Guide
Content ideas for small business: 20 ideas from your own work
Updated
The easiest content ideas come from your own business: the questions customers ask, the jobs you do and the prices you charge. Here are 20 of them, each with an example post.
In short
- The easiest content ideas for a small business are answers to the questions your customers ask you every week.
- Before-and-after photos, a look behind the scenes and a clear word about your prices are the next easiest posts.
- One idea can become three posts: a written answer, a photo and a short video of you explaining it.
- Your emails, your reviews and Google's own search suggestions show you what people want to know next.
20 content ideas for a small business
Each idea works for almost any local business, from a plumber to a bakery. The example shows what one post could be about.
20 content ideas, with an example post
| Idea | Example post |
|---|---|
| 1. Answer a question customers often ask | How long does a bathroom renovation take? |
| 2. Explain what changes your price | Why one wedding cake costs more than another |
| 3. Warn about a common mistake | The mistake we see most often with DIY tiling |
| 4. Compare two options | Gel or regular nail polish: which lasts longer? |
| 5. Explain a word from your trade | What a skin fade actually is |
| 6. Show a before and after | A garden before and after one day's work |
| 7. Show a job from start to finish | A cake from the first layer to the last, sped up |
| 8. Show the work nobody sees | What a painter does before opening the first tin |
| 9. Show your tools or ingredients | The three products we use on every car we clean |
| 10. Show a normal working day | A day at the café, from opening to closing |
| 11. Introduce yourself | Why I started this business, in one minute |
| 12. Introduce someone on your team | Meet the person who answers your calls |
| 13. Share a new review | A screenshot of a Google review, with a thank you |
| 14. Tell a customer's story, with their permission | How we fixed a leak two other plumbers missed |
| 15. Answer a comment | A short video reply to a question left under a post |
| 16. Give a seasonal tip | Book your boiler service before the first cold week |
| 17. Share local news or an event | We will be at the Saturday market this weekend |
| 18. Announce something new | New opening hours from next month |
| 19. Make an offer | A free first consultation for new customers this month |
| 20. Give your honest opinion | Why we do not sell the cheapest option |
Idea: 1. Answer a question customers often ask
- Example post
- How long does a bathroom renovation take?
Idea: 2. Explain what changes your price
- Example post
- Why one wedding cake costs more than another
Idea: 3. Warn about a common mistake
- Example post
- The mistake we see most often with DIY tiling
Idea: 4. Compare two options
- Example post
- Gel or regular nail polish: which lasts longer?
Idea: 5. Explain a word from your trade
- Example post
- What a skin fade actually is
Idea: 6. Show a before and after
- Example post
- A garden before and after one day's work
Idea: 7. Show a job from start to finish
- Example post
- A cake from the first layer to the last, sped up
Idea: 8. Show the work nobody sees
- Example post
- What a painter does before opening the first tin
Idea: 9. Show your tools or ingredients
- Example post
- The three products we use on every car we clean
Idea: 10. Show a normal working day
- Example post
- A day at the café, from opening to closing
Idea: 11. Introduce yourself
- Example post
- Why I started this business, in one minute
Idea: 12. Introduce someone on your team
- Example post
- Meet the person who answers your calls
Idea: 13. Share a new review
- Example post
- A screenshot of a Google review, with a thank you
Idea: 14. Tell a customer's story, with their permission
- Example post
- How we fixed a leak two other plumbers missed
Idea: 15. Answer a comment
- Example post
- A short video reply to a question left under a post
Idea: 16. Give a seasonal tip
- Example post
- Book your boiler service before the first cold week
Idea: 17. Share local news or an event
- Example post
- We will be at the Saturday market this weekend
Idea: 18. Announce something new
- Example post
- New opening hours from next month
Idea: 19. Make an offer
- Example post
- A free first consultation for new customers this month
Idea: 20. Give your honest opinion
- Example post
- Why we do not sell the cheapest option
How to turn one idea into three posts
You do not need a new idea for every post. The same idea works as a written post, a photo and a short video, posted on different days.
One idea, three formats
| Format | Where to post it | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Written post | Facebook, LinkedIn or your Google Business Profile | A few sentences that answer the question |
| Photo post | Instagram or Facebook | One photo of the job and two or three sentences |
| Short video | Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts | Your phone, and 30 to 60 seconds of you talking |
Format: Written post
- Where to post it
- Facebook, LinkedIn or your Google Business Profile
- What it takes
- A few sentences that answer the question
Format: Photo post
- Where to post it
- Instagram or Facebook
- What it takes
- One photo of the job and two or three sentences
Format: Short video
- Where to post it
- Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts
- What it takes
- Your phone, and 30 to 60 seconds of you talking
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
Where to find more content ideas
When the list above runs out, these places show you what your customers want to know.
- Your emails, texts and direct messages hold the questions people ask before they buy.
- Your Google and Facebook reviews show what customers liked, in their own words.
- Google's search box suggests what people type after your trade and your town, such as 'roofer Denver cost'.
- The 'People also ask' box in Google's results lists more questions about the same topic.
- AnswerThePublic turns one word, such as 'dog grooming', into a list of questions people search for.
- A note on your phone is the easiest place to save each new question, in the customer's own words.
Where Cutroom fits
Of the three formats, the short video takes the most work, because it has to be edited. Cutroom edits videos of you talking for you.
- You upload one clip of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes long.
- Cutroom cuts it, adds captions timed to your voice and places stock clips over what you say.
- You get a finished 9:16 MP4 for Reels, TikTok or YouTube Shorts in about a minute.
- A 30-second video costs 110 credits: 100 to edit, plus 20 per minute of export.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99 a month removes it.
Three ways to edit the video version
| Option | Cost | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| The app's own captions | $0 | Film, turn on auto captions in Instagram or TikTok, and post |
| An editing app | Free to paid, by app | Trim the video and add captions and clips yourself |
| Cutroom | 110 credits for a 30-second video | Upload the clip, check the edit and download it |
Option: The app's own captions
- Cost
- $0
- What you do
- Film, turn on auto captions in Instagram or TikTok, and post
Option: An editing app
- Cost
- Free to paid, by app
- What you do
- Trim the video and add captions and clips yourself
Option: Cutroom
- Cost
- 110 credits for a 30-second video
- What you do
- Upload the clip, check the edit and download it
Questions people ask
- How do I come up with content ideas for my small business?
- Start with what customers already ask you. Write each question down in their words, then answer it in a post. Your reviews, your emails and Google's search suggestions give you more when the list runs out.
- What should a small business post on social media?
- Answers to customer questions, before-and-after photos, a look behind the scenes, your prices and seasonal tips are the easiest to make. They show your work and answer what people want to know before they buy.
- How many posts does a small business need each month?
- About 12 to 20 on Instagram, if you follow Buffer's 2026 advice of 3 to 5 posts a week. If each idea becomes three posts, that is 4 to 7 ideas a month. If that is too much, Buffer's advice is to pick a number you can keep up.
- Should a small business post its prices?
- Yes, if you can give a range. Price is one of the first things people want to know, and a post that explains what changes the price answers it before they call.
- What is the quickest content to make when I have no time?
- A photo of a finished job with two sentences under it. Short videos take longer because of the editing, which a tool like Cutroom can do for you.
- Can I post the same idea on every platform?
- Yes. A vertical video works on Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts without changes. Change the text under it to suit each app.
Pick one question a customer asked you this week and post the answer. Your first video is free.