Why More Channels Usually Aren’t the Answer

There is always another channel.

• A platform someone says your company “has to be on.”

• A newsletter you could launch.

• A podcast.

• A video series.

• Another social account.

• Another paid media opportunity.

• Another place Marketing can be present.

• And if you are not careful, the strategy becomes:

be everywhere.

That is not much of a strategy.

Every channel creates a job

Opening an account is easy.

Running it well is different.

Every channel needs content, ownership, review, measurement and enough consistency to make the presence useful.

For a small or mid-size manufacturing marketing team, that matters.

Adding a channel is not free just because the platform is.

It uses attention.

And attention is usually the resource Marketing is already shortest on.

Start with the audience and the job

I would not choose a channel because it is popular.

I would choose it because it has a specific role.

• Who are we trying to reach?

• Where are they actually paying attention?

• What kind of information makes sense there?

• What should the channel help us accomplish?

• Can we realistically sustain it well?

LinkedIn may be excellent for building familiarity with engineers, manufacturing professionals or business leaders.

Email may be stronger for maintaining an ongoing relationship.

A website may be where someone validates your credibility after hearing about you somewhere else.

A distributor channel may matter more than any social platform for a particular product.

There is no universal mix.

That is the point.

More channels can dilute good marketing

If the team has enough capacity to do three things well and you ask it to do seven, something gives.

Usually depth.

• The posts get thinner.

• Email becomes sporadic.

• The website goes untouched.

• Nobody reviews performance.

The team spends more time feeding channels than thinking about whether those channels are producing anything useful.

That is the exact opposite of what expansion was supposed to accomplish.

You can add later

Channel decisions do not have to be permanent.

Start with the places that have the strongest connection between audience, purpose and capability.

Do those well.

Learn.

Then expand if the evidence gives you a reason.

There is no prize for having the longest list of logos in your social footer.

A smaller, connected channel system that your team can actually manage will usually beat being everywhere badly.