Purposeful Platform Adoption
Prove a channel's job before committing content resources
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 95%
Purposeful Platform Adoption is DeCiantis's decision rule for emerging channels. A marketing team should keep watching new platforms and understand how clients use them, but it should not automatically create an account and start publishing. First define the channel's most effective business use and the audience it can reach. Then design a role specific enough to justify the production burden, remembering that a short finished video can require scripting, footage, editing, and audio work. Adopt the channel only when that job represents a strong use of the team's time. UWM waited before using TikTok, then found a clear recruiting role through UWM Life, which became its highest-performing social presence for engagement.
Origin
DeCiantis explains that UWM waited to join TikTok until the team understood how to use it effectively rather than simply claiming a presence.
Core principles
- 01Pay attention to new platforms without automatically joining them
- 02Define how the audience uses the channel
- 03Give each platform a specific business job
- 04Account for the full production effort behind short content
How to run it
- 1
Watch the channel
Track the new platform, its formats, and how relevant audiences behave there. Stay informed without treating novelty as an adoption order.
Pro tip Look specifically at how existing clients or prospective employees use the channel.
Watch out Ignoring a platform completely makes later evaluation less informed.
- 2
Define its job
State the result the platform should support, such as recruiting, education, or customer engagement. Make the job distinct from merely adding another publishing destination.
Pro tip Use one primary job for the initial test.
Watch out Being on the platform is not a business outcome.
- 3
Design for the platform
Choose content and a brand voice that fit both the channel and the defined job. Avoid copying a generic feed without considering audience behaviour.
Pro tip A dedicated sub-brand may fit a specialised channel role better than the corporate brand.
Watch out Republishing without adaptation may hide whether the channel itself works.
- 4
Price the real effort
Estimate scripting, filming, editing, audio, and engagement time behind the output. Compare the full cost with the opportunity the channel offers.
Pro tip Measure production inputs even when the finished content lasts only seconds.
Watch out Do not confuse content duration with production effort.
- 5
Commit when the fit is clear
Launch when the platform has a defined audience, role, and justified resource commitment. Continue evaluating whether it remains the best use of time.
Pro tip Use engagement and the intended business result together when judging the channel.
Watch out Do not preserve a channel solely because the company has already invested in it.
In the wild
UWM did not immediately join TikTok. The marketing team first asked how it could use the platform effectively rather than adding another feed. It eventually assigned TikTok a recruiting role through UWM Life, and DeCiantis says it became the company's highest-performing social media presence for engagement.
→ A delayed, purposeful entry produced a strong recruiting channel instead of an unowned content obligation.
Common mistakes
Joining for appearances
Creating a presence only to say the company is there adds work without defining value.
Underpricing short content
A 20-second video can conceal substantial work across scripting, footage, editing, and audio.
Jumping at every trend
Staying current does not require moving resources to every new platform immediately.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for teams deciding whether and how to enter an emerging social or content channel.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for urgent service channels where customers already expect the company to be available.
From the transcript
“not necessarily always jumping ship to what the next thing is but paying attention and knowing how that is impacting you know your your clients…”
“how exactly can we most effectively utilize this new social media platform versus just being on it to say we're on it”
“how do we make sure that that's where the time is best spent”
From the episode
UWM’s Marketing Success ft. Sarah DeCiantis
Sarah DeCiantis