Setting Up Social Media for Your Business From Scratch

Social Media Is a Lead Funnel, Not a Bulletin Board

Most small business owners know they should be on social media. Fewer know where to start. And almost nobody frames it correctly from the beginning: social media is not a place to announce things. It is the top of your lead funnel. Every post, every profile field, every interaction is either pulling people toward your business or pushing them away.

The businesses that treat social media like a megaphone -- posting promotions and hoping someone notices -- are the ones that quit after two months. The businesses that treat it like the first handshake in a sales process are the ones that turn followers into phone calls.

This guide walks through the full setup process. Not just creating accounts, but building them as the entry point to a funnel that moves strangers to followers, followers to leads, and leads to paying customers.

Pick Your Platforms -- And Start With Two

The biggest mistake is signing up for everything. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, X, Pinterest -- you do not need all of them. You need the ones where your customers actually spend time and where the platform supports a clear path from content to contact.

For most local service businesses, start here:

| Platform | Best For | Lead Funnel Strength | |----------|----------|---------------------| | Facebook | Local services, home services, trades | Community groups, reviews, Messenger for direct inquiries | | Instagram | Visual work (remodeling, landscaping, cleaning) | DMs, link in bio to booking page, local discovery | | LinkedIn | B2B services, professional services, consulting | Direct outreach, referral partnerships, decision-makers | | TikTok | Any business willing to show process and personality | Massive organic reach, comments drive DMs, profile link | | YouTube | Long-form education, product demos, how-to content | Search engine for video, evergreen lead capture | | Google Business Profile | Every local business, period | Drives calls, directions, and website clicks from search |

Google Business Profile is not optional. It is the most direct lead funnel you have -- someone searches "plumber near me," your listing appears, and they call you. That is a complete funnel in one step.

After that, pick two social platforms. Master those before adding more. Each platform you add is another channel you need to feed content into and monitor for incoming leads.

Set Up Your Profiles as Landing Pages

Think of your social media profile like a landing page. Someone arrives, looks around for five seconds, and decides whether to take the next step or leave. A half-finished profile with a blurry logo and no contact information is like a landing page with no call-to-action. It kills the funnel before it starts.

Here is what every profile needs before you post anything:

Profile photo: Your logo or a professional headshot. Not a blurry phone picture. Not a stock image. If you are the face of the business, use your face. If the brand is bigger than one person, use the logo.

Cover photo or banner: A high-quality image that shows what you do. A completed project, your team, your truck, your storefront. Something real. Bonus: add a text overlay with your phone number or website.

Bio or description: One to two sentences about what you do, who you serve, and where you operate. Include your city or service area. End with a clear call-to-action: "Call for a free estimate," "Book online at [your site]," or "DM us for availability."

Contact information: Phone number, email, website, and address if applicable. Every missing field is a leak in your funnel. If someone wants to hire you and cannot figure out how to reach you in under ten seconds, they will find someone else.

Link in bio: Point this to your booking page, quote request form, or website. Not your homepage if your homepage does not have a clear next step. The link should take them one click closer to becoming a customer.

Username: Keep it consistent across platforms. If your business is "ABC Plumbing," your handle should be @abcplumbing everywhere. Consistency builds recognition and makes it easy for people to find you.

Your First Five Posts -- Each One Moves the Funnel

Do not overthink your first posts. They do not need to go viral. They need to exist, and each one should serve a purpose in your lead funnel: build trust, show credibility, and give people a reason to reach out.

1. Introduction post: Who you are, what you do, what area you serve. One or two sentences and a photo of you or your team at work. End with: "Need [your service]? Send us a message."

2. A photo of recent work: Before-and-after, a finished project, a job in progress. Real photos from real jobs. Caption should mention the type of work and the area. This is search fuel and social proof at the same time.

3. A customer testimonial: Ask a recent happy customer if you can share their review. Screenshot it or write it out with their permission. Testimonials are the most powerful conversion tool in your funnel -- someone else saying you are good carries more weight than you saying it.

4. A behind-the-scenes look: Your shop, your tools, your morning routine, loading the truck. People want to see the real thing. This builds the trust that converts followers into leads.

5. A tip or piece of advice: Something you tell customers all the time. "Change your HVAC filter every 90 days." "Never hire a contractor without checking their insurance." This positions you as the expert, and when they need the service, you are the first person they think of.

That is one week of content. Five posts. None of them require a graphic designer or a marketing degree. Each one pulls a potential customer further into your funnel.

Connect Your Business Information Everywhere

Consistency matters more than most people realize. Your business name, address, and phone number should be identical across every platform and directory. This is called NAP consistency (Name, Address, Phone), and search engines use it to verify that your business is legitimate.

If your Google listing says "Smith HVAC LLC" and your Facebook says "Smith Heating and Cooling," search engines treat those as potentially different businesses. That hurts your local search ranking, which means fewer people find you at the top of the funnel.

Go through each platform and make sure:

• Business name is spelled exactly the same
• Address format is identical (do not abbreviate "Street" on one and spell it out on another)
• Phone number is the same everywhere
• Website URL is the same

Set a Posting Schedule You Can Actually Keep

Three posts per week is a solid starting point. If you can only manage two, do two. Consistency beats volume. A business that posts twice a week every week for six months will build a stronger lead pipeline than one that posts ten times in the first week and goes quiet for two months.

Block 30 minutes on Sunday or Monday to plan your week. Decide what you are posting and when. Batch the work so it does not eat into your actual workday.

Free scheduling tools like Meta Business Suite (for Facebook and Instagram) let you write posts ahead of time and schedule them to go live automatically. You write five posts on Sunday night, schedule them for the week, and do not think about it again until next Sunday.

Build the Funnel Into Every Post

Every post should have a purpose in your lead generation system. Not every post needs a hard sell, but every post should move someone closer to doing business with you. Here is how to think about it:

Awareness posts (top of funnel): Tips, behind-the-scenes, industry insights. These reach new people and get them to follow you.

Trust posts (middle of funnel): Testimonials, completed projects, before-and-after photos. These convert followers into people who believe you can do the job.

Action posts (bottom of funnel): Seasonal promotions, limited availability, direct calls-to-action. These turn warm followers into actual leads.

A good ratio is roughly 50% awareness, 30% trust, 20% action. Most of your content should provide value. The sales posts work because you have already earned attention and credibility with everything else.

What to Avoid Early On

Do not buy followers. It inflates a number that does not matter and wrecks your engagement rates. Fake followers never become customers.

Do not use only stock photos. They look generic and people scroll past them. Real photos from your actual business perform better every time and build the authenticity that drives leads.

Do not copy competitors. Take inspiration from what works, but your content should reflect your business, your personality, and your customers.

Do not ignore comments and messages. This is where the funnel converts. If someone comments or sends a message, respond fast. Every unanswered DM is a lost lead. Aim for under an hour during business hours.

Do not post without a call-to-action. It does not have to be "call now" on every post. It can be "double tap if you agree," "tag someone who needs this," or "save this for later." Give people something to do. Engagement feeds the algorithm, and the algorithm feeds your funnel.

Measuring Early Progress

In the first 30 days, do not worry about follower count. Track the metrics that tell you whether your funnel is working:

• Profile visits: Are people finding your page? This is the top of the funnel.
• Post reach: How many people are seeing your content? This is your awareness layer.
• Engagement: Are people liking, commenting, or sharing? This is your trust layer.
• Website clicks: Is your social media driving traffic to your site? This is your conversion layer.
• Messages and calls: Is anyone reaching out through these platforms? This is the bottom of the funnel -- actual leads.

If you are getting reach but no engagement, your content is not connecting. If you are getting engagement but no website clicks or messages, your call-to-action is missing or weak. The funnel tells you where the leak is.

The 30-Day Launch Plan

Week 1: Create accounts on your two chosen platforms plus Google Business Profile. Fill out every field completely. Set up your link-in-bio to point to your booking or quote page. Post your introduction and one photo of recent work.

Week 2: Post three times. One customer testimonial, one behind-the-scenes photo, one tip with a call-to-action. Respond to any comments or messages within 24 hours. Track how many profile visits and website clicks you get.

Week 3: Post three times. Start experimenting with different content types -- a short video, a question for your audience, a seasonal tip. Ask two happy customers to leave a Google review. Monitor which posts drive the most profile visits.

Week 4: Post three times. Review your numbers. Which post got the most engagement? Do more of that. Which drove the most website clicks? That is your strongest funnel content. Set your schedule for next month based on what the data tells you.

By the end of 30 days, you will have active profiles that function as the top of a real lead funnel, a dozen posts building trust and credibility, early data on what content drives leads, and a system you can maintain. That puts you ahead of most small businesses in your market -- not because you are posting more, but because every post has a purpose.