Can the electromagnetic counterpart of a gravitational be seen by 'small' telescopes?
Unlikely.
The Neutron star merger GW170817 had an optical counterpart (SSS 17a) The optical magnitude peaked at about +18, this is beyond the abilities of most amateur set ups.
Black hole mergers may be intrinsically more energetic, but less bright in the electromagnetic spectrum, as the black holes don't have a surface to interact electromagnetically.
However each gravitational wave detection is examined to see if there is a corresponding gamma ray burst, or optical transient.  Combining results of gravitational, neutrino and optical observations has been called &quot;multi messenger astronomy&quot;.