Content Marketing Strategist

One question I often get asked is, “What content do I need to share attract my ideal clients?”

And my answer is always the same, “depends where your ideal clients hang out”.

Because you can write the most brilliant, scroll-stopping content in the world, but if you’re sharing it in the wrong space or presenting it in the wrong way for that space, it won’t land.

Most people assume that once they’ve written a great post, they can throw it on every platform and it’ll perform the same everywhere. But that’s like serving a Sunday roast at a summer picnic – great idea, wrong context.

Remember, just because you like scrolling on Facebook doesn’t mean your clients are. Too many business owners choose platforms based on where they hang out, not where their ideal clients hang out, and then wonder why their content isn’t doing its job.

Here’s how you can work out where to find your ideal clients.

It’s about more than social media

Here’s where most business owners get stuck. They stop at social platforms and forget that posting in the right places goes way beyond that.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of the power of social media, but if your clients aren’t there, don’t do it.

It’s about showing up where your ideal clients already are, whether that’s online or offline.

When I owned my café, bar and bakery, a portion of my ideal customers weren’t on social media at all. They weren’t scrolling Instagram or checking LinkedIn, so if I’d only focused there I’d have missed them completely.

Instead, I advertised in the local magazine, got featured in the local paper, sponsored community events and went on local radio. That’s where my audience was, so that’s where I showed up, and it worked.

Even brands with massive online followings still do this. 

Innocent Drinks, for example, still invest in local events and radio partnerships because they know not all their customers live online. It’s a reminder that showing up offline can be just as powerful as anything you post.

How to find the right places for you

If you’re ready to stop throwing content into the void and start being strategic, here’s where to begin:

Talk to your clients. Ask them where they spend time, what they read and how they discover new businesses.

Dig into your data. Look at where your content performs best. That’s how I realised LinkedIn loved my posts but Facebook didn’t respond the same way to the same message.

Test and learn. Try different platforms, guest blogs, podcasts or events. Track where engagement and enquiries actually come from.

Double down on what works. Once you know where your audience is and how they respond, focus your energy there instead of trying to be everywhere.

Repetition builds reputation, but you still have to tweak it

Repetition builds reputation. Saying the same thing consistently is essential if you want people to remember you, understand what you do and trust you. But repetition doesn’t mean copy and paste.

You still need to tweak your content depending on where you’re sharing it. You wouldn’t rip out a magazine advert and stick it up as a Facebook post, so why treat every platform as if it’s the same?

Different platforms are like different rooms at a party. You wouldn’t walk into a cosy pub in York and start delivering a keynote speech. But do that in a London boardroom and you’ll have people leaning in to listen.

The same message won’t land in the same way everywhere because each platform has its own personality, audience and expectations.

Different platforms need different styles of content to connect. The message can still be the same, the context might need to be tweaked to get the right impact. 

Patagonia’s message about sustainability doesn’t change, but how they share it does. They would do a long-form story in an email, a punchy visual on Instagram, a short film on YouTube. Same message, different format, because they understand how people engage on each platform.

The real secret: it’s not about being everywhere

The difference between content that works and content that disappears isn’t how much you post, it’s where you post it.

When you stop choosing platforms because they’re familiar to you and start choosing them because your clients are there, everything changes.

Your engagement goes up. Your audience grows. And those ideal clients you’re trying to reach start coming to you.

Make your life easier and stop trying to be everywhere, and start being in the right places for your clients. It’s better to be in one place that you’re ideal clients are really consistenly, than be everywhere inconsistently.