Social Media

Social media is rapidly growing, offering small businesses an affordable way to reach a wider audience, strengthen their brand, and connect with their community. According to Sprout Social’s 2025 Social Media Statistics Report, there are an estimated 5.42 billion social media users worldwide, with each person using an average of 6.83 different platforms per month. By leveraging these platforms, rural businesses can enhance their visibility, attract new customers, and remain competitive in the digital marketplace.

If you are just starting out on social media, we recommend not purchasing promotions until you have well-established your page. The social media you use highly depends on your target audience, industry, and human capital. If you are unsure where to start, Facebook is a great place to begin, as it has the most users across all platforms and is often a go-to destination for people to discover a business and view up-to-date information on their hours, products, or services.

We do not recommend creating a profile across all platforms immediately. Start with one or two, depending on the time and resources you have, and then build from there. In other words, it is essential to maintain consistency across all platforms. Having outdated or no recent posts may indicate to some customers that you are no longer in operation or are not well-established.

Social Media Platforms and Tools

Facebook: This is Facebook’s business landing page. You will see links to create a page, how to use AdWords, and lots of other useful information!

Target Audience: Gen X and Baby Boomers are Facebook’s largest demographic, followed by Millennials. Facebook is best suited for targeting local and community-centered customers.

Industries: All small businesses can benefit from a Facebook page, particularly those in hospitality, retail, restaurants, local services, nonprofits, and event-based businesses.

Best Practices:

Post regularly (a weekly schedule is a great place to start)
Respond to customers’ comments in a timely manner
Avoid using stock images and make your page interactive by incorporating questionnaires and promotions
Keep updated on hours of operation

Extra Tips:

Create a business page and use Facebook Events to promote happenings
Join local community Facebook groups
Meta Business Suite is a free, all-in-one management tool that enables businesses to manage their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Some key features include:
- The ability to schedule and publish posts/reels/stories for both Facebook and Instagram
- Respond to messages and comments from both platforms in a single inbox
- View insights and performance data (likes, reach, engagement, audience demographics)

Instagram: This is the Instagram page for businesses. Here is another article on using Instagram successfully for business.

Target Audience: Instagram hosts a younger audience compared to Facebook, attracting a significant portion of older Gen Z and Millennials. Although less community-centered than Facebook, Instagram is still widely used by local businesses to attract local and tourist consumers, as well as businesses seeking to reach distant customers.

Industries: Common industries that use Instagram are food & beverage, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, travel, and creative services.

Best Practices:

Post consistently (at least weekly)
- Stories 1-3x a week!
Respond to comments and messages in a timely manner
Use high-quality Photos and Videos

Extra Tips:

Try using a visual theme or color palette across your profile that are consistent with your brand’s image
Use relevant hashtags and creative, visually appealing captions.
Instagram Insights is a free analytics tool that helps you measure and compare the performance of your posts.
Once your page is well established, consider using Instagram ads
- Instagram has the highest ad engagement rate among all social media sites. Since Instagram advertising is managed by Meta, you’ll need a connected business Facebook account to get started.

TikTok: Here is the landing page to create a TikTok account. Here is the link to the TikTok for Business that includes advertising and marketing analytics.

Target Audience: Gen-Z and Young Millennials (ages 16–35).

Industries: Best for small businesses that can tell a story visually or share behind-the-scenes content, such as retail, lifestyle, and wellness brands, entertainment, food and beverage, etc.

Best Practices:

Capture attention in the first 3 seconds and keep videos shorter than 30 seconds
Use trending sounds and hashtags to gain popularity and engagement
Post a variety of different content
Engage with comments and respond to viewers
Include clear captions and text overlays for context
Add humor and keep you page lighthearted but make sure your content isn’t offensive or hurtful

Extra Tips

TikTok Shop has transformed many small businesses by combining social engagement with seamless in-app purchasing
Create a call to action on how the customer can interact with you

Etsy: This is the official website. Here is the page to show you how to create an Etsy shop.

Target Audience: Distant customers, especially those who value unique, handmade, vintage, or personalized items.

Industries: Small (shipable) product-based businesses such as handmade goods, home decor, custom clothing items, gifts, artwork, and vintage items.

Best Practices:

Respond to customer inquiries in a timely manner
Ship as soon as possible
Package goods in a way that will uphold the brand image
Keep the title of your products short, sweet, and to the point
Describe your items accurately and in detail
Clearly communicate purchasing details like shipping timelines, rates, and options

Extra Tips:

Package a note or send a digital message to customers thanking them for their orders
Consider linking your Etsy shop to various social media platforms
Use clear and high-quality photos
Price competitively

X (Twitter): Here is the business page from Twitter that walks you through the basics

Target Audience: Professionals, journalists, and trend-focused users. Typically Millennials and Gen X that value real-time updates and direct interaction with brands. Less commonly used by local or community-based customers than Facebook and Instagram.

Industries: Best for businesses in news, technology, entertainment, customer service, and thought leadership, or any that benefit from timely communication and public engagement.

Best Practices

Post short, engaging updates consistently
Respond promptly to mentions and customer questions
Use trending hashtags to increase visibility
Share links, visuals, and quick insights that add value

Tips:

While X has a limited small-business presence, it can still help build credibility, provide customer support, and establish a strong brand voice when used strategically
X offers a Professional Account that provides features like analytics to help with brand awareness, audience reach, and sales

LinkedIn: This is a nice page for small businesses created by LinkedIn. As you scroll down, you will see that they walk you through creating your LinkedIn profile and continue from there! Here is a page that shows you how to optimize your profile and LinkedIn course.

Target Audience: Professionals, business owners, and decision-makers. Primarily, Millennials and Gen X individuals who are interested in networking, industry insights, and professional growth. Less used by local or community shoppers, but ideal for business-to-business (B2B) connections.

Industries – B2B and professional services, including financial services, consulting, education, and those looking to grow brand authority, attract clients, or recruit employees.

Best Practices:

Post educational or thought-leadership content
Share business updates, employee spotlights, and success stories
Engage with industry groups and comment on relevant posts
Keep your company profile professional and up-to-date

Extra Tips:

Encourage employees to share company posts to expand reach and authenticity
Use LinkedIn analytics to identify what content performs best and when to post
Add a personal touch and comment on others’ content to foster real connections

YouTube: This video from Google (who own YouTube) walks you through how to use it effectively for business. You will notice the other videos on the right side, which provide additional tutorials.

Target Audience: YouTube reaches a diverse range of viewers, but is particularly strong among Millennials and Gen Z, who rely on video content for entertainment, education, and product discovery. It’s ideal for connecting with both local and distant customers who enjoy tutorials, behind-the-scenes videos, and authentic storytelling from small businesses.

Industries: YouTube can be used across a wide range of industries, especially those that benefit from visual storytelling, tutorials, demonstrations, or showcasing products and services, such as food, retail, education, health and wellness, home improvement, and local experiences.

Best Practices:

Keep videos concise and engaging, especially in the first 15 seconds
Respond to comments and engage with viewers
Use high-quality video and clear audio
Optimize titles, descriptions, and tags for search (SEO)

Extra Tips:

Create a consistent visual style, including thumbnails, intro/outro, and branding
Include calls-to-action (like subscribing, visiting your website, or checking a product)
Use YouTube Analytics to track watch time, engagement, and audience demographics
Experiment with YouTube Shorts

“In 2025, app usage statistics continue to show strong growth, with projections for over 300 billion app downloads and a global mobile app market size expected to reach $567.19 billion. Consumers are also projected to spend $150 billion on mobile apps, and users spend an average of 3 hours and 10 minutes daily on apps, with 90% of that time dedicated to communication, entertainment, shopping, and social media.” https://www.tekrevol.com/blogs/mobile-app-download-statistics/ Here is one article (among many) that rates app development software. One example is Buildfire. Note: We are not endorsing this, but simply showing you one example among many.

However, it can be expensive, ranging from about $8,000 for the most basic app to many thousands of dollars as the complexity and functionality increase.

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