What Should I Do For Marketing Today? A Simple Daily Marketing Guide For Small Businesses

If you're a small-business owner, you've probably asked yourself some version of this question:

What should I do for marketing today?

Maybe you have 20 minutes between customer calls. Maybe you finally have a little time after getting through the rest of your to-do list. Or maybe you've been putting off marketing because you don't know where to start.

And that's often the real problem.

It's not that you don't know your business needs marketing. It's that there are so many things you could do that you don't know which one you should do first.

Should you post on social media? Send an email? Work on SEO? Run an ad? Update your website? Ask for reviews? Reach out to potential customers?

The answer isn't always the same.

The right marketing task for you today depends on what your business needs most right now.

And you don't need to do everything.

You just need to know what to do next.

Start With Your Goal, Not a Marketing Tactic

Before deciding what you're going to work on today, ask yourself:

What does my business need most right now?

If you need more sales, your best marketing activity may be following up with a lead or reaching out to a past customer to re-engage them—not creating another social media post.

If you need more visibility on Google, creating useful blog content or improving your Google Business Profile might make more sense.

If you're getting website visitors but not enough inquiries, your time may be better spent improving your offer or call to action.

If you have plenty of leads but aren't closing enough sales, marketing may not be the problem at all. You may need to look at your sales process.

This is why generic lists of "10 things you should do for marketing" aren't always very helpful.

The best marketing task is the one that addresses your biggest current opportunity.

What Should I Do Today to Market My Business?

If you aren't sure where to start, here are some simple possibilities.

If you need more leads:

• Follow up with someone who recently inquired
• Contact a past customer
• Ask a happy customer for a referral and offer a benefit for doing so
• Ask a recent customer for a review
• Reach out to a complementary business about a partnership
• Promote an existing offer (maybe you need to put a little money into ads)
• Contact someone who previously expressed interest but never purchased

Sometimes the best marketing opportunity is sitting in your inbox or CRM already.

If you need more visibility:

• Create a helpful social media post
• Record a short video answering a customer question
• Write a Google Business Profile update
• Answer a question your customers frequently ask
• Pitch yourself as a podcast guest
• Participate in a relevant online community
• Create a piece of content around a question people are searching for

If you need more website traffic:

• Improve one page for search
• Create an article answering a customer question
• Update an outdated page
• Add internal links between relevant pages
• Improve your Google Business Profile
• Look at what your competitors are showing up for and identify opportunities

If you're getting traffic but not enough leads:

• Make your offer clearer
• Improve your headline
• Add a stronger call to action
• Make it easier to contact you
• Add testimonials or reviews
• Clarify what happens after someone fills out your form
• Look at the pages people visit most and identify where they may be dropping off
• Add a free heatmap tool like HotJar to see how potential customers are interacting with your page so you can make adjustments

Notice something?

Marketing isn't just posting on social media. A lot of people feel like they're failing if they have a small social media following.

In reality, most businesses shouldn't build their marketing strategy around going viral on social media. Social media can absolutely bring you new customers, but there's a big difference between using social media as a marketing channel and becoming a viral content creator.

A viral post might get you attention, but attention isn't the same thing as sustained business growth. Your goal should be to consistently get your business in front of the right people—not to hope that the algorithm makes you famous.

It's also important to recognize that there are other ways social media can drive significant growth. Influencer marketing, for example, can put a business in front of an established audience that already trusts the person recommending the product or service. The bottom line is, social media is only one piece of the marketing puzzle.

"What Should I Post Today?"

This may be one of the most common marketing questions small-business owners ask themselves.

And the good news is that you don't need to reinvent your content strategy every morning.

When you don't know what to post, choose from these six categories:

1. Teach Something

Answer a question your customers frequently ask.

For example:

• "How often should you replace your HVAC filter?"
• "What's the difference between bookkeeping and accounting?"
• "What should you look for when choosing a wedding photographer?"

If your customers ask it, there's a good chance other potential customers are wondering about it too.

2. Show Something

Show your product, service, process, workspace, team or finished work.

People don't just want to hear what you do. They want to see it.

3. Tell a Story

Share something that happened with a customer, a lesson you've learned, how you got started, or something happening behind the scenes.

Stories make businesses feel human.

4. Prove It

Share a testimonial, review, case study, before-and-after, result or customer success story.

Don't just tell people you're good at what you do.

Show them.

5. Connect

Give people a reason to get to know the person behind the business.

Share your perspective, personality, process or something your audience can relate to.

6. Invite

If you have something worth buying, tell people about it.

While it's true that most posts shouldn't sell, you also don't need to be afraid of selling. Follow the 80/20 rule. This means that 80% of your posts are engagement focused and only 20% are sales focused.

If your product or service solves a real problem, it's good to invite people to take the next step.

"What Should I Post on Social Media Today?"

You don't necessarily need a completely different idea for every social platform.

Take one useful idea and adapt it.

For example, suppose you're a financial advisor and a common customer question is:

"How much should I have in an emergency fund?"

That one idea could become:

• A conversational Facebook post
• An Instagram carousel
• A short video
• A LinkedIn post
• A YouTube Short
• An email to your audience
• A blog article

You're not starting from scratch six times.

You're taking one useful idea and getting more mileage from it.

That's a much more sustainable way to create content.

"What Should I Post on Facebook Today?"

Facebook is a good place to be conversational, helpful and community-oriented. You don't need a perfectly polished post every time. Sometimes the best thing you can share is a simple thought, tip or an answer to a question your customers have.

Answer a question

"One question I get asked all the time is..."

"If you're wondering whether [problem/question], here's what you should know..."

"Before you [do X], make sure you know this..."

Share a tip

"Here's one simple thing you can do today to [desired result]..."

"A quick tip if you're struggling with [problem]..."

"If I were starting over in [industry], this is one thing I'd do differently..."

"I was today years old when I learned..."

Tell a story

"Something happened with a customer recently that reminded me of..."

"One thing I've learned after [X years] in this business..."

"We didn't expect this to happen, but..."

Share a customer result

"One of our customers came to us with [problem]. Here's what happened..."

"This is why we love what we do..."

"Here's a recent before-and-after that we're pretty proud of..."

Start a conversation

"What's the hardest part about [problem]?"

"If you could get one question answered about [topic], what would it be?"

"What's one thing you wish you'd known when you started [topic]?"

The goal isn't to sound clever.

It's to give someone a reason to stop scrolling and think, "That's exactly what I'm dealing with." Relatability is important here.

"What Should I Post on Instagram Today?"

Instagram gives you plenty of opportunities to show rather than simply tell. You don't need to create a complicated Reel or spend hours designing a carousel.

Start with the idea. The format can come afterward.

Create a Quick Educational Reel

Try opening with:

"If you're struggling with [problem], here's what I'd do..."

"Three things I wish every [customer type] knew about [topic]..."

"Stop doing [common mistake]. Do this instead..."

"Here's something most people don't know about [your product/service]..."

"If I had to get [result] starting from zero, I'd start here..."

Create a Carousel

Your first slide is your hook.

Try:

"5 mistakes you're making with [topic]"

"Before you spend money on [thing], read this."

"The [topic] checklist every [customer type] needs"

"If you're struggling with [problem], start here."

"Here's exactly how we [achieve result]."

Then use the remaining slides to explain the idea.

Show Your Process

People are curious about how things actually happen behind the scenes.

Try:

"Here's what happens after you book with us..."

"Come behind the scenes with us while we..."

"Here's what goes into creating [product/service]..."

"You see the finished product. Here's what you don't see..."

Share a Customer Story

"When [customer] first came to us, they were struggling with..."

"Here's what changed after [customer]..."

"From [before] to [after]..."

"The biggest lesson from this project was..."

And remember: you don't need to become an influencer to market your business on Instagram.

You're trying to become useful and memorable to the people who might eventually need what you sell.

"What Should I Post on LinkedIn Today?"

For professional services and B2B businesses, LinkedIn can be especially useful for sharing expertise, experiences and opinions about the problems your customers care about.

You don't have to write a formal industry article every time. In fact, thought leadership posts tend to get more comments and reach.

Try starting with one of these:

Share Something You've Learned

"After working with [type of customer] for [X years], I've learned one thing..."

"Here's something I wish more business owners understood about [topic]..."

"One of the biggest mistakes I see companies make with [topic] is..."

Share a Customer Problem

"A client came to us recently with a problem I see all the time..."

"If you're dealing with [problem], here's where I'd start..."

"Here's what we changed—and why it made a difference..."

Challenge Conventional Wisdom

"Everyone says you should [common advice]. I'm not convinced."

"You don't necessarily need [popular tactic] to get [result]. Here's what matters more..."

"Here's an unpopular opinion about [topic]..."

Only use this approach when you genuinely have something useful to say. The goal isn't to manufacture controversy.

Teach Something

"Here's the simplest way I've found to explain [complicated topic]..."

"If you're new to [topic], here's what you need to know..."

"Before you invest in [product/service/strategy], ask these three questions..."

Tell a Business Story

"[Number of years experience] years in [industry] has taught me..."

"I used to think [X]. Then I learned..."

"One of the most interesting things I've seen in business recently..."

"Here's what this experience taught me about [topic]..."

The goal on LinkedIn isn't simply to sound knowledgeable.

It's to demonstrate that you understand the problems your ideal customers are trying to solve.

A Simple Trick When You're Completely Stuck

If you're staring at a blank screen and none of these hooks are helping, finish this sentence:

"Something my customers need to know about ______ is..."

Then keep writing.

Or:

"One thing I wish my customers understood about ______ is..."

Or:

"The biggest mistake I see people make when ______ is..."

Or simply:

"A customer asked me ______ today, and here's what I told them..."

You probably already have dozens of potential posts hiding inside conversations you're having with customers every week.

You just need to turn those conversations into content.

"What Should I Email My Customers Today?"

You don't have to send an email every day.

But when you have something useful to say, email can be one of the most direct ways to reach people who already know your business.

You could:

• Answer a common question
• Share a useful tip
• Tell a customer story
• Announce something new
• Share a helpful resource
• Invite customers to an event
• Introduce a new product or service
• Make a relevant offer
• Follow up with people who expressed interest

The goal isn't to fill someone's inbox.

It's to give them a reason to open your next email.

"What Should I Do Today to Get More Customers?"

If you're asking, “What should I do today to get more customers?”, the answer depends largely on your budget.

You don't need a huge marketing budget to start attracting new customers. But if you have some money available to invest in marketing, you can give yourself considerably more opportunities to reach potential customers.

If you don't have money to spend on marketing

Focus on activities that trade your time and effort for visibility.

Social media: Create useful content your ideal customers will actually want to see, share, or save. Don't just promote your business. Answer questions, solve problems, share your expertise, and give people a reason to follow you.

Outreach: Identify potential customers or businesses you can genuinely help and reach out to them directly. Depending on your business, this could mean emails, LinkedIn messages, direct messages, cold calls, or simply starting conversations.

Partnerships: Find businesses that serve the same type of customer without directly competing with you. Look for ways to refer customers to one another, collaborate on content, host an event, or introduce each other to your audiences.

Networking: Get where your potential customers are. Attend local events, industry groups, business organizations, conferences, or online communities where you can build relationships and become known as someone who can help.

Email marketing: If you have an email list, use it. Send useful information, helpful advice, offers, case studies, or updates that give people a reason to stay connected to your business.

SEO: Create content around the questions and problems your potential customers are actually searching for. SEO usually takes longer to produce results, but the work you do today can continue bringing potential customers to your business long after you publish it.

These strategies can absolutely generate new customers. The tradeoff is that they generally require more of your time and may take longer to build momentum.

If you have some money to invest

Even a modest marketing budget can open up another option: paid advertising.

Platforms such as Meta Ads and Google Ads can put your business in front of potential customers much faster than waiting for organic reach or SEO to build.

Google Ads can be particularly useful when people are already searching for the product or service you offer. Meta Ads can be useful for reaching specific audiences and creating demand even when people aren't actively searching for you.

But there's an important catch:

Paying for advertising doesn't automatically make it work.

You can spend money very quickly without getting the customers you hoped for if the targeting, offer, messaging, creative, landing page, tracking, or campaign structure isn't right.

That's one reason it's often worth getting advice from an experienced marketer before putting significant money into advertising. The recommendations you get directly from an advertising platform are designed to help you use the platform, but they aren't necessarily the same thing as having an experienced marketer look at your business, your audience, your offer, and your actual campaign goals.

Someone who has managed dozens of campaigns and can point to real-world results can often help you identify problems and opportunities that aren't obvious when you're setting up the campaign yourself.

You don't necessarily need to hire an agency to do all of your marketing. But getting experienced guidance before you spend hundreds or thousands of dollars testing ads can help you avoid expensive mistakes.

So what should you do today?

Start with what you have available.

No marketing budget? Pick one organic channel and one direct-growth activity. For example, create a social post and reach out to five potential customers or partners.

A small marketing budget? Continue building your organic channels, but consider testing a small, focused Google or Meta campaign rather than trying to advertise everywhere at once.

A larger budget? You have more options, including paid acquisition, content, SEO, email marketing, partnerships, and potentially professional marketing support. The challenge becomes deciding where your money is most likely to produce results.

The important thing is not to ask, “What marketing tactic should I try?”

Ask:

“What can I realistically invest today—in time, money, or both—to get in front of more of the right customers?”

That's a much better starting point for deciding what you should do next.

"What Should I Work on First in My Marketing?"

When everything feels important, use this framework to help you prioritize.

1. Existing Opportunities

Start with leads, prospects and customers who are already close to buying. Follow up with them through things like email or retargeting ads.

2. Conversion

Make sure your website, offer and calls to action are doing their job.

3. Visibility

Then work on getting more of the right people to notice you through content, search, social media, partnerships, ads and other channels.

4. Acquisition

To grow your business, consider advertising, outreach, and lead generation.

5. Long-Term Growth

Build assets that continue working for you over time, such as SEO content, an email list, customer referral systems and a strong brand.

What If I Don't Know What My Business Needs?

This is where marketing gets frustrating.

You can ask:

"What are the best marketing strategies for small businesses?"

And get 50 answers.

You can ask:

"What should I post on social media?"

And get another 50.

But more information isn't always what you need.

You may need someone—or something—to look at your business.

Your website.

Your competitors.

Your customers.

Your industry.

Your current marketing.

Your goals.

Then help you decide what matters most.

Because the answer for a local dentist may be completely different from the answer for an online consultant or an e-commerce business.

Good marketing advice should have context.

Try Asking AI What You Should Do Today

If you're using ChatGPT or another AI tool, you can make the question much more useful by giving it context.

Instead of simply asking:

"What should I do for marketing today?"

Try:

I own a [type of business]. My primary goal right now is [goal]. I have about 20 minutes today to work on marketing. Here's my website: [URL]. Based on my business, customers, competitors and current marketing, tell me the ONE marketing task I should prioritize today. Explain why it matters and give me step-by-step instructions for completing it.

Give Yourself 20 Minutes

You don't need to spend your entire day marketing.

Try this simple routine.

Minutes 1–5: Look

Check what's happening.

• Do you have new leads?
• Did someone respond to an email?
• Are people engaging with your content?
• Is there a promotion you should be sharing?
• Are there opportunities you haven't followed up on?

Minutes 6–20: Do One Thing

Choose one meaningful marketing activity.

Not five.

Not fifteen.

One.

Improve the landing page.

Send the email.

Record and edit the video.

Pitch the podcast.

Create the new ad.

Improve the ad campaign.

Do the thing.

You Don't Need More Marketing Ideas. You Need a Next Step.

Small-business owners don't necessarily need another marketing course, another list of tactics or another 47 things to add to their to-do list.

They need priorities.

They need to know:

• What should I do?
• Why should I do it?
• How do I do it?
• And what's next?

Marketing becomes much less overwhelming when you stop trying to do everything and start focusing on the next thing that can actually move your business forward.

So if you're staring at your to-do list today wondering what to work on, start there.

Ask:

What does my business need most right now?

Then choose one action that addresses it.

And do that.

Tomorrow, do it again.

Want to Know What Your Business Should Be Doing Next?

That's exactly the problem BizManna was designed to solve.

BizManna gives you a personalized marketing roadmap, practical daily tasks and AI tools to help you actually get the work done—without having to figure out your entire marketing strategy on your own. All with the support of a marketing consultant to guide you along the way.

Because you don't need to become a marketing expert.

You just need to know what to do next.

Hop on a free 30-minute strategy call to build your marketing plan. Or, simply jump in and try BizManna free for 7 days.