In Digital Marketing, MVP Channels Matter, But the Strength of Your Weak Links Decide the Game

In The Numbers Game, Chris Anderson and David Sally proposed the “strong link versus weak link” theory. They looked at this through the lens of sports. Soccer is a weak link sport. Every player touches the ball and is essential to the team’s success. If one player consistently makes mistakes, that’s when opposing teams often score goals. And one goal is usually the difference between winning and losing. Basketball is a strong link sport in that a single superstar can carry the team. More often in basketball, you hear about a player taking over a game. 

Soccer superstars like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo drive interest in their teams and become like fancy sports cars that team owners can show off. But the goal is to win as much as possible, right? You absolutely can and should invest in your star players, but it’s the strength of your weakest players that is more likely to drive success. 

Digital marketing is more soccer than basketball. Whether it’s paid search, paid social, email, or SEO, relying exclusively on one channel (even if you're brilliant at it) is risky. Weak links, channels that underperform, can drag your overall performance down. Let’s dig into how weak links can ripple through your entire strategy.

How Weak Links Undermine Your Marketing

When one channel falters, or when you lean too heavily on a single source of growth, the entire system suffers. Here are some principles and examples showing the impact:

• Paid search without strong email bleeds ROI.
  A DTC brand can drive heavy traffic through search ads, but without an email engagement strategy, prospects go cold. If search costs surge, general acquisition costs can skyrocket.

• Paid social can’t carry awareness alone.
  Campaigns build interest, but if SEO isn’t strong, competitors dominate organic rankings, and long-term visibility stalls.

• Neglecting email leaves retention on the table.
  Brands that rely solely on ads often watch visitors vanish after the first click, with no lifecycle marketing to bring them back.

• Emails can fail as a dependable channel.
  Deliverability drops or spam filters can suddenly cripple what once was a reliable revenue stream.

• SEO is never guaranteed.
  Algorithm updates can slash rankings overnight, leaving brands scrambling without backup channels.

• Platform policies are unpredictable.
  A social platform can change targeting rules with little warning, cutting off access to core audiences.
  

Marketing isn’t a one-trick pony. Over-reliance on a single channel, or failure to shore up weak links, exposes brands to higher costs, missed conversions, and lost momentum across every touchpoint.

Channel Teamwork: Every Role Matters

Think of your digital marketing channels as a team:

• Star players
  Maybe TikTok content resonates wildly with your brand audience. That’s your headline channel, but not the whole team.

• Role players
  Email supports retention. Other paid social channels build awareness. SEO provides steady, low-cost discovery.

Neglect one, and your marketing “team” weakens.

Framework for Minimizing Your Weak Links

Here’s how to patch weak links and reinforce your marketing chain:

1. Audit your channels
   Identify which are overperforming and which are underperforming or lacking altogether.

2. Invest strategically
   Prioritize role‑players, channels like email and SEO that boost retention and sustainable growth. A drop in one area, say, paid search, can be cushioned by strong email engagement or SEO.

3. Test and adjust
   If paid media spikes, test complementary investment in SEO. If email engagement dips, audit deliverability and content.

4. Integrate your channels
   Let SEO, email, paid social, and paid search work together instead of in isolation. Email campaigns drive returning website visits. Paid media amplifies content that performs well in SEO.

5. Monitor for weak links continually
   Set KPIs to catch underperformers early, don’t wait until they break their results really drop off.

Dive into channel specifics with these other blog posts:

• How creative impacts performance: You’re only as successful as your creative 

• Gauge the strength of your email program: What healthy email automation looks like in 2025

• Why SEO and paid media work better together: SEO and paid media better together

Final Thoughts

Strong marketing strategies rely on balanced, durable channel performance, not just star performers. Patch weak links, build teamwork across channels, and your ROI will be stronger for it.

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Learn how Foghorn Labs can help you build a comprehensive digital marketing strategy