The problem
Decorators take great before and after photos and then leave them on their phone. People choosing a decorator look at recent work, and a page with nothing since March looks like a business that's stopped. If regular posts brought in one extra $1,596£1,200€1,428A$2,304C$2,256 job every two months, that's $798£600€714A$1,152C$1,128 a month of work.
What the AI does
Buffer lets you plan, schedule and publish posts to connected channels, and its AI Assistant, listed on all plans, helps refine your captions. Once a month, pick 8 before-and-after pairs from finished jobs, write a line on each (the room, the color, the town), let the assistant tidy it, and schedule two posts a week to Facebook and Instagram. The free plan covers up to 3 channels and 10 scheduled posts per channel, which is enough for this.
A worked example
A decorating firm in Brighton photographs every job but rarely posts. On the first Sunday of each month the owner spends an hour in Buffer's free plan scheduling 8 posts across their Facebook page and Instagram account.
Before
Posts only when someone remembers, about 1 a month
After
2 posts a week, scheduled in one hour a month
What it's worth
About $239£180€214A$346C$338 a month in profit, at an assumed 30% margin, if regular posting brings in one extra $1,596£1,200€1,428A$2,304C$2,256 job every two months ($798£600€714A$1,152C$1,128 a month of work). Buffer's free plan covers it, so the cost is an hour a month.
How to set it up
- Take before and after photos from the same spot on every job, in good light.
- Connect your Facebook page and Instagram account to Buffer's free plan.
- Once a month, pick 8 photo pairs and write one line for each: room, color, town and anything the customer said.
- Use the AI Assistant to tidy the captions, then read each one and cut anything you wouldn't say yourself.
- Schedule two posts a week and reply to comments and messages yourself.
What goes wrong
- Ask customers before posting photos of their home, and leave out house numbers, family photos and anything that shows valuables.
- The free plan allows 10 scheduled posts per channel. More than that needs a paid plan from $5 (about $5£4€5A$8C$8) per channel a month, billed yearly.
- AI captions drift into the same stock phrases. Keep the town, the color and the customer's words in every post.
- The extra job is an assumption, not a promise. Ask new customers where they found you so you know whether it's working.