Someone you know is running a business out here. A tradie, a charter skipper, a woman doing cakes out of her kitchen, a bloke who mows blocks while people are away. You see their posts come up while you’re sitting at the tavern waiting on a meal, or scrolling in bed during the wet.
Most of us scroll past. Not because we don’t care. We just don’t need a plumber that day.
Here’s the thing though. You don’t have to need them for your tap to be worth something to them.
What a like actually does
Facebook decides who sees a post based on whether anyone bothered to react to it. A post with a handful of likes and a couple of comments gets shown to more people. A post that sits there with nothing gets buried.
So when you give a mate’s post a like, you’re telling Facebook that people care about this. Then it goes out to someone in Darwin who has been meaning to book a fishing charter, or to the family who just bought a holiday house and has no idea who to ring about the aircon.
It costs absolutely nothing. No money, no effort, about one second of your thumb.
A comment is worth even more. Two words will do. “Good work.” “Legend.” “We used these guys, they were great.” Share it to your own page if you’ve got a second, and someone who has never heard of them sees it.
The part nobody talks about
Putting yourself out there can feel bloody awkward. You post a photo of a job you’re proud of, and then you watch the people you actually know scroll past it. You start wondering whether you should have posted at all.
Every small operator out here has felt that. It’s a big part of why people stop posting.
A like from someone local lands differently. It says you saw it, and you thought it was worth something. That’s usually enough to get them posting again next week.
You might not need your mate the electrician today. You might need him when the build up is at its worst and your AC dies. The bloke who gets your job done in a hurry is the one who is still in business, and staying in business out here is partly about being seen.
So next time someone you know is having a crack, don’t just scroll. Give them a like. Give them a follow. Help them be seen.
Whose business around here have you been meaning to give a like to?
