Plan offers and promotions into the month

Key takeaways

To plan promotions in a social media calendar, put each offer on the month before any other post, give it a warm-up post, a launch post, a reminder and a last-chance post, and keep the rest of the month helpful. For most small businesses one offer a month is plenty. Every offer post must state the terms clearly under the CAP Code.

• 1 offer a month is plenty for most small businesses.
• 4 posts per offer: warm-up, launch, reminder, last chance.
• Offers sit on top of the slots, never instead of them.
• State closing dates and key terms in the post itself.

Where do offers go in the planning order?

Offers go on the calendar at step 2, when you map the month's dates, before any other post is filled. Mark the start date, the end date and any days the team cannot reply. That way the warm-up, reminder and proof posts can be planned around the offer instead of squeezed in afterwards.

• How to build a monthly social media content calendar
• The five steps that turn a blank month into a schedule

How many posts does one offer need?

One offer usually needs four posts: a warm-up a few days before that raises the problem it solves, the launch post with the terms, a reminder mid-way that pairs the offer with proof, and a last-chance post near the end. Add a Story on each of those days if you use Stories. Most sales come from the reminder and last-chance posts.

• Social media offers that turn followers into first buyers

How often can a small business run offers?

One offer a month is plenty for most service businesses, and some do better with one a quarter. Constant offers teach followers to wait for the next one and make the normal price look inflated. Retailers and e-commerce shops can run more, but even they benefit from months with no discount.

• Selling in every post: the too-promotional mistake

Which rules apply to promotions on social media?

Section 8 of the CAP Code, which the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) enforces, requires promoters to state significant conditions, such as closing dates, eligibility and limits, clearly in the post or obviously linked from it. Prize draws and giveaways need the same care. Reference prices, such as 'was £80, now £60', must be genuine under UK consumer law.

• Social media giveaways in the UK: rules and real results
• A monthly compliance check before posts go live

When should you not plan an offer?

Do not plan an offer in a month when you are already fully booked, when the team cannot handle extra enquiries quickly, or when a discount would undercut work you will win anyway. An offer that brings messages nobody answers for two days does more harm than no offer.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a single 'this month only' post, published once, with the terms in a comment. It reaches a fraction of followers and confuses the rest. Spreading the same offer across four planned posts with clear terms usually brings more responses with no extra discount.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Promotion planning checklist

• Map the offer's start and end dates first.
• Plan a warm-up, launch, reminder and last-chance post.
• Pair the reminder with proof.
• State closing dates and key terms in the post.
• Make sure someone can reply quickly during the offer.

• Monthly content themes: when they help
• Collect content ideas from your team every month

Next step

Decide whether next month has an offer. If it does, put its dates on the calendar today and plan the four posts before anything else.