Small local businesses know the math: marketing agencies charge $800 to $1,500 a month, money a neighbourhood shop rarely has. Mainland Social Co., a Vancouver company, is pitching a cheaper path — $500 setup plus $200 a month for a website chatbot, automated Google review requests, and one month of AI-written social media posts.
The offer is aimed squarely at local businesses that can't justify a full-service agency but still need an online presence that works while they run the store. AI-assisted delivery keeps the cost down: the chatbot answers common customer questions on the business's website, review requests go out automatically, and a month of social posts is written and ready to publish.
Standalone options are also on the menu — social media management at $350 a month for 12 posts, or $600 a month with stories and engagement included — but the headline package is the bundle: setup plus ongoing service at a fraction of agency pricing.
The math is the pitch. At $500 to set up and $200 a month to keep running, the bundle costs roughly what an agency charges for a few weeks of work — and it keeps working after the agency's invoice would have been paid. The chatbot handles after-hours questions, the review requests build Google credibility automatically, and the month of social posts keeps the business visible without the owner staring at a blank content calendar.
"The shops on the street aren't choosing between a chatbot and an agency," said Amer K., a Vancouver founder building the company alongside his other products. "They're choosing between this and nothing. Most small businesses have no marketing support at all."
The pitch reflects a broader shift: AI is making the production side of marketing dramatically cheaper, and companies that pass those savings on are now competing directly with traditional agencies on price. For a bakery, a contractor, or a dental clinic, the difference between $200 and $1,200 a month isn't marginal — it's the difference between having marketing and not having it.
Mainland Social Co. is betting that undercutting the agency model with AI-assisted delivery is enough to win over businesses that agencies were never going to reach anyway. If the gamble pays off, the biggest winner won't be the company — it'll be the local businesses finally able to afford a web presence that works.