The best social media platforms for your business are the ones your customers already use, that suit the kind of content you can realistically create, and that support your business goals. For most small businesses, that means doing one or two platforms well rather than spreading yourself thin across all of them.
A local trade business, a B2B consultancy and a fashion brand will rarely need the same mix. Below we explain how to choose, give a quick guide to what each major platform is good for, and share what tends to work on Instagram now, as it remains one of the most popular choices for UK small businesses.
How to choose the right platforms
Work through these four questions before opening any new account.
1. Where is your audience?
Ask your existing customers which apps they use and where they look for businesses like yours. Look at where your competitors are getting genuine engagement, not just followers. The platform you personally enjoy may not be the one your customers use.
2. What are you trying to achieve?
- Brand awareness: visual, video-led platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
- Local enquiries and community: Facebook, especially local groups, alongside your Google Business Profile.
- B2B leads and credibility: LinkedIn, both company pages and personal profiles.
- Website traffic and product discovery: Pinterest and YouTube, where content can keep being found for a long time.
3. What content can you create consistently?
Be honest about time and skills. Video-led platforms need regular short videos. LinkedIn rewards thoughtful written posts. If you cannot keep up with a platform’s demands, it is better to leave it until you can.
4. Can you handle the conversations?
Social media is a two-way channel. Customers will message, comment and sometimes complain. Only choose platforms you can monitor and respond on promptly.
A quick guide to the main platforms
Facebook still reaches a broad range of ages and remains useful for local businesses, community groups, events and reviews. Its ads, run through Meta’s ad tools, can also show on Instagram and offer detailed targeting options. Organic reach for business pages is limited, so many businesses combine posting with modest paid promotion and taking part in relevant local groups.
A visual platform built around Reels, carousels and Stories. It suits businesses with strong visuals, such as hospitality, beauty, fashion, home improvement and creative services. It works well for building brand personality and for direct messages from interested customers.
The leading platform for B2B and professional services. Personal profiles of founders and staff often get more reach than company pages, so it pays for key people to post regularly. Paid ads can be expensive but allow precise targeting by job role, industry and company size.
TikTok
A short-video platform where content can reach people who do not follow you. It rewards authentic, entertaining or useful videos over polished adverts. Good for consumer brands that can produce regular, personality-led content.
YouTube
Owned by Google, YouTube works almost like a search engine for video. How-to guides, product demonstrations and explainers can keep attracting views long after they are published. Shorts offer a quicker, short-form option.
A visual discovery platform people use for planning and inspiration, such as weddings, home projects, recipes and fashion. Pins can drive traffic to your website over a long period.
X (formerly Twitter)
Best suited to real-time news, commentary and customer service in certain industries. For many small businesses it is a lower priority than the platforms above.
Snapchat and Threads
Snapchat is popular with younger audiences and suits brands targeting that group with playful, casual content. Threads, Meta’s text-based platform, is linked to Instagram accounts and can be worth testing if your audience is active there.
What works on Instagram now
Instagram changes regularly, but these principles hold up well for small businesses.
- Use Reels for reach. Short videos are the main way to get in front of people who do not already follow you. Hook viewers in the first couple of seconds and add captions, as many people watch with the sound off.
- Use carousels to teach. Multi-image posts work well for tips, step-by-step guides and before-and-after examples, and people often save them to come back to.
- Use Stories for your existing followers. Behind-the-scenes moments, polls, question stickers and links keep you front of mind with people who already know you.
- Write searchable captions. Describe what you do and where in plain words. Clear keywords in captions and your profile help people find you through Instagram search, and a handful of relevant hashtags can still help.
- Treat direct messages as leads. Reply quickly and helpfully. Many enquiries now start in DMs.
- Check Insights. See which posts get shares, saves and profile visits, then make more of what works.
- Tag products if you sell online. Product tagging, where available for your account, lets people tap through from a post to your shop.
Organic, paid or both?
Organic posting builds trust and gives people a reason to follow you. Paid social ads put your best content in front of a chosen audience quickly and can be targeted by location, interests and behaviour. Many businesses get the best results by posting consistently and then putting a small, focused budget behind content that is already working. Our paid social service can help if you want to explore ads.
Once you have chosen your platforms, the next step is a plan. Our guide to crafting a social media strategy walks you through it.
FAQs
How many social media platforms should a small business use?
Usually one or two to start. It is better to post consistently and respond quickly on a couple of platforms than to have inactive accounts on many.
Which platform is best for B2B businesses?
LinkedIn is usually the strongest choice for B2B, particularly when founders and key staff post from their personal profiles as well as the company page.
Is Facebook still worth it for local businesses?
For many local businesses, yes. It remains useful for community groups, events, reviews and locally targeted ads, even though organic reach for business pages is limited.
Do I need to be on TikTok?
Only if your audience is there and you can create regular short videos. It can work very well for consumer brands, but it is not essential for every business.
Get help with your social media
Choosing the right platforms is the first step to social media that brings in real results. If you would like support with strategy, content or day-to-day management, take a look at our social media services or get in touch with the Pure Marketing team in Birmingham.
