The four-post strategy: Revolutionize your business social media approach

In the fast-paced digital landscape, businesses in the photo imaging industry often struggle to maintain an effective social media presence while running their operations. On a recent episode of the Dead Pixel Society podcast, host Gary Pageau interviewed Katie Brinkley, founder of Next Step Social and author of “The Social Shift,” who shared insights about social media efficiency for small business owners.

Brinkley’s journey into social media marketing began unconventionally—helping bands with their MySpace pages before landing a dream job as a postgame reporter for the Rockies and Broncos in Denver. When SiriusXM disrupted the radio industry, she pivoted to marketing, discovering her passion for social media while managing digital channels for a TV station. After being faced with relocation, this Colorado native chose to start her own social media agency, which has now grown to a team of eleven professionals serving clients across various industries.

The central thesis of Brinkley’s approach challenges the conventional wisdom that more content equals better results. “The last thing we need is more content,” she explained, noting that Instagram alone sees over 75 million pieces of content posted daily. Instead of contributing to the noise, Brinkley advocates for creating better, more strategic content that actually drives business results. This philosophy forms the foundation of her “Four Post Strategy,” designed to help businesses show up on fewer platforms while achieving greater reach, engagement, and conversions.

Before implementing any social strategy, Brinkley emphasizes the importance of understanding which platforms actually drive results for your specific business. LinkedIn generates high-ticket agency clients for her agency, while Facebook brings in coaching clients. Despite having her largest audience on Instagram, she’s largely abandoned the platform because it doesn’t deliver meaningful business outcomes. “Being everywhere is not being smart,” she advises. This targeted approach allows business owners to focus their limited time and resources where they’ll have the greatest impact.

The Four Post Strategy follows a carefully structured sequence designed to work with platform algorithms while guiding potential customers through a natural journey. It begins with an “awareness post” that makes people problem-aware through bold statements, questions, or statistics that generate engagement. The second stage is an “elaboration post” where you position yourself as an expert by providing valuable insights related to the problem identified. The third element is a “community post” that shares authentic stories—either your own experience or client testimonials—demonstrating real-world benefits. Finally, the “action post” invites followers to take the next step, whether that’s visiting your website, attending an event, or making a purchase.

For photo retailers and imaging businesses, this approach offers a practical solution to the common challenge of maintaining social media presence without sacrificing core business operations. Rather than posting constantly across multiple platforms, Brinkley suggests identifying where your ideal customers actually engage online and creating more intentional content specifically for those channels. The strategy works because it builds audience connection gradually, earning trust before asking for action.

Another key insight from the conversation addresses who should represent your business on social media. While many photo businesses maintain company pages, Brinkley notes that personal profiles typically receive significantly greater organic reach. She recommends having a leader within the organization—ideally someone in management who won’t be leaving the company—serve as the face of the business. For those uncomfortable on camera, Brinkley mentions written content still performs well, and new AI tools can help create video content for camera-shy professionals.

Perhaps most encouraging for time-strapped business owners is Brinkley’s assertion that results from this strategic approach can appear quickly—often within the first month of implementation. She shared examples of businesses seeing 250% increases in engagement and 1000% increases in impressions within just two weeks of adopting the four-post strategy. The key is intentionality: knowing exactly what you want to accomplish, who you’re trying to reach, and crafting content specifically for that purpose.