Every founder knows this moment.
Meta costs climb.
Your CEO hears a competitor mention Pinterest.
A board member forwards a Reddit case study.
Suddenly the question becomes, “Should we expand?”
Here is the real answer:
You do not add a platform because it is new.
You add it because it is cheaper.
Meta and Google already reach your full audience. They just get expensive at scale. When CPMs rise, you need lower cost reach at the top and middle of the funnel. That is when Pinterest, Reddit, TikTok, and even DOOH start to make sense.
The test is simple:
Are your mid-funnel costs rising
Look at CPMs, not ROAS.
Does the platform have a real community that matches your ICP?
If not, skip it.
Do you have the measurement to track it?
If you lack incrementality testing, post-purchase surveys, or MMM anchors, you are guessing.
Can you retarget the new audiences on lower-funnel channels?
Top funnel only matters if it flows into revenue.
That is the framework.?
Not “our competitor is testing it.”
Shiny objects drain budgets.
Structured experiments make money.