Get your social presence wrong in 2026 and you're not missing a few likes. You're invisible to the people deciding who to buy from.

And the timing makes it hurt. Consumer confidence is low, and red tape keeps squeezing the bottom line. It's more important than ever to set up your business so customers easily find you. It’s a no-brainer when social profiles are free to fix, and you can start today.

Social media has changed. Nearly 15 million Australians now use social media to find and research businesses every month, almost level with search engines [2]. A sloppy profile is half the market walking past your shopfront. For the 18-to-34 crowd social has overtaken search as the main way they research businesses [3].

Think this is just B2C? Not anymore. B2B buyers start their research on LinkedIn and other platforms too, with many using social media to support buying decisions [4]. "We're B2B, social doesn't apply to us" is well out of date.

 

The new world of search is on social

Search has moved. Australians now use LInkedin, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Reddit as search engines, not just Google. 

We recently sat down with George over a punchy espresso, he runs Baloney's Deli up in Byron Bay, and we gave him three things to focus on. They work for any business, in any category:

  • Profile and bio: Put your suburb, city and service in your profile so local intent finds you.

  • Posts: Write specific captions in the plain words customers actually type, include your location, use on-screen text.

    • Old way: "Check out the fresh sangas today 🥪", pleasant, but invisible.

    • New way: "The best reuben sandwich in Byron Bay, piled high and out the door by midday 🥪", what people actually search for.

  • Tags: Use service-area hashtags, not just generic ones. A handful of local tags beats a wall of broad ones.

    • Old way: #food #yum #instagood #foodie (huge, generic, you're buried in seconds).

    • New way: #ByronBay #ByronBayEats #ByronBaySandwiches, plus one or two broad ones like #pastrami.

 

AI content isn't all it's cracked up to be

People and platforms punish generic AI slop faster than ever, and 62% of consumers are less likely to trust content they know is AI-generated [5]. 

Customers want authenticity and this is where you win. While the shop down the road pumps out slop, you can sound like a real business.

The best Aussie businesses use AI for the time consuming grunt work: ideation and drafts. 

The trick is never publishing anything that doesn't sound like you. Spend an hour on a simple "voice file": one doc with 5-to-10 of your best posts, and a note on how you talk. Paste every time you prompt. Now the AI writes from your voice, not the internet's average.

 

Two prompts for productivity with AI:

  • Ideation: "Here's what my business does [paste]. Give me 10 post ideas for the next month."

  • Drafts: "Here are 5 of our past captions [paste voice file]. Write 3 new ones in this exact voice for [new product or offer]. Plain words a customer would type, our location worked in naturally, 3 to 4 local service-area hashtags plus one broad one. Keep them short, no hashtag dumps."

Keep a human in the loop for what AI can't fake: personality, unpolished videos, your staff on camera, the actual job getting done.

 

Owned social as your online shopfront

Think of owned social as your shopfront. It keeps you searchable and visible. Keep it consistent: complete profile, prevalent location, and regular cadence.

Paid still remains essential. A reliable way to reach people beyond those who already follow you. Use it to extend your best organic posts, not to start cold. Start small, scale what converts. More on that another day.

Zac is founder and CEO of Unjumble.com, an Australian marketplace connecting local small and medium businesses with local marketing freelancers. From marketing and AI to logos, websites, social, video, SEO and more, it's where Aussie businesses get the gig done locally. He partnered on this piece with Charlotte Ward, a local growth and performance freelancer on Unjumble.com.

 

References

  1. ASIC, insolvency statistics, 2025.

  2. We Are Social / Meltwater, Digital 2026: Australia.

  3. Global Web Index (GWI), 2026.

  4. B2B social buying benchmarks (compiled), 2025.

  5. Journal of Business Research / Nuremberg Institute, 2025.