As a small business owner, it is your duty to conduct your own marketing in order to rope in as many customers as possible – after all, how else is your business expected to stay afloat? The more customers you have, the better your business will perform in terms of revenue and profits, but to get the clients on board, your advertising needs to be right.

In today’s world, it is imperative that you have a digital advertising strategy, primarily via the numerous social media platforms we have access to at our fingertips. Note, however, that the use of all channels may not work for your business. Therefore, the question is: which one to use?

Below, we explore the things you need to consider before setting up an online presence, and how to go about it, in order to successfully give your business all the customers it truly deserves.

Locate your audience
Depending on the kind of company you own, your target audience can be found on a select few, or a variety of platforms. A firm that provides business-based solutions or services should look to use LinkedIn as its primary social media channel, whilst a more commercial company can explore Instagram and Facebook as its options. News-based platforms and tech-driven companies can look into using Twitter, or a range of niche forums that are available on the internet as a means through which to attract customers.

Doing research and learning where your focus group frequents is vital to setting up a strategy. Learn who your customers are likely to be, and explore the online pitstops they tend to make before purchasing a product or service – this will give you insight into what they require and look for, and you can tailor your advertising strategy accordingly.

Choose based on demographics
It’s not just about finding where your target audience resides online, it’s also about looking at its demographics. According to an SEO consultant from Toronto, Allan Pollett, women were more likely to be found on Facebook, while men tend to use YouTube more. Naturally, this means that you need to design your online presence to suit both genders, and allocate resources accordingly so as to generate a following as a result. This means that the kind of content you also put up will have to vary; from choosing between images, videos, snappy content, or long-form text, you need to fully understand the audience and all its forms to reach out as best as possible.

How can you best engage?
Beyond simply understanding who your target audience is, and what sort of platforms they engage with online, it is vital that you understand what kind of content works to draw customers in. For example, Twitter is a great way in which to reach people you may never have interacted with before! The charm of short and snappy sentences, paired with hashtags to capture themes and ideas, will allow for your quick message to spread like rapid-fire if used correctly.

Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat are all great ways in which to visually depict your business, as the focus is on videos and images to really capture the essence of your company, Take advantage of the kind of filters and short content you can pair with strong visuals, and allow people to get tagging to boost your online presence. Don’t forget the hashtags here as well!

Long content in the form of thought pieces and blogs are a great way of showing others in your industry that you are a business leader in thought and in practice. Content that pushes for insight and strong opinions will drive traffic from platforms like WordPress or LinkedIn back to your website, and is a great SEO tool to boost your digital authority overall. Make use of these if you wish to stand out in a corporate environment.

Above all, it is best to start off small and then grow big, meaning it is better to start off with just one or two social media platforms, develop a strong audience and following, before diversifying and expanding your presence on other platforms as well. It is important to use the social media channels efficiently and effectively, and the results are bound to show in your customer base over time.