Well, that was a whirlwind!

This morning I opened my email to the shocking news from Melissa Henault: LinkedIn is canceling its coveted Top Voice Gold Badge. Literally an hour later, I went to pull something from my LinkedIn profile, and what do I see? My freshly minted badge for Small Business Top Voice proudly displayed—only to realize the countdown is on and it’s leaving me in 60 short days. The drama!

This was a perfect reminder that social media is like renting an apartment—you don’t really own the space . I learned this the hard way back in the early days of Facebook, when everything was organic. We—small business owners, consultants, and creators—poured our hearts into building audiences. Then, Facebook changed the rules: now, you’d better cough up some money if you wanted to reach that very audience you spent years cultivating. The betrayal!

That lesson stuck with me. Social media should absolutely be part of a smart marketing strategy, but it can't be the whole strategy. And it should be diversified, at that. Please note I am NOT suggesting you need to be on every single platform. There’s nothing worse than a “ghost” profile—a social media page you started but never update or engage with. It’s like inviting someone to a party in an empty house.

I once listened to a business podcast where the host said something that struck me as bizarre for someone so seasoned in promotion. She claimed that for consultants, a website isn’t that critical. Sure, it’s nice to have one, but her advice? “Don’t spend more than a day on it.” In the profound words of my teenager, “Wut?”

As someone who’s spent, oh, I don’t know, 60 to 80 hours perfecting my own website, I couldn’t fathom that. How could you possibly represent your skills and talents with just one day of effort? To me, a website is the nucleus of any marketing strategy. It’s where you show potential clients that you’re polished, professional, and here to stay.

That’s why my marketing plans always start with an engaging and optimized website and grow outward.

So, when I found out my newest accolade was set to vanish from my LinkedIn profile in two months, I immediately took ownership of it. I screenshotted the badge and added it to my website (it’s now under “permanent accolades” on LinkedIn, too).

And then, apart from writing this post that the whole episode inspired (thanks for the content today, Linkedin!), I essentially shrugged my shoulders and went about my workday. Because, while the only certainties in life may be death and taxes, if there’s a third, it’s that social media will change—and we’ll have little control over it.

A well-rounded marketing strategy is your hedge against these changes.