1. 1. 1. Who are your People?

First, as with all marketing, you need to know who you are trying to reach: who are your ‘People’ or ideal clients? I often say that your ideal client is the key to answering almost every question or challenge in business and this one is no different. 

Why? Because marketing your wares or services to someone in their capacity as a start-up business owner requires a different approach from marketing to an individual who might be interested in your yoga retreat. 

If you haven’t done your People work yet – your ideal client research – which is one of the foundational building blocks of any sustainable business; this question is genuinely hard to answer well. Knowing how to find your ideal client as a new business owner is not a desk exercise. It requires real curiosity, real research, and a willingness to get specific. Once you have that clarity, decisions like this become much more straightforward.

2. Where are your People?

If your ideal clients are buying business related services from you – then where are they when they are thinking about their business? There’s a big difference between the platforms people use to switch off and the ones they use with any kind of professional intention. Your ideal client might scroll TikTok every evening to decompress, but they’re not necessarily there in a frame of mind to invest in their business. The same person on LinkedIn on a Tuesday morning might be actively looking for exactly what you offer.

If your people are buying from you as private individuals – as ‘consumers’ – then where might they be when they are thinking about that yoga retreat? When they might be open to seeing your perfectly worded post talking about the glorious space you’ve found for them to unwind and practice their Downward-Facing-Dog! 

This matters more than people realise. So think about your ideal client. Where are they? And crucially, what state of mind are they in when they get there?

3. What are your Actually Marketing SuperpowersⓇ and MarketypeⓇ?

 The idea behind the Actually Marketing SuperpowersⓇ is that you are naturally predisposed to certain types of marketing. Not because of what’s trending, or what your competitor is doing, or what some guru told you to try. Because of who you actually are and how you naturally communicate.

There are five superpowers: Prose, Poetry, Perception, Persuasion, and Partnership. And each one points naturally towards certain platforms and content styles.

If your superpower is Prose and your natural marketype is the Writer, then long-form written content is where you’ll do your best work. That might mean a Substack newsletter or a blog before it means Instagram. Fighting your way through a grid of pretty graphics when you’d rather write is exhausting and it shows.

If your superpower is Persuasion and you light up when you talk about your work, then video-led platforms like YouTube or even a podcast make a lot of sense. You’ll build trust fast with an audience that can hear your conviction.

If your superpower is Poetry (which is really about creativity and visual thinking, not sonnets), then the visual platforms are where you’ll feel most at home. Instagram, Pinterest, even TikTok — the creative canvas suits you.

Perception points towards more conversational, relationship-led spaces. LinkedIn can work really well here, or even a Facebook group where genuine connection is possible.

Partnership tends to thrive anywhere there’s collaboration — think joint ventures, lives with other people, guest posts. The platform matters less than whether it allows you to build with others.

If you don’t know what your Actually Marketing SuperpowersⓇ are or what your marketypeⓇ is, you can take a version of our quiz here:

https://form.typeform.com/to/eq6iVJck

Don’t worry – there’s no long automated email sequence at the end. Just your results, on the screen, that’s it.

4. Which platforms do you actually like?

This links to your superpowers – because they will to some extent determine which platforms you most enjoy using. And that matters. Because there is no point in forcing yourself onto a platform you find joyless and confusing. Marketing requires consistency. Consistency requires a level of sustainable energy. And it is very hard to sustain energy for something that makes you want to close your laptop and go and do the washing up instead.

I have a personal example of this.

TikTok probably saved my sanity during lockdown. I used it purely personally — it was silly, creative, genuinely funny, and completely unlike anything else online at the time. I thought it could be an incredible platform for businesses. But I made a deliberate decision not to use it professionally, because I wanted to keep it ‘clear’ of my business. I wanted it to be my ‘personal’ space. And now, years on, I think I was right about it being great for business – TikTok has shifted significantly towards being a business and creator platform. But I am glad I kept it for personal use – and my feed is therefore still largely puppies, recipes and fit men with tattoos!

And – something else worth bearing in mind – is that when you start using a platform for work, it often changes your relationship with it personally. My own Facebook profile has barely had an update since I started using the platform professionally. That’s not necessarily a problem just worth knowing going in.

Use platforms you enjoy. You’ll show up better, more often, and with more of yourself.

5. If you could only pick one, which would it be?

One of the most common mistakes people make is that they try to be everywhere. They post on Instagram, on LinkedIn, on Facebook, and on TikTok, and then they run out of steam after three weeks because it’s exhausting and none of it is getting any traction, and they conclude that social media doesn’t work for them.

But here’s the thing. Content needs to be tailored for each platform to actually land. A caption that works beautifully on LinkedIn is wrong for Instagram. What works on TikTok is completely different to what works in a Facebook group. Adapting properly for each platform takes time and skill. It is genuinely a lot of work.

So it’s not that social media doesn’t work. It’s that spreading yourself across four platforms means you’re doing each of them at about 25% capacity. And 25% effort gets 25% results, at best.

My advice, is choose one platform. Learn it properly. Build a real presence. Then — when you have that working — consider adding another.

And here’s a bonus question for you to ponder: do you need to be on social media at all?

I mean this sincerely. It’s a genuine question worth asking.

The ROI on email marketing is significantly higher than social media. An email list is also something you own. Your Facebook page, your Instagram following, your TikTok account — none of that is yours. The platform can change its algorithm, restrict your reach, shut down your profile, page or group – or simply disappear (remember Vine?). Your email list goes with you wherever you go.

If you’re starting from scratch, building your list is arguably a better use of your energy than building a social following. You can use social media to support list growth — running ads that drive people to a lead magnet, for example — without making organic social your primary channel.

None of which means social media is pointless. It clearly isn’t. But it’s worth asking whether it’s the right priority for you right now, rather than just assuming it has to be.

So. Which platform should you use?

The one your ideal clients use when they’re in the right frame of mind. The one that suits how you naturally communicate. The one you’ll actually show up for consistently. And ideally, just one of them to start with.

If you’re still not sure what to do, that’s often a sign that the deeper foundations of your business –  understanding your People, your Preparation, your Positioning – need a bit more work first. Because once those are clear, decisions like this become much easier.

In the first instance, why not book a Momentum Session? An hour with me, focused on exactly where you are right now, to give you clarity and a clear next step. 

Book yours here: https://calendly.com/actually/momentum-session

I hope that helps.