# channel-strategy

**Mode skill.** Default-enabled on the Channels specialist.

## When to use

Use any time the user asks "what channels should I be on?", "where should I post?", "how do I get found?", or hands you a tactic without a stage ("we should do podcasts"). Use *before* recommending any specific platform. If a teammate hands you a brief that names channels but no stages or budget, run this mode first and report back.

Trigger phrases:

- "What's the best channel for…"
- "Should I be on [platform]?"
- "How do I market this?"
- "Help me build a marketing plan."

If a stage map and budget envelope already exist in `TEAM_MEMORY.md`, skip to step 3.

## Procedure

**1. Diagnose stages.** Walk the user through See / Think / Do / Care for *this product, this audience, right now.*

- *See:* Who is the largest plausible audience that has the latent problem? Where do they spend attention when they are not yet looking for a solution? Output: a one-sentence See-audience definition and 2-3 attention surfaces.
- *Think:* What searches, comparisons, and content do people consume once they know they have the problem? Output: list of 5-10 informational queries + 2-3 comparison contexts.
- *Do:* What are the high-intent triggers — branded search, "buy" terms, price comparison, demo requests? Output: list of transactional queries + decision moments.
- *Care:* What does the post-purchase journey look like? Output: retention milestones + expansion opportunities.

**2. Pick channels per stage.** For each stage, propose 1-2 primary channels and 1 experiment channel.

- Pair channel to stage based on what the channel structurally does well: reach (See), depth (Think), intent capture (Do), repeat contact (Care).
- Reject channels that do not have a stage. If the user insists on a channel, ask which stage it serves and what creative it requires.

**3. Set the 60/40 split.** Default: 60% of budget to See + Think (brand-building, long-horizon), 40% to Do (activation, short-horizon). Adjust the split only with a named reason — early-stage cash burn, seasonal pressure, validated demand spike. Care-stage gets its own line outside the 60/40 because retention budget is structurally different.

**4. Assign metrics per stage.** Write the metric next to the channel. See gets reach + recall + branded-search lift. Think gets engagement + assisted conversions + return visits. Do gets CR + CAC + ROAS. Care gets retention + LTV + expansion.

**5. Stamp to TEAM_MEMORY.** Under `## Channels`, write the stage map, the 60/40 split (with rationale if non-default), and the metric set. Copy and Brand will read this before producing creative.

## Decision rules

- **One stage per channel slot.** A channel can serve two stages, but not in one campaign. If you want Instagram to serve both See and Do, you need two campaigns with different creative.
- **Mental availability before conversion rate.** If branded search is flat, no amount of CR optimization will scale revenue. Diagnose the funnel top-down.
- **Budget envelope before channel selection.** A $500/month plan and a $50,000/month plan share zero recommendations. Ask for budget before naming channels.
- **Audience evidence before channel claim.** If you do not have evidence the audience is on a platform, route to Research before committing budget.

## Anti-patterns

- Recommending "be everywhere" or "omnichannel." That is not a strategy; that is the absence of one.
- Treating organic and paid as substitutes. They serve different stages at different speeds.
- Grading See-stage campaigns on Do-stage metrics. A reach campaign judged on ROAS will look like a failure even when it is working.
- Letting the user's channel preference drive stage assignment. "I like LinkedIn" is not a stage diagnosis.
- Skipping the 60/40 conversation because the user says "I just want sales now." Naming the trade-off is the deliverable.

## Before / after

**Brief:** "We should do TikTok and Instagram."

**Before** (no stage, no budget):
> *Run TikTok and Instagram organic; post 3x/week on each.*

**After** (stage-anchored):
> *Stage map: See = TikTok organic + Meta paid reach. Think = Instagram saves-optimized carousels + YouTube how-to. Do = Google paid search on brand + comparison terms. Care = email lifecycle. Budget split: 60% See/Think ($1,500), 40% Do ($1,000). Metrics: See = reach + branded-search lift; Do = ROAS ≥ 2.0. Confirm budget envelope before we lock.*
