Now we’ve got freedom to head out and shop, now is the time to put your money where your mouth is and support local, business leaders say.

Neighbourly’s Local Likes campaign is asking people to highlight a business nearby that they love and let others in their neighbourhoods know.

The push across the 830,000-strong homegrown social network is just what local enterprise needed, says Dane Ambler of Business New Zealand.

“I think it’s a fantastic initiative. These local businesses closed their doors to make sure we were safe over the past couple of months and now for them it’s a matter of life and death.”

“They need us now, so it is time for us to act on all this talk of supporting local businesses and it’s great to see Neighbourly helping out.”

The business advocacy organisation was running its own campaign ShopKiwi which shares a similar ethos and aims to give a boost to all locally owned businesses.