1. What social actually does for local businesses

Social media will not drive most of a local business's leads. Set the right expectation with the client: social is for trust and recency, not lead volume.

What social does:

• Validates the business when prospects Google them. Empty Facebook + Instagram = "are they still in business?"
• Compounds reviews and word-of-mouth — happy customers can tag and share.
• Local search signals — Google has confirmed it pulls signals from social profiles, including consistency of NAP and website link.
• Re-engagement — past customers see a post, remember they need a service, call.

Don't promise lead volume from organic social. Do promise consistency and presence.

2. Pick the 1–2 platforms that matter

Niche	Best platforms	Why
Trades (plumbing, HVAC, roofing)	Facebook + GBP + (NextDoor where active)	Where their adult-homeowner audience lives
Med spas, beauty	Instagram + TikTok	Visual transformations, before/afters
Real estate	Instagram + Facebook + LinkedIn	Listings + agent personal brand
Lawyers	LinkedIn + Facebook	Authority + community
Restaurants / cafés	Instagram + TikTok + GBP	Food = visual, foot traffic
Dentists, medical	Facebook + Instagram + GBP	Reassurance + reviews

Two platforms maximum. More than that and posting becomes uncoordinated.

3. The 12-post monthly content pack

Every client retainer includes a 12-post pack each month — three posts a week, or one per business day with a few off-days.

3.1 The post mix

• 4 × Work-in-progress / before-after (highest engagement)
• 2 × Customer review screenshots with permission
• 2 × Educational tip ("3 signs your water heater is failing")
• 1 × Team / behind-the-scenes
• 1 × Promotion / seasonal offer
• 1 × Local community (sponsored a team, attended an event)
• 1 × Re-share latest blog article (from Course 06)

3.2 Caption template

{{ Hook — 1 line that mentions the city or service }}

{{ 2–4 sentences of substance — specifics, not hype }}

{{ CTA — call, book, message, comment }}

#LocalCity #Niche #BrandName

4. The "phone-in-30-seconds" system

Asking the client to "send us photos" doesn't work. Build a friction-free pipeline.

1. Set up a shared Google Drive folder labeled "Hermes social — drop photos here."
2. Give the client a one-page card: "After every job, take 1 'before' photo, 1 'after' photo, 1 'team' photo, 1 'happy customer' photo (with permission). Tap upload."
3. Trigger a Make.com scenario when a new file appears: AI tags the photo, drafts a caption, drops it in your "draft" column.
4. Editor reviews, schedules.

Result: client provides raw material in 30 seconds per job. You batch-edit once a week.

5. Niche playbooks

5.1 Plumber / HVAC / roofer

• Best content: before/afters of repairs, time-lapse of jobs, "what's wrong with this picture" educational, post-storm responsiveness.
• Posting times: 7–8 a.m. (homeowners on phones over coffee), 7–9 p.m.
• Hashtags: 5–7 max. #City + #Service + #Brand.
• Don't: stock-photo a wrench. Real work or nothing.

5.2 Med spa / beauty

• Best content: 30-second before/after Reels, treatment explainers, staff spotlights, "what's trending right now."
• Permission: always get a written photo release for face content.
• Don't: over-filter. Authenticity outperforms beauty-app perfection.

5.3 Real estate

• Best content: new-listing tours (vertical video), neighborhood tours, market stats ("homes sold in {neighborhood} in March"), buyer/seller tips.
• Cadence: 5 posts/week minimum during active season.
• Don't: only post listings. The 3:1 rule — 3 community/educational posts for every 1 listing.

5.4 Lawyer (personal injury, family, criminal)

• Best content: case-result anonymized stats, "did you know" legal tips, settled-case posts (with disclaimers), community involvement.
• Compliance: state bar advertising rules — every post needs the firm's identifying info, no specific guarantees.
• Don't: meme legal pain points. Wrong tone.

5.5 Restaurant / café

• Best content: daily specials, plating shots, prep videos, customer love.
• Cadence: daily Story, 3–4 feed posts a week.
• Always tag location and use local hashtags. The geo-tag is the entire point.

6. Tools

Need	Tool	Notes
Scheduler	Buffer, Later, Metricool, Publer	$10–$30/mo per client. Posting to GBP supported in Metricool/Publer.
AI captions	OpenAI / Claude API or ChatGPT	Use the photo + brand voice prompt below
Design	Canva (Brand Kit per client)	One template per post type, swap photo + text
Reels editing	CapCut, Riverside	Templates batch in 30 min
Hashtag research	Flick, RiteTag, free Instagram search	Local-first hashtags, max 10

6.1 The caption prompt

Write a {{ Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn }} caption for 
{{ client name }}, a {{ niche }} in {{ city }}.

Photo description: {{ ... }}

Voice: {{ 3 adjectives — e.g. "warm, plainspoken, local" }}
Tone constraints: no emojis, no hashtag stuffing, < 80 words.

Caption must include:
- A 1-line hook
- Two specific sentences referencing the photo
- A clear CTA ({{ "call", "DM", "book", etc. }})
- 5 hashtags: 2 local, 2 niche, 1 brand

7. Reporting and what to measure

Don't drown the client in 40 metrics. Three things, monthly:

• Posts shipped (target hit / missed)
• Reach + engagement trend vs. last month
• Direct response: DMs, link clicks, profile visits → inquiries

Add a "best post of the month" callout in the report. Clients love seeing one win.

What to do this week

1. Pick one client. Set up a Buffer or Metricool workspace for them.
2. Build the 12-post calendar template in Airtable.
3. Set up the shared Drive folder + Make.com webhook for new uploads.
4. Save 3 Canva templates to the client's Brand Kit.
5. Schedule the first 2 weeks of posts. Send to client for approval, then auto-publish.