What Your Customers Actually Want to See on Social Media
Most small businesses post what they think they should, not what their audience actually cares about. Here's the simple shift that turns your feed from an announcement board into something people genuinely want to follow.
Dave Smith
Here's something that might sting a little: the content you spend ages crafting probably isn't what your customers want to see.
Not because it's bad. But because most small businesses fall into the same trap — posting what they *think* they should, rather than what their audience actually cares about.
The Assumption That Trips Everyone Up
Most business owners, when they finally sit down to post something, default to one of two modes: announcing things ("We're now open on Saturdays!") or showing off their work ("Another stunning kitchen installation completed!").
Neither of those is wrong, exactly. But if that's *all* you're posting, you're basically running an announcement board. And nobody follows an announcement board.
The uncomfortable truth? Your customers aren't following you to be sold to. They already know what you do — that's why they followed you in the first place. What they're actually sticking around for is something else entirely.
What People Actually Want
Research from Sprout Social consistently shows the same pattern: consumers follow brands on social media primarily for three reasons. Entertainment. Inspiration. Education. "Learning about new products" comes in a distant fourth.
Think about your own scrolling habits. You don't follow your favourite coffee shop because you need reminding that they sell coffee. You follow them because their barista does latte art videos, or they post something genuinely funny on a Monday morning, or they share the story of where their beans come from.
It's the same for your business. If you're a plumber, your followers don't need another photo of a boiler. They want to know why their radiator makes that weird clicking noise at 3am. If you run a bakery, they've seen enough sourdough loaves — tell them what happens when you accidentally use salt instead of sugar (we've all been curious).
The 80/20 Split That Actually Works
Here's a framework that sorts this out without overthinking it: make roughly 80% of your content useful, entertaining, or interesting to your audience, and save the remaining 20% for the business stuff — promotions, announcements, product showcases.
That probably sounds backwards. You might be thinking, "But I *need* to show my work, that's the whole point." And you do. But if every single post is a showcase, you become wallpaper. Easily scrolled past. Forgettable.
The 80% is what earns you the right to post the 20%. It's the reason people don't hit unfollow.
What Does "Useful" Even Look Like?
This is where most people get stuck. "I'm an accountant, what entertaining content am I supposed to post?" Fair question. But useful doesn't mean you need to become a comedian. It means sharing something your audience gets genuine value from.
A few ideas that work across practically any industry:
Answer the questions you hear every week. You know those things clients ask you constantly? The ones that feel so obvious you've stopped thinking about them? Those are gold. "Do I really need to service my boiler every year?" "What's the difference between a will and a trust?" "How often should I actually wash my dog?" Your audience is wondering the same things.
Show the process, not just the result. Before-and-afters are good. But mid-way-throughs are better. The messy, real, unglamorous bit where things are half-finished — that's what people find genuinely interesting. It's the difference between a finished garden photo and a time-lapse of the whole build.
Share the things you've learnt the hard way. Industry tips that save people money, time, or headaches. The stuff you wish someone had told you when you started. "Three things I'd check before hiring a web designer." "Why the cheapest quote isn't always the cheapest option." Practical wisdom that positions you as someone worth listening to.
React to things your customers care about. New regulations, seasonal changes, local events, industry news. Not with a corporate press release, but with your honest take. "The new EPCs requirements — here's what it actually means for your home sale."
The Post That Changed My Mind
I used to think the same way most business owners do. When I was running my agency, our social media was basically a portfolio feed. Nice-looking websites we'd built, one after another. Professional? Sure. Engaging? Not remotely.
Then one day I posted something about a common mistake people make when briefing a web designer. No fancy graphics, just a straightforward observation from years of experience. It got more engagement than our previous ten portfolio posts combined.
The lesson was blindingly obvious in hindsight: people followed us because they were interested in *what we knew*, not just what we'd made.
Stop Guessing, Start Asking
If you're still unsure what your audience wants, there's a remarkably simple solution: ask them. A poll. A question sticker on Stories. Even just ending a post with "What do you lot reckon?" and seeing what comes back.
Your comments section and DMs are research gold. The questions people ask you there? Those are literally your audience telling you what content to create next.
The Takeaway
Your customers don't want a brochure in their feed. They want a reason to pay attention. Give them something useful, something honest, or something that makes their Tuesday morning scroll slightly less dull — and the business results will follow.
It's less about what you're selling and more about what you know. And you know a lot more than you think.