What should a shop, a food business or a product brand post on social media?
By Guy Hamilton, founder of PlatPost. Last updated .
The short answer
Post what only you can say: a decision you made, a number you would normally keep private, a thing a customer told you. Below are 40 idea starters for shops, food and product brands, the same ones PlatPost offers inside the app.
One idea, three drafts
Story
I used to price jobs on the drive home, then sit on the quote for days. So I built the thing I needed.
Number
48 hours from job to quote. It is 4 minutes now, and [gap: how many quotes a week?]I send 20 a week.
Question
Sparkies: how many quotes did you lose last month because you sent them late?
How to use these ideas
These starters are built into PlatPost under "Shops and products". Pick one, add your own facts, and you have a post that nobody else can write.
In PlatPost you pick a starter, choose a tone, and get three drafts in your own voice. A draft uses only the facts you gave. A missing fact shows as a marked gap for you to fill.
Online shop or product
Selling a physical product, online or in person. The tone PlatPost suggests first is Warm.
Idea starters. Each one is a prompt for your own facts, not a finished post.
- How the product is made, plainly
- Why it costs what it costs
- Something you ran out of, or something back in stock
- How to use it properly
- The story of why you started
- A choice you are making, asked as a question to customers
- What a return teaches you
- A supplier change and what it means for the product
Food and drink maker
Bakery, roastery, brewery, sauces, produce. The tone PlatPost suggests first is Warm.
Idea starters. Each one is a prompt for your own facts, not a finished post.
- A batch that went right, and what made it
- Where an ingredient comes from
- Why the price moved this season
- A recipe change and the reason for it
- What sells out first, and why you think that is
- How to store it and how long it keeps
- A market or stockist you are at this week
- A question about what people want to taste next
Clothing and accessories
Apparel, jewellery, bags and footwear. The tone PlatPost suggests first is Warm.
Idea starters. Each one is a prompt for your own facts, not a finished post.
- How one piece is cut and put together
- Why the fabric costs what it does
- Sizing, and how you decide it
- A colour you are testing, asked as a question
- What a restock actually involves
- How to care for it so it lasts
- A piece that did not sell, and your theory why
- A question about what customers want back in stock
Handmade and craft
Made by hand, in small numbers. The tone PlatPost suggests first is Storytelling.
Idea starters. Each one is a prompt for your own facts, not a finished post.
- How long one piece takes, start to finish
- The tool you would not replace
- A commission, and how it was decided
- Why a handmade price is what it is
- A mistake that became a technique
- What you are making this week
- Where your materials come from
- A question about what people commission most
Cafe, pub or restaurant
Serving food and drink in your own place. The tone PlatPost suggests first is Warm.
Idea starters. Each one is a prompt for your own facts, not a finished post.
- What is on this week, and why
- A supplier you buy from and the reason
- What a dish costs to put on a plate
- The quietest hour, and what you do with it
- A regular’s order that became a menu item
- What changed in the kitchen this month
- How you handle a busy service
- A question about what people want on the menu
Questions people ask
- What should a shop, a food business or a product brand post about?
- Real things from your own work: a decision, a number, a customer's words, a mistake and what changed. The 40 starters on this page are prompts for exactly that.
- Does PlatPost write the post from these ideas?
- Yes. You pick a starter and a tone, and PlatPost writes three drafts in your own voice from the facts in your Business Brain. You edit and approve each one.
- How many kinds of business does PlatPost have ideas for?
- 50, in 11 groups. You can pick any of them for a single session.