📱 Stop Overthinking Social Media: A Copy-Paste SOP for Your Virtual Assistants
I keep seeing the same problem with clients, leads, randoms, friends, and family. They know they should be posting on social media, but they just... don't.
Always coming up with some excuse that sounds like another variation of
“it takes too damn long” OR
“I don't know how to do that.”
They sit down to create a post, and suddenly it's an hour later, and they've got nothing to show for it.
Most people are stuck because they don't have a simple, repeatable formula for creating authentic content. They overthink it. They wait for perfection.
Before I get into the guide… Just get a virtual assistant for this. Seriously… This is work just about anybody can do. If you struggle with consistency or know you have analysis paralysis with posting on social media, you need to assign somebody who will get it done for you.
So I'm creating this dead-simple guide that you can literally hand to your virtual assistant tomorrow. This isn't about becoming a social media influencer. This is about creating a framework for consistency. Because consistency is everything in social media, marketing, & sales.
This SOP is built to help you create a flywheel effect in your business. This is where steady, consistent posting builds momentum, keeps your brand top of mind, and makes your marketing easier over time.
Side note, in this post I bring up several tools… Don’t stress about which tool is “best.” Just pick what feels easy, hand this workflow to your VA, and focus on posting regularly.
Consistency is what gets the flywheel spinning. That is all you need to focus on. Quality naturally improves as you and your team get more reps in.
Step 1: Content Ideation & Planning
Objective:
Talk about the real stuff your customers care about. You know, like when their AC breaks in July, or their toilet starts making that weird noise at 2am. Quick fixes they can do themselves. Stuff that actually helps them out.
I can't stress enough how important customer-content fit is. You need to understand what your audience wants and create content that resonates with them.
Use AI tools to check out what's trending, what your competitors post, and what questions your audience is asking, so your ideas don't fall flat.
Build up a stash of post ideas ("content buckets") that you can pull from whenever you need them, so you're never stuck staring at a blank screen.
Prompt for AI:
“Generate 5 post ideas for a [type of service, e.g., cleaning company] that would interest [target audience, e.g., local homeowners].”
“What are common problems my [customers/audience] face, and how can I create posts around them?”
“Brainstorm content buckets for a [service] company targeting [audience] on [platform].”
“What trending topics could a [service] business use to attract more [audience] on [platform]?”
“What questions are people asking about [service] in [location]?” (Use with tools like Answer the Public)
Easy Tools:
ChatGPT: Just type your question and get a list of ideas in seconds.
Canva: Use their “Magic Write” or content planner for inspiration.
Answer the Public: Type in your service and see what real people are searching for.
Advanced Tools:
Vista Social: Full content planning and AI-powered ideas.
Jasper: Generates ideas and even drafts posts based on your brand.
Surfer: Combines SEO and content planning for deeper research.
Lately: Turns blogs and long content into dozens of social posts.
FeedHive, Nuelink, CreatorBuddy: For those who want automation and analytics built in.
Don't spread yourself thin. Choose the main social platform your customers use and put your energy there. For most local businesses, that's Facebook or Instagram. You don't need to be on every app to get results.
Plan your content in batches, like once a month. Keeping a list of post types (such as tips, before-and-after shots, FAQs, and customer reviews) makes it much easier to post regularly and never run out of ideas.
Step 2: Drafting Engaging Text & Captions
Objective:
Write captions that sound clear, friendly, and easy for anyone to follow. Use AI to generate multiple caption options, so you can pick what feels right (and skip the writer's block).
Make sure every post has a simple call to action, like "Comment below" or "Book your free quote."
Keep it real. Just talk about what you do best. Be genuine. Don't overcomplicate it.
Prompts:
“Write 3 short, friendly captions for a post about [topic], and make them easy to read.”
“Suggest a headline and a call to action for my [service] post about [topic].”
“Give me a few playful captions for a [service] business aimed at [audience] on [platform].”
Easy Tools:
ChatGPT, Canva Magic Write, Later (AI Caption Writer)
Advanced Tools:
Ocoya, Jasper, FeedHive
Try out different versions of your captions. Ask AI for several options, then use the ones that feel the most genuine and straightforward. Simplicity is key, since people don't spend much time reading posts.
Step 3: Hashtag Research
Objective:
Use AI to find the hashtags that actually get your posts seen by people in your area. Find out what's working for others in your industry, and borrow what makes sense for you.
Keep your hashtag list fresh. Store it in a spreadsheet so you're always showing up where it matters.
Prompts:
“Give me the top 10 hashtags for [your service] in [your town/city] for this post: [paste caption].”
“What hashtags will help my [service] posts reach more local people?”
“What hashtags are other [service] businesses using to get noticed?”
Easy Tools:
ChatGPT, All Hashtag Generator
Advanced Tools:
BrandMentions, StarNgage, Flick
Combine popular hashtags with location-specific and niche ones to reach people in your area who are looking for your service. Don't rely only on the most common tags.
Look at what your competitors are doing, but also experiment with new hashtags regularly. You might discover tags that help you stand out and attract more local customers.
Step 4: Visual Inspiration/Description (for Graphics)
Objective:
Get ideas for photos or graphics that show off your work. I still think a lot of the AI-generated photo tools are not quite there yet or too complex for the average person.
Keep your graphics simple. I honestly use ready-made templates for just about all my posts. And if you don't have your own images, use graphics tools to fill the gap.
Set up a folder with stock photos and branded templates so you always have something polished to post, even on busy days.
Visuals are incredibly important. Whether it's Amazon dropshipping, Airbnb listings, or your Instagram post, we have to get people to stop scrolling. So make sure your visuals look sharp and match your brand, so people recognize your posts in their feed.
Prompts:
“Describe a simple graphic I can use for this post: [paste caption and hashtags].”
“Give me ideas for photos or images to use in a post about [service/topic].”
“List 5 visual ideas for a [service] company’s social media post about [topic].”
Easy Tools:
Canva, Adobe Express, Design.AI
Advanced Tools:
Firefly (Adobe), Midjourney, DALL-E 3, Veed.io, Piclumen
Step 5: Review and Approval (Business Owner's Role)
Objective:
Take a quick look at every post before it goes out. Make sure it sounds like your business and gets the facts right.
This isn't because your VA is bad at marketing. So often, when someone else is doing the work, obvious errors slip through that you'd catch immediately.
In this step, we mainly use grammar tools to catch errors. But also read your captions out loud to make sure they sound natural.
Afterwards, give your VA the green light (or ask for tweaks) so you're always comfortable with what's getting posted.
Prompts:
“Sum up this post in one sentence so I can see if it fits my brand.”
“Is this caption easy to understand and friendly?”
“Anything I should double-check before posting this?”
Easy Tools:
Google Docs, Grammarly, ChatGPT
Advanced Tools:
Notion, Monday.com
We use a shared Google Doc for approvals. The team reviews posts 2-3 times a week. It takes 10 minutes tops. Leave feedback for your VA right in the doc if you want changes.
Step 6: Scheduling and Publishing (VA's Role)
Objective:
Get your approved posts on the calendar, so you're not scrambling last-minute.
Use AI and automation to make sure posts go out at the best times, even if you're busy or out on a job.
These tools allow you to set a regular time each week to schedule all your posts in advance. This keeps you consistent.
Also, make sure to respond to comments and messages daily. Not just post and walk away. You need to interact with people. It helps your posts perform better and is crucial for achieving the flywheel effect.
Easy Tools:
Buffer, SocialPilot, Hookle
Advanced Tools:
CoSchedule, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Agorapulse
Final Thoughts:
Don't get stuck on picking the "perfect" tool. Just start with what's easiest for you and your VA.
Focus on posting consistently. That's what builds momentum and gets your flywheel spinning.
Adjust the prompts and tools to fit your business and your team. Always remember that quality comes with practice. The more you post, the better your content will get over time.
I hope this is thought-provoking and helps you build a social media presence that actually works!
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We have marketing VAs that work with people on GoHighLevel, setting up marketing automation, email, SMS, & voicemail drop campaigns, skiptracing, Facebook & Instagram posting, ghost writing, and other marketing tasks.
If you know anybody looking for marketing help, I would love to make an intro to the team.
Check us out: https://www.csoutsource.com/why-cs-outsource