Because your marketing is only good if people are coming back.

Last week, a client emailed me out of the blue.

We hadn’t worked together in 3 (!!!) years.

She’d grown, pivoted, tried other things. But when she was ready to take her next leap? She came back to me.

And listen: that’s the kind of metric I measure my business by.

Not a follower spike. Not a viral post. Not some “woo-hoo, reach is up 48% this week” confetti moment.

A human being. Who remembered me. Trusted me. And came back.

You won’t find that on your dashboard. But that? That’s ROI.

Because here’s the thing no one wants to admit in their launch debrief: your marketing is only good if people are coming back.

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The Expensive Game You’re Playing

If you’re spending all your energy feeding the algorithm monster chasing reach, followers, and views but people aren’t returning?

That’s not marketing.

That’s an expensive treadmill. And it never stops.

You pay, you run, you sweat, the numbers flash, but the second you stop? Everything flatlines.

The only way off is to start optimizing for depth, not just growth.

Because growth gets you seen & you need it.
But depth keeps you chosen.

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The Part I Never Admitted Out Loud

I didn’t always know this.

In the early years, I couldn’t even look at my metrics. Every time I peeked, it felt like my dashboard was taunting me: “you’re behind, you’re failing, you’re not enough.”

And maybe that’s dramatic, but if you’ve ever stared at your follower count at midnight with a lump in your throat, you know exactly what I mean.

So I stopped looking.

At first, it was survival. My nervous system & mindset couldn’t take it.

But what felt like weakness turned into strategy.

Because without growth numbers to obsess over, I doubled down on depth which was something I could control & knew how to do.

And that “accident” built me a 6-figure business with a client retention rate that smokes industry averages.

Not because I hacked the algorithm. But because I built something people wanted to come back to.

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The Click

That’s when it landed for me: growth gets all the attention, but it’s depth that does the heavy lifting.

Growth is loud. It’s easy to measure. It’s sexy. It looks great on a dashboard.

Depth is quieter, slower, harder to screenshot. And yet it’s the thing that actually pays the bills.

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Growth Gets You Seen. Depth Gets You Chosen.

Let’s be clear: growth isn’t bad. We need it.

Followers, reach, views… They open doors. They get eyes on your work.

Depth is equity. The compound interest. The business asset that pays you back long after the first “sign-up.”

Growth is applause.
Depth is ROI.

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The Cheat Sheet

• Growth Metrics (the treadmill numbers):
  Reach = how many glanced your way
  Followers = how many tapped follow
  Views = how many pressed play

They get you movement.

• Depth Metrics (the equity builders):
  Saves = memory (you’re in their head tomorrow)
  Shares = resonance (they quote you at brunch)
  Comments = community density (algos love noisy conversations)
  DMs = intimacy (where conversion actually begins)
  Repeat buyers = the real ROI → “I came back for more.”

Growth stops the scroll.
Depth sustains the business.

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How to Build More Depth

Depth doesn’t just happen. You design for it. Here are a few places to start:

Ask yourself the “why would they come back?” question.
If someone found you today — why would they come back tomorrow?
If you can’t answer that, neither can they.

Make content they want to keep, not just consume.
Scrolling is passive. Saving is active. Write the kind of post that makes someone hit “save” so fast they nearly sprain their thumb. That’s the difference between being remembered in the shower and forgotten by dinner.

Engineer the sequel.
Depth lives in the follow-up. The second act. The callback. The inside joke you return to. It’s not just “post and ghost” — it’s: “oh, you liked that? Wait ‘til you see part two.”

Balance discovery with devotion.
Discovery is growth. Devotion is depth. You need both — but if all your energy is going toward discovery (trends, hacks, volume), you’re feeding the algorithm, not your audience.

Track the metrics that compound.
Everyone’s watching reach. Few are watching saves, shares, replies, DMs, repeat buyers.
Shift what you measure and you’ll shift what you multiply.

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Receipts, Please

And here’s the kicker: the platforms are rewarding depth too.

• Retention > reach. TikTok, YouTube, IG all prioritize watch time and replays over raw views. Because staying power = more ad dollars.
• Social = search engine. Hubspot reports IG/TikTok searches are outpacing Google. Saves + shares are the new SEO. If you’re not creating content people save, you’re invisible.
• Comment density. Hootsuite notes posts with active conversations get boosted. The algorithm doesn’t want spectators. It wants buzzing micro-communities.
• Trend fatigue + AI slop. Later shows audiences are over sameness. Copycats sink. Originals stick.
• Retention = revenue. Platforms boost brands that keep people coming back. Loyalty fattens their bottom line — and yours.

The data is clear: growth buys you attention. Depth builds ROI.

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Your Founder Gut Check

So if you’ve ever stared at your analytics and thought: “why isn’t this translating into sales?” This is why.

Growth shows you got noticed.
Depth proves you got remembered.

And in 2025, buyers are too savvy to fall for vanity metrics. They want substance. Stickiness. A brand worth coming back to.

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The Only Way Off the Treadmill

But don’t confuse movement for momentum.
Celebrate the spikes. Raise a glass when your reach climbs.

But remember applause is fleeting.
Depth pays.

And the only way off the expensive treadmill?
Build something people want to come back to.