September has arrived.
The out-of-office replies are disappearing. The school run is back. Diaries are filling up. Projects that were going to be dealt with “after the summer” are suddenly back on the agenda. For many small businesses, it can feel as though somebody has flicked a switch.
After the stop-start nature of July and August, people are getting back into their normal routines and turning their attention towards work again. And that creates an opportunity for your social media.
Because if your customers have spent the last few weeks thinking more about flights, childcare and whether they packed enough sun cream than buying your services, you might need to remind them that you’re there. The important word there is remind.
You don’t necessarily need a completely new social media strategy. You don’t need to start shouting louder than everybody else. And you definitely don’t need to bombard your followers with “BUY NOW!” posts because September has arrived.
You need to give people a reason to start paying attention to your business again. So, if you’re wondering how to increase social media engagement for your small business after the summer slowdown, here are some practical ways to get started.
First, Don’t Assume Your Social Media Has Suddenly Stopped Working
Let’s get something out of the way first. If your social media engagement dropped during the summer, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve done anything wrong.
People’s routines change. They go on holiday. Parents have children at home. Business owners take time off. Employees cover colleagues. Meetings get postponed. Purchasing decisions get pushed into September.
Your audience might still have been scrolling through Instagram while sitting beside a swimming pool, but that doesn’t mean they were particularly interested in arranging an appointment with their accountant.
That’s why we’d be careful about making dramatic changes to your small business social media marketing based purely on a few quieter weeks. Instead, look at September as an opportunity to rebuild momentum.
1. Reintroduce Your Business
You know what your business does. Your employees know what your business does.
Your existing customers probably know too. But the person who followed you eight months ago after seeing one Reel?
They might not.
Businesses sometimes assume that because they’ve explained a service once, everybody following them has seen and remembered it. That’s simply not how social media works.
Your audience is constantly changing. New people discover you, existing followers miss posts and others simply forget what they’ve previously seen. September is therefore a brilliant time to reintroduce your business.
Tell people:
- Who you are
- What you do
- Who you help
- What problems you solve
- Where you’re based
- What makes your approach different
- How somebody can work with you
That doesn’t mean publishing one enormous post containing your entire company history. Spread these messages across your content. One Reel might introduce the business. Another post could explain your most popular service. A team photograph could introduce the people customers will actually deal with. A customer story could demonstrate the problem you solve.
Don’t assume people know.
Remind them.
2. Start With the Problems Your Customers Are Thinking About Right Now
One of the easiest ways to get somebody’s attention is to talk about something that’s already on their mind. September creates plenty of those opportunities. What are your customers dealing with now that summer is ending?
- A personal trainer might talk about rebuilding a fitness routine after the holidays.
- An accountant might discuss getting business finances organised before the final part of the year.
- A window company could talk about getting homes ready for colder weather.
- A business consultant might focus on achieving targets before the year ends.
- A photographer could remind businesses that now is a good time to organise photography for Christmas campaigns.
- The exact subject depends on your industry.
The principle doesn’t. Don’t just ask:
“What should we post this week?”
Ask:
“What is our ideal customer thinking about this week?”
That’s a much better starting point for social media content planning.
3. Make Your Hooks Work Harder
People have a lot competing for their attention in September.
- Their inbox has filled up.
- Meetings have returned.
- The children are back at school.
- Projects need restarting.
And your social media post is competing with all of that, alongside every other piece of content appearing on their screen. So give them a reason to stop.
Compare:
“Here are some tips for improving your social media.”
With:
“Posting three times a week won’t fix this social media mistake.”
Or:
“We offer bookkeeping services for small businesses.”
With:
“Still doing your accounts at 10pm after you’ve finished your actual job?”
The second examples create more curiosity because they immediately give the reader a reason to continue. That doesn’t mean every post needs a sensational headline. Please don’t start writing things like:
“YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THIS ACCOUNTANT OPENED EXCEL!!!”
We’re talking about stronger hooks, not clickbait. Start with a customer problem, an interesting observation, a question, a surprising fact or a clear benefit. Your first sentence has a job. Make it earn the second one.
4. Bring the People Behind Your Business Back Into Your Content
If you run a small business, one of your biggest social media advantages is something large companies often spend enormous amounts of money trying to manufacture.
Personality.
You have actual people customers can get to know. Use them. September is a good time to introduce or reintroduce the people behind your business.
- Share photographs of your team.
- Film somebody answering a common customer question.
- Show what happens behind the scenes.
- Talk about what you’ve been working on.
- Introduce a new employee.
- Share some expertise directly to camera.
This can be particularly important for service businesses. If somebody is choosing a personal trainer, consultant, photographer, tradesperson, accountant or social media manager, they’re not only evaluating the service.
They’re deciding whether they trust the person providing it. Your social media content can start building that relationship long before they enquire.
5. Answer the Questions People Ask Before They Buy
Want an easy source of engaging social media content? Open your inbox. Look through recent enquiries. Speak to whoever answers your telephone. Think about the conversations you have with potential customers.
- What questions come up repeatedly?
- How much does it cost?
- How long does it take?
- How does the process work?
- What’s included?
- Do I need to prepare anything?
- Is this right for my business?
- What happens after I enquire?
These questions make excellent social media content because they’re based on things your customers genuinely want to know. You can answer them through:
- Reels
- Carousels
- Graphics
- Talking-head videos
- Longer LinkedIn posts
- Stories
- Blog posts
You’re not trying to invent something you hope your audience might find interesting. You’re answering a question they’ve already told you matters.
6. Revisit Your Best-Performing Content
Here’s something we tell businesses surprisingly often:
You are allowed to talk about the same thing more than once.
In fact, you probably should. Go into your social media analytics and look at the content that performed particularly well before summer. Perhaps one Reel reached three times as many people as usual. Maybe a particular topic generated lots of comments. A post might have received plenty of saves. Perhaps something actually generated enquiries.
Don’t look at that successful post and think:
“Great. We’ve done that topic now.”
Look at it and ask:
“How else could we talk about this?”
If a video about one customer problem performed brilliantly, make another exploring a different aspect of the same problem.
- Turn it into a carousel.
- Write a blog about it.
- Create an FAQ.
- Share a customer story related to it.
- Successful content gives you information.
Use it. Good social media engagement for small businesses isn’t about constantly coming up with ideas nobody has ever had before. It’s about understanding what your audience cares about and creating more useful content around those subjects.
7. Give People Something Worth Responding To
Businesses often say they want more engagement. Then they publish content that gives their audience absolutely nothing to engage with.
- There’s a photograph.
- There’s a caption explaining the service.
- There’s a link.
- End of post.
If you want conversation, create opportunities for it.
- Ask a genuine question.
- Invite opinions.
- Present two options.
- Talk about a common industry debate.
- Share your perspective on something your customers regularly experience.
That doesn’t mean sticking “What do you think? 👇” at the end of every caption. The conversation should feel natural.
For example, imagine you’re a commercial interior designer. Rather than simply posting photographs of an office you’ve designed, you could talk about whether businesses still need traditional desks now that hybrid working is so common. That’s a conversation. People have opinions about it.
Your expertise gives you a reason to start that discussion.
8. Don’t Be Afraid to Promote Your Services
There’s another extreme we sometimes see. Some businesses become so concerned about being “too salesy” that they almost completely stop telling people they sell anything.
Their social media becomes a wonderful collection of tips, inspirational thoughts and behind-the-scenes photographs. But after following the account for six months, you still couldn’t confidently explain what you can actually buy from them.
- You are running a business.
- You’re allowed to promote it.
- Tell people about your services.
- Explain who they’re for.
- Talk about the problems they solve.
- Share results.
- Show completed projects.
- Publish testimonials.
- Explain your process.
- Invite people to enquire.
The key is balance. If every post screams “BUY FROM US”, people will quickly lose interest. But if you never promote your services at all, you’re expecting potential customers to do far too much detective work.
9. Use Customer Stories to Rebuild Trust
One of the most effective ways to remind people why they should choose your business is to show what you’ve already achieved for somebody else. Testimonials are useful. Case studies can be even better.
Instead of simply publishing:
“Fantastic company. Highly recommend!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Give people some context.
- What problem did the customer have?
- Why did they come to you?
- What did you do?
- What changed afterwards?
- If you’re a gardener, show the transformation.
- If you’re a consultant, explain the business problem.
- If you’re a personal trainer, share the client’s progress with permission.
- If you’re a web designer, show the old website and the new one.
- Stories make the result tangible.
Potential customers can see themselves in the situation. And that can be far more persuasive than simply telling everybody how brilliant you are.
10. Start Creating More Video
If you want to reach more people on social media, September is a good time to become more comfortable with video. That doesn’t mean every business needs to turn itself into a full-time video production company. Start simply.
- Answer a question to camera.
- Show how something works.
- Take people behind the scenes.
- Demonstrate a product.
- Explain a common mistake.
- Show a before-and-after.
- Film a day on the job.
The biggest barrier for many small business owners isn’t equipment or technical ability. It’s feeling uncomfortable on camera. Unfortunately, the main way to become more comfortable is to do it. Your first video might feel awkward. Your fifth probably will too.
By your twentieth, there’s a good chance you’ll wonder why you spent so long avoiding it.
11. Remember That Engagement Goes Both Ways
There’s a reason it’s called social media. If you want people to engage with your business, you should probably engage with them too.
- Reply to comments.
- Respond to messages.
- Comment on posts from other local businesses.
- Participate in relevant conversations.
- Engage with customers when they tag you.
If you’re using LinkedIn, spend some time writing thoughtful comments rather than simply publishing your own post and disappearing. This matters because social media shouldn’t feel like standing on a stage shouting messages at an audience. The best small business accounts often feel much more like communities.
And communities involve conversation.
12. Consider Putting Some Advertising Budget Behind Your Best Content
Organic social media can do a huge amount for a small business. But you don’t have to rely on organic reach alone.
September can be an excellent time to start using paid social media advertising, particularly if the final months of the year are commercially important to your business. That doesn’t mean pressing the “Boost Post” button every time Facebook suggests it. Think strategically.
- What are you trying to achieve?
- Do you want enquiries?
- Website traffic?
- Local awareness?
- Bookings?
- Leads?
- Sales?
The campaign objective, audience, creative and offer should all reflect that goal. Paid advertising can also work particularly well alongside strong organic content. Someone might first discover your business through an advert.
- They visit your profile.
- They watch a couple of Reels.
- They read a customer story.
- They see your team.
- They start to understand your expertise.
- Then, perhaps days or weeks later, they enquire.
- Social media rarely operates as neatly as:
Post → Customer sees post → Customer immediately buys.
People often need several interactions with a business before they’re ready to act. Your organic and paid social media activity can work together to create those interactions.
13. Don’t Expect Everyone to Be Ready to Buy in September
This is an important one. Getting your customers’ attention again doesn’t mean expecting every person who sees your content to enquire immediately. Some will. Many won’t. They might be researching. They could be comparing providers.
Perhaps they know they’ll need your service in November.
Maybe they’re following you because a problem is starting to emerge but hasn’t become urgent enough yet. Your job is to stay visible and useful.
If your content consistently demonstrates that you understand their problems and know how to solve them, your business has a much better chance of coming to mind when they’re eventually ready.
That’s why consistency matters. Not because you need to post for the sake of feeding an algorithm.
Because familiarity builds over time.
Your Audience Is Back. Give Them a Reason to Notice You.
September isn’t about frantically trying to compensate for a quieter August. It’s an opportunity to regain momentum.
Your customers are returning to normal routines. Projects are restarting. Decisions are being made. Businesses are looking towards the final few months of the year. Make sure you’re visible while that’s happening.
- Reintroduce what you do.
- Talk about the problems your customers are experiencing now.
- Improve your hooks.
- Show the people behind your business.
- Answer questions.
- Revisit successful topics.
- Share customer stories.
- Create video.
- Start conversations.
- And yes, occasionally remind people that they can actually buy something from you.
You don’t necessarily need more social media content. You need content that gives the right people a reason to stop, pay attention and remember your business.
At SMR Social, we help small businesses do exactly that.
We’re a family of social media managers helping small businesses with social media strategy, content creation, ongoing social media management and paid social advertising. So, if summer has ended and you’re looking at your social media thinking “Right, we really need to get on top of this”, get in touch.
We’d be happy to help.