You want to spend your hard-earned marketing budget on something worthwhile and, above all, profitable for your business. A lot of businesses gravitate toward social media for their first (and often only) attempt at marketing. However, a recent study by the Data & Marketing Association shows that while 77% of marketers are using social media, only 48% of businesses claim to see any trace of return on investment.

Becoming a part of the 48% that sees ROI through social media can be difficult. It requires time, effort, skill and mostly luck. The first, most crucial step of any marketing plan is to determine who your target audience is and how you can reach them.

Thanks to research by Rochester Institute of Technology (RlT), we know that advertising’s effectiveness is controlled first by the consumer’s needs and then by their financial ability to buy. In their research, RlT identifies magazines as the advertising medium that most prompted consumers to buy products.

On social media, your posts are shared seemingly at random, and your scope becomes increasingly broad, causing you to potentially lose sight of your target market. As a businessowner, you are likely looking to target an audience that can afford your products or services and become loyal consumers.

Best Version Media’s magazines reinforce RlT’s findings. 50% of advertisers in BVM magazines rank them as #1 for target marketing, while 75% say that BVM magazines are equal to or better than any other form of advertising. Social media, a distant second, is preferred by only 15% of clients. All other forms of advertising came in at under 9%.