You sit down to post something, open the app, and freeze. Twenty minutes later you've scrolled through everyone else's posts and put up nothing of your own.

Social media content planning for small business owners is how you skip that moment, and it doesn't need a fancy system.

Here are the five steps I'd take you through if we sat down to plan your month together: work out how often you can actually post, give every post a job, fill the month on one page, get it scheduled, and give it 15 minutes a week.

Step 1: Work out how often you can actually post

Everyone says post every day. I say post as often as you can actually keep up, even if that's twice a week.

A plan you stick to beats one you abandon by week three. Four posts a week is plenty. Two is fine.

The same goes for platforms. Fewer platforms done properly beats trying to be everywhere, and you're allowed to let the rest go.

If you want more on keeping it simple, have a read of Five Tips to Simplify Your Social Media Marketing.

Step 2: Give every post a job

This is the bit that stops your content feeling random. I use my E C AS framework (say it out loud, it's "easy as"). Every post gets one of four jobs:

• Expert builds trust. Answer the question you get asked every week.
• Connection makes people feel like they know you. Your story, your values, what the work actually looks like.
• Attract reaches people who have never heard of you. It never sells, and it works without a costume. No dancing required, and introverts get to stay introverts.
• Sell is what you offer, who it's for, why now and how to get in, with one clear ask. No apologising and no burying it at the bottom.

The trap is 100% Expert content. If every post is a tip, with no story and no offer, people follow and never buy.

The other one to watch is Attract. Three of the four jobs talk to people who have already found you, and Attract is the only one going out to get anyone. If your account has gone flat, the missing quarter is usually the fix.

There's one dial you can turn, too. Want to grow? Make your Attract post the best effort of the week. Happy with your audience size and wanting sales? Put that effort into your Sell post instead.

There are plenty more ideas for each job in my 30 Social Media Tips for Small Business Owners.

Step 3: Fill your month on one page

Now grab a page and draw four weeks across it. Rotate the four letters through the weeks, one of each per week. That's four posts a week, not fourteen.

Only two posts a week in you? Alternate. Week one is Expert and Attract, week two is Connection and Sell, and keep rotating.

Stuck on what goes in each box? Start with the thing every customer says to you. Or the question people are too embarrassed to ask you. Or the mistake you see constantly, or what something actually costs and why.

And if you'd rather start with a whole bank of ideas, my Social Media Content Bank has 232 of them ready to go.

Step 4: Get it out of your head and into a scheduler

A plan only works once it's out of your head. Schedule your posts ahead, so the week runs without you having to think about it.

Clare, one of my Society members, didn't have a system or a content plan before. Now she uses Publer for scheduling, Canva, and Edits for her Reels. And when she falls off the wagon and stops posting for a bit, she knows exactly what to do to pick it back up. In her words:

"I am much more confident and time efficient with social media."

Her website visitors are up by over 70% so far this year, and it has helped her sales too, all from organic social with no ads.

Falling off the wagon happens. The plan is how you get back on.

I use Publer myself, and I've written up why in 7 Reasons Why Publer is My Favourite Social Media Scheduling Tool. And if social media is wearing you out, How to Prevent Social Media Fatigue is worth a read too.

Step 5: Give it 15 minutes a week

Here's the good bit. Planning doesn't have to swallow a whole morning. Mine takes me about 15 minutes a week.

Week to week, I keep it simple. I start each week with my focus, because that tells me what I'm leading people towards, like a workshop or my membership. Then I check the plan where I dump and document my ideas through the week.

So put 15 minutes in your diary each week.

If you'd like a hand with it, and other small business owners figuring it out alongside you, that's what my Social Smarty Society is for. Doors are closed right now, so join the waitlist and you'll hear as soon as they open.

Wrapping it up

A simple plan you keep beats a big one you drop. Work out how often, give every post a job, fill one page and get it scheduled. That's your month sorted.

I'd love to hear how you plan yours. Flick me a message through my contact page.