Social media · Choosing platforms
The right platform depends on who buys from you, how they decide and what content your team can make. Here is a simple way to choose.
Start with one main platform
Match platform to buyer and content
Test for 90 days, then decide
Tell us what you need and we’ll get back to you. Or book a free 30-minute call. Or call 954-539-5678.
The best social media platform for your business is the one your customers use when they decide to buy, and the one whose content your team can produce every week. For most local service businesses, restaurants and retailers, that means Facebook and Instagram. For business-to-business companies, it usually means LinkedIn. Add YouTube or TikTok only if you can make video regularly and your buyers watch it. Start with one main platform, do it well for 90 days, and judge it by leads, not followers.
This guide walks through who uses each platform, which businesses each suits, and a simple scoring method to choose.
Pew Research Center’s 2025 survey of US adults gives the clearest picture of reach:
Reach is not the same as fit. LinkedIn’s audience is smaller than Facebook’s, but it is built around work, so it gathers the job titles and companies B2B sellers want. The question is not which platform is biggest, but which one your buyers use with buying on their mind.
Local services, healthcare, restaurants, home services, nonprofits and any business with customers over 35. Strong for reviews, events, community groups and messages.
Visual businesses: food, beauty, fitness, fashion, real estate, interior design, travel and hospitality. Reels and Stories carry much of the reach.
B2B services, professional firms, technology, manufacturing and recruiting. Owner and employee profiles often outperform the company page.
Businesses that teach or demonstrate: contractors, software, equipment, professional advice. Videos keep being found through search for years.
Consumer brands with younger buyers and a team comfortable making casual, frequent video.
Products and projects people plan ahead: weddings, home decor, recipes, crafts, fashion.
Nextdoor, X, Reddit and others can work for specific niches, such as neighborhood services on Nextdoor, but are rarely the right first choice.
For each platform you are considering, score 1 to 5 on these three questions, then add them up:
Pick the top scorer as your main platform. If a second platform scores close and your team has capacity, add it after the first is running smoothly.
Spreading a small team across five platforms means five half-maintained profiles. Each platform needs its own sizes, formats and tone, and each has messages and comments someone must answer. Instagram explains that its ranking leans on signals such as how people interact with your posts and their history with your account, and engagement is hard to earn with thin, recycled content. Two platforms done well usually beat five done poorly. Focus also makes results easier to read: with one main platform, you can tell what is working.
Do claim your business name on the major platforms so nobody else takes it, and point those profiles to your main platform and website.
Not sure where your customers actually are? Book a free 30-minute call. We look at what you have and tell you what we would change first. No obligation. Or call 954-539-5678.
When people search for your type of business nearby, your Google Business Profile often appears before any social profile. Google recommends keeping it complete and current with photos, hours and updates. For local businesses, treat it as a required channel alongside whichever social platform you choose.
Before quitting, check two things: whether the content was actually good for that platform, and whether the profile and links sent people somewhere useful. If both were sound, move the effort to your next-highest scorer.
Paid ads can speed up the test. A small, targeted budget on Meta or LinkedIn tells you quickly whether your audience responds there. Keep the ad offer and landing page the same across platforms so the comparison is fair.
JLB handles social media marketing alongside paid advertising, from regular posting to Facebook and Instagram ads, and SEO so your website turns social visits into leads. For local businesses, our guide to social media for small businesses has more on content and timing.
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For most local and consumer businesses, Facebook and Instagram are the best starting points. Pew’s 2025 survey found 71% of US adults use Facebook and 50% use Instagram. B2B companies usually do better on LinkedIn.
For B2B, yes. Pew found 32% of US adults used LinkedIn in 2024, a smaller audience than Facebook, but it concentrates the job titles and companies B2B sellers want to reach.
Only if your customers skew younger and you can make short video regularly. Pew found roughly half of adults ages 18 to 29 use TikTok daily, compared with 5% of those 65 and older.
Start with one main platform and, if you have capacity, one secondary platform. Claim your name on others to protect it, but do not try to post everywhere.
Yes, and it is the most widely used: Pew found 84% of US adults use YouTube. It suits businesses that can explain, demonstrate or teach on video, and videos keep getting found through search for years.
