In this latest “Listener Question of the Week” episode, James and Phoebe are going to help you figure out what is the right platform to use, for you and your business.
Often, new business owners lose sight of the fact that they are just starting their business, and begin comparing themselves to others.
There are lots of options for building your business, and a common feeling is that you need to be doing it all. The real answer is to only do one at first, in order to later expand to others.
If you’re a personal brand, James stresses that you need a platform. This will be a place where you can share your content for free and create a two-way conversation with your audience, or your tribe.
However, you also have to determine what is the modality of the context. Is it text (articles and blog posts), audio (podcasts) or video (which can combine the other things)?
Pick one; you do not want to be doing all three! James main focus before was YouTube, as he was teaching visual things that the platform was able to present effectively. He now uses podcasts to talk to listeners about deeper topics, and this gives people the ability to listen while they’re doing something else, like driving or doing the dishes.
Things like DYI tutorials, fitness and photography lend themselves well to YouTube or Facebook video. Interviews and entrepreneurial mindset topics will be better served by using a podcast.
Phoebe adds that you can choose one platform, but still incorporate different elements, like text into your videos.
James notes that can share quotes from your podcast, updates on upcoming guests and more on other platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Facebook groups, inviting the people to your main platform.
“Really the platform is about the message (or) content you’re creating and how you can promote it and create conversation around it”
One strategy you can use to determine which platform to use is to come up with a list of 10 to 30 content ideas and then see which modality would work best.
There are three questions to ask yourself when considering platforms: Where is your audience already hanging out? What’s a platform where you can listen, and not just talk? Do you really need video to release this content?
Phoebe feels that asking yourself what you enjoy doing can also help with your decision. By doing what you enjoy, you will stay consistent with your content creation and your audience will feel this energy and be more engaged.
“There is a delicate balance between what you love to do and where is your audience?”
Whatever platform you choose, it should be a great list (and community) builder!
