What if the best growth strategy this year is subtraction?
Stop chasing platforms, start prioritising depth
As platforms combust around us, brands are frantically asking, “Where to next?”.
We’ve done a familiar dance for over a decade: users have jumped from blogs to Myspace to Facebook to Instagram to Snapchat to TikTok, and brands and ads have duly followed, collecting ever more data on our lives along the way.
The questions are predictable: “Is everyone on Bluesky?” “Do ads work on Reddit?” “Isn't Pinterest is making a comeback?”.
But what if the answer isn't to dial up the content creation on another platform in hopes of firing up a new version of the old growth engine? What if, instead, this is the moment to strategically subtract?
Research from the University of Virginia (2021)1 reveals an interesting human bias:
we systematically default to additive solutions and overlook the power of subtraction. When faced with problems, we instinctively want to add things rather than take them away.
This helps make sense of our first instinct to add new platforms, new formats, new campaigns, rather than strip things back.
I think this is the moment to strip things back. To pause and think critically about the online worlds we want to build. To think about subtracting from rather than adding to your strategy. To prioritise depth over reach.
Subtraction in action
I’m kind of loath to cite Steve Jobs as a reference but it’s the example I return to when I think about strategy as subtraction.
When Jobs returned to a struggling Apple in 1997 to help turn things around, he reduced their product line by 70% to focus on just four core products. You know the rest of the tale.
The principle applies to brands thinking critically about growth as well as those aiming to dominate the planet.
So what might strategic subtraction look like for your brand?
Knowing the answer to these three questions is the first step when planning your growth strategy – subtractive or otherwise:
What do you want to grow?
Why do you want to grow this?
What does success look like?
Once clear on these, you could look to subtract in the following ways:
Streamline your products/services to focus on making your core offerings exceptional
Consolidating your social media presence to one or two channels that work for you (personally, I’m only creating on Substack and LinkedIn for now)
Let go of underperforming ad channels
Eliminate "spray and pray" brand awareness campaigns that are pure digi litter
Reduce digital spend in favour of analog content (e.g. a zine in collab with creators and community members)
Send fewer, better emails
Simplify customer feedback channels
Stop one-off influencer partnerships
The power of subtraction isn't just about doing less, it's about creating space to go deeper and diverting resources into more creative, impactful areas that align with your vision.
It means having the time to truly understand your existing customers, to co-create with your community, to refine your core offerings until they're exceptional, and to grow towards meaningful goals.
In a world of endless digital platforms and possibilities, the boldest strategy this year might be choosing what not to do.
What will you cut?
Hey if we haven’t met yet I’m Matilda Lucy, a Digital Strategist working with brands who are making the real world a better place to be. You can find out more about my work on my website or book a free intro call here to discuss working together :).
Adams, G. S., Converse, B. A., Hales, A. H., & Klotz, L. E. (2021). "People systematically overlook subtractive changes."
very interesting. I was this morning with some clients and indeed, we were poking fun on the idea of ghost-posting, or at least posting for a very limited audience, and creating a sort of scarcity.
A lot of solo owners and small businesses with shoestring marketing budgets try really hard (maybe even too hard?) to be everywhere, even when it's clear that half of those efforts aren't bringing in any value. Let's hope "subtraction is the new growth" will finally be the mantra this year!