Social media for local businesses – restaurants, cafés, shops, salons, service centres and accommodation – work differently than for companies operating nationwide. The audience is geographically limited, so it makes no sense to chase large follower numbers; instead, the aim is to reach people within reach of the premises. Content tied to timeliness works best: the daily offer, news in the range, changed opening hours, glimpses of the premises and the people who work there. Photos from the actual location beat professional visuals, because the customer wants to verify what it looks like there. It is key to link up with map and review services, where customers most often look for the business, and to respond quickly to messages, because people use them to ask about availability and bookings.
See also: Local recommendations in AI, Directories and consistent company data, Responding to messages.
