Why it matters
Most small businesses already have the photos. What stops the post is the empty caption box. If you write a week of captions in one sitting, you only have to think about social media once a week.
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Steps
- Pick five to seven real photos from this week: finished jobs, before and afters, your team, a product, or a happy customer who agreed to be posted.
- For each photo, jot one line of context the AI can't see: what the job was, the neighborhood, what was tricky, what the customer said. Number the lines to match the photos.
- Open ChatGPT or Claude. If you post every week, make a project called "Social captions" and put the voice rules from the prompt below in its instructions so you don't have to paste them each time.
- Attach the photos to one message, paste your numbered context lines, and send the prompt below. Claude takes up to 20 files per chat. ChatGPT doesn't publish a fixed number of images per message (it depends on image size and how much text you send), and its free plan has separate limits on uploads. If an upload fails or you hit a limit, send fewer or smaller photos, or wait for the limit to reset.
- Read each caption next to its photo. Remove anything the AI claimed that isn't in the photo or your notes.
- Ask for changes in plain words: "Make #3 funnier," "Cut #5 in half," "Fewer exclamation points."
- Schedule the posts in your usual app, and paste each photo description into the alt text field wherever the app offers one.
Copy-paste prompt
Prompt
You write Instagram and Facebook captions for [BUSINESS NAME], a [TYPE OF BUSINESS] in [CITY]. Voice: [3 words, e.g. "friendly, local, no fluff"]. Write like the owner talks. No corporate phrases, no "elevate," no "we're thrilled." I've attached [NUMBER] photos and numbered notes below. For each photo: 1. A caption of 1 to 3 short sentences based on the photo AND my note. Only describe what's visible or in my note. 2. One simple call to action that fits (book, call, DM, stop by). Vary them. 3. 3 to 5 hashtags that a local customer might actually search. Include [CITY] in one. 4. A one-sentence plain description of the photo for alt text. If you're unsure what's in a photo, ask me instead of guessing. NOTES: 1. 2. 3.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the context lines. Without them the AI guesses, and the guesses come out generic or wrong ("beautiful granite" on a quartz counter).
- Posting customer faces, addresses or license plates without permission.
- Using AI to change what the work looks like. An enhanced or generated image isn't a photo of your work anymore, and customers who compare will notice.
- Thirty hashtags. A few relevant local ones are easier to read.
- Using the same call to action every day.
