Which social network should I use to promote my business

Why choosing the right platform matters

If you're a small business owner feeling overwhelmed by social media, you're not alone. With over 5.17 billion people using social media worldwide in 2025, there's enormous potential to reach your customers. But here's the thing: you don't need to be everywhere.

The biggest mistake small businesses make is trying to maintain a presence on every single platform. This spreads you too thin, dilutes your message, and frankly, burns you out. Instead, success comes from focusing on the platforms where your customers actually spend their time and where you can realistically maintain a consistent presence.

Key considerations before you start

Before we dive into specific platforms, let's establish what you need to think about:

Who are your customers?

Your target audience should drive every decision. A plumber serving local homeowners will have different social media needs than a graphic designer targeting creative agencies. Consider:

Age demographics of your ideal customers
Where they're most likely to discover new businesses
How they prefer to communicate and consume content

What are your business goals?

Be honest about what you want to achieve:

Building local awareness
Generating leads and enquiries
Driving online sales
Providing customer support
Establishing expertise in your field

How much time can you realistically commit?

Social media success requires consistency. It's better to do one platform really well than five platforms poorly. Most successful small businesses dedicate 5-10 hours per week to social media across all their chosen platforms.

Facebook: the reliable all-rounder

Despite what you might hear about Facebook being "dead," it remains the most effective platform for many small businesses. With 2.9 billion monthly active users, Facebook offers the largest potential audience of any social platform.

Why Facebook works for small businesses:

Broad demographic reach: Unlike platforms that skew heavily toward younger users, Facebook has users across all age groups
Local business features: Facebook's local discovery tools help nearby customers find you
Versatile content formats: Text posts, photos, videos, events, and live streaming all perform well
Affordable advertising: Even £5-10 per day can deliver meaningful results with proper targeting
Direct sales opportunities: Facebook Shops allows you to sell directly through the platform

Facebook is ideal if you:

Serve customers across different age groups
Run a local business (restaurants, salons, repair services)
Want to build a community around your brand
Need customer service capabilities through Messenger
Have products to sell online

Getting started on Facebook:

Create a Facebook Business Page (not a personal profile)
Complete all profile information including business hours, location, and contact details
Post 3-5 times per week with a mix of helpful content, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and customer stories
Respond to comments and messages promptly
Consider running small targeted ads to boost your best-performing posts

Instagram: visual storytelling powerhouse

Instagram excels at visual storytelling and has become essential for businesses that can showcase their work photographically. With over 2 billion monthly active users, it's particularly effective for reaching millennials and Gen Z customers.

Instagram's strengths for business:

High engagement rates: Despite recent changes, Instagram still delivers better engagement than most platforms
Shopping integration: Product tagging and Instagram Shopping make it easy to sell directly
Multiple content formats: Feed posts, Stories, Reels and Live videos offer variety
Discovery features: Hashtags and location tags help new customers find you

Instagram works best for:

Visually appealing businesses (food, fashion, beauty, home décor, fitness)
Service businesses that can show their work (landscaping, interior design, photography)
Retail businesses with photogenic products
Businesses targeting customers under 40

Instagram strategy essentials:

Post high-quality images consistently (aim for daily posts or every other day)
Use relevant hashtags (mix of popular and niche tags)
Share behind-the-scenes content in Stories
Create Reels to take advantage of Instagram's current algorithm priorities
Engage with your local community by tagging locations and using local hashtags

LinkedIn: essential for B2B businesses

If your customers are other businesses, LinkedIn is non-negotiable. With over 1 billion members worldwide, LinkedIn remains the undisputed leader for B2B marketing and professional networking.

LinkedIn's business advantages:

Professional audience: Users are in "business mode" when browsing
Higher lead quality: B2B leads from LinkedIn are typically worth 5x more than other platforms
Thought leadership opportunities: Share expertise through articles and posts
Precise targeting: Advertising options include job titles, company size, and industry
Networking capabilities: Connect directly with decision-makers

LinkedIn is perfect if you:

Sell to other businesses
Offer professional services (consulting, accounting, legal, marketing)
Want to establish yourself as an industry expert
Need to reach decision-makers and senior executives

LinkedIn best practices:

Optimise your company page with detailed business information
Share valuable industry insights and tips (not just sales pitches)
Publish longer-form content to demonstrate expertise
Engage with posts from your ideal customers and partners
Use LinkedIn messaging thoughtfully for relationship building

YouTube: the long-term content investment

YouTube is the world's second-largest search engine, making it invaluable for businesses that can create helpful video content. With 2.7 billion monthly users, it offers massive reach potential, though it requires more content creation effort.

Why YouTube matters for business:

Search engine visibility: YouTube videos appear in Google search results
Long-lasting content: Well-optimised videos can attract viewers for years
Educational opportunities: Demonstrate expertise and build trust through tutorials
Multiple content options: Long-form videos, YouTube Shorts, and live streaming

YouTube works well for businesses that can:

Demonstrate products or services visually
Teach or explain complex topics
Show before/after transformations
Share customer success stories

Getting started with YouTube:

Start with simple how-to videos related to your expertise
Focus on solving common customer problems
Keep initial videos short (3-5 minutes) and focused
Use clear, descriptive titles with relevant keywords
Create custom thumbnails to improve click-through rates

WhatsApp Business: direct customer communication

Often overlooked as a marketing platform, WhatsApp Business has become incredibly powerful for customer service and direct communication. With nearly 3 billion monthly users, it's particularly valuable for businesses that need personal customer interaction.

WhatsApp Business benefits:

Direct communication: Reach customers where they're already active
High engagement rates: Messages are typically read within minutes
Business features: Automated responses, product catalogues, and appointment booking
Global reach: Especially valuable for businesses serving international markets

Best uses for WhatsApp Business:

Customer support and enquiries
Appointment scheduling and reminders
Order updates and delivery notifications
Personalised product recommendations
Building relationships with high-value customers

The TikTok situation and alternatives

TikTok's future remains uncertain due to ongoing regulatory challenges. While the platform offers enormous reach potential, particularly among Gen Z and younger millennials, small businesses should be cautious about building their entire social media strategy around it.

TikTok alternatives gaining traction in 2025:

Instagram Reels

The most direct TikTok alternative, offering similar short-form video features within the established Instagram ecosystem. Perfect for businesses already using Instagram.

YouTube Shorts

Leveraging YouTube's massive user base and excellent discovery algorithms. Ideal for businesses that want their short-form content to appear in Google search results.

Emerging platforms

Threads: Meta's Twitter alternative, growing rapidly with text-based content focus
Bluesky: Decentralised social platform attracting users seeking alternatives to traditional platforms

Our recommendation: Focus on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts rather than betting on uncertain platforms or trying to chase every new trend.

Emerging platforms worth watching

While it's important not to chase every shiny new platform, some emerging networks show promise for specific business types:

Threads

Meta's text-based platform has grown to over 350 million monthly active users. It's particularly useful for businesses that want to share quick updates, industry news, and engage in conversations with their community.

Bluesky

A decentralised social platform that's gained around 30 million users. While smaller than mainstream platforms, it offers high engagement rates and appeals to tech-savvy, privacy-conscious users.

Our advice on new platforms:

Wait until they prove staying power (at least 12 months of consistent growth)
Only join if your target audience is actively using them
Never abandon proven platforms for unproven ones
Test with minimal time investment before committing resources

Budget-friendly tips for small businesses

Social media marketing doesn't have to break the bank. Here are proven strategies for maximising results on a tight budget:

Content creation on a shoestring:

Use your smartphone: Modern phones produce excellent quality photos and videos
Batch content creation: Set aside a few hours monthly to create content for the entire period
Repurpose content: Turn one piece of content into multiple posts across different platforms
User-generated content: Encourage customers to share photos using your products or services

Free tools that actually work:

Canva: Create professional-looking graphics and social media posts
Buffer or Hootsuite (free tiers): Schedule posts across multiple platforms
Google Analytics: Track website traffic from social media
Native platform analytics: Use built-in insights from Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Smart advertising strategies:

Start with £5-10 daily budgets for paid advertising
Focus advertising spend on your best-performing organic content
Use local targeting to reduce costs and increase relevance
Test different ad formats to find what works for your audience

How to measure what's working

Success isn't just about likes and followers. It's important to be able to track whether your social media activities are actually growing your business. Here's how to measure the metrics that actually matter for your business:

Key performance indicators (KPIs) to track:

For lead generation businesses:

Website clicks from social media
Contact form submissions
Phone calls generated
Email newsletter sign-ups

For retail businesses:

Click-through rates to product pages
Social commerce sales
Conversion rates from social traffic
Return on ad spend (ROAS)

For service businesses:

Enquiry rates
Booking conversions
Brand mention sentiment
Customer retention rates

Simple tracking methods:

Use UTM parameters in your links to track traffic sources
Ask new customers how they found you
Monitor direct messages and comments for enquiries
Track phone calls and emails that mention social media

Your action plan for getting started

Feeling overwhelmed? Here's a simple, step-by-step approach to choosing and launching your social media presence:

Week 1: Research and decide

Define your target audience clearly
Set 2-3 specific business goals
Choose 1-2 platforms based on where your audience is most active
Audit competitors to see what's working in your industry

Week 2: Set up and optimise

Create professional business profiles on your chosen platforms
Complete all profile information thoroughly
Design consistent branding across platforms
Set up basic analytics tracking

Week 3: Create your first content

Batch create 2 weeks' worth of posts
Mix content types (educational, behind-the-scenes, promotional)
Schedule posts using free scheduling tools
Prepare responses for common questions

Week 4 and beyond: Consistent execution

Post consistently according to your schedule
Engage with comments and messages promptly
Monitor performance weekly
Adjust strategy based on what's working

The most important rule:

It's better to be excellent on one platform than mediocre on five. Choose one primary platform where you'll focus 80% of your effort, and one secondary platform for 20%. Only expand once you've mastered your initial choices.

Making the right choice for your business

Social media success isn't about being everywhere – it's about being where it matters most for your business. Whether you choose Facebook's broad reach, Instagram's visual appeal, LinkedIn's professional network, or YouTube's educational potential, the key is consistency and authentic engagement with your audience.

Start small, measure what matters, and remember that building a genuine social media presence takes time. Focus on providing value to your audience, and the business results will follow.

The most successful small businesses on social media are those that treat it as a tool for relationship building, not just broadcasting. Choose your platforms wisely, show up consistently, and always keep your customers' needs at the centre of your strategy.

Which social network should I use to promote my business in 2025?