Why Vanity Metrics Are the Wrong Goal for Executive Thought Leadership
A lot of people in my industry are preying on executives’ ignorance. They frame likes and views as the end game of social media. But playing for vanity numbers is a cheesy influencer strategy, and it is the wrong goal for a serious leader.
The CEOs I work with want to be recognized as subject-matter experts in their fields. Many of them serve a narrow, specific audience. The only way to rack up massive numbers is to create content that appeals to the masses — and mass-appeal content will not attract the followers who actually matter to their work.
Why viral is the wrong target
Most viral posts on LinkedIn have generic messaging. That is not an accident; it is the cost of broad appeal. It is also one of the reasons the platform has moved to disfavor that kind of content. Recent algorithm changes have pushed back against what I call corny creator syndrome, boosting posts that offer specific industry insight and help people build a relevant network instead.
So when someone promises to make all your content go viral, be wary. For an executive building genuine authority, big numbers mean nothing if you sound basic.
What to optimize for instead
The right scoreboard is not reach — it is influence, and influence is the product of visibility and perception. A thousand of the right people who now see you as the credible voice in your category is worth more than a hundred thousand strangers who will never buy, hire, or cite you.
That means measuring different things: are you reaching the specific audience you care about, and do they perceive you as the expert? Are the right people quoting you, referring you, and coming back? Those signals are harder to screenshot than a viral like count, but they are the ones that compound into real authority.
Optimize for being the answer in your niche, not the loudest voice in the feed. The numbers that look impressive on a slide are rarely the numbers that build a reputation.