, you tried it and now you know.
5. Find a Few New People to Connect With
If you want to grow your audience before the holidays, you can’t always wait around for new people to find you.
Use the last few minutes on your timer to follow a couple of new accounts, like another local business, a community organization or a business you’d love to partner with someday, and then go comment on something they’ve posted.
Skip following 100 random accounts and hoping they follow you back, because a couple of new connections every time you set your timer will add up faster than you’d think.
Set the Timer and Get Back to Your Day
You don’t have to do all five perfectly, and you don’t have to post every single day for this to work. Set a timer for 15 minutes, work through your five tasks, then close the app and get back to running your business!
If you do that three times a week, you’ve spent 45 minutes on your social media without having to find a free hour anywhere in your calendar.
By the time you’re ready to talk about your holiday sale or your Giving Tuesday campaign, people will already know who you are, because you’ve been showing up and talking with them for weeks.
Want Help Making Your 15 Minutes Count?
If you’d like a second set of eyes on your accounts before the holiday rush, I’m booking social media audits now.
We’ll go through what’s working and what to focus on, so your 15 minutes go toward the things that bring people through your door.