What should a trade or a local service business 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 64 idea starters for trades and local services, 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 "Trades and local services". 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.
Trades and services
Electricians, plumbers, heating and repairs. The tone PlatPost suggests first is Friendly.
Idea starters. Each one is a prompt for your own facts, not a finished post.
- A job this week and what it taught you
- How you quote, and why
- The question customers always ask
- What you charge for, and what is free
- A busy week, honestly
- Something you wish customers knew before they called
- A fault that looked small and was not
- What a call-out fee pays for
Builder or construction
Extensions, lofts, renovations, groundworks. The tone PlatPost suggests first is Matter-of-fact.
Idea starters. Each one is a prompt for your own facts, not a finished post.
- How you price a job and what happens when you find a problem
- What a client gets from you every week
- A job you turned down and why
- The thing that actually goes wrong on jobs
- Where you work and why you stay local
- A question people keep asking you about planning or regs
- What a realistic timescale looks like
- The material price that moved this month
Gardening and landscaping
Garden design, maintenance, fencing and turf. The tone PlatPost suggests first is Matter-of-fact.
Idea starters. Each one is a prompt for your own facts, not a finished post.
- A garden before and after, and the work between
- What is worth doing this month in a garden
- How you price a maintenance round
- A plant choice that saves a customer money
- What the weather did to your week
- The job people should not do themselves
- How long a new lawn takes to look right
- A question about what people want from a garden
Cleaning services
Domestic, commercial and end of tenancy. The tone PlatPost suggests first is Matter-of-fact.
Idea starters. Each one is a prompt for your own facts, not a finished post.
- What a deep clean includes, room by room
- How long a job takes, honestly
- A product you stopped using, and why
- What an end of tenancy clean must reach
- How you price a regular slot
- The thing everybody forgets to clean
- A job that was worse than expected
- A question about what people want cleaned first
Vehicle repair and valeting
Garages, mobile mechanics and detailing. The tone PlatPost suggests first is Matter-of-fact.
Idea starters. Each one is a prompt for your own facts, not a finished post.
- The fault you see most this month
- What an MOT failure usually costs
- A check a driver can do in two minutes
- Why a part costs what it costs
- A repair you refused, and why
- What a service actually covers
- A vehicle that came in with a story
- A question about how people choose a garage
Removals and clearance
House moves, waste clearance, man and van. The tone PlatPost suggests first is Matter-of-fact.
Idea starters. Each one is a prompt for your own facts, not a finished post.
- What a move day looks like, hour by hour
- How you price by volume, not by guess
- Where the waste actually goes
- What you cannot take, and why
- A job that needed two vans
- How to pack so nothing breaks
- The licence that makes a clearance legal
- A question about what people struggle to shift
Pet care services
Grooming, walking, boarding and training. The tone PlatPost suggests first is Warm.
Idea starters. Each one is a prompt for your own facts, not a finished post.
- A dog that changed over a few visits
- What a groom includes, and how long it takes
- A safety rule you never break
- How you price a walk or a stay
- What owners can do between visits
- A behaviour question you are asked weekly
- Why you keep group sizes small
- A question about what owners worry about most
Events and weddings
Planning, venues, catering and entertainment. The tone PlatPost suggests first is Storytelling.
Idea starters. Each one is a prompt for your own facts, not a finished post.
- A day that went to plan, and the plan behind it
- What a deposit holds, and what it does not
- The timing mistake that spoils a day
- How far ahead people should book you
- A supplier you always recommend, and why
- What the weather plan is
- The question every client asks
- A question about what people remember from an event
Questions people ask
- What should a trade or a local service business post about?
- Real things from your own work: a decision, a number, a customer's words, a mistake and what changed. The 64 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.