Which Social Platforms Does Your Business Need?
Score Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads and YouTube Shorts by customer task, format and weekly time, with 2026 Pew data and five example shortlists.
Most local businesses need one main channel they post to every week, a second one kept current with the same posts, and an accurate Google Business Profile. Very few need five. The useful question is not which platform is biggest, but which one helps your customers do what they came to do: find you, decide, book or buy, and get help.
This guide turns that into a scorecard: who uses each platform (Pew Research Center, 2026), how well each serves each customer task, what format each demands and what it costs you in weekly time. Five example shortlists show how it plays out. If your choice is only between Instagram and Facebook, our Instagram vs Facebook guide covers that in depth; this one is about the wider list.
How the scorecard works
Check the audience
Is your kind of customer on the platform at all? The Pew table below gives the US picture by age and area.
Score the customer tasks
For each platform, how well does it help someone discover you, decide on you, book or buy, and get support?
Score the format you can sustain
A platform you cannot feed every week is worse than no platform. Be honest about photos, video and writing.
Subtract the maintenance cost
Count the weekly minutes, including replies. Then keep your top one or two and park the rest.
Who uses each platform (US, 2026)
| Platform | All adults | Ages 18–29 | Ages 65+ | Rural adults |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | 84% | 95% | 65% | 78% |
| 70% | 69% | 59% | 76% | |
| 51% | 79% | 21% | 40% | |
| TikTok | 37% | 65% | 11% | 38% |
| 31% (51% of college graduates) | 41% | 13% | 20% | |
| Threads | 8% in Pew's 2025 survey; no 2026 figure published | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
Three things stand out for a local business. Facebook is used more by rural adults (76%) than urban ones (67%), the reverse of Instagram (40% rural, 58% urban). Instagram is strongly age-skewed: 79% of adults under 30 against 21% of those 65 and over. LinkedIn follows education: 51% of college graduates, 13% of those with a high school education or less.
Score each platform by customer task
These ratings are our editorial judgement for a typical local business serving the public, not measured results. Adjust any row that does not match how your customers behave.
| Channel | Discover | Decide | Book or buy | Get support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong: Instagram says most of what people see in Reels and Explore comes from accounts they do not follow | Strong: the feed works as a portfolio | Some: messages and profile links | Some: DMs | |
| Facebook Page | Some: shares and local groups | Strong: reviews, hours, events | Some: messages, event responses | Strong: Messenger and Page comments |
| Weak for consumers; strong for business buyers and candidates | Some: the owner's and staff's credibility | Weak; enquiries arrive as messages | Weak | |
| Threads | Some: conversation can travel beyond followers | Weak | Weak | Some: public replies |
| YouTube Shorts | Some: the Shorts feed and YouTube search | Some: shows the place, the work, the result | Weak | Weak |
| Google Business Profile (not a social network) | Strong: map and local searches | Strong: reviews, photos, hours | Strong: calls, directions, website | Some: replies to reviews |
Read across your most important task. A salon that lives on rebookings cares most about 'decide' and 'book'. A caterer chasing office orders cares about 'discover' among business buyers, which moves LinkedIn up. LinkedIn for Local Businesses: When It Pays Off covers those cases.
Score the format you can sustain
| Channel | Core format | Minimum that keeps it alive | Our weekly time estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photos, carousels, Reels, Stories | Two posts and a few Stories | 1.5 to 2 hours, including replies | |
| Facebook Page | The same photos, plus notices and events | The same two posts and a reviews check | About 30 minutes extra if you reuse Instagram posts |
| A photo with a few paragraphs, ideally from a person | One post | About 45 minutes, including replies | |
| Threads | Short text, conversation | Three to five short posts and daily replies | 1 to 1.5 hours, mostly replying |
| YouTube Shorts | Square or vertical video up to 3 minutes (YouTube Help) | One Short | About 30 minutes from existing photos; 1 to 2 hours if filmed |
| Google Business Profile | Updates, offers and events | Correct hours and one update a month | About 20 minutes a month |
Shorts do not have to mean filming. Make YouTube Shorts From Your Business Photos shows how to build them from pictures you already take, and YouTube Shorts Ideas for Local Businesses gives storyboards. Threads is the opposite: cheap to write, expensive in replies, which is why Is Threads Worth It for a Small Business? starts with a scorecard of its own.
Your shortlist scorecard
Channel shortlist scorecard
Fill one block per channel you are considering. Score 0 to 3; subtract the time cost. Keep the highest one or two totals.
- Channel
- for example, LinkedIn
- Audience match (0–3)
- Are your customers in its age, area or job groups?
- Fit with your most important task (0–3)
- discover / decide / book or buy / get support
- Format you can sustain (0–3)
- Do you already have the photos, video or words it needs?
- Reuse (0–3)
- How much of your main channel's material can you reuse?
- Time cost (subtract 0–3)
- 0 = under 30 minutes a week, 3 = over 2 hours
- Total
- Decision
- main / second / park and review in six months
Our rule of thumb: a channel needs a total of 7 or more to earn a place, and a second channel joins only once the first has run on schedule for eight weeks.
Five example shortlists
These businesses are fictional examples, scored with the method above.
| Example business | Main channel | Second channel | Park for now | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A neighborhood café, walk-in trade | Facebook, same posts | LinkedIn, Threads, Shorts | Visual product, local decisions, little time | |
| A physiotherapy clinic in a small town | LinkedIn, from the owner's profile, for referrers and employers | Threads | Older, rural-leaning patients; reviews and facts matter; referrals come from professionals | |
| A 40-room hotel with meeting rooms | LinkedIn, for event planners | Threads | Guests decide on looks; meetings are sold to office staff | |
| A gym with a young membership | YouTube Shorts made from class photos | LinkedIn, unless it sells corporate memberships | Under-30 audience; Shorts reuse the same images | |
| A hair salon with an outspoken owner | Threads, after a two-week test | Portfolio on Instagram; the owner's opinions suit Threads |
Notice what none of them does: start all five at once. For how often to post on the channels you keep, see How Often Should a Small Business Post on Instagram?, and for the weekly routine around them, Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses.
Google Business Profile and TikTok
Google Business Profile is not a social network, but for a business with a location it is often the first thing a nearby customer sees. Google lets you publish updates, offers and events on it, and says posts are archived after about six months unless you set a date range. Keep hours, photos and replies to reviews current there before you add any new social channel.
TikTok is used by 37% of US adults and 65% of those aged 18 to 29 (Pew, 2026). If your customers are young and you enjoy making video, score it like any other channel; it may beat Instagram for discovery. If video takes you hours, start with Reels or Shorts made from photos instead.
When to add or drop a channel
Add a channel only when
- Your main channel has run on schedule for at least eight weeks.
- The new channel scores 7 or more and can reuse at least half of your existing material.
- Someone has the minutes each week to reply there, not just to post.
Drop or park a channel when
- You have gone four weeks without posting and cannot see that changing.
- Three months of posts produced no messages, bookings or mentions at the till.
- Before you go quiet, post where customers can find you instead, and make sure the profile's hours and contact details stay correct.
A parked profile with accurate details does no harm. A busy-looking profile with last year's hours does. If time is the real constraint, What to Post When You Have No Time helps you keep one channel alive on very little.
Common questions
What is the best social media platform for a small business?
The one your customers use for the task that matters most to you. For many local businesses that is Instagram or Facebook, with an accurate Google Business Profile alongside. LinkedIn suits businesses selling to employers or hiring; Threads suits owners who like public conversation.
How many social platforms should a small business be on?
One main channel and, at most, one second channel that reuses the same posts, as our own rule of thumb. Add another only after the first has run on schedule for eight weeks.
Is TikTok better than Instagram for a local business?
It depends on age and on video. Pew's 2026 survey found 65% of US adults aged 18 to 29 use TikTok, against 11% of those 65 and over. If your customers are young and you enjoy video, test it; otherwise Instagram is usually the easier start.
Sources
- Pew Research Center: Social Media Fact Sheet (published 19 Oct 2026; 5,511 US adults, 30 Jan to 18 Jun 2026; Threads figure from the 2025 survey) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Instagram: Instagram Ranking Explained (31 May 2023; most Explore and Reels content is from accounts you do not follow) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- YouTube Help: Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts (up to 3 minutes, square or vertical) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Google Business Profile Help: Create and manage posts on your Business Profile (updates, offers, events; archived after about six months) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
Written by the KeepsPosted editorial team from the Pew Research Center, YouTube Help and Google Business Profile Help pages listed, read on 12 November 2026, with AI assistance for drafting. The task ratings, time estimates, scoring thresholds and example shortlists are our own judgement, not research findings.
Keep reading
Instagram or Facebook? How a Local Business Should Choose
Which platform to prioritise for a restaurant, salon, clinic or shop, using dated survey data on discovery and reviews, and a decision table by business type.
Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses: A Plain Guide
How a small business can run social media without a team: picking platforms, one goal, a weekly routine, a content mix, time budgets and measurement.
LinkedIn for Local Businesses: When It Pays Off
When LinkedIn is worth a local business's time (hiring, corporate bookings, B2B services, partnerships), post ideas by goal and a profile-or-Page guide.