An opportunity for small businesses, artisans, and service providers based in Ontario, organized and facilitated through our Ontario Small Business Community family of platforms. We use our ever-growing platform, community, and promotional reach as a tool to showcase, elevate, support, and promote small businesses from across a variety of industries. These include product-based small businesses, service providers, events, artists, and creatives.

 

The purpose and goal of Ontario Small Business Community virtual markets is to amplify businesses, showcase their goods and services, drive traffic to their websites, help to build their social media presence, introduce businesses to new customers and clients, and to support short- and long-term viability and growth. All through a collaborative marketing and promotional approach. We are proud to offer short-term marketing and visibility solutions for small businesses of all sizes and of all industries. Virtual markets are not just about sales; they are about building upward on what foundation your business already has. Virtual markets are an effective, affordable, and collaborative way to help your business stand out and show up in the digital space.

 

We know that you are invested in building and sharing your wonderful small business. We are proud to be a partner and a tool in helping you do just that. Thank you for connecting with our community, and we look forward to being a pathway to help platform your small business.

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2026 Virtual Market Opportunities​​​

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Late Winter Virtual Market

March 1st - March 31st 2026

Apply Here

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Spring Virtual Market

May 1st - May 31st 2026 

Apply Here

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Summer Virtual Market

July 1st - July 31st 2026

Apply Here

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Autumn Virtual Market

October 1st - October 31st 2026

Apply Here

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Holiday Virtual Market

November 1st - November 31st 2026

Apply Here

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Christmas Virtual Market

December 1st - December 24th 2026

Apply Here

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​​Participation Information​​​

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Participation Fee:

 

$65.00

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* Discount available for small businesses booking multiple dates. The fee becomes $55 for any market after your first completed market in the 2026 calendar year.*  

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Features/Benefits On Your Dedicated Small Business Feature Date:

 

• Static promotional content across all Ontario Small Business Community platforms.

  • Instagram - 67k+ Followers (Monthly reach of 500k – 1M+ users)

  • Facebook - 10k+ Likes & 14k+ Followers (Monthly reach of 50k users)

  • Pinterest - 5k Monthly Viewers

  • Threads - 9k Followers (Monthly reach of 50k+ users)

  • TikTok - 2.2k Followers (Monthly reach of 25k+ users)

  • Ontario Small Business Community Group - 13.5k Engaged Users

  • Public Support & Shop Local Ontario Group - 3.5k Engaged Users

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• Ten photos of your offerings, products and/or services. This is to offer potential clients and customers an idea of the offerings from your business. These can include product photos, photos of your process, photos of your work space and/or digital flyers. 

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• Direct links to your website or online platforms. Our goal is always that your business receives traffic to your website, with the intent to funnel potential clients and customers in the fastest way possible. This is a direct way to ensure that we are helping to connect them in a timely manner. Increased web traffic will also boost your web presence and help index your business more effectively across all search engines.

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• Creative copy, including introductions to your business, information about your services, products, and offerings, helpful selling points or points of interest, and hashtags relevant to your industry and offerings, is created to help index your social platforms more effectively and widen your reach, often using hashtags different from those you may currently use. Our goal is to handle the back-end work by using available social tools to support your business’s social and web growth long after the virtual market is over, helping index your business into tags and algorithms that a growing platform may not yet have access to. Ontario Small Business Community has become a landing and connection point in the digital space where customers, clients, small businesses, bloggers, media, influencers, and community supporters meet, and we provide the businesses we work with an opportunity to be presented to these various groups with authenticity and enthusiasm, always showcasing each business in the best possible light. All content is created by the team at Ontario Small Business Community. 

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• Each feature created for participating small businesses is shared directly to the Ontario Small Business Community Instagram and Facebook channels as a “Small Business Spotlight.” These spotlights are presented directly to channel members through their messages, ensuring that your business is highlighted in a personal and engaging way. This approach helps increase visibility, introduces your brand to new audiences, and encourages direct interaction with potential customers and supporters within the ONSBC community.

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• All content created by Ontario Small Business Community for your small business will always include direct links to your associated social platforms and websites. All static posts remain across our platforms indefinitely, including Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Threads, and TikTok.

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• One reel created by Ontario Small Business Community is included as part of virtual market participation. We know many small businesses are not yet fully comfortable with video content creation, and our team is happy to create this content for participating businesses. If a business has videos they would like us to use, we are happy to incorporate them into newly created content or use them as provided. Any video content created by Ontario Small Business Community will be shared with each business once their feature day is complete for their own ongoing use. All videos will be provided formatted and without sound, allowing them to be used across any platform with sounds or songs of their choosing added.

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• Two Ontario Small Business Community–created stories are included, complete with direct links to your social platforms and websites. Stories are shared on our Instagram and Facebook and include direct links to your website and social media. Stories are highly popular yet often underutilized, making them a great way to reach audiences within the congestion of social media platforms. Ontario Small Business Community will create two stories on your feature day: the first is a collage-style story that includes your business name, website, and Instagram handle, and the second features a reel created on your behalf with an introduction to your business. These stories help widen your reach over time by introducing new visitors in our community to your business, and they are archived in our story highlights, remaining active for an entire calendar year.

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• For each small business’s individual feature date, the business’s Instagram account is linked in the bio of the Ontario Small Business Community Instagram platform and remains linked for the duration of the feature date.

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• All small businesses receive a listing within the Ontario Small Business Community Linktree bio. This includes the business name, a brief description of the business’s offerings or services, a photo, and direct links to the business’s website. These listings remain active and available for 90 days after the completion of the virtual market.

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• ​Advertisement of any sales, deals, or promotions you may be running while the virtual market is taking place. If your business is offering any sales or promotions during your month of participation, Ontario Small Business Community will include this information on your feature day and highlight it within the Facebook event as part of your business’s listing. If you are hosting a sale, giveaway, or promotion, we are happy to help promote and amplify it.

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• ​​All content created by Ontario Small Business Community will be posted with the option for each business to collaborate. Collaboration on posts and reels is highly beneficial for social accounts, as it leverages both our platform and yours to further extend the reach of the content. This also helps build engagement on your social platforms and boosts your reach and visibility for weeks and months after the virtual market is complete.​

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• All participating small businesses with Instagram or Facebook shops will have relevant products or offerings tagged in both static posts and video content. This is created specifically for small businesses utilizing the shopping features on their platforms.

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• We at Ontario Small Business Community use all available social media platforms and tools for the benefit of the small businesses we work with; however, being active on social platforms is not mandatory for participation. We often suggest that using multiple platforms can be beneficial, but it is not essential. We find this opportunity works best when a small business uses at least two social platforms. For example, we recommend a mix of platforms to better funnel audiences to small businesses and create consistent content that supports long-term viability. Social platforms function like catalogue databases, and the more platforms we can create content for, the more effective the reach of that content will be for months and years to come. Here are some examples of combinations of socials and website that we can work with: Website, Facebook & Instagram, Website, Instagram & TikTok, and Facebook & Instagram.

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Please Note: We find it most effective when we can offer audiences and potential customers or clients multiple platforms to connect with you and your business. Regardless of which platforms you use for your small business, Ontario Small Business Community will include your chosen platforms to help ensure comprehensive reach.​​

 

Features/Benefits Beyond Your Dedicated Small Business Feature Date:

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• All participating small businesses, along with their websites or online platforms and direct social media links, are listed collectively on the corresponding Facebook event page for their virtual market month. This event is promoted through paid advertising prior to the start of the virtual market and remains active indefinitely on the Ontario Small Business Community Facebook page. Ontario Small Business Community also shares the event within relevant groups and community spaces and lists the event through local media outlets.

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• Upon the completion of a small business’s individual feature date, Ontario Small Business Community advertises and boosts each business’s static post. A portion of each small business’s participation fee, $10, goes toward advertising their individual content. We use geographically targeted ads to introduce your business to new communities and extend the promotional reach of any sales, deals, or promotions you may be running during the virtual market.

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• All participating small businesses are included and listed on the Ontario Small Business Community website. Depending on the season of the virtual market, the website receives over 1k unique visitors. Each listing includes direct links to the business’s website, a brief description, and a photo representing the business. Ontario Small Business Community keeps these listings active for 90 days after the completion of any virtual market. To take advantage of site-wide visitor traffic in months when a virtual market is not being hosted, Ontario Small Business Community continues to drive traffic to the website through blogs, educational materials, and resources, which are always free and available to any small business.

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• All participating small businesses are included in introductory promotional content prior to the start of any virtual market. This includes each business’s website or online platforms and social links. This content is designed to soft launch the virtual market, build brand awareness, and give participating small businesses the opportunity to leverage their social presence alongside other participants. This is a collaborative visibility and marketing approach that helps small businesses not only grow their audience but also collectively market their businesses together. This creates greater visibility, cross-sales, and increased website and in-person event traffic for all participating small businesses.

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• All participating small businesses are included in smaller, segmented promotional posts prior to the start of a virtual market. Businesses are promoted as a group, featuring one picture for each business, along with their websites or online platforms and social links. This passive promotion is intended to soft launch each business and provide a preview to audiences across Ontario Small Business Community platforms.

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• Participating small businesses’ content is prioritized during the month of the virtual market. This includes posts and reels shared to each business’s individual accounts, content added to our Facebook and Instagram stories, reposted content visible in the Ontario Small Business Community feed for all followers, and content boosted through the ONSBC feed.

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• All participating small businesses’ static feature content from their individual feature date is shared in geographical or special interest groups related to the business’s industry. This helps widen each business’s reach, introduce them to local communities, provide additional visibility, and access customer and client bases beyond the Ontario Small Business Community platform. For example, if you are a fashion business operating in Southern Ontario, our team will share your static feature content in groups for fashion enthusiasts, local city–relevant groups, and community groups within your business’s target area.

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• All participating small businesses, along with their websites, social links, and a brand or product/services photo, are included in the Ontario Small Business Community monthly newsletter. This newsletter is seen each month by over 16,000 active and engaged viewers.

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• All participating small businesses are included in our Small Business Sunday engagement content, a weekly opportunity for small businesses, creators, artisans, artists, community groups, and media outlets to connect and network. This provides support, engagement boosts, and access to a growing, supportive, and engaged community across Ontario. Participating virtual market businesses often find this is a great way to cultivate a support system and increase their visibility. This engagement opportunity runs every Sunday during each virtual market.

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• Ontario Small Business Community provides ongoing social media support for all participating small businesses, even after the virtual market has ended. Content created for your business, including posts, reels, and stories, continues to be shared, reposted, and prioritized across our platforms to maintain visibility, reach new audiences, and support long-term growth. This ensures your business continues to benefit from the exposure and engagement generated during the virtual market, helping to drive traffic, build your brand, and strengthen your online presence well beyond your feature date.

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• Small businesses that participate in Ontario Small Business Community virtual markets are always prioritized and put forward for consideration when ONSBC receives requests from wholesale buyers, media outlets, or UGC creators. To date, hundreds of small businesses within our community have received wholesale accounts, media opportunities, corporate bulk orders, and invitation-only opportunities from media networks such as Flavour Network (formerly Food Network Canada), LCBO Food & Drink Magazine, Dragon’s Den, CBC Life, The National Post, Chatelaine Magazine, Outdoor Living Magazine, Cottage Life, Makeful, as well as speaking engagements and pop-up shop or brick-and-mortar opportunities, all as a direct result of their participation. Being part of the virtual market positions your business as a trusted and recommended brand, helping to grow your reach, credibility, and long-term opportunities well beyond the market itself. While these opportunities are not guaranteed each time ONSBC is approached, participating businesses are always prioritized for consideration.

 

Ontario Small Business Community: A Closer Look

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• Ontario Small Business Community has been in operation since 2021 and has the most comprehensive reach of any digital community in Ontario focused specifically on small businesses, artisans, service providers, and artists.

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• Ontario Small Business Community is a Meta, Google Marketplace, and Microsoft-approved advertiser.

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• Ontario Small Business Community is a three-time Toronto Star “Best Of” Award winner for Advertising & Marketing.

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• Ontario Small Business Community is a professionally recognized partner of over 150 BIAs (Business Improvement Areas) across Ontario.

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• Ontario Small Business Community collaborations are indexed across major search engines, including Google, Microsoft, Bing, and others, ensuring that content created for our growing community is consistently discoverable online.

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• Ontario Small Business Community has helped over 1,500 Ontario small businesses increase their online visibility, drive traffic to their websites, grow revenue through targeted promotions and digital campaigns, cultivate their digital presence, and build their brand online. We continue to provide free learning resources, safe digital spaces, educational blogs, tool-kits, and opportunities to support the growth of our expanding community.

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Find our social, website and other links below. So you can get to know us and what we do better. 

 

https://linktr.ee/ontariosmallbusinesscommunity
www.ontariosmallbusinesscommunity.com

www.instagram.com/ontariosmallbusinesscommunity

www.tiktok.com/@onsmallbusinesscommunity

www.threads.net/@ontariosmallbusinesscommunity

https://pinterest.com/ontariosmallbuisnesscommunity

www.facebook.com/OntarioSmallBusniessCommunity

 

Thank you for your application and your time.

We look forward to working with you and your unique small business! 

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