A full year has now passed since news disappeared from Facebook and Instagram in Canada. Meta began blocking news links last summer in response to the Online News Act, and neither side has backed down. In the cities, the impact went largely unnoticed. In small regions, it was felt more strongly. The local weekly's posts disappeared from the feed, and with them the simple way a new business used to get mentioned and shared within the community.
This situation recalls a lesson we learned on a very small island far from here. In a small community, the platforms are the least reliable part of business development, and people are the most reliable part.
Why do relationships come before campaigns in a small region?
When we opened Ceningan Divers in 2015, Nusa Ceningan was a tiny island with the resources of roughly one village. No marketing budget could replace being known by the people nearby: the boat captains, the warung owners, the other dive operators, the guesthouse across the path. If they appreciated your business, guests heard about it. If they did not, no advertising could compensate.
Rural Quebec is not an island, but many areas operate in a similar way. Consider a region such as the Petite-Nation in the Outaouais, with Montebello, Papineauville, Saint-André-Avellin, Chénéville and Ripon. These are small communities where people know who owns what, who is reliable and who is not. A business's reputation precedes it.
This changes the order of priorities. In a city, a business can launch a campaign and expect customers to respond. In a small region, a campaign is far more effective once people already know the person behind the business. Otherwise, it is simply one more advertisement from a stranger.
The first months of business development in a small region may therefore appear modest on paper: meeting people, being present, buying locally yourself, and attending community events even when other priorities compete for your time.
Do local media and associations still reach people?
Yes. Local media is often described as being in decline, but that is not accurate. It has changed, and the news block has made its work more difficult, but the local paper, community radio, the municipal bulletin and the regional tourism office still reach people who are not active on Instagram. In rural Quebec, that represents a large share of the population.
The same applies to associations: chambers of commerce, the SADC, the regional tourism network, the merchants' association, the farmers' market committee. They may seem slow and somewhat traditional, but they are also where the people who make decisions in a region spend their evenings.
Based on our observations in small communities, the following approaches tend to work well:
- Join one association and participate actively, rather than paying dues to five and never attending.
- Offer the local paper a story when something significant happens, such as an opening, a new hire or a partnership. A story, rather than a press release.
- Ensure your business is properly listed with the regional tourism office if it serves visitors in any way.
- Keep your Google Business Profile accurate. In a small region, it is often the first thing people check.
Where do online tools fit in?
Online tools still matter, but in a different order. A well-designed website, an accurate Google listing and a simple newsletter give word of mouth a place to land. Someone hears about your business at the dépanneur, looks it up that evening, and finds either a clear page with your hours and phone number, or nothing. In the second case, the customer the relationship had earned is lost.
What the tools cannot do on their own is create trust from nothing. In a small community, trust comes from people first; the website confirms it.
In light of this past year, we recommend one additional measure: own at least one channel. A newsletter list and a website you control do not disappear when a technology company changes its policy during a dispute with Ottawa. A Facebook page can, as every news outlet in the country has just experienced.
Why be useful before selling?
In our view, this is the most important principle, and the easiest one to state without applying it.
In a small dive community, the operators who succeed over time are often those who help one another: referring guests to a neighbouring operator when their own boat is full, and sharing ideas that work. When Green Fins wrote about our zero score this spring, our advice to other operators was to learn from their "coopetitors." This reflects a small-community mindset. A competitor is also a neighbour and, during a slow week, possibly the best source of referrals.
Being useful can take the following forms:
- Answering a question at no charge, thoroughly, without turning it into a sales pitch.
- Referring someone to another business that better suits their needs.
- Sharing what you have learned at a chamber event or in a local group.
- Contributing to a community project unrelated to your business.
This approach takes time, and the return will not appear within the month. In a region where word travels quickly, however, the return does come, and it lasts longer than any advertisement.
What should you know before starting a business in rural Quebec this fall?
Interest in the regions appears to be growing. Remote work has made rural living a realistic option, and areas a couple of hours from Montreal and Ottawa are seeing more visitors and more newcomers with business ideas. This is a positive development. It also means more businesses seeking visibility in the same small market, and newcomers who skip the relationship-building stage often find it harder than expected to gain acceptance.
If this describes your situation, the BDC's small business resources are a good free starting point for the administrative side, whatever your region. To determine whom to approach first and in what order, some go-to-market strategy work is helpful, even if it fits on a single page of notes.
The first step, however, costs nothing: attend the next community event in your village and get to know the people there.