Which Digital Marketing Medium Should You Choose?

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Crush It!" by Gary Vaynerchuk. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.

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How do you know which marketing medium is the best choice for your brand? What factors do you need to consider?

In his book Crush It!, self-made millionaire Gary Vaynerchuk says that once you decide what your personal brand will be, you need to figure out which medium to market it on. Choosing between text, audio, and video can be a tough decision.

Here is how to choose the right marketing medium for your account, according to Gary Vaynerchuck.

Choose the Right Medium

Once you know what you’re going to talk about, you must which digital marketing medium you’re going to present it on. When choosing between text, audio, and video, Vaynerchuk suggests basing the choice on your personality and comfort level, rather than the nature of your niche. (Shortform note: Despite Vaynerchuk’s advice to base this choice solely on your personal strengths, you should also consider where the audience for your niche is liveliest, which medium offers the best presentation for your topic, the time and effort required for each medium, and the cost associated with each, such as a camera and editing software.)

Blogging makes it easy to post daily content, and frequent posting makes it easier for people to find your content. (Shortform note: To increase traffic to your website, HubSpot recommends publishing three to four new posts per week for blogs run by small teams, and four to five new and updated posts per week for blogs with more manpower. And be sure to post on a consistent schedule.)
Podcasting is ideal for showing your personality and being expressive with your voice if you’re uncomfortable being on camera. (Shortform note: In fact, one podcaster argues that podcasting is perfect for introverts, because they can broadcast their message to the public while still being in the privacy of their own home or office.)
Video is great for grabbing people’s attention. When your viewers see and hear you, they feel more connected to you, which makes them more invested in your personal brand. (Shortform note: In addition to making your followers feel like they know you, data reveals that video draws more views, shares, and comments than any other type of content on social media.)

Expand Your Brand to (Almost) Every Medium

While Vaynerchuck talks about choosing one medium, entrepreneur and influencer Pat Flynn advocates expanding to multiple forms of media as you grow. With his “Being Everywhere” strategy, Flynn argues that your brand should be in every medium on virtually every platform for constant and varied exposure that will quickly grow your audience.
However, Flynn clarifies that if you try to be everywhere right away, you’ll be spread too thin to build a substantial audience on any platform. Instead, he recommends that youStart with a blog.Build your audience. While he doesn’t specify a threshold, he says that you need a “sizable, respectable” following before expanding. Learn from your audience. Find out what other media your audience prefers and let that guide you, adding one platform or content type at a time.

Flynn launched his personal brand with a blog in 2008. Then, he added a YouTube channel in 2009 and created a podcast in 2010. Each new branch was a natural extension of the previous—and everything pointed back to his blog. As a result, his following ballooned.

Despite urging people to “be everywhere,” Flynn actually discourages being on every platform, because not all of them will substantially grow your following. Instead, aim to expand to every platform that (most of) your target audience uses. (The Pew Research Center has social media usage data for a range of demographics.)

Which Digital Marketing Medium Should You Choose?