Reach is not a customer
Using social media starts not with a channel but with where your customer spends time. YouTube and Facebook reach the most people in most European markets, but a smaller channel where exactly your customer sits beats the biggest one. LinkedIn counts many members, though those are registered profiles, not daily users. Figures by age and platform for Belgium are in our research on social media usage in Belgium.
Why LinkedIn: decision makers are there, and a post by a person travels further than one by a company page. Why TikTok: it gives reach without followers, if you make videos people watch to the end; it also sells directly now in several EU countries, Belgium included, see TikTok Shop in Belgium. How the algorithms choose what to show is in the LinkedIn algorithm and the Instagram algorithm.
Reach per channel, and which channel fits which customer
Who you reach per channel, Belgium as an example marketAd reach early 2026, in millions; LinkedIn counts members
- YouTube9.08 m
- Facebook6.20 m
- LinkedInMembers, not reach6.20 m
- Instagram5.10 m
- Snapchat4.29 m
- TikTokAdults4.03 m
- Pinterest3.07 m
- X1.76 m
Which channel for which customer
Set up a channel in four weeks
- Week 1: pick channel and goalOne or two channels, and one goal: enquiries, visitors to your premises or job applicants.
- Week 2: plan a month aheadTwelve posts in a plan, with photos and videos you already have or shoot in one day.
- Week 3: post and replyPost three times a week, and answer every comment within a day.
- Week 4: see what workedWhich posts brought clicks to your site or messages? Make more of those.
What a month of posting costs
| Part | Sum | Hours a month |
|---|---|---|
| Making posts | 12 posts times 1 hour | 12 |
| Replying and reacting | 4 weeks times 2 hours | 8 |
| Planning and reviewing | once a month | 2 |
| Together | 22 hours |
At 50 euro an hour that is 1,100 euro of your own time a month, without a photographer and without ad budget; what a day of filming costs is in corporate video cost. Outsourced, a freelancer asks roughly 300 to 2,000 euro a month and an agency 500 to 5,000 euro; see social media management pricing. For faster reach part of it goes to ads: what those cost is in Facebook ads cost, and whether Google fits better in Meta ads or Google Ads. A plan on paper starts with the social media plan template.
What social media does not do
A post lives a day or two. Whoever looks for you next month finds you through Google, not your feed; so send your reach to a site that stays, see do I need a website. If you make images with AI, older AI tools also mark their output from 2 December 2026 under EU rules, see AI-generated content labelling. Hold on for the first quarter before judging: reach grows slowly, and only after twelve weeks do you see which posts really bring something.
Rhythm and followers
How often should a business post?
A fixed rhythm counts more than volume. Two to three times a week on one channel is achievable and enough for most small businesses.
Should I buy followers or ads?
Ads. Bought followers do not watch, do not buy and lower your reach among real followers.