Your Google Business Profile comes before your feed

Social media gets most of the attention in Kenyan marketing. But for businesses that serve a local area, such as salons, clinics, restaurants, hardware shops, garages and schools, there is a channel that often matters more: the Google Business Profile. It is the listing that appears on Google Maps and in search results when someone types "pharmacy near me" or "garage in Kitengela".

Our view is that for local services, a Google Business Profile deserves attention before any social media platform. The logic is simple: people searching on Google already want what you sell, right now, nearby.

What a good profile includes

• The right category and a short, clear description
• Accurate address and map pin, so people can find you
• Opening hours, including holidays
• A phone number and WhatsApp that someone answers
• Photos: your storefront, inside, your products, your team
• Regular posts: offers, events, new products
• Reviews, and your replies to them

Photos make the difference

Profiles with good photos tend to attract more clicks than those without. Real photos of your premises are essential, because customers want to recognise the place when they arrive.

For posts and offers, AI images can help. With Tari Studio, describe the image, attach a photo of your product or shop, and get a clean image ad back, with the credit cost on a quote first. Download it and post it to your profile. For offers with prices or dates, pick Ideogram 4 (clear text) for sharp lettering and check every detail. How the Studio works.

Do not replace real photos of your premises with generated ones. A customer who arrives at a place that looks nothing like its Google photos will leave a review saying so.

Reviews are the real ranking

Reviews influence both who appears in local results and who gets chosen. Ask happy customers to leave a review, and make it easy with a short link. Reply to every review, especially negative ones, calmly and helpfully. Never post fake reviews or pay for them; it breaks the platform's rules and destroys trust when discovered.

Keep it current

An outdated profile is worse than none. Wrong hours send customers to a closed door. Check your profile monthly, and update it for holidays, new services or a move.

Connect it to everything else

Your profile, your social pages and your WhatsApp should tell the same story: the same name, the same hours, the same number. Consistency builds trust with customers and with search engines.

Then the feed

Once your profile is solid, social media brings new audiences, and video brings them to life. Hook, proof, offer: structuring a short ad.

Make images for your profile.