What to Post on Social Media in the Off-Season (For Farmers, Makers & Seasonal Businesses)

If you run a seasonal business — whether you’re an Ontario flower farmer, a maker who sells at summer markets, or a service provider who goes quiet in winter — you’ve probably asked yourself this question:

“What on earth do I post when I have nothing to sell?”

The good news? The off-season is actually one of the most impactful times for you to be active on social media. It’s when you can build the kind of genuine connection that makes people choose you over everyone else come buying season. This blog post breaks down exactly how you can make this happen for your business.

Why Off-Season Social Media Matters More Than You Think

Here’s the thing most seasonal business owners miss: your audience is making purchase decisions right now, even when they can’t buy yet. They’re thinking about where they’ll spend their money this summer, which farm stand they’ll visit, which maker they want to support.

If you disappear from social media in the off-season, you’re missing your window to get into their heads before the competition does.

The goal of off-season content isn’t to sell. It’s to build trust, create connection, and make sure that when the season opens, you are *the* choice.

Strategy #1: Bring People Behind the Scenes

Your product isn’t the whole story. In fact, it should almost come second to you and your story. During the off-season, shift your focus from your offerings to you and the story of your business.

Think about what’s actually happening in your business right now:

• Doing seed orders or planning spreadsheets
• Prepping your workspace for the season ahead
• Attending markets, workshops, or trade shows
• Working on a new product line or service offering
• The everyday hobbies and routines that make you, you — baking bread, reading, redecorating, chopping wood

What feels boring to you is interesting to your audience. Showing the behind-the-scenes of building a business creates momentum and excitement before you open for the season.

Content Ideas: Day-in-the-Life & Week-in-the-Life Posts

Try a B-roll reel or a photo carousel with text on screen showing snippets of your week. Use a hook like:

“Day in the life of a small-scale flower farmer in Ontario who is finding joy in the little moments”

The qualifier at the end — “finding joy in the little moments,” “building a business for the first time,” “on a mission to simplify her life” — is what makes people stop scrolling. It helps the right people find your content and feel like it was made for them.

Strategy #2: Speak to How Your Audience Is Feeling Right Now

If you’re in a place like Ontario, Canada, you know that by February and March, people have lost all hope that spring will ever arrive. Use that audience knowledge to create content that speaks directly to them.

Create content that gives your audience hope that their SADs will end soon. Steal one of these ideas:

• “Just a friendly reminder that in X days, the sun will set at 8pm and your life will look like this” (paired with a beautiful video from last summer)
• A countdown to when you open for the season
• A “spring is coming” post that taps into the collective longing your audience is feeling
• Behind-the-scenes prep content that signals exciting things are on the way

This kind of content builds an emotional connection with your brand that goes way beyond the products you’re selling. It makes people feel something — and that’s what makes them remember you.

Strategy #3: Share Your Unique Point of View

Why should someone buy from you instead a competitor? What makes you different from the ‘Amazon Basics’ version of your product or service? The off-season is the perfect time to answer that question through your content.

Try on of these angles for your content:

• “Why I don’t do wedding flowers” — share your ‘why not’ as much as your ‘why’
• “You won’t find [blank] at our farm stand” — what makes you intentionally different
• Your values and beliefs about how you run your business
• How your process is different from others in your industry

This kind of content builds differentiation during the window when people are doing their research and forming opinions — before they’re ready to purchase.

The 4 Content Formats to Use During the Off-Season

You don’t need to master (or even try) every format at once!! Think of these content styles as levels — start where you’re comfortable and build from there.

1. B-Roll Reels

Short clips of you going about your day — no talking required. Film your hands, your workspace, your process. Add a strong hook as text on screen and trending audio. These are fast to create once you have a library of clips saved.

2. Photo + Text Carousels

A series of photos with text overlay telling a story or sharing a tip. These are performing exceptionally well on Instagram right now and are a great lower-pressure format to start with.

3. Voiceover Videos

Take your existing B-roll clips and add a voiceover explaining what you’re doing, why you do it, or what you’re excited about. A great middle step between silent B-roll and talking directly to camera.

4. Talk-to-Camera Reels

The most powerful format for building connection — and yes, the most intimidating. Key tip: don’t make it formal. Film yourself while you’re doing something — kneading dough, folding laundry, walking outside. Having something in your hands takes the pressure off and makes you look natural.

A Special Note for Ontario Small-Scale Farmers

If you’re a flower farmer or market gardener in Ontario, you know better than anyone that we don’t just have four seasons — we have about eleven. Mud season. False spring. The April blizzard. The endless grey of February.

Lean into that shared experience with your audience. They’re feeling it too. Content that acknowledges the collective yearning for warm weather and bare feet in the grass is content that gets saved, shared, and talked about.

Every February I start looking for this tweet without fail:

Bring some of that energy into your content!!

The Off-Season Content Playbook: A Quick Summary

• Show the behind-the-scenes of your off-season — seed orders, planning, prep work, your personal life
• Use hooks with qualifiers that speak to a specific type of person
• Create content that taps into how your audience is feeling right now (hello, February)
• Share your unique point of view and what makes you different
• Experiment with B-roll, carousels, voiceovers, and eventually talk-to-camera reels
• Remember: you’re not just building an audience — you’re building the case for why they should choose you when they’re ready to buy

I can’t wait to see what off-season content you create! Want to make your off-season AND summer content look better? Grab my free B-Roll Checklist and Filming Guide.