What actually gets posted
Written out in full for four different businesses, so you can judge the writing rather than a description of the writing.
Plumber
Job story
"Called out to a Preston terrace where the kitchen tap had been dripping for, and I quote, 'a while'. A while turned out to be long enough to rot the cabinet base. The tap was a fifteen minute fix. The cabinet is a carpenter's problem now. If yours is dripping, it is cheaper this week than next year."
Explainer
"Why your hot water runs out faster in winter. The tank is the same size, but the mains water going in is around 10 degrees instead of 20, so it takes about a quarter more energy to get the same tank to temperature. Nothing is broken. You are just asking more of it."
Physio clinic
Myth correction
"'I should rest it until the pain goes.' For most soft tissue injuries this is the opposite of what helps. Complete rest past the first couple of days tends to stiffen the joint and weaken the muscle around it. Graded movement, early, beats waiting it out. Which is annoying, because waiting is easier."
Behind the scenes
"New shockwave unit arrived this week. It is for the stubborn tendon problems — the plantar fasciitis and tennis elbow that have not shifted with loading programs. Not a magic wand and not comfortable, but for the cases where nothing else has worked it is worth a conversation."
Accounting practice
Timely reminder
"BAS is due next week. The two things that hold clients up every quarter: bank feeds that stopped reconciling in month one, and receipts that live in the glovebox. Neither takes long to fix now. Both take a long time to fix on the due date."
Plain answer
"Can you claim your home office? If you work from home you can claim a portion of running costs — electricity, internet, phone, depreciation on the desk and chair. What you generally cannot claim as an employee is rent, mortgage interest or rates. The fixed-rate method is simpler; actual cost usually gets you more if you keep records."
Cafe
Product
"New single origin on the espresso machine from Monday. Colombian, washed, tastes like red apple and brown sugar. Sweeter than what we have had on and it handles milk better, so it is going in the flat whites too."
Community
"The netball team that comes in on Saturday mornings finished second in the grand final. We are told the umpiring was controversial. Coffees are on the house next Saturday, for the team only, and we will be checking."
The five types we rotate
Job or work in progress
What you did this week. The single most effective post type, and the one people are most reluctant to send photos for.
Useful explainer
Answer a question customers actually ask. Costs you nothing to give away and it is what gets shared.
Finished result
Before and after, or just after. Works in every trade and most services.
Timely or seasonal
BAS deadlines, storm season, school holidays, the first cold snap. Relevance beats cleverness.
The occasional human one
The team, the dog on site, the thing that went wrong and was funny afterwards. Roughly one in eight. Any more and it reads as filler.
What never goes out
- Motivational quotes on stock backgrounds.
- “Happy Monday!” and every variant of it.
- National Doughnut Day, unless you sell doughnuts.
- Anything with more than three hashtags in a row.
- Engagement bait. “Comment YES if you agree” makes you look desperate.
- Claims we have not checked with you first.