How to choose the right marketing platform for your business
You know the drill. You open Instagram meaning to post once, and 40 minutes later you've watched three Reels about a recipe, seen countless dogs doing cute things, and gone down a true crime rabbit hole — and somehow you’ve done zero marketing or anything for your actual business.
I’m not here to judge you but I am here to prompt you to ask yourself this before you open that app again: is social media where most of your marketing time goes? And, more importantly, is it where most of your best buyers actually come from?
For most small business owners, those two answers don't match. You're pouring hours into the platform everyone tells you to be on, while your actual clients are coming to you through some other channel entirely. Maybe it’s a recommendation, an old lead you never followed up with, a newsletter someone forwarded on. Maybe it’s one of your mum’s neighbours or, like what happened to me, .
That mismatch is a huge problem that not enough marketing experts talk about. Here's how to fix it.
Why does choosing a marketing platform feel so hard?
Because most business owners only ever consider one option: social media. Instagram grid, maybe a Facebook page, occasionally a nagging feeling they should "do more with email".
It’s not your fault. For years we’ve been conditioned to believe that marketing = social media = marketing.
But there are probably ten, 15, or more channels available to you that you've never properly considered, simply because nobody's talking about them. They’re not being held up as the shiny next thing, the quick fix.
I’m talking about networking, referrals, a guest spot on someone's podcast, a well-placed sign outside your shop, a WhatsApp group you're already part of. None of that gets the airtime social media does, so it never makes the shortlist when small businesses consider their options.
What should actually decide where I show up?
There are four simple questions you need to ask yourself, because your answers will tell you all you need to know.
Who am I actually talking to?
What do they care about?
How do they make decisions?
Where do they spend their time?
Most people have thought about "who am I talking to" and answered with a confident answer like “busy mum”. That’s not nothing, but it's nowhere near enough. Adding that she likes dogs and runs her own business is a step further, but what you really want to dig into is her values, what she reads and listens to, who she asks and trusts when she’s making decisions, what her budget is and how she spends it, what keeps her up at 2am.
Once you really gets into your ideal buyer’s head, you can make a much more reliable call on where they spend their time (and where you can reach them).
Most people will probably say Instagram, because that's where everyone assumes attention lives now. But when you really understand someone, you usually find they're not sitting there waiting to be reached by one of your posts at all. Instead, they're in a WhatsApp group, at the school gate, reading a specific newsletter, listening to a certain podcast, always asking a particular friend for recommendations, or typing something very specific into ChatGPT.
The question isn't just who they are. It's where they're actually showing up in real life. You probably have the evidence of this when you take a closer look at the people who already buy from you.
So spend the time considering these four questions, because if you get the answers to these right, choosing the best platform becomes obvious. Get them wrong, and it doesn't matter how many Reels you post.
Do the time versus results check
Here’s an exercise for you: Grab a pen and paper and give yourself five minutes.
Draw a vertical line down the middle of the page and on the left-hand side, write down where you actually spend your marketing time and energy right now. Be honest.
On the other side, write down where your last ten buyers genuinely came from. Not where you think, or hope, or where it would be flattering to say. Where they actually came from.
Now look at them side by side. How much overlap is there, and where are the gaps? That mismatch is exactly where your time is currently being wasted, and where your next bit of focus should go.
What if the right platform isn't social media at all?
It's entirely possible it isn't. Somewhere in the hype of social media we seem to have forgotten about a plethora of perfectly legitimate ideas that rarely make anyone's marketing plan, but genuinely work.
It’s a bit like having a box full of tools - some of which are dusty or rusty or you just don’t quite know what they’re for or how they work. So you always reach for the same one or two tools, regardless of whether or not they’re the most suitable for the job at hand.
Take a look at some of these marketing tools you’ve maybe not considered for a while.
Contact past clients and ask how they're getting on
Ask every current client for one referral
Get on someone else's podcast, or write a guest piece for someone else's newsletter
Partner with a complementary business and recommend each other
Email or DM people you've lost touch with
Set up a stall at a market, fair, or community event
Send a handwritten note to someone you'd love to work with
Posters, flyers, direct mail
Get a testimonial on video (and actually use it)
An algorithm has no say in any of this. It's just you, a bit of nerve, and doing the thing.
I’m not saying delete your social media. It's still useful, particularly for staying connected with people who already know you. But it's one tool. Not the whole toolbox.
Quick answers
How do I know which marketing platform is right for my business?
Look at where your last ten buyers actually came from, not where you spend the most time. Then match your effort to that channel rather than to whichever platform feels like the "default."
Is social media the best way to market a small business?
Not necessarily. Social media has a low organic reach for most small accounts, typically three to four percent of followers per post, while channels like email and word of mouth often return far more for the time and money invested.
What's the difference between a demographic and a real understanding of my audience?
A demographic describes surface traits like age or job. A real understanding covers what someone worries about, who they trust, and how they make decisions, which is what actually predicts whether your marketing will work.
Choose one thing
Before you go, pick one thing from this list you're actually going to try this week. Not think about. Try.
And if you'd like a second pair of eyes on where your time should really be going, that's exactly what a Marketing Power Hour is for. Together we'll look at your actual numbers, not guesswork, and work out where your energy is best spent. Book a 1:1 Power Hour, and let's find your version of “obvious”.