The Truth Behind Low Engagement

Today I want to expand on a recent LinkedIn post I shared. I talked about a pattern I see often in digital marketing. When a campaign underperforms, we tend to point to the platform as the issue. It feels easy to blame the channel, the algorithm, or the format. But usually the real problem is upstream in the strategy, not in the medium itself.

In my post, I said we need to stop insisting that the platform is the reason something did not work. Instead, we should ask harder questions. Did we define the audience clearly? Did we select the right message for that audience? Were we testing intentionally? Did we set measurable goals before launching?

When you shift your focus from blaming the tool to evaluating the plan, everything changes. You start seeing gaps you can actually fix. You also start building a healthier marketing mindset, one that is less reactive and more centered on clarity and consistency.

This does not mean you should avoid new channels or hesitate to try creative formats. Fresh ideas matter. New platforms can open new opportunities. The point is to treat these choices like experiments. Set a simple hypothesis. Identify the metric that will tell you whether it worked. Give the test enough time to produce real data. Then decide what to do next based on results, not hype.

Approaching your marketing this way keeps you grounded. It helps you resist the pressure to jump on every trend. You stay agile, but you stay intentional too. You create strategies that hold up across platforms, even as the digital landscape keeps shifting.

So next time something flops, pause before blaming the medium. Return to the fundamentals. Review your goals, audience, message, and measurement. Look for the moment where clarity might have slipped. That is usually where the answer is hiding.