Hey friends—
“Should I be on TikTok?”
“Is Instagram still worth it?”
“Do Facebook ads even work anymore?”
Those are the questions everyone asks.
They’re also the wrong place to start.
Platform choice isn’t a tools question.
It’s a constraint problem.
That’s why we’re slowing this down and spending the next two weeks on Platform inside the Marketing Flywheel. Most businesses rush this step and quietly pay for it.
First, Context: What “Platform” Actually Means
When we talk about platform, we’re really talking about a short list of levers:
Google Search Ads
Google Local Services Ads (LSAs)
Google Maps / Local
Facebook Ads
Instagram Ads
YouTube Ads
TikTok Ads
Retargeting (across platforms)
Email
That’s the most common platforms, I am sure there are more.
The mistake is assuming all of these are viable, and then arguing about which one is “best.”
They’re not equal.
Most won’t survive contact with your audience.
Where Platform Fits in the Marketing Flywheel
Inside the Flywheel:
Audience defines who you’re for
Message defines what you say
Platform defines where and when that message can work
This week is only about Platform constrained by Audience.
Next week, we’ll talk about Platform shaped by Message.
If you want the full Flywheel walkthrough for context, it’s here:
The First Job of Platform: Elimination
Before ads, creatives, or budgets, your Audience of One quietly removes most platforms from the table.
Your audience determines:
age and life stage
income reality
trust required
geographic limits
whether search demand realistically exists
Your first platform decision isn’t optimization.
It’s elimination.
What Audience Constraints Look Like in the Real World
We’re working on a project called Life Chapters.
We create legacy stories for families.
Here’s what the audience immediately tells us:
People avoid thinking about aging and loss
→ almost no one is actively searching for thisThe buyer is narrow
→ end-of-life individuals or their adult childrenIt’s a premium service
→ income mattersIt’s mostly regional
→ broad national reach gets inefficient fast
Once you accept those constraints, most platforms are gone.
Not because they’re bad.
Because they don’t fit the audience.
Some platforms are unrealistic.
Some are theoretically possible but inefficient.
Only a small set survive the audience filter.
That’s platform choice driven by who you’re serving, not personal preference.
The Quiet Truth Most Platform Advice Skips
Most marketing doesn’t fail because they chose the “wrong” platform.
They fail because they never accepted the constraints their audience imposed and tried to force platforms to work anyway.
Platform is not chosen freely.
It’s chosen for you.
Prompts of the Week
Use these before you think about ads or creative.
Prompt 1: Platform Shortlist
Prompt:
“My business serves [describe your Audience of One in one sentence].
Based on their age, income level, trust required, and location, which advertising platforms realistically make sense for reaching them — and which platforms should I rule out immediately? Explain why.”
This turns:
“What platforms exist?”
“What’s popular right now?”
“What should I test?”
into one clear output:
👉 Which platforms are even possible for my audience, and which are a waste of time.
Prompt 2: Personal Platform Leverage
Prompt:
“I personally spend the most time on [platform], and this is where I already have the most traction or visibility.
The average person who follows or engages with me there is likely [describe who they are and why they follow you].
Compare that audience to my ideal customer.
Where is there meaningful overlap, and where is there a mismatch?
Based on that overlap, should this platform be a primary channel, a secondary experiment, or ignored entirely?”
This turns:
“Where do I hang out?”
“Who follows me?”
“Should I use this platform?”
into one decisive output:
👉 Does my existing leverage actually align with the audience I’m trying to reach, or am I forcing it?
Prompt 3: Audience Coverage Gaps
Prompt:
“Looking only at the platforms I’ve shortlisted, which segments of my audience am I likely not reaching at all — by age, income, geography, or awareness level?
What assumptions about my audience might be limiting my platform choices?”
This turns:
“Why does this feel incomplete?”
“Who might I be missing?”
“Why am I uneasy about this plan?”
into one useful insight:
👉 Which parts of my audience I’ve ignored and whether that’s intentional or accidental.
And This Is Where Things Get Interesting…
We also run a niche sticker business for BWCA canoe enthusiasts
(subtle plug: tippy-canoe.com).
The audience is clear.
The culture is clear.
The platforms that fit that audience are clear.
And yet…
Almost no one searches for
“BWCA stickers” or “Boundary Waters decals.”
So even when:
the audience is right
and the platform choice is right
something still doesn’t work.
That gap—the space between being in the right place and actually getting results—is where most businesses stall.
And that’s exactly what we’ll tackle next week.
How message, intent, and interruption determine whether the platform you chose can actually perform.
If Google is one of the platforms that survives your audience filter, I’ll also share a video walking through how I use AI to build Google Ads without giving Google a blank check:
Talk soon.