The right platform for your trade
Not every trade belongs on every platform. The most common mistake is not choosing the wrong one — it is choosing all of them, and keeping five half-dead profiles instead of one that works.
Which platform fits which trade
| Trade | Where the effort pays | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Beauty, hair, cosmetics | Instagram or TikTok, plus the Google profile | The result is visible and shareable. Transformations are the single most persuasive format there is. |
| Food and hospitality | Google and Maps first, then Instagram | The decision happens in Maps. Instagram carries daily specials and keeps you in mind between visits. |
| Crafts and trades | Google profile, reviews, finished-job photos | Customers are searching with a problem, not browsing. Reachability outranks everything. |
| Consulting and B2B | LinkedIn, plus written substance | A considered purchase made in writing over weeks. Consumer platforms are the wrong room. |
| Retail and products | Instagram, plus the Google profile | Products photograph well, and local stock information drives visits. |
What actually decides whether it works
- A profile that states the obvious: what you do, where you are, how to book. A large share of visitors leave because they could not tell.
- Real work, not stock imagery. People can spot a catalogue photo, and it reads as having nothing of your own to show.
- A frequency you can hold for a year, not for a month.
- A link to the thing that converts — booking, phone, or your Google profile. Reach that leads nowhere is a hobby.
Common questions
Do I have to post in German?
On the visual platforms, far less than you would think — and this is the one channel where working in another language costs you almost nothing. A before-and-after image, a plate of food, a finished bathroom: none of it needs translating, and the algorithm shows it to people nearby regardless of caption language. Keep captions short, use the German terms people would search for, and stop worrying about grammar. On LinkedIn the calculus is different: English is normal there in Austria, and often expected.
How often do I have to post?
Less often than the advice industry suggests, and more consistently. One good post a week for a year beats a burst of daily posting that stops after a month. Pick the frequency you can genuinely sustain alongside running the business, and treat that as the ceiling rather than the floor.
I have almost no followers. Is it worth continuing?
Follower count is close to irrelevant for a local business. What matters is whether the people who do see you are within reach of your door and whether the profile makes it obvious what you do and where. Two hundred local followers are worth more than five thousand scattered across the world, and a profile that converts one visitor a week into a customer is doing its job.
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Marketing practice, not legal advice.