What worked last quarter might not even get seen this quarter.
Ask Retro Dodo, who lost 85% of their traffic after Google’s algorithm took a swing.
Ask Chegg, whose stock dropped nearly 50% overnight after students realized ChatGPT could do their homework faster and for free, or they could find answers in AI Overviews.
This isn’t fear-mongering. It’s what happens when you build your entire strategy on rented land and the landlord changes the terms without notice.
The real threat isn’t the algorithm. The real threat is pretending the algorithm won’t change.
When I started DRVN Media, it was just me. Freelance SEO and creative media work. One guy grinding to help small businesses show up online and look good doing it. But over time, the clients evolved. And so did the work. What started with SEO grew into multi‑channel strategy: paid media, content, analytics, retention, brand. Everything working together.
Not because we wanted to do it all, but because relying on just one lever is a great way to get crushed when it breaks. And luckily, my clients grew with me. But if you’re new to my content, or still hoping SEO, ads, or social alone will carry your business, you need to hear this:
Single‑channel domination feels great until the rules change and you’ve got nothing else to lean on.
This isn’t about chasing every shiny object. It’s about building a strategy that survives platform shifts, CPM spikes, zero‑click SERPs, and changing consumer behavior. It’s about being resilient. Not lucky.
The Real Problem Isn’t the Algorithm, It’s Fragile Strategy
Let’s face it. Regardless of your industry, you can complain about algorithm changes, or you can build a strategy that doesn’t break when it shifts. Because the problem isn’t that Google changed. Or that Meta’s CPMs spiked. Or that your Instagram reach fell off a cliff. That’s all going to happen.
The real problem is building your entire funnel around the idea that it won’t.
This is what I call fragile strategy. You lean heavy into one channel because it’s working. You cut back on everything else to “double down.” And for a while? You feel like a genius. But the problem with single‑channel success is that it’s often mistaken for brand strength. It’s not, and it’s platform dependency dressed up like momentum.
And when the algorithm changes? Or the costs rise? Or a competitor outspends you? You find out you don’t have a funnel. You had a shortcut.
You Don’t Need to Be Everywhere. But You Do Need to Know Where You’re Weak.
Let me be clear. I’m not saying you need to be on every platform, every day, pumping out 100 pieces of content like you’re Gary Vee in 2017. What you do need is awareness. You need to know what role each channel plays, where you’re overexposed, and what happens if that one thing you’re leaning on gets taken away.
This isn’t about channel diversification. It’s about funnel resiliency.
If you’re killing it with SEO, awesome. But what happens when Google drops an update that slices your traffic in half? Ask Chegg, Retro Dodo, and thousands of other companies that heavily relied on Google traffic for their business.
If you’re crushing it with ads, great. But what happens when everyone else floods the auction and your CAC triples overnight?
If you’re getting leads from Instagram influences, I love that for you. But what happens when your next 10 post collabs tank, and Stories get half the reach, then your influencers want to get paid more?
You don’t need to do it all. But you do need to understand:
- What’s propping up your funnel
- Where your weak spots are
- And which levers you can pull when your go-to stops working
Smart brands don’t scramble when a platform moves the goalposts. They already know what other plays are in the book. That’s why a lot of businesses have started coming to me for fractional CMOand strategic consulting. Because we build that playbook. We map the funnel. We stress test the f’n strategy to its limit.
But we only do that kind of work for consulting clients. If you’re working with us for one-off execution like SEO or paid media, you need to come in with the plan. Or better yet, become a client who lets us help you build it.
Now have a brain. Not all channels are built for the same job.
Some spark demand. Some build trust. Some close the sale. A few do all three, but most don’t. That’s the part no one tells you when they say “Just post on TikTok” or “Just run Google Ads.”
Every channel has a role. And if you don’t know what that role is, you’re probably asking it to do something it’s not built for.
What Each Marketing Channel Is Actually Good At
Let’s stop pretending all channels are equal. They’re not. Some are great at getting attention. Others build credibility. A few are built to convert. And if you don’t know which is which, you’re either wasting time or expecting the wrong outcome.
Here’s how I break them down based on real usage, performance, and what’s actually happening in the market.
You can download the marketing channel matrix I’m about to give below as a matrix here. When the image opens, just right click it and save it.
LLM Chat
This is ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, etc.
These tools are now part of the top of the funnel, whether marketers like it or not. They’re fast, frictionless, and increasingly trusted for research. Consumers are using them to generate ideas, compare products, or just understand what a product even does.
But here’s the catch, they rarely drive direct clicks. And they almost never build trust in your brand alone. They might mention you, but the credit often goes to whoever’s quoted or linked. Sometimes…
✅ Great for: quick comparisons, first-pass research, feature breakdowns
⚠️ Okay for: niche shopping if sources are cited
❌ Not built for: final decisions, pricing clarity, brand authority
Search/SEO
Google, Bing, Duck Duck Go, and whatever’s left standing at this point
SEO is still one of the most powerful channels in marketing. Search is intent. And intent means buying power. Google still dominates, and it’s not even f’n close right now. However, they’re losing marketshare.
BUT search has changed. Zero-click results are rising. AI overviews are eating traffic. And SERPs are getting more crowded with paid placements, snippets, and summaries.
✅ Great for: high-intent keywords, pricing, local discovery
⚠️ Okay for: broad education, content visibility
❌ Weaker for: complex narratives, building emotional connection
Reddit & Niche Forums
This is where real people tell the unfiltered truth like it can’t be found on the internet. Reddit can be a toxic wasteland. It isn’t polished. It isn’t really ad-driven. But it’s one of the first places people go when they want answers without a sales pitch.
Even Google and OpenAI are now licensing Reddit content to train their AI models. And if that’s not saying something, then you clearly aren’t listening to anyone.
✅ Great for: authentic reviews, edge cases, product comparisons
⚠️ Okay for: discovery in niche or skeptical categories
❌ Not built for: fast funnels, branded control, scale
Facebook Groups
Repeat after me, “Still underrated, and underutilized by brands”
Groups are powerful for hyper-local and hyper-niche conversations, especially in service industries, parenting, and hobbyist spaces. If someone’s asking for a recommendation, they trust the responses more than any ad.
✅ Great for: local service recs, mom groups, niche interests
⚠️ Okay for: awareness and education via word of mouth
❌ Weaker for: speed, conversion, controlled branding
Short-Form Social
TikTok, Reels, Shorts
This is where demand is created. Not captured.
Short-form video is where trends are born, products get their “aha moment,” and creators sell the why before you even get to the what. But it’s also noisy, fast-moving, and hard to attribute unless you’re measuring the halo effect properly.
✅ Great for: attention, brand vibes, trend surfing
⚠️ Okay for: light CTA or soft sell into other content
❌ Not built for: complex explanation, deep funnel education
YouTube (Long-Form)
This is the trust machine. If I need to know how something works or why a product is better than its competitors, I’m watching a YouTube review. YouTube is where people go to get convinced.
✅ Great for: tutorials, comparisons, deep-dive product content
⚠️ Okay for: top-of-funnel discovery via related videos
❌ Not ideal for: immediate conversions, local targeting, fast CTAs
Email & SMS
Still undefeated for keeping your audience warm. Well as long as spamming them isn’t your game.
You own the list. You control the message. No algorithm stands between you and your people. But don’t expect email or SMS to do your cold prospecting. This is a retention channel. Not discovery.
✅ Great for: post-purchase touchpoints, education, upsell
⚠️ Okay for: flash sales and time-sensitive promos
❌ Not built for: awareness, first impressions, mass attention
Now Ask Yourself & Be Honest
Let’s be real for a moment, how many of you are asking for one channel to do three-plus jobs? I bet a lot of you are. That’s not a strategy. That’s wishful thinking. And that’s why so many brands end up stuck, wondering why things worked last year but aren’t working now. Especially when algorithms change, new players (like LLMs) emerge like a tsunami, and throw in a stagnant economy.
AI Is Making Single‑Channel Even Riskier
What happens when the channel you rely on stops sending traffic? You don’t control Instagram’s algorithm. You don’t control CPMs on Meta. And you definitely don’t control Google anymore. AI is answering your customer’s questions before they even get to your site.
The rise of zero-click search is eating everything. It was estimated in 2024 that zero-click search was as high as 60%, and that number is now estimated to be 70-75%, so let that sink in for a moment. ZERO-CLICKS. NOT TO YOUR SITE. NOT TO YOUR COMPETITOR. JUST A FAST ANSWER AND BOUNCE. THEN WITH THE SERP CHANGES AND MINEFIELD OF ADS, YOUR ORGANIC LISTINGS ARE PUSHED DOWN BELOW THE FOLD. NOW THROW IN GOOGLE’S AI OVERVIEWS & IT’S EVEN TOUGHER.
When an AI Overview shows up, people are half as likely to click a link compared to when it doesn’t.
And they’re more likely to leave the page entirely. Session drop-offs jump from 16% to 26% when AI is present.
Publishers are already feeling it. Sites like Retro Dodo lost 85% of their traffic. News organizations are pivoting to newsletters, events, and community because they know Google is no longer a guarantee.
If you’re still treating SEO like it’s 2019, you’re not just behind. You’re building your business on rented land with no backup.
A lot of people are using AI now, whether you are or not. So let’s stop pretending this is fringe.
- 61% of U.S. adults used AI in the last six months
- Almost 1 in 5 use it every day
- 87% of B2B buyers say AI helped them evaluate vendors faster
- Platforms like Reddit and Stack Overflow are licensing content directly to ChatGPT and Perplexity
People aren’t just searching. They’re asking questions. And AI is giving them answers that don’t involve your brand at all. If you’re still relying on a single channel, especially one you don’t own, you’re taking the biggest risk in marketing right now.
What Funnel Resiliency Actually Looks Like
Let’s be honest. Most small businesses don’t have a marketing funnel. They have a marketing dependency, and they don’t realize it until the one thing they’ve been leaning on stops working. Here’s what resiliency actually looks like:
✅ You know what each channel is for
- You don’t expect TikTok to drive high-ticket B2B leads.
- You don’t expect Google Ads to build brand loyalty.
- You use each channel the way it’s meant to be used, not how some YouTube guru told you to.
✅ You’ve got backup levers
- If SEO tanks, you’ve got email.
- If paid media gets too expensive, you’ve got community.
- If organic reach dries up, you’ve got long-form content pulling weight behind the scenes.
It’s not about doing everything. It’s about having options.
✅ You own something
- Your list.
- Your community.
- Your site.
Owned channels matter more than ever because the big platforms are all squeezing visibility to push more ad spend. If the lights go out on TikTok, Instagram or Google tomorrow, can you still reach your audience? If the answer is no, you don’t have a funnel. You have what attorney’s call “exposure.”
✅ You plan for pivots
When we do fractional CMO work, this is what we build.
- We stress test your strategy.
- We ask “what happens if” questions.
- We map where your attention, traffic, and revenue are really coming from, and what happens if any of it disappears.
This kind of planning is what separates the businesses that adapt from the ones that collapse.
Want a Funnel That Doesn’t Break?
If you’ve made it this far, you probably already know your strategy needs to level up.
- You don’t need more random-ass content.
- You don’t need more ads without knowing its true impact.
- You do need a plan that knows what to do when things stop working.
That’s the work we do on the strategy side. When businesses bring me in as a fractional CMO, we don’t just build a funnel. We build the system behind the funnel. We make sure it can take a hit and keep producing.
If you’ve been running on autopilot, hoping your one channel keeps working, you’ve already taken on more risk than you think.
The goal isn’t to do more. The goal is to stop being one algorithm tweak away from chaos.
If you’re ready to figure out where your strategy is exposed, let’s talk. I’ll tell you exactly where I’d start and what to fix, even if we don’t end up working together. Seriously, we do 30 minute consults for free where you get to ask anything you’d like to and I’ll give you the unfiltered truth. And the best part, I won’t try to sell you either because when you’re ready you’ll already know who I am, and what DRVN Media can do for you.
