Today I briefly talk about how only speaking to peers misses the real buyers and how shifting to user-focused storytelling builds lasting awareness, trust, and momentum.

Too much of what gets posted on LinkedIn is just ad tech talking to ad tech. It’s content built to impress peers, not to reach the people who might actually benefit from what we’re selling. And when your ideas never travel beyond the inner circle, it’s hard to argue they’re doing much for growth.

If growth is the priority, the orientation of the content has to change. It requires a shift in perspective—who you’re writing for, where that content lives, and how it speaks to the people who make real decisions about using or buying your product. Those people don’t experience the industry the same way we do. They aren’t scrolling through supply-path optimization posts on LinkedIn. They’re looking for clarity, utility, and answers, delivered in formats that match their workflow, not ours.

Meanwhile, most of the energy is going into paid media. Content gets pushed aside, and the whitepapers meant to build credibility don’t make it past the subject line. The industry has optimized ROAS so aggressively that many teams have lost sight of the role content plays in long-term growth. Paid media can capture demand, but it can’t create trust. It can’t build an informed audience. It can’t establish a point of view.

When companies stop investing in thoughtful, user-oriented content, the impact doesn’t show up immediately. But it shows up eventually—in weaker inbound, in colder outbound, in fewer referrals, in slower cycles. Growth doesn’t erode because paid stopped working. It erodes because content stopped working a long time ago.