"The phones were smoking by the end of the day" - SME owners reveal their best social media posts and tips

SMALL business owners have shared the social media posts that have hit the mark, created great publicity for their brands and even gone viral - and revealed their tips for how you can do it, too.

Social media is increasingly the place to get attention for your business, especially if one of your posts goes viral, the holy grail of social media. And often the posts that go viral can be the ones you put the least effort into.

Take Bob Singh, Founder at broker, Chess Mortgages, who posted a short TikTok video when parked up in his car revealing NHS staff could get a mortgage on 5x their income. By the end of the day “phones were smoking”, he said.

He added: “There is an art to social media and, when mastered, the effects can be explosive. My NHS staff mortgages post on TikTok went viral, reaching almost 500k views in a few days. The phones were smoking by the end of the day. 

"There was no editing, as I made it in my car while parked up. The sound was average, there were no captions yet the content captivated the audience. I feel being natural, authentic and yourself is key to a good social media post. Good informative and educational posts create value. 

“A series of posts begin to build a brand and instill trust among your followers. The public are very discerning and may not reach out at that particular time but they will reach out when they have a need for your services.”

Kate Allen, Owner at Finest Stays, posted on Instagram an April Fools' joke that went viral. Kate emphasised the importance of humour in getting noticed online.

She said: “Our most viral post was an April Fools' joke. As a luxury holiday home company in Salcombe, we announced a new listing: The Treehouse ‘from just £1,000 per night,’ complete with compost heap, luxury ladder access and panoramic views (if you're not afraid of heights). 

“The tongue-in-cheek tone and the contrast with our usual high-end listings really landed. Reach: Over 12,000 views, 150+ shares, and comments from followers who genuinely wanted to book it – or at least visit the en-suite compost heap. It worked because it was unexpected, on-brand in style but off-brand in substance, and it played to Salcombe’s glossy image with a wink.”

Sarah Kenny, Director at budget travel platform, Build a Break, created a post on Instagram that was viewed over 50 million times and was even liked by well-known celebs. She pointed out the importance of re-posting social media content that does well.

She added: "One of our most viral pieces of content is a 9-second video of the Bernina Express train journey, shared across our social media platforms. It was filmed on a family holiday before the business even existed — resulting in a lower video quality than we'd usually put out. 

"Despite that, the video has now reached well over 50 million views and has been liked by celebrities including Sharon Stone, Nicole Scherzinger, and Eamonn Holmes. We believe its success lies in using varied hooks and not being afraid to repeat content that works well. 

“I think we've posted this video at least 10 times now and each time it pops off, the highest having 30 million views! One hook we used highlights this bucket list experience costs under £100pp — a surprising fact that clearly resonated with viewers, as we are a budget travel platform that seeks to connect our audience with incredible experiences for less.”

Danni Perkins, Director at children's book subscription platform, ZaZa’s Storybox, had an Instagram post go viral after she shared a summer hack to get your kid a Blue Peter badge.

She said: “1 million views! Over 2,000 new followers with a parenting hack for the summer. It took just minutes to film, edit and upload the post relating to my niche. It was popular due to the nostalgia of Blue Peter badges and the fact you can use it to get kids into places for free.”

Chris Barry, Director at conveyancing firm,  Thomas Legal, said he uses Linkedin to connect with his audience with one of his posts highlighting how important flexibility is in the workplace.

He added: “One of my posts on LinkedIn received 80k views. It highlighted the importance of flexibility for an employed role and how employers offering flexible working can attract better quality employees.”

Craig Fish, Director at the London-based mortgage broker, Lodestone, said a video about mortgage rates dropping “always flies”, with one of his TikTok videos bagging half a milion views.

He added: "My most popular post was a simple TikTok about lenders cutting mortgage rates. It racked up 571k views, 3,706 likes, 3,116 shares, and 350 comments. Rate-drop content always flies because the public’s obsessed with getting the cheapest mortgage deal. 

"But for an SME, going viral can be a double-edged sword. The flood of enquiries often leads nowhere, it’s exhausting and rarely converts. Truth is, the posts that quietly generate real business are the ones with barely 1,000 views and a couple of likes. I consistently pick up 3-4 quality enquiries a week this way. 

“In financial services, steady education aimed at your ideal client works far better than chasing viral hits. Be patient because building trust online takes 12-18 months. And if you’re hesitating to start, my advice is simple: grab your phone and hit record.”

Aisha Hossain, Founder at Selhaya, said keeping things simple can also be “powerful” with one video reaching two million views.

She added: “Even though we’re a luxury business, one of our cinematic reels quietly reached over two million instagram views. It simply showed a woman walking through the desert in our Yaqeen robe — no trend, no viral soundbite, just stillness and presence. 

"On platforms like Instagram and TikTok that are known for speed and hooks, the fact that something so slow and intentional resonated was unexpected and powerful.”

Meanwhile, Tony Restell, Founder at social media specialists, Social-Hire.com , advised SME owners to focus on their subject fields rather than “chasing virality through posting things that are highly personal or contentious. The key to this success is focusing on storytelling or sharing anecdotes. People buy into these posts emotionally and engage with them, even though they are business-focused. This gets an SME business exposure for the expertise they want to be known for, rather than for sharing something that has no link to what the business actually does.”

For, Steven Mather, Director at Steven Mather Solicitor, success comes down to being yourself, while a dollop of humour can also help: “In the past 90 days on LinkedIn I’ve had 3 posts go ‘viral’ - 250k views and 800 likes, 200k and 969 likes and 140k with 1000 likes. What I’ve found works well on LinkedIn is showing the real me, the “authentic self” and being honest. I’m true to my humour and happy to not take life too seriously.”