# Channel Strategy — Selection Matrix & Orchestration

## Channel Selection Matrix

| Channel | Reach | Targeting | Measurability | Cost | Speed to Result | Brand Safety |
|---------|-------|-----------|---------------|------|-----------------|-------------|
| Google Search | High | High (intent) | High | Medium-High | Fast (days) | High |
| Google Display | Very High | Medium | Medium | Low | Medium (weeks) | Medium |
| YouTube | Very High | High | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Meta (FB/IG) | Very High | High | Medium | Medium | Fast | Medium |
| LinkedIn | Medium | Very High (B2B) | High | High | Medium | High |
| TikTok | High | Medium | Medium | Low-Medium | Fast | Medium |
| Twitter/X | Medium | Low-Medium | Low | Low-Medium | Fast | Low-Medium |
| Pinterest | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low | Slow (weeks) | High |
| Email | Medium (owned) | Very High | Very High | Very Low | Fast | Very High |
| SEO/Content | Very High | Medium | High | Medium | Slow (months) | Very High |
| PR | Variable | Low | Low | Medium | Variable | High |
| Influencer | Variable | Medium | Medium | Variable | Medium | Medium |
| Programmatic | Very High | High | Medium | Low-Medium | Fast | Medium |
| Podcast | Medium | Low | Low | Medium | Slow | High |

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## Channel Fit by Business Model

| Channel | B2B SaaS | eCommerce | Local | B2B Services | DTC | Creator | Marketplace |
|---------|----------|-----------|-------|-------------|-----|---------|------------|
| Google Search | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★ | ★ | ★★★ |
| Meta Ads | ★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ |
| LinkedIn | ★★★ | ★ | ★ | ★★★ | ★ | ★★ | ★ |
| TikTok | ★ | ★★★ | ★★ | ★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★ |
| Email | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ |
| SEO/Content | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ |
| Influencer | ★ | ★★★ | ★★ | ★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★ |

★★★ = Primary channel, ★★ = Secondary, ★ = Situational

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## Cross-Channel Orchestration Playbook

### Sequencing Strategy

**Phase 1 — Awareness (Week 1-2)**:
- YouTube/TikTok video ads for broad reach
- Social organic content establishing topic presence
- PR outreach for earned media

**Phase 2 — Consideration (Week 2-4)**:
- Retarget video viewers with detailed content (Meta, Display)
- Search ads on category/problem keywords
- Email nurture for captured leads

**Phase 3 — Conversion (Week 3-6)**:
- Retarget engaged users with direct-response ads
- Search ads on branded + high-intent keywords
- Email sequences with offer/CTA

**Phase 4 — Reinforcement (Ongoing)**:
- Customer email sequences (onboarding, upsell)
- Social proof amplification (reviews, testimonials)
- Referral program activation

### Frequency Capping Across Channels

| Audience Stage | Max Impressions/Week | Channel Mix |
|---------------|---------------------|-------------|
| Cold (awareness) | 3-5 | Video + Social |
| Warm (consideration) | 5-8 | Social + Search + Display |
| Hot (decision) | 8-12 | Search + Retargeting + Email |
| Customer | 2-4 | Email + Social (organic) |

### Channel Synergy Map

Channels that amplify each other:

- **SEO + Paid Search**: SEO covers long-tail, paid covers competitive terms. Together = full SERP coverage
- **Social Organic + Paid Social**: Organic tests creative concepts cheaply, winners become paid ads
- **PR + SEO**: Media coverage builds backlinks, boosting organic rankings
- **Email + Social**: Email drives engagement that feeds social algorithms
- **Content + Paid**: Content creates retargeting audiences, paid drives content distribution
- **Influencer + Social Ads**: Influencer content becomes high-performing ad creative (Spark Ads, Partnership Ads)

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## New Channel Evaluation Checklist

Before investing in a new channel:

- [ ] Is our target audience actively using this channel? (Evidence?)
- [ ] What's the minimum viable budget to test meaningfully?
- [ ] What's our hypothesis for expected CPA/ROAS?
- [ ] Can we track conversions from this channel?
- [ ] Do we have the creative resources needed?
- [ ] What's the time-to-learn (how long until we have actionable data)?
- [ ] Are any competitors successfully using this channel?
- [ ] What's the opportunity cost vs. scaling existing channels?
- [ ] Is there a 30-day test plan we can run?
- [ ] What success metric triggers scaling vs. stopping?
