It's Not How Many People You Reach — It's Who you reach with Marketing
Thanks to the internet, technology, and AI, even an average user can now reach millions of people online. Through an influencer, even with a relatively modest budget, brands can reach hundreds of thousands — sometimes millions — of users on social media.
But views and engagement numbers don't actually tell you whether the money you spent came back to you. Watching the industry lately, I'm seeing more and more complaints that influencer marketing isn't delivering the results it once promised.
If the foundation of your marketing strategy is "finding the most popular platform" or "reaching the most people," you may already be heading in the wrong direction from the very first step.
Yes, statistics might tell you that out of 10 million people reached, 0.7% convert into sales. But if you start by asking the right questions, you can reach far fewer people — and still achieve a much higher conversion rate:
Who do I actually want to reach?
Who do I want to sell to?
Who could become my brand ambassadors?
Who should be telling my story, to whom, and how?
Which of my strengths should be highlighted, and by whom?
Because what matters today isn't how many people you reach — it's who you reach.
Instead of being "visible" to millions and hoping a handful notice you amid a storm of ads and information overload, you should find your brand's niche and target it directly. Sometimes a niche industry publication outperforms a mainstream newspaper with massive circulation; sometimes supporting a relevant university club's events delivers far more return than sponsoring a TV competition.
That's why companies shouldn't throw their budgets at whatever's trending. Strategy first — then the plan.
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