The Rise Of Owned Assets: Reducing Your Dependence On Social Platforms 

This means you build away from social media, so people are there for you when you use social media.

It makes sense for your message to be seen in spaces where people congregate (LinkedIn, Instagram etc), but your central work should be in the place where you have control and there are people around each other.

This article highlights the significance of nurturing owned assets (such as live events) and leveraging their impact within social spaces, such as LinkedIn. Rather than the other way round.

These assets you build are so important. 

Since YATM started in 2013, attention has been on blogs, a Thursday newsletter, in-person events, Zoom shows, a book, podcasts, learning and membership. 

Then social media reliance crept in.

The lure shifted more time to LinkedIn, Instagram and a Facebook Group (up until 2023 when the decision was made to delete Facebook completely). These represent assets owned by someone else but where we all have the opportunity to rent scale.

In the past few years, the algorithms have succeeded. Social media platforms heightened user experience over our hard work to get people to come closer. We found ourselves at the mercy of algorithms who controlled our organic reach and then shifted the rules.

In our pursuit of social media success and acceptance, we became overly reliant on working for someone else’s platform, sacrificing long-term sustainability for short-term gains.

Now, in 2024, it’s time to rethink how we can heighten an asset-based approach and then use social media to our own advantage.

It’s the people who are with you that heightens impact.

Here is the dream scenario. 

If 100 people liked your LinkedIn post, followed you on X, visited your website or subscribed to your newsletter and every single person decided to buy from you, it makes sense to put all our effort into where the revenue is coming from. 

However, we all know it doesn’t work out like that. We put so much emphasis on the numbers and reach as a measurement of our own self-esteem. This is what many of us chase. 

When you chase more people to like your work, size will always become your benchmark. Frequency and size matter more than the impact you create (subscribers and growth with an audience who get to know you and each other).  

It’s the space you build, where people congregate that helps each other.

It’s where you make something so good offline, it helps your efforts online. 

Following on from YATM Creator Day, I noticed when people shared on LinkedIn their experiences and highlights from the event, it was others from the occasion who joined in and supported each other.

Here is what Gus Bhandal and Catherine Adams shared, where they saw spikes of activity, after the event…  

It wasn’t just a few, it was so many people who rallied around each other. It wasn’t just likes, but comments that helped posts be seen by others. 

What had happened offline, was magnified online.

Something was originally made in a physical space, that was amplified in a social space. Here is an example from Ryan Grimshaw, who saw others from Creator Day, rally around him.

This is what I mean, it all starts from the original, owned asset. This represents what is unique to you where you are not fighting to be heard. 

It’s about knowing the assets you can build to make a bigger impact online. Today, I spend less energy on social media and look at ways to bring people together, so we then support each other on social media. It’s dependence away from social media and freedom from where you control.

When you focus on building a space that is right for the people who care, you can analyse and adapt what you want to make. Over time you begin to recognise who it is for, what’s in it for them and how we’re going to find ways to talk about it and build on it.   

If you can concentrate on being the right person for some, you put the effort in making sure your home is continually relevant and of value for the people who matter. 

In 2024, these are the deliverables from YATM (and a heavier reliance on what is owned):

– Newsletter every Thursday

– Post on LinkedIn three to four times a week

– Instagram once or twice a week

– Membership to YATM Club

– Smaller in-person events (50+) – quarterly

– Creator Day (200+) – annually

Where a social goal can be scale and reach, when you build an asset, you control, the goal is value and meaning with someone else. For instance, I want people to return to the 2025 YATM Creator Day.

It’s how you put more emphasis on what you own and then magnify that opportunity on social media. Think about how you can encourage people to make that step from social media to visit the space you have built. 

The goal of social media is for you to encourage people to stay on someone else’s platform, so they can grow. Your objective should be to leverage the existing audience of a social media platform to come to you.

People from further afield saw the posts and commentary from others that it convinced them to book early for Creator Day 2025. This post from Ben McKinney became the motivation for Stefanie Mellano to book her place and make the journey to the seaside, from Italy. 

This is what I mean, you build a space where people feel a part of, where they are prepared to share on social media, with a team of people rallying behind them. You make offline, to gain attention online.

You can’t stick vehemently to just living your life within the assets you control, that restricts the people who can see your work and join in.

It makes sense to create where people already hang out. 

– It is important to have a library to direct people to that can help them, if all you have are social posts it becomes difficult to archive  

– Remember when you have ownership it gives you control, but at the same time you need to get the right people to see your work to make that decision  

– Whatever situation can occur down the line you have to be nimble, you can’t become increasingly dependent on social media. The goal is to become less dependent.

Nothing beats the ability to reach out to the people who want to join in with you. This is why building a space for people who care is always going to be the ultimate motivation. When people care, they become vocal on other platforms.

This is how it has worked for YATM:

💍 You build your platform (your blog, your newsletter, your podcast)

💍 You deliver (you start something you can’t stop)

💍 You earn trust (people can see you’re sticking to something you believe in)

💍 People come back (familiarity with your message means people know what’s waiting for them)

💍 You scale (you can introduce new ideas and test out new areas)

💍 You have freedom (everything you do is on your terms)

💍 You have a distribution network (social media becomes your pipeline to others) 

💍 You enjoy more (fun comes into play when people feel a part of something too)

In the words of Gordon Fong, ‘We stand by each other when the time comes.’ 

Never underestimate the focus on building more assets you control. This is not about abandoning social media entirely but using it strategically and sparingly.

Our goal should be to create something so compelling offline that it naturally draws people to engage with us online. 

By prioritising assets such newsletters, podcasts, and in-person events, we cultivate spaces where our audience can connect and support each other. This not only strengthens our brands, but cements our bonds and reduces our over reliance on social media. 

As we move forward, let’s focus on building spaces where people feel a sense of belonging and are motivated to share their experiences online. We empower ourselves one meaningful interaction at a time. 

When people care, they become vocal advocates, and that’s where the real magic happens.