Social. Media.
Peter Yang from Creator Economy has been living rent free in my head for years due to his writing this about the two different types of social media companies.
Peter Yang from Creator Economy has been living rent free in my head for years due to his writing this about the two different types of social media companies, and how we’re thinking about them all wrong.
“Social media” actually refers to two very different types of apps:
Social: “I want to connect with others.”
Media: “I want to be entertained.”
An app that pursues both at once is destined to lose.
Social media has always been a catch-all term that implies every platform works the same way, and that’s why we’re all failing at it.
It turns out that some platforms exist to create and deepen relationships. These are social apps. Others are built to broadcast content to as many people as possible. These are media apps. The difference between the two is massive. Social apps thrive on conversation. Media apps thrive on content.
A social app is about two-way interaction. It’s a space where direct connection is the priority. Growth comes not from reach, but from deepening relationships. Think about Discord or WhatsApp. Success there isn’t measured by how many people see a post but by how often people engage in ongoing conversations. These platforms don’t reward virality because that’s not the goal. They’re about sustained engagement, not passive consumption.
A media app, on the other hand, is about pushing content to an audience at scale. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram aren’t designed for conversation. They’re designed for discovery. The goal is to capture and hold attention through compelling content. The better your content performs, the more the algorithm distributes it, whether you have one follower or a million. This is where virality happens. Media apps don’t care about your personal connections, they care about what keeps people watching.
This is why so many creators struggle. They’re trying to play both games at once. They’re chasing virality on platforms that don’t support it or expecting deep engagement from audiences that are there just to consume content.
If you’re on a social app, success comes from direct participation and relationship-building. If you’re on a media app, success comes from creating content that gets seen by the most people possible.
And if you don’t know which one you’re using, you’re probably wasting time.
What type of platform do you naturally gravitate toward?
Before you decide where to focus your efforts, you need to ask yourself a critical question: Do you naturally engage as a creator the same way you engage as a consumer?
Most people assume the answer is yes, but that’s not necessarily the case. As a consumer, you might love scrolling through TikTok, consuming hours of short-form video, or passively watching YouTube. As a creator, you might thrive in a conversation-driven space, where you build relationships and get direct feedback from your audience.
Or it could be the opposite. You might love lurking in communities, but when it comes to your own work, you prefer broadcasting content rather than responding to every message.
Social-first creators thrive on conversation and direct interaction. They like two-way engagement, discussions, and relationships.
Best Platforms: Discord, WhatsApp, Facebook Groups, Substack Chats
Challenges: Harder to scale; requires constant engagement
Media-first creators thrive on one-to-many content distribution. They like creating polished content and seeing it reach large audiences.
Best Platforms: TikTok, YouTube, Instagram Reels
Challenges: Harder to build deep engagement; success depends on algorithm performance
This disconnect is important because it shapes your instincts. If a platform feels exhausting, it’s often because it doesn’t match how you naturally engage with the world. The best platform for you isn’t just the one where your audience is. It’s the one where you can show up consistently without burning out.
If you’ve ever wondered why a platform feels draining instead of exciting, this might be why. You’re forcing yourself into a model that doesn’t match how you naturally engage. Your business might need a different platform than the one you personally enjoy.
This is where many creators get stuck. They build a strategy around the kind of engagement they enjoy, rather than what actually serves their goals.
Maybe you’re drawn to social-first platforms because you love community, but your business relies on reaching as many people as possible. You could spend all day having great conversations in a Facebook group or on Discord, but if your business model depends on growing an audience, you need new people constantly discovering your work. And social platforms aren’t built for discovery.
On the other hand, maybe you thrive in the one-to-many world of media apps, crafting polished content that gets pushed out to thousands of people. But if your business model is based on long-term relationships, like coaching, memberships, or direct sales, you’ll struggle if your audience is built entirely on viral reach. People might see your content, but they won’t stick around.
This is why so many creators feel stuck. They assume they need to do everything, but that’s a losing game. If you try to do both at the same time, you’ll end up overextended, posting into the void, and wondering why nothing is working.
The solution isn’t to force yourself into a model that drains you. It’s to pick one platform that aligns with your natural strengths, then build a strategy that supports the areas you struggle with. If you’re social-first, you can use media platforms as a traffic source, directing people to your community space. If you’re “media first,” you can create a lightweight way to engage deeper, like an email list or a paid membership.
But the key is knowing which one comes naturally to you first because the platform that matches your instincts will always be the one where you can build momentum without grinding yourself into the ground.
Personally, I’m great at media apps and generally suck at social apps. I’m a pretty good member of a community, but I stink at leading one. Monica and I struggled with it for years at Writer MBA, and I still marvel at people who can get deep engagement.
Meanwhile, we are both great at the media part of the social media equation and generally excel at platforms where that is the focus.
Social apps: Where relationships drive success
If media apps are built for broadcasting, social apps are built for connection. These are the platforms where success isn’t measured by how many people see your content but by how deeply people engage with you. Growth on a social app isn’t about going viral. It’s about building a space where people actually want to come back day after day.
Think about the last time you joined a truly engaging online community. Maybe it was a Discord server where conversations kept flowing without feeling forced, or a WhatsApp group where people actually responded, instead of just dropping links and ghosting. These spaces thrive because the engagement is two-way. Unlike media apps, where the goal is to get your content in front of as many people as possible, social apps reward direct participation.
This is why these platforms are powerful for businesses that rely on trust. If you’re a coach, a consultant, or running a membership community, social apps create the kind of high-touch engagement that makes people stick around.
Someone might stumble upon your work on a media platform, but they stay because of the relationships they build in a social space.
Many people go wrong because they treat a social app like a media platform. They post as if engagement should just happen, but that never works. Social platforms are built around conversation, not consumption. If you want engagement, you have to start engagement. You have to reply to comments, ask follow-up questions, and create a space where people feel like their participation actually matters.
Social apps take work. They demand consistent presence, not just content. If you’re not the kind of person who enjoys regular interaction, maintaining a thriving social-first platform will feel exhausting. That’s why many creators love the idea of a strong community but struggle to maintain one. A social app isn’t about posting and walking away. It’s about being there, and that kind of consistency isn’t easy.
Still, if building deeper relationships is central to your business, social apps are the best way to create the kind of loyalty that media platforms can’t replicate. The trick is knowing whether you have the bandwidth and desire to show up in the way these platforms require. Because if you’re expecting to succeed on a social-first app without actually being social, you’re better off somewhere else.
Media apps: The engine for visibility
If social apps are about engagement, media apps are about attention. These platforms aren’t designed to deepen relationships. They’re designed to get content in front of as many people as possible. The goal isn’t conversation. It’s consumption.
Think about TikTok. The entire platform is built around the For You page, not your follower list. The algorithm doesn’t care about who you are or how long you’ve been on the platform. It cares whether your content stops the scroll. If it does, it will push that content to more people. If it doesn’t, it will disappear into the void.
YouTube works the same way. While subscribers still matter, most people find new creators through algorithmic recommendations. A video doesn’t usually succeed because of who posted it. It succeeds because it’s what people want to watch.
Media-first platforms are built with the best discovery engines available. You don’t need an existing audience to get traction. If you can create compelling, high-quality content, the algorithm will do the work of finding people who might be interested.
That’s the power of a media-first platform: you can reach thousands, or even millions, of people without any direct connection to them.
But that’s also the problem.
While media apps are great for discovery, they’re terrible for retention. Just because someone watched your TikTok or YouTube video doesn’t mean they’ll remember who you are, let alone follow you long-term. The average TikTok user watches hundreds of videos per day. Expecting them to develop a meaningful connection with you just because they saw one post is wishful thinking.
This is where so many creators get caught in the trap. They assume that visibility equals stability, that if they just keep posting, eventually the algorithm will reward them with a big enough audience to make their business work. But media-first platforms don’t care about your business. They care about keeping people on the app.
That’s why creators who rely only on media apps often struggle to convert their audience into actual customers. They’re playing a game of constant production, always chasing the next viral hit because they know that yesterday’s success doesn’t guarantee anything tomorrow.
But that doesn’t mean media apps aren’t useful. If your business requires a steady stream of new people discovering your work, there’s no better place to be. The trick is understanding their limitations and making sure you have a strategy for what happens after people find you. Because if you’re only focused on going viral, you might get famous, but fame alone doesn’t build a business.
Why trying to do both is a recipe for failure
Every creator has, at some point, tried to “be everywhere.” It feels like the smart thing to do. After all, why limit yourself to just one platform when you can reach people on multiple? The problem is that social apps and media apps require fundamentally different skill sets and time commitments. Trying to do both at the same time almost always leads to burnout, mediocre results, or both.
At first, it seems doable. You post on TikTok to reach new people, then invite them to join your Discord or Facebook group. Maybe you write long-form content on Substack while also trying to grow on Instagram. But then reality hits.
Social platforms demand presence. You need to interact, reply to comments, and keep conversations flowing.
Meanwhile, media platforms demand production. You need to keep making new content to stay relevant in the algorithm. If you’re doing both, you’re constantly shifting gears, trying to be engaging in one place while churning out content in another.
The worst part? The metrics don’t sync. On media apps, success is measured by reach and views. On social apps, success is measured by depth and engagement. What works well on TikTok won’t necessarily translate to a thriving community. What makes a Substack post go viral won’t guarantee people will interact in your chat.
Then there’s the issue of audience behavior. People who love consuming content on YouTube or TikTok don’t always want to engage in a community space. And people who love deep conversations in a social app might not care about short-form content. Just because someone follows you on one platform doesn’t mean they’ll move with you to another.
This is where so many creators get stuck. They spend time building a presence in both places, but instead of getting the best of both worlds, they get the worst of both worlds. Their media content isn’t optimized enough for virality, and their social presence isn’t strong enough to build real relationships.
The answer isn’t to try to master both at once. It’s to pick one primary focus and structure your entire strategy around that. Then, once you have momentum, you can layer in the other in a way that actually makes sense.
If you spread yourself too thin, you’ll always be busy, but you’ll never be effective. The goal isn’t to “be everywhere.” It’s to be strategic about where you spend your energy. And that starts with choosing which game you actually want to play.
The two-step strategy
If trying to do both at the same time is a guaranteed way to burn out, then what’s the right approach? The answer isn’t to ignore one side completely. It’s to sequence your efforts in a way that aligns with your strengths and business needs. Instead of trying to master social and media apps simultaneously, start with one, build momentum, then layer in the other strategically.
Most creators and businesses fall into one of two categories: they either need visibility first, then engagement, or engagement first, then visibility. Your job is to figure out which path makes the most sense for you.
Path 1: Media first, social second
If your business relies on audience size, like selling books, digital products, or advertising-driven content, then you need new people finding you constantly. That means starting with a media app like TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram Reels, where discovery is built in.
Your goal here isn’t deep engagement. It’s capturing attention and funneling people into a place where they can engage more deeply later. Once you’ve built an audience, then you can introduce a social platform like Discord, WhatsApp, or a Substack chat to create a space where your most engaged followers can stick around.
Example:
A nonfiction author starts by posting short, engaging educational videos on TikTok, building a following.
Once they have an audience, they invite their biggest fans to join a private newsletter or community, where they can deepen relationships and convert attention into sales.
The mistake most people make here is trying to force deep engagement too early. If no one knows who you are, starting with a Facebook Group or Discord server is a waste of time at the beginning
Path 2: Social first, media second
If your business relies on trust and relationships, like coaching, memberships, or high-ticket offers, then you need depth first, then reach. Starting with a social app allows you to build strong connections and conversions early, even if your audience is small. Then, once you have an engaged community, you can introduce media content to bring in new people.
Example:
A business coach starts by creating a private WhatsApp or Discord community, offering direct access and high-value discussions.
Once they have a strong foundation, they expand into media apps, posting clips from coaching calls or creating content that attracts new leads.
The mistake in this model is relying on social platforms alone and expecting them to bring in new people. If you never introduce a media component, your growth will eventually stall,
Most creators instinctively gravitate toward one path or the other. They’re either better at capturing attention (media-first) or better at deepening engagement (social-first). The trick isn’t to force yourself into both at once but to sequence them in a way that feels natural and sustainable.
Start where you’re strongest. Build momentum. Then, when the time is right, layer in the other piece in a way that supports your business without pulling you in two directions at once.
When is it time to add the other path?
No matter whether you start social-first or media-first, there will come a point when you hit a ceiling.
If you’ve gone “social first,” you might notice that while you have an engaged community, growth has stalled. You’ve built strong relationships, but new people aren’t finding you. Your revenue is stable, but it’s capped because you aren’t bringing in fresh leads.
If you’ve gone “media first,” you might see your content continuing to reach thousands (or even millions), but engagement is shallow. People watch your videos, but they don’t stick around. You have visibility, but conversions are low because there’s no deeper connection.
These are the signs that it’s time to integrate the other path—but the way you do it depends on where you’re starting from.
If you started social first
Social-first creators reach a point where their community is thriving, but their audience isn’t growing. They’ve built strong engagement, but they’re relying on the same people over and over.
Here’s how to know it’s time to add a media strategy:
You’re running out of new leads, your growth has plateaued, and it’s getting harder to attract fresh members to your community.
Your revenue is reliant on repeat customers, but you’re not seeing enough new buyers.
You feel stretched thin, constantly engaging without bringing in passive audience growth.
The next step: Introduce scalable content.
Start creating evergreen media content that can work for you while you focus on engagement. Choose a platform that fits your strengths (e.g., if you’re good on camera, try YouTube or Reels; if you prefer writing, try SEO-driven blogs or newsletters). Use your media content as a lead-generation tool, always pointing new viewers toward your social space.
Example: A business coach who built a thriving WhatsApp community realizes that growth has slowed. To attract new people, they start posting short-form educational content on Instagram and TikTok, using those platforms to drive people toward their private group.
If you started media first
Media-first creators eventually face a different problem: people see their content, but they don’t stay. They might have a large audience, but that audience isn’t turning into long-term fans or buyers.
Here’s how to know it’s time to add a social strategy:
Your content keeps reaching people, but engagement is low—you’re getting views, but not enough meaningful interactions.
Your audience feels disconnected from you—people recognize your name, but you don’t have a core community of engaged followers.
You’re struggling to convert followers into customers—people consume your content but aren’t taking the next step (buying, subscribing, joining your list).
The next step: Introduce a deeper engagement channel. Create a dedicated space for your biggest fans, like a private chat, membership group, or subscriber-only discussion. Start engaging in the comments and DMs. Instead of just posting content, actively build relationships. Shift some of your content toward direct audience interaction, like Q&As, live sessions, community features.
Example: A YouTuber with 100K subscribers realizes that while their videos get views, they don’t have a strong connection with their audience. They start a private Substack chat for their most engaged followers where they can interact more deeply and offer exclusive insights.
The mistake most creators make is waiting too long to add the other path. They either burn out trying to maintain engagement without growth, or they keep chasing reach without ever turning that reach into something sustainable.
The best way to avoid this? Keep an eye on your numbers and your energy.
If your audience is growing but not converting, it’s time to add a social element.
If your engagement is deep but stagnant, it’s time to add media for reach.
If you feel like you’re spinning your wheels, always “on” but not moving forward, it’s time to adjust.
When you add the other path at the right time, you don’t just grow your audience. You build a system that works together, where visibility feeds engagement, and engagement fuels long-term success.
If you’ve ever felt like social media isn’t working for you, the problem probably isn’t your content. It’s that you’re applying the wrong strategy to the wrong platform. Social and media apps are two completely different ecosystems with different rules, different success metrics, and different expectations.
Trying to master both at once is exhausting. But picking the right one for your strengths and your business model? That’s the key to making social media work for you instead of against you.
So ask yourself:
Are you better at starting conversations or creating content?
Does your business need deep engagement or broad reach first?
Where do you naturally show up consistently without feeling drained?
Once you know the answers, you can stop wasting time on the wrong platforms and start building a strategy that actually fits, because success on social media doesn’t come from being everywhere. It comes from being in the right place, with the right focus, at the right time.
