4 reasons to prioritize your owned platforms

First off, what is an owned platform? An owned platform is one you have control over and is not manipulated by external forces like algorithms. Think websites, blogs and newsletters.  

Social platforms, like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Clubhouse are third-party companies where you relinquish your content in an effort to reach a larger audience.

When it comes to your social media feed, what you see - or are fed - is determined by algorithms that prioritize what you’re most likely to engage with. There’s a lot of debate around algorithms and the fact that we have essentially lost control over “what we see, read—and even think—to the biggest social media companies.”It’s caused echo chambers around politics, given life to conspiracy theories, perpetuated misinformation and terrorism, and completely altered news consumption. The list could go on and on.

As Joanna Stern writes in her Wall Street Journal column, “This is [still] a gigantic technology problem: Computers are in charge of what we see and they’re operating without transparency.”

She goes on to list potential solutions that include not allowing ads, deprioritizing destructive content, and giving some control back to users. But unfortunately the only concrete takeaway is that algorithms aren’t going anywhere anytime soon [check out her full piece HERE].  

So what can you do? Here are 4 reasons why you should prioritize your owned platforms over social platforms:

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  • Algorithms are ever-changing -- Planning a content strategy solely based on social is a waste of time and energy. Remember, algorithms on social can change at a moment’s notice, or without notice at all. Building your main content on your owned platforms allows you to stay in control. Then, you can create a social strategy that draws users back to the platforms you own

  • If your social platform crashes, or worse, you’re left with nothing  -- See that total number of followers you’ve worked so hard for? If the platform malfunctions, unloads bots or -- worst case scenario -- completely shuts down, you lose everything. Your content, analytics and followers are gone and there’s nothing to show for it

  • Social doesn’t give you control over the consumer experience -- You spend time, effort and money creating content. You decide how your content is presented, ordered and displayed on your owned platforms. When you turn it over to a social platform, the algorithm dictates when, where and how it goes out

  • You can train your audience -- even if you’re in the early stages of digital strategy and are not ready to sell, or drive subscriptions, for example, it’s still worth getting your target audiences used to visiting your owned platforms. This way when you are ready to level up and launch something substantial, or if you are jumping onto a new social platform, you have an established strategy in place that allows you to pivot

This is also a valuable exercise in identifying your goals and purpose when it comes to digital strategy.  Yes, lots of followers, aka a vibrant community of people who are invested in you is valuable, but that’s only part of the equation. Ask yourself, okay, so once I have this audience, then what do I want to do?

While it’s different for every person and every business, the  answer is often to find opportunities to drive revenue - think ecommerce, courses, ebooks, book sales, subscriptions, website clicks, video starts, engagement, etc. Think of social platforms as a way to reach more people that you can draw back to your home base where your substantive content lives. And that will ultimately hit your bottom line.

Start HereMelissa Blum