• 2 min read

🔥 Are vanity metrics really worthless?

Follower counts, likes, views, web visits, open rates....

At some point, these types of metrics have been shunned to the outskirts, detached from business goals because they can't be tied to actual revenue. While I don't advocate that vanity metrics should lead your strategic marketing decisions, they matter more than we give them credit for.

Here's why:

The decisions we make in our brand strategy are inherently designed to automate people's decision-making. In other words, we don't want people to think about it too much, but create quick associations to shortcut their decision-making.

As marketers, we design brands around a set of heuristics, which shape how people make decisions—often without conscious thought. Heuristics are mental shortcuts that help people process and categorize complex information, and brands use these cognitive biases to create strong associations and drive behavior.

And what are some examples of mental shortcuts in determining authority and positioning? You guessed it. Vanity metrics. For example:

  • Resonance: When people make non-buying decisions (like sharing, reacting, or visiting) we get instant feedback that our brand resonated with them on some level.
  • Social Proof: High follower counts give legitimacy to us. Sorry, it's simply part of our social fabric. High followings are impressive.
  • Increased Reach: Algorithms love vanity metrics. Your brand will have more exposure
  • Investor & Collab Appeal: There's a market for attention. Morning Brew sold its newsletter for $75M. Barstool Sports sold their social presence for $163M. (Yes, engagement, revenue, and many other factors went into the valuation but none of that was possible without the foundation of a high follower count)
  • Pure Optics: Perceived value and quality go up when a brand has high visibility and attention. Ever hear "any press is good press"? Of course you have.

I absolutely get more opportunities now that my follower count is high on LinkedIn. I got zero leads from my account when my following was around 3k. I gain instant credibility from my follower count.

The moral of the story? Give the people what they want! Optics matter, vanity matters, and tapping into the social zeitgeist AND understanding the revenue-attributing data is a recipe for a winner.

What to know this week

🚀 Launching a marketing career? This is your #1 factor for success.

🤼 Culture clash is real when you're merging companies. Learn how to reduce churn and keep the spirit during an acquisition.

🎙️ Real talk on how my LinkedIn actually took off and how I translate my followers into sales, check the full episode on the Funnelytics podcast.

How marketing actually works (it's not as formulaic as we want to believe)

Hot jobs

Did someone forward you this email and want your own? Subscribe here.

Find me here: LinkedIn TikTok