Why You Should Focus on One Marketing Channel at a Time

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

For years, marketers have told you that you need to be everywhere. Have a website, start a blog, build your email list, do a podcast, get a YouTube channel, post on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and don’t forget LinkedIn! That’s a lot to wrap your head around. A more effective strategy is to focus on one marketing channel at a time.

When I started The Brand Sketch I tried to do it all. I was blogging, building an email list, making training videos, recording podcasts, writing articles on LinkedIn, and using every social media platform at my disposal. It was dizzying work, but I wasn’t making any traction. I felt overwhelmed and I was getting burned out. I had to change something.

I was reading Joe Pulizzi’s book Content Inc. where he outlines a pretty solid content marketing strategy: build your audience before you create your product. I’m not going to dive into that topic today, I’ll discuss that in a later episode, but he mentioned something in the book that caught my attention.

He said:

“In the beginning, it’s important to focus on creating amazing and relevant content with mostly one content channel (podcast, video, blog, etc.).”

“Over the long term, you’ll be distributing your content through a number of channels, but right now you need to make a decision about the “core” channel.”

That was a lightbulb moment for me. I realized I was trying to do too many things all at once, and I wasn’t doing any of them very well.

I needed to get laser-focused on one marketing channel. I needed to pick a core channel and master it before moving on to the next one.

Today, I’m going to dig into this idea of focusing on one marketing channel at a time. Why should you use only one marketing channel? How will this help you grow your business? Why is this a better strategy than being everywhere?

Content marketing channels

Content marketing is any type of content you’re creating to promote your business. Content can be in the form of words, audio, images, videos, infographics, presentations, etc.

Channels are the platforms that you choose to distribute your content. Your website, blog, email, podcast, YouTube, Instagram, and other social media platforms are all considered marketing channels.

Why you should focus on one marketing channel at a time

1. You get to focus on your passion and your strength.

When you adopt a one-channel marketing strategy, you don’t have to spread yourself all over the place, and you don’t have to use something if you don’t want to. You get to pick which channel you want to use as your core channel.

Let’s say you love doing video. Maybe you’ve been creating videos on Facebook Live or a YouTube channel for years. You already understand video, how the platforms work, and you’re already good at it.

So then if you decided to start a blog, you’d have a bit of a learning curve. And you might not even like blogging, in fact, you may hate it. My advice is don’t do it!

Stick with what you know and what you like.

If you’re a passionate writer then, by all means, start a blog. If you love taking photos, Instagram might be a great place for you to concentrate your marketing efforts.

Do what you love and you’ll love what you do.

2. You will get really good at your core channel.

Have you ever tried learning a musical instrument? It’s usually a slow and tedious process. It takes a while to get good at playing the piano, for example.

Can you imagine trying to learn two or three or even four instruments at the same time? If you want to play the piano, focus all of your efforts on learning the piano. Don’t also start learning to play the guitar, the saxophone, and the drums.

The analogy works great for your marketing efforts too. If you choose to start a podcast, focus all of your efforts on podcasting. Learn the ins and outs of what makes a great podcast. Experiment with different formats until you find the one that feels right for you. You might like interviewing people or telling stories. Do what works for you.

You’ll get really good at podcasting if you put all of your energy into just podcasting.

When you focus all of your attention on one marketing channel, you can get really good at that one channel. Much like you’ll become a better piano player if you only practice the piano.

3. You will build your audience faster.

When you focus all of your efforts on your core marketing channel, you won’t be spreading yourself all over the place. You’ll have better engagement with your audience. You’ll create more meaningful connections with the people who matter most to you.

When you stick to one marketing channel, you’ll build your base of devoted followers much faster.

I’ve seen this in action, and done extremely well, with brands on Instagram. For example, Dogs of Instagram posts user-submitted photos of dogs. That’s it. They have 4.2 million followers.

I’m not saying you’ll get to 4.2 million followers in the next three weeks, but when you do one thing and do it well, your audience will grow much faster.

4. You will outperform your competition.

Another reason to stick with one marketing channel at a time is your ability to outperform your competitors.

Chances are, your competition is trying to do it all. They’re probably spreading themselves thin all over the place and not making a very big impact anywhere. This is your chance to step in and outplay the opposition.

Your super-focused efforts in one area mean you’ll be hitting the target more often. This will begin to draw more and more people to your brand and away from your competition.

5. You will reach your goals sooner.

All of this focused effort on one marketing channel will lead to one big result: you will reach your marketing goals much faster.

When you use several marketing channels at once, it will simply take longer for you to gain traction on any one of those channels.

In contrast, when you focus on one marketing channel at a time, you’ll be doing only what you love, you’ll be able to get really good at it, you’ll grow your audience faster, and you’ll be outperforming your competition.

All of these benefits lead to you reaching your goals sooner and growing your business faster.

Get good at one, then diversify

By no means am I suggesting that you only ever use one marketing channel. The idea here is to master your core channel first. Only then should you move on to the next channel.

And when you do move on to another marketing channel, apply these same principles to that channel.

Get good at one marketing channel at a time and you’ll start to see faster growth and swifter success in your business.

What’s the core marketing channel you use? How’s it working for you so far? Feel free to share your thoughts in a comment below or in our Facebook group.