In a terrific article titled Why Your Websites And Email Newsletters Will Always Beat Facebook Pages, Ewan Spence argues that in 2015, companies should “take back control of the conversation.”  I couldn’t agree more.

This is why the great marketers realize that social comes second. (It is best used primarily as an amplification tool.) First you need your own platform that:

• Engages your customers and prospects (or as the media says, your audience)
• Is consistent with your brand (or more importantly, where you want your brand to go—more on that in a future post)
• Will help you achieve your sales and marketing goals (eg, client acquisition and retention or thought leadership)

For the sake of clarity, platforms can be websites, microsites, blogs, e-mail newsletters, events, webinars, and so on. Even print!  Check out the digital version of Solve Magazine that RSL Media produces for Time Warner Cable Business Class and has a print circulation > 100,000.

If you, like me, believe that all brands are media companies, then it’s time to act accordingly and build your own platforms.