Local Communities with Meta's Neighborhoods: What Still Works

First published in March 2024 and rewritten in October 2026. The client work below took place before the original publication date. The final section is new.

First, Neighborhoods no longer exists

Meta ended its Neighborhoods test on 1 October 2022, after trialling it in Canada and the US. Announcing the closure, a Meta product manager said the company had "learned the best way to do this is through groups". So this project cannot be repeated exactly. The approach behind it still works with ordinary Facebook Groups.

The problem

A local bakery chain was finding it hard to connect with local customers and build brand awareness in the new neighbourhoods it had moved into.

What we did

We used Meta's Neighborhoods tool to create a Facebook group for each location. Each group gave local customers a sense of community, and gave the bakery a place for targeted promotions and updates.

Alongside that, we reviewed the branding so customers could recognise the bakery easily, and worked with the team on more personal communication with each community.

What happened

• More local engagement. Group memberships and interactions grew by 30%, a sign of stronger local connections.
• More visits. As local customers became familiar with the bakery's products and promotions, foot traffic at the new locations rose by 10%.
• More regulars. Personal communication built stronger customer relationships, and repeat customers rose by 5%.

Why it worked

Local businesses win on familiarity. People go back to the shop whose name they recognise, where they know what is on offer and feel known themselves. The groups gave each shop a local voice, and the branding work made sure people linked that voice to the shop on their high street.

What we would do today

With Neighborhoods gone, I would build the same thing with a standard Facebook Group for each location. Groups still need a real person behind them, answering questions and welcoming new members, so the aim is to give that person more time for it by taking the routine weekly effort off the team.

• Posts from a voice note. Each shop manager records a quick note about what is new this week. The content engine turns it into group posts, an email to regulars and social posts in the bakery's voice. Nothing publishes until someone approves it.
• Regulars remembered automatically. Sign-ups from the groups and the shops flow into one customer list the business owns, with promotions and reminders sent automatically.
• Answers on request. A business dashboard connected to the owner's AI of choice can say which shop brought in the most new sign-ups this month, without anyone building a report.

The tools changed, and the lesson did not: local community is built by showing up regularly, in a voice people recognise. If the showing up is what keeps slipping, the 10-Hour Audit finds the hours.