Which social media is best for a local business?

The best social media for a small business is the platform your local customers already use, and that you can keep up with week after week. For most local businesses in Ontario that means Facebook, Instagram or both, plus regular posts on your Google Business Profile.

The short answer: restaurants, shops, salons and trades usually do best on Facebook and Instagram, while accountants, lawyers and other B2B services do best on LinkedIn. TikTok is worth it only if you'll make short videos regularly. Whatever you pick, add Google Business Profile posts, because they appear right where people search for you.

Your customers are on social media (most of them)

Statistics Canada found that about 8 in 10 Canadian internet users were regular social media users in 2018. That included about 9 in 10 people aged 34 and younger, about 7 in 10 aged 50 to 64, and about half of those 65 and older.

Older Canadians are still catching up. In Statistics Canada's 2022 internet survey, 43.5% of seniors used social networking sites or apps. So if your customers skew older, Facebook and Google matter more than TikTok, and some of your customers won't be on social media at all.

Which platform suits which local business

Here's how we'd match platforms to the most common types of local business. Use it as a starting point, then go where your own customers are.

Facebook

Facebook is still the default for local business. People check it for hours, photos, upcoming events and what others say about you. Local community groups are also where a lot of "can anyone recommend a good..." questions get asked, so a real, active page helps when someone tags you.

Instagram

Instagram is all about the picture. If your work looks good (food, hair, a finished kitchen, a new patio), it's a natural fit. If you don't have much to show visually, it'll be a struggle to keep going.

LinkedIn

For professional services and anything sold business to business, LinkedIn is where the decision makers are. Posts from the owner's own profile often do better than posts from a company page. It's rarely worth it for a restaurant or a plumber.

TikTok

TikTok can reach a lot of local people quickly, but it runs on video, and lots of it. If nobody on your team enjoys being on camera, skip it rather than posting three videos and giving up.

Nextdoor

Nextdoor is available across Canada, and its Canadian business site says you can start with a free business page and post updates for free. It's mostly worth a look for home services and neighbourhood businesses. Usage varies a lot by neighbourhood, so check whether people near you actually use it.

Google Business Profile posts

These are the most overlooked "social" posts of all. According to Google's help page on Business Profile posts, you can share updates, offers and events, and they show on your profile in Search and Maps. That's right when someone is deciding who to call.

Google archives posts after six months unless you set a date range, and posts stay pending until your profile is verified. If you'd rather not keep on top of it yourself, that's part of our Google Business Profile management. More on getting your profile seen in why your Google Business Profile isn't showing up.

How often to post (realistically)

Consistency matters more than volume. A page that posted twice a week for a year looks far better than one that posted every day in January and then went quiet.

• Facebook and Instagram: two or three times a week is plenty for most local businesses.
• LinkedIn: once or twice a week, ideally from the owner.
• TikTok: more often, which is why it's a commitment.
• Google Business Profile: about once a week, or whenever you have news, an offer or an event.

If that still feels like too much, pick one platform plus Google and do those well. Batching a month of posts in one sitting helps a lot.

What to post

You don't need to be clever. The posts that work for local businesses are usually the plain ones.

• Real photos of your work, your team and your place (not stock photos)
• Answers to questions customers ask you all the time
• Seasonal reminders, like booking furnace service or holiday hours
• New products, services, menu items or offers
• Local events you're running or taking part in
• Thanking customers who left you a review (where your industry allows it)

Reviews and social go hand in hand. Our guide to getting more Google reviews covers how to ask the right way.

Organic posts vs boosted posts

Organic posts (the free ones) keep your page looking active and give regulars a reason to come back. But on their own, they reach only a slice of your followers, and hardly anyone new.

Boosting a post is the quick way to pay for more reach, and it's fine for an event or an announcement. It has limited targeting, though, and is mostly built to get likes and comments rather than calls.

If you want leads, a proper campaign in Meta Ads Manager gives you much more control. Our Facebook and Instagram ads management is set up that way, month to month, with the ad account in your name.

Not sure if social ads are even the right fit? See Facebook ads vs Google ads for when each one makes sense.

What to measure

Likes and followers feel good, but they don't pay the bills. Look at what people did after they saw your posts.

• Messages and calls that came from your page
• Website visits from social, which you can see in Google Analytics
• Bookings, quotes or orders where the customer mentions social
• Calls, direction requests and website clicks from your Google Business Profile

Check every month or two. If a platform hasn't brought in a single enquiry after six months of steady posting, it's fair to drop it and put that time somewhere else.