The local business format playbook

You, talking to the camera like you would to a friend. The format everything else builds on.

Judge it on watch-through.

1. Open with the hook in the first 3 seconds, eyes on the lens.
2. One idea, told the way you'd tell it in person.
3. Jump cut often.
4. Captions on: most viewers watch with the sound off.

A fast, unfiltered take to camera. Energy is what keeps them watching.

Judge it on shares.

1. Lead with your spiciest line.
2. Talk fast; walking while you talk works.
3. Build to one clear take.
4. 20 to 45 seconds; up to 60 if the take earns it.

React to a video your customers already watched, with your expert take.

Judge it on watch-through.

1. Pick a clip your customers would have seen.
2. Pause at the exact claim.
3. Lead with what you'd tell them in person.
4. Only react inside your expertise.

You talking on top, something easy to watch on the bottom.

Judge it on watch-through.

1. Film your part for the top half.
2. Bottom: the work, a process, or satisfying footage.
3. Keep what you're saying the focus. Captions on.
4. 20 to 45 seconds.

Footage of the work with your voice over it. No talking head needed.

Judge it on watch-through.

1. Record an honest voiceover first.
2. Lay it over footage of you working, the space, the process.
3. Shoot each action from 2 or 3 angles so you've got cuts to make.
4. Cut on the beats of the voiceover.

A fast montage of short clips with one line of text per cut.

Judge it on watch-through.

1. Film 6 to 10 clips, 3 to 5 seconds each.
2. Cut on the beat of upbeat audio.
3. Keep real sounds (spraying, cutting, tapping) under the music.
4. 10 to 20 seconds; end where you started so it loops.

Rank options on camera and defend each spot. The comments become a debate.

Judge it on shares.

1. Pick a specific ranking your customers care about.
2. Rank live on screen and defend each placement.
3. Leave one placement debatable on purpose.
4. Tell them to comment their own ranking.

Beautiful footage cut to music. Save it for openings, launches and new spaces.

Judge it on shares.

1. A few stunning shots beat many average ones.
2. Move the camera, and use light and slow motion on purpose, never by accident.
3. Cut to the beat; little or no text.
4. 15 to 30 seconds, looped.

A trending sound or meme with an angle only your business has.

Judge it on shares.

1. Catch it early: trends die in 1 to 2 weeks.
2. Follow the trend's structure exactly.
3. Add the twist only your business can.
4. 1 or 2 a month, tops.

A short, funny scene about a moment every customer knows.

Judge it on shares.

1. Only if you're actually funny.
2. Open with a POV title that names the exact scenario.
3. One unbroken take, straight to camera.
4. Write to one punchline; never at a customer's expense.

Close-up process footage where the sound is the hook.

Judge it on watch-through.

1. Pick one process with a clean sound: a pour, a cut, a press.
2. Shoot tight on the texture with good light.
3. Keep the real sound loudest; no talking.
4. 10 to 30 seconds, looped.

A strong opinion, slide by slide. Built for shares and a debate in the comments.

Judge it on shares.

1. Slide 1: the bold statement.
2. Slides 2 to 5: your reasons, with edge.
3. Restate the position; don't hedge.
4. End on a question.

AI-made images carrying a relatable idea. Breaks the pattern of the feed.

Judge it on shares.

1. Pick an idea your customers all relate to.
2. Hook on slide 1, commit on slide 2.
3. Build it across the visuals.
4. If nobody would send it to a friend, change the idea.

A loose, real set of photos from your week. Reads real, not produced.

Judge it on shares.

1. 6 to 10 candid shots, plus 1 or 2 short clips.
2. Lead with the strongest image.
3. Let the caption tell the story.
4. Mix faces, the work and the moments in between.

One frame, one poll, two clear options. The easiest way to get a follower talking back.

Judge it on sticker taps.

1. Simple question, early in your Stories.
2. Make it about your business or your customers.
3. Add a question sticker on the next frame.
4. Post the results after.

A raw look at the business: the space, a project, the day.

Judge it on watch-through.

1. Walk the space with the camera at chest height.
2. 5 to 7 clips under 5 seconds each.
3. A line of context on each frame.
4. End with a soft question.

You in front of a screenshot (a note, a review, a headline) and you talk through it. Works for reach too.

Judge it on saves.

1. Write the list or take in Notes and screenshot it.
2. Stand so your head covers part of the text.
3. Spoken hook and written hook both in the first 3 seconds.
4. 20 to 40 seconds.

An overhead shot of your hands doing the work while you explain.

Judge it on saves.

1. Open facing the camera, then cut to overhead.
2. Show the real work step by step.
3. Say what you're doing and why.
4. 30 to 45 seconds.

A physical object as a metaphor for your point, used the whole way through.

Judge it on saves.

1. Pick an object that maps to the idea.
2. Use it in the hook and keep using it every beat.
3. Move the lesson along with the object.
4. Land the metaphor at the end.

Two or three versions of you on screen, debating (customer vs expert, before vs after).

Judge it on watch-through.

1. Pick an idea with two sides.
2. Give each version a different look.
3. Film on a tripod, one role at a time.
4. Keep it short: 20 to 40 seconds.

You drawing the idea as you explain it.

Judge it on saves.

1. Only when drawing it actually helps.
2. Start drawing right away.
3. Draw what they believe, then the fix next to it.
4. Reveal the full picture at the end.

Hook, problem, fix, result, one beat per slide.

Judge it on saves.

1. Slide 1: a bold hook.
2. Slides 2 and 3: the problem and what it costs.
3. Slides 4 to 7: the shift and the fix.
4. Last slides: the result. Add one short clip.

A step-by-step breakdown. Carousels get saved more than anything else.

Judge it on saves.

1. Slide 1 earns the swipe; slide 2 hooks too.
2. One step per slide.
3. Drop in one short demo clip.
4. Close by asking them to save it.

A numbered list of tips or mistakes, one per slide.

Judge it on saves.

1. Slide 1: '[number] tips for [outcome]'.
2. One specific tip per slide.
3. A bold mini-headline on each.
4. 7 to 10 slides; close with a save ask.

Common myths, each with the truth and proof.

Judge it on saves.

1. Slide 1: 'X myths about ___'.
2. Myth then truth, one pair per slide.
3. Back each truth with proof: a number, a result, a before/after.
4. End with a summary or the next step.

Wrong vs right, side by side. Easy to scan and save.

Judge it on saves.

1. Set up the problem on slide 1.
2. 'Don't do X', then 'Do Y', one pair per slide.
3. Make the contrast visual.
4. 5 to 7 slides.

Your process, step by step. Builds trust and justifies your price.

Judge it on saves.

1. Name your process.
2. 3 to 5 steps, one per slide.
3. Say what makes it different.
4. Show a small proof point, then the next step.

Two options compared so they can decide.

Judge it on saves.

1. Slide 1: 'The difference between X and Y'.
2. Compare 3 or 4 factors.
3. Stay fair.
4. One clear takeaway slide.

'Ask me anything about ___'. Earns replies and gives you post ideas.

Judge it on sticker taps.

1. Warm them up with a quick poll first.
2. Then the question sticker.
3. Answer the best ones, naming each question.
4. Turn the best answers into posts.

A quiz on something surprising about your work.

Judge it on sticker taps.

1. Pick a question where the answer isn't obvious.
2. Ask it with the quiz sticker (add a poll as backup).
3. Reveal the answer and why.
4. Once or twice a month.

One useful tip in 1 to 3 clean frames.

Judge it on saves.

1. One tip per sequence.
2. Start with the tip.
3. Then why it works.
4. Close with a save ask or a link.

A recent win and exactly what made it happen.

Judge it on watch-through.

1. Name the win with a specific number.
2. The one or two things that drove it.
3. Honest, not a flex.
4. 2 to 4 frames.

Repost a customer's post about you.

Judge it on profile visits.

1. Repost it; don't recreate it.
2. Add a short overlay.
3. Tag the customer.
4. Always ask first.

Two frames: the before, then the reveal.

Judge it on profile visits.

1. The before, with 'wait for it'.
2. Then the after, and exactly what you did to get there.
3. Link sticker on the reveal.
4. Always ask first.

Visual proof of the result. The highest-converting format for results businesses.

Judge it on DMs, bookings.

1. Show a clear before.
2. Build to the reveal; hold on it.
3. Say the timeline and what you did.
4. 15 to 25 seconds. Always get the customer's OK.

A real customer telling their story in their own words.

Judge it on DMs, bookings.

1. Their problem before they came to you.
2. What you did.
3. The result, with numbers if they'll share them.
4. 20 to 40 seconds.

One service, shown in action, with a clear next step.

Judge it on link taps.

1. Hook on the problem it solves.
2. Show it in action.
3. Benefits, not features.
4. One proof point, then how to book.

Answers the question that stops customers from booking.

Judge it on DMs, bookings.

1. Lead with the real question.
2. Say why customers ask it.
3. Give an honest, specific answer.
4. End on a comment keyword that opens a DM.

A customer result across slides: before, the work, after.

Judge it on DMs, bookings.

1. Slide 1: the starting problem.
2. Before, process, after.
3. One slide as a short before/after clip.
4. A customer quote, then a comment keyword.

Your offer or services, one per slide.

Judge it on link taps.

1. Lead with the main offer.
2. One service per slide.
3. Name the benefit, and the price where it helps.
4. Only real scarcity; end with how to book.

One frame, one offer, one link.

Judge it on link taps.

1. Poll first.
2. State the offer in the first line.
3. Add one proof point.
4. Link to the exact booking page, never the homepage.

A countdown to an event, launch or opening.

Judge it on sticker taps.

1. 'Something's coming [date]'.
2. Countdown sticker to the exact time.
3. Ask them to tap the sticker so they get a reminder when it starts.
4. 1 or 2 teasers before it.

A short reveal of what's new, each frame with a link.

Judge it on link taps.

1. Frame 1: build curiosity.
2. One item per frame, well lit.
3. Link to the exact page.
4. 3 to 5 frames.