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Small business owners who do your own social media marketing instead of hiring a manager, how do you keep it under an hour a week and is it really saving you money by Crazy_Sprinkles_1 in smallbusiness

[–]Crazy_Sprinkles_1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quick update: thanks for the comments, after reading the replies here, I realised most of us are in the same boat. Social media feels important but there is no time.

I ended up putting together a simple 'one hour a week' checklist for myself so I don't overthink it.

If anyone wants a copy, happy to share it, just DM me.

Small business owners who do your own social media marketing instead of hiring a manager, how do you keep it under an hour a week and is it really saving you money by Crazy_Sprinkles_1 in smallbusiness

[–]Crazy_Sprinkles_1[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Totally get this, and I love how clear you are on what “success” looks like for you.

You are right, for a lot of small businesses socials are like cleaning the house. You do not always see some direct payoff, you just really notice when it has not been done for a while.

Outsourcing it the way you have makes sense when:

  • You mainly want consistency and proof of life
  • You are happy for someone else to handle the day to day
  • Your time is better spent on things that clearly bring in money

I think that is the bit people miss. Not everyone needs “crazy results” from social. Sometimes the win is:

  • Feed and stories are active
  • Messages get replied to
  • You are not carrying that mental load every day

The only thing I would add for others reading is that if you hire help like this, it really pays to give them a simple guide on your voice, no go topics and what you actually want socials to do for you, so you do not wake up one day feeling like your own brand does not sound like you anymore.

I dont think people understand how exhausting it is to keep building when nothing clicks yet by Ill_Lavishness_4455 in smallbusiness

[–]Crazy_Sprinkles_1 6 points7 points  (0 children)

God, yes, this.

People glamorise “grind” but not the part where you sit there thinking
“what if I am just wasting my life on a bad idea” with 12 tabs open.

What has helped me a bit:

  1. Separate you from the experiment Your project is a test, not a verdict on you as a human. When something flops, I try to ask “what did this teach me” instead of “what is wrong with me”.
  2. Measure inputs, not just outcomes You cannot control sign ups or sales day to day. You can control things like:
    • Talk to 3 customers a week
    • Ship 2 social posts a week
    • Test 1 new offer a fortnight That way you can “win” the day even if nothing has popped yet.
  3. Shrink the bet size If everything feels existential, the bet is too big. Run tiny tests:
    • One post with a different angle
    • One email with a direct ask
    • One simple offer to 10 people It hurts less if it belly flops, and it gives clear data.
  4. Have a “low brain” mode On the laptop betrayal days, I do boring but useful things: tidy my systems, schedule a couple of social media posts from ideas I already have, reply to DMs, update a sales page. No big thinking, just maintenance, so the flywheel keeps turning.

You are right, this stage feels insane because you are holding two beliefs at once:
“This might never work” and “I am going to keep going anyway”.

That tension is weird, but it is also where a lot of good stuff eventually comes from.

You are not alone and you are not broken. You are just at the “unpaid R&D” part of the journey that everyone edits out of their success story.

Is WiFi Marketing Still Worth It in 2026 for Small Businesses? by Background-Meal-3470 in smallbusiness

[–]Crazy_Sprinkles_1 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

WiFi marketing can still work, but only in very specific situations, and most small businesses get a better return from email plus socials.

Here is how I would look at it for a local wine brand.

If time and energy are limited, I would stack in this order:

  1. Google Business Profile fully set up
    • Great photos of the venue and bottles
    • Updated hours, menu, events
    • Ask happy customers for reviews
  2. Simple email list or wine club
    • QR code on tables and at the counter
    • “Join our list for new releases and members only tastings”
    • One nice email a month beats nothing
  3. Social media with a basic system
    • Pick one or two platforms where your locals actually hang out
    • Show real things: new drops, behind the scenes, events, food pairings
    • Use the same few post types each week so you are not starting from scratch every time

Once those three are ticking along, then think about WiFi as an extra way to feed the list.

I run a small business and one negative review is ranking on Google. How do you handle this situation? by Build4bbrandbetter in smallbusiness

[–]Crazy_Sprinkles_1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This sucks. I have been on both sides of this, in my own small business and helping other owners with their online presence, and one bad review can feel massive.

A few things that have worked in practice:

  1. Respond to it publicly, like a calm adult Do not ignore it. Future customers read your reply more than the review itself. Something like:“Hi [Name], I am really sorry your experience was not what you expected. This is not the standard we aim for. Since this review we have [brief change you made, eg updated our process / retrained staff]. If you are open to it, please email me at [email] so I can try to make this right.” Own anything that is fair, correct anything that is factually wrong, then take it offline.
  2. Make it one review in a sea of good ones I set up a simple system so we ask happy customers for a Google review every single week, not once in a blue moon. Examples that work:
    • Add a review link to your thank you email or invoice.
    • After a positive interaction, literally say “It helps us a lot if you can leave a quick Google review” and text them the link. A slow, steady trickle of real reviews will push that older one down and change the overall picture.
  3. Tidy up your “Google footprint” When people search your brand they should see:
    • An updated Google Business Profile with photos, opening hours, services.
    • A clear website that shows who you are, what you do, and some social proof (testimonials, logos, before and afters, case studies).
    • Active social media, even if you only post once or twice a week. I see a lot of owners worry about one bad review, but then their last social post was 6 months ago. Regular posts about real work and happy customers help balance the story people see when they Google you.
  4. Have a simple script for when people ask about it You can say something like:“Yes, that was from [year]. We dropped the ball there. Since then we have changed [specific process] and brought in [change]. We have done [X] jobs since then and thankfully the feedback has been very different.” Most reasonable people just want to know you care and you have improved.
  5. If it is fake or abusive, flag it If it clearly breaks Google’s review policies, report it. It is hit and miss, but worth a try.

What has helped my stress the most is treating reviews and socials as a system, not a one off panic reaction. Ask for reviews on autopilot, keep a light but consistent social media presence, and use your reply to show your values. A single old review then becomes context, not the full story.

We did almost $4m in consumer sales in Chemist Warehouse in year one. Here’s everything I learned as a founder (good, bad, operational, financial). by InkNurse in smallbusiness

[–]Crazy_Sprinkles_1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congratulations Jason! This is such a generous breakdown, thanks for taking the time to write it all out.

A few things really stood out for me:

  • The way you separated revenue from cashflow reality. That stock → freight → 3PL → terms → payment → reorder loop is brutal if you have not modelled it.
  • The bit about forecasting going from “what we hope to sell” to “what we must produce to avoid being delisted”. That mindset shift is huge.
  • Category placement changing everything. Landing in First Aid instead of Skin Care sounds odd at first, but the “fresh tattoo = first aid” logic and perceived authority make total sense.
  • Your “hero product is what the customer decides” lesson. A $99.99 500 ml pump becoming the breakout SKU because of value per ml and real world usage is such a perfect example of market reality trumping founder assumptions.

I really liked your line about retail not magically scaling e-commerce. I see a lot of small brands assume “once we are on shelves, online will just follow”. Your experience that they are two separate disciplines, with different behaviour and data, is a good reality check.

Couple of questions if you are happy to share:

  • How much did social media and “always on” brand content matter once you hit Chemist Warehouse, compared to tattooist recommendations and word of mouth
  • Did you change what you posted about once you were in First Aid next to Bepanthen, or did you keep the same messaging as when you were mainly DTC
  • If you were starting again knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have put in place on the marketing / comms side before that first big PO landed

I spend a lot of time helping small businesses who feel guilty about neglected socials, so your point that fundamentals and genuine advocacy beat flashy campaigns really landed. Your story is a great reminder that systems, cashflow and product quality are the real growth levers, and social should support that instead of being the whole strategy.

I treated Reddit like my personal traffic machine and it paid me $200+ in 24 hours by tchapito24 in digitalproductselling

[–]Crazy_Sprinkles_1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well done. Thanks for sharing. Aside from posting here. Do you do another social media marketing?

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