Growth Addicts | Social Media Strategy for Small Business Owners

Every Sunday I publish one Instagram Reel inviting small business owners to introduce themselves, meet each other and make new connections.

That post now regularly gets hundreds of comments, reaches thousands of people and has led to new followers, connections and even sales for everyone involved.

But it definitely wasn’t an overnight success.

In this episode, I’m breaking down how my Sunday shout-out post has evolved over the years, the change I made to my hooks that completely changed the response and, most importantly, how you can take the idea and create something that brings YOUR ideal clients together too.

In this episode we’ll be covering:

• How my Sunday shout-out post grew from 12 comments to hundreds
• The change I made to my hooks that helped increase reach and engagement
• Why telling people exactly what’s in it for them matters
• The difference between a vague hook and a specific, benefit-led hook
• Why I encourage people to mingle in the comments rather than simply promote themselves and leave
• How creating a regular community-style post can bring your ideal clients together
• Why I personally reply to every single comment, even when there are hundreds
• How both service and product-based businesses can create their own version of this idea
• Why simple everyday B-roll and a strong text hook can be more than enough
• How these posts can help you learn more about your ideal clients while increasing your business visibility

Featured posts in this episode:

• The Sunday shout-out post that reached 4,500 people and generated almost 300 comments
• More recent examples of the hooks I’m using to tell small business owners exactly what they could get from taking part

Your challenge this week:

Create a Reel that gives your ideal clients a reason to come together.

Give them something to connect over, discuss, share or learn from each other — and make it really clear in your hook what they’ll get from taking part.

The Small Business Community Christmas Gift Guide

Our 2026 Christmas Gift Guide is officially LIVE!

Explore the guide here where you’ll find brilliant independent businesses from The Small Business Community, with handmade and personalised gifts, art, jewellery, experiences, wellbeing, gifts for small business owners and plenty more.

👉 Grab the full show notes here.

Send us Fan Mail

• The Small Business Community: An online membership community for small business owners to learn, connect and grow  Learn more
• Follow the show on Instagram @growthaddictspodcast
• Connect with Amanda on Instagram: @amandahughes.uk
• Growth Addicts Show Notes: Read the blog + grab freebies + guest links
• Exclusive Discounts: Exclusive discounts on Amanda’s favourite small business tools & services → See discounts

Should you share personal content on your business Instagram, or should you keep your business account strictly business? I’m firmly in the YES camp, and in this episode I’m sharing why.

We’re talking about how sharing the person behind your business can help you attract new people, nurture relationships with your existing audience and even turn followers into customers. I’ll also share why personal content doesn’t have to mean sharing your deepest darkest secrets with the internet, how to decide what feels comfortable for you and my simple 3-step Instagram Stories routine for mixing personal and business content every day.

In this episode we’ll be covering:

• Why I believe personal content belongs on your business Instagram.
• How your hobbies, interests and everyday life can help attract potential customers into your world
• Why personal content can help potential customers decide whether you’re their kind of person
• The difference between getting personal and sharing things you’d rather keep private
• How personal content fits into my Attract, Nurture, Convert approach to social media
• Why personal content can make creating social media content easier and more enjoyable
• My simple 3-step Instagram Stories routine for mixing personal and business content
• Why showing the real person behind your business matters even more in a world of AI-generated content

Featured personal posts in this episode:

• The witchy rituals I wish I started years ago
• Magickal things I've found on a Scottish beach
• Holidaying at home

Try these personal content prompts:

• The ___ routine I wish I’d started years ago
• I’m a ___ and when I say I need a ___, what I really mean is I need ___
• I’m officially in my ___ era and I’m all in

Come and say hello!

If this episode inspires you to share something personal on your business account, tag me or send it over, I’d love to see what you come up with.

Find Growth Addicts on Instagram: @growthaddictspodcast

Find me on Instagram: @amandahughes.uk

Join The Small Business Community

If you’d love more help with what to post, my Weekly Marketing Pack is just one of the resources available inside The Small Business Community, alongside workshops, support from other small business owners and plenty more.

Make sure to follow or subscribe to Growth Addicts so you never miss an episode.

👉 Grab the full show notes here.

Send us Fan Mail

• The Small Business Community: An online membership community for small business owners to learn, connect and grow  Learn more
• Follow the show on Instagram @growthaddictspodcast
• Connect with Amanda on Instagram: @amandahughes.uk
• Growth Addicts Show Notes: Read the blog + grab freebies + guest links
• Exclusive Discounts: Exclusive discounts on Amanda’s favourite small business tools & services → See discounts

What would you say about your business if nobody else was listening?

No worrying about what sounds professional. No copying the same hooks everyone else is using. No wondering whether you can actually say that.

Because the thing you're thinking "I can't say that..." might be exactly what your ideal client is waiting to hear.

In this episode of Growth Addicts, I'm talking about how to make your marketing actually sound like YOU, why your own words are more powerful than generic marketing speak, and why real voices and opinions matter more than ever in a world increasingly filled with AI-generated content.

Instagram post discussed in episode is this one here

Send us Fan Mail

• The Small Business Community: An online membership community for small business owners to learn, connect and grow  Learn more
• Follow the show on Instagram @growthaddictspodcast
• Connect with Amanda on Instagram: @amandahughes.uk
• Growth Addicts Show Notes: Read the blog + grab freebies + guest links
• Exclusive Discounts: Exclusive discounts on Amanda’s favourite small business tools & services → See discounts

Instagram Trial Reels can help you reach more non-followers without constantly creating brand-new content and paired with Instagram's Edits app, they're even easier to use.

In this episode, I'm breaking down what Trial Reels are, why they're brilliant attraction content for small businesses, and how I'm using the Versions feature in Edits to quickly test different hooks and variations of the same Reel.

You'll learn how to create Trial Reel variations in minutes, see what's working and give your existing content more opportunities to reach the right people.

Plus, Growth Addicts is officially back after its summer break!

Small Business Shout-Out

A big thank you to Helen from Fine Art by Helen, whose experiments with Trial Reels and Edits, and the conversations we've been having about them inside The Small Business Community, helped inspire this episode.

Go and check out Helen's beautiful wildlife and pet artwork (and her very clever creations using vintage music sheets!) on Instagram: @fineart.byhelen

Send us Fan Mail

• The Small Business Community: An online membership community for small business owners to learn, connect and grow  Learn more
• Follow the show on Instagram @growthaddictspodcast
• Connect with Amanda on Instagram: @amandahughes.uk
• Growth Addicts Show Notes: Read the blog + grab freebies + guest links
• Exclusive Discounts: Exclusive discounts on Amanda’s favourite small business tools & services → See discounts

Think PR is only for celebrities, huge brands, or businesses with massive budgets? Nope.

In this remixed “old but gold” episode of The Growth Addicts Podcast, I’m joined by Chartered PR expert and ex-TV reporter Jane Griffin to break down how small business owners can start getting featured in the press without hiring an expensive PR agency.

We’re talking simple DIY PR strategies, how to pitch your story confidently, what journalists are actually looking for, and why your business is probably far more interesting than you think.

If you’ve ever said:
 “Who would even care about my story?”
 …this episode is for you.

Chartered PR Expert | PR Coach | Ex-TV Reporter

With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Jane helps small business owners take the mystery out of PR and feel confident putting themselves and their business out there.

Grab Jane’s free PR eBook
Connect with Jane on Instagram: @janegriffinpr

Send us Fan Mail

• The Small Business Community: An online membership community for small business owners to learn, connect and grow  Learn more
• Follow the show on Instagram @growthaddictspodcast
• Connect with Amanda on Instagram: @amandahughes.uk
• Growth Addicts Show Notes: Read the blog + grab freebies + guest links
• Exclusive Discounts: Exclusive discounts on Amanda’s favourite small business tools & services → See discounts

Not been feeling yourself lately? Tired? Losing the joy in things you used to love? These could be signs of chronic stress aka burnout.

Burnout is a real problem amongst small business owners and we need to talk about it. 

Join me (Amanda Hughes) and my guest Lauren Young Psychotherapist at The Burnout Therapist as we talk all things burnout for small business owners. 

Lauren knows all too well how burnout can affect small business owners and so today we talk about how to recognise the signs of burnout and importantly, how to avoid burnout in your business.

Lauren can be found on Instagram @the.burnout.therapist

Send us Fan Mail

• The Small Business Community: An online membership community for small business owners to learn, connect and grow  Learn more
• Follow the show on Instagram @growthaddictspodcast
• Connect with Amanda on Instagram: @amandahughes.uk
• Growth Addicts Show Notes: Read the blog + grab freebies + guest links
• Exclusive Discounts: Exclusive discounts on Amanda’s favourite small business tools & services → See discounts

Something I discuss often with small business owners is time management.

How are you doing it all?

Spoiler, none of us are doing it all, we're doing our best!

In this episode I'm joined by Sarah Stewart, Time Management Coach, who is going to crack the nut of time management right open. Giving up practical tips and advice as to how we can best manage out time as small business owners.

Send us Fan Mail

• The Small Business Community: An online membership community for small business owners to learn, connect and grow  Learn more
• Follow the show on Instagram @growthaddictspodcast
• Connect with Amanda on Instagram: @amandahughes.uk
• Growth Addicts Show Notes: Read the blog + grab freebies + guest links
• Exclusive Discounts: Exclusive discounts on Amanda’s favourite small business tools & services → See discounts

Have you noticed there are some days and weeks of the months where you're more focused on your business than others?

Some days where content creation comes naturally and some weeks where you'd rather live in a cave for the rest of your life than show up on video but, you can fire out emails like it's an Olympic sport?

That's not a fluke, it's likely your menstrual cycle at work!

I crack this subject wide open in todays old but gold episode with Renae Fieck. Let's get you working alongside your menstrual cycle instead of against it.

Connect with Renae Fieck on Instagram here

Send us Fan Mail

• The Small Business Community: An online membership community for small business owners to learn, connect and grow  Learn more
• Follow the show on Instagram @growthaddictspodcast
• Connect with Amanda on Instagram: @amandahughes.uk
• Growth Addicts Show Notes: Read the blog + grab freebies + guest links
• Exclusive Discounts: Exclusive discounts on Amanda’s favourite small business tools & services → See discounts

Most small business owners measure social media success by vanity metrics like views but what if you're actually missing the point? 

In this episode, I flip the script, revealing why views are a misleading benchmark and how setting your own, purpose-driven standards can transform your social media, business results and mindset.

I dive deep into the mechanics behind Instagram metrics, explaining why views can be inflated and misleading and why they definitely shouldn't determine your worth.

Links mentioned in this episode:
60 min content planning
Weird sh*t post
Easy social media strategy

Send us Fan Mail

• The Small Business Community: An online membership community for small business owners to learn, connect and grow  Learn more
• Follow the show on Instagram @growthaddictspodcast
• Connect with Amanda on Instagram: @amandahughes.uk
• Growth Addicts Show Notes: Read the blog + grab freebies + guest links
• Exclusive Discounts: Exclusive discounts on Amanda’s favourite small business tools & services → See discounts

Wondering what to post on Instagram Stories… or if they’re even worth your time?

If you’ve been focusing on Reels and grid posts but completely ignoring Stories, this episode is your wake-up call.

I’m breaking down exactly what Instagram Stories are, who actually sees them (hint: they're like an exclusive hotline) and why they’re one of the most powerful tools you have for building trust and making sales on social media.

Simple. Repeatable. And actually works.

Send us Fan Mail

• The Small Business Community: An online membership community for small business owners to learn, connect and grow  Learn more
• Follow the show on Instagram @growthaddictspodcast
• Connect with Amanda on Instagram: @amandahughes.uk
• Growth Addicts Show Notes: Read the blog + grab freebies + guest links
• Exclusive Discounts: Exclusive discounts on Amanda’s favourite small business tools & services → See discounts