Going narrow and deep

If you find it hard, time-consuming or confusing, to be present on lots of different social media platforms, relax. You don’t need to! Today I’m going to show you a far better alternative. It’s based on the approach I use. I call it going narrow and deep. So, here’s how it works, and how you can benefit mightily from it.

This blog is in its 14th year. And I’ve been publishing a newsletter since the 1990’s! When I mention this to people they often ask how I have managed to update my blog and publish a newsletter, very regularly, for so long.

I really don’t do much

Sadly, I don’t have some kind of productivity super power. It’s a lot less impressive than that.

You see, my ‘secret’ is all about how little I do.

• I don’t have a Linkedin account.
• I don’t have a Youtube channel.
• I don’t have a podcast.
• I don’t have a Facebook Page
• I don’t have a Facebook Group.
• I don’t have a TikTok account
• I don’t write books.
• I don’t give many interviews.
• I don’t have a business account on Instagram or Snapchat, either.

Lots of business owners do most of the things on that list. And I bet they produce at least as much information across those platforms as I produce for my blog / newsletter.

The difference is in what we choose to do with the content we produce.

They go wide. I go narrow

Let me flesh that out a little.

Having been involved in social media marketing since its inception, I’ve seen how easy it is to lose your account, and audience, on any platform you don’t own. And if a platform ceases to be popular, you can also lose your audience, or most of it, when they move to the next new, shiny thing.

Plus, it’s extremely hard to create a significant marketing impact, or foster deep engagement across multiple platforms. So, you end up with a wide spread of shallow encounters. That’s why I chose to go narrow and deep.

• I own my blog.
• I choose where it’s hosted.
• And I can use any commercial email provider to mail my newsletter to subscribers.

The benefits of building your own platform are many and varied.

The best-known benefit of going narrow and deep

Maybe the best-known benefit is that you’re building your very own publishing business, which grows in value literally every day.

For example. Jim’s Marketing Blog has thousands of pages of marketing and business development information and a 14 year pedigree. It has built trust and a deep connection with thousands of people worldwide who read it regularly.

So today.

If I wanted to.

• I could form partnerships with online training providers, promoting their courses here, for a commission on each place sold.
• I could create a dedicated store here, providing products that appeal to my reader demographic.
• I could cash-in. The last offer I received for Jim’s Marketing Blog was huge.

There are multiple revenue generating opportunities open to me, because I built everything here. Combined, they would easily create a significant enough income to become a stand-alone business. Imagine if I’d spread my ideas and work across social media platforms / social networks. None of the opportunities I just mentioned would exist.

So, consider the commercial value of creating your own platform. Your own publishing business. And I mean, seriously consider it. Because it could be worth a fortune to you.

The least-known benefit of going narrow and deep

I think the most overlooked benefit, is the incredible focus, clarity and freedom it gives you.

With the multi-platform approach, different types of ‘content’ work better on one platform and less well on another. All of a sudden, you need to add lots of tasks to your daily workload. So, you’re no longer ‘just’ running your business. You need to find time to be a photographer, broadcaster, video producer, audio creator, short-form writer and networker. Plus, there’s the time required to monitor all those different places every day for replies or responses.

You also need to be careful how often you publish. Most platforms will make your content less visible to your audience, if you publish what they deem to be too often. Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram are notorious for this. Blogs do the opposite, because fresh content is rewarded by search engines. It’s a sign that your blog is being supplied with new and updated material. A sign that your blog is worth recommending to those searching for up-to-date information.

With your own platform, you publish when you have something useful or interesting to share. That’s it. It’s extremely liberating.

In short, I probably don’t produce content more often than you or anyone else involved in marketing their business. I certainly spend a lot less time creating it.

I just put it in the same place and let it build steadily over time. Eventually, all those little molehills become a mountain.