Think like a media company

It’s August — the month to recharge or get ahead.

You’re either off already for the long weekend or doubling down on deliverables. Or maybe it’s just a regular day for you. Whichever way you’ve chosen to spend this time, today’s concept doesn’t change.

So let’s dive right in.

The traditional media company sold content.
The modern media company uses content to sell everything else.

That’s a super simplified version of the concept we’re diving into today.

This mindset flipped my thinking a few years ago, and it’s been top of mind lately — whether it’s the physical product brand I launched this year, or the nonprofits and founders I advise…

If you’re ever rethinking your content strategy, or what to post on social media today:

Once you stop asking “What can I promote or ask for today?” 
and start asking, “What can I publish or share today?” 
a lot will change.

I just uploaded this video for today’s newsletter.
You may want to give it a quick watch for context for the rest of the newsletter:

The broadcast button is in everyone’s pocket

When brands needed the public’s attention in the 20th century, they rented airtime from newspapers, radio, or TV.

Today, we each own a studio, signal, and distribution network.

Yet so many brands and organizations still treat content like a sporadic sales flyer instead of a daily program schedule.

And that could be costly.

Recent studies estimate that a single person scrolls past anywhere from 4,000 to over 10,000 commercial messages every day.

At the same time, 60 % of consumers say they now buy, switch, or avoid brands based on whether the brand’s public stance (seen through their content) aligns with their own values.

Add the fact that content marketing delivers 3 times as many leads while costing 62 % less than outbound tactics, and the business case is obvious.

Sustained, value-first publishing beats intermittent promotion every time. (That’s why I’m offering a training on Social Media & Content Strategy for Growth and consulting on it here).

So there’s a reason for thinking about your brand or organization as a media company when it comes to your content strategy.

What do you mean “media company”?

A media company was traditionally an organization whose entire business model revolved around producing and distributing content at scale — newspapers, magazines, broadcast TV and radio. They trade attention for ad dollars across a handful of often expensive, gate-kept channels.

But today, the definition of a media company has expanded. It now includes any organization (or individual) that creates, curates and delivers content across digital platforms with the goal of attracting, engaging and monetizing an audience. That might be a legacy publisher launching podcasts, a fintech app running its own newsroom, or a startup brand turning TikToks and newsletters into deal flow.

Content is no longer a cost centre but a growth engine — fuel for product sales, memberships, data, and community.

Now that we’re on the same “page”, here’s how you can adapt this mindset to your content.

Media-Company Mindset: My 4 Pillars

1. Program like a network, not a megaphone
Networks schedule news at 6 pm, late-night at 11 pm, and reruns when attention is low. Your brand could do the same: quick tips on TikTok, deeper analysis in the newsletter, raw behind-the-scenes in your Stories, for example. Predictability builds the habit loop.

2. Lead with the 80/20 value ratio
If 8 out of 10 pieces educate or entertain, the two overt “commercials” feel natural, just like ad breaks during your favourite show. Flip that ratio, and you become background noise.

3. Curate beyond your own product
Think of yourself as the DJ of your community’s feed. Share industry data, relevant cultural moments, and even memes that resonate with their lives, if that fits your brand voice. If your channel becomes a destination, rather than a billboard, you’ve won.

4. Document instead of inventing
Gary Vaynerchuk’s 2017 message still rings true: “There is no reason to do anything other than act like a media company in today’s digital age.” You already generate meetings, prototypes, speeches, and customer questions. So capture it — film, take photos, write them up in real time — then work them into your social and content strategy. (This is an extremely basic concept to be sharing in August 2025, but as I see from my workshops, so many still aren’t doing it).

I also like what Gary shared as an updated version in this video:

Some practical things you can action now

Time to take some action in this long-weekend edition of The Intersection.

A quick-start “programming grid” you can use

• Daily: 30-second behind-the-scenes clips. Raw and unedited (+ captions).

• Weekly: Curated resource, link, or stat your audience cares about or would be entertained by (not necessarily about your product).

• Bi-weekly: Long-form piece—case study, opinion column, or Q&A.

• Monthly: Live AMA, webinar, or in-person workshop/event to deepen community ties.

• In-Between: Recaps, summaries, quotes and clips — repurposing some of this content in different formats and channels.

These slots give your audience a reason to tune in regularly, and give you a basic framework that prevents “what do we post today?” paralysis.

Prompts to keep you “on air”

1. Audit last week’s feed. How many posts were pure sales pushes? If it’s more than 1/5, plan at least two value-add pieces before your next promo.

2. Set a recurring calendar invite called “record one thing”. Shoot whatever you’re working on when the notification pops, then post it.

3. Ask your community. Drop a story poll, or do a quick survey, giving your audience a choice about what they’d like to see more of or featured next.

Why this matters now

Attention is the currency, and content is the cost of entry.

When ads blur into the scroll and trust decides the sale, the brands that behave like publishers will outlast those that behave like pushy vendors.

So the next time you’re tempted to blast another promo graphic, pause and ask:

What would a broadcaster publish at this hour?

Then go curate it, hit record, write the piece, or find a link, and keep the signal alive.

Thanks for reading The Intersection. If this helps you rethink your own content strategy, or know a founder or nonprofit who’s still stuck in billboard mode, please pass it along.

The more value we broadcast, the less noise we all have to mute.

See you in the feed?

Daniel