Final week, I relived an expertise I first had in 2016: I went to mattress pondering I’d get up to our first feminine president however woke as much as Trump.
One private takeaway from the election outcome that’s very transferrable to natural progress is the mismatch between notion and actuality. You assume you’re linked to actuality, however you’re truly not. A filter bubble.
Affirmation bias is the juice that offers filter bubbles life.
Essentially the most harmful bias is being married to techniques or beliefs which have labored for a very long time however have misplaced their efficacy.
A query I’ve been enthusiastic about so much within the final two years as AI disrupts our business head to toe: The place am I too romantic about my work? What techniques have turn out to be empty bullets?
Misplaced Efficacy
Stackoverflow and Chegg have suffered from a structural decline within the final three years. Their enterprise mannequin labored till it didn’t, proudly introduced by AI.
In the identical vein, many content material entrepreneurs and web optimization professionals nonetheless function prefer it’s 2014: Pump out evergreen content material prioritized by search quantity and supported by lots of mediocre backlinks.
You would possibly really feel a cocktail of “nonetheless works” and “not new” studying this line, however in my work as an advisor, I nonetheless see some huge cash flowing into these items. An excessive amount of.
The commonest response after months of labor and tens of hundreds of {dollars} invested is “web optimization takes time.” Simply wait and spend more cash. However the returns by no means come. The consequence: wasted effort and eroding belief in management.
I see 5 filter bubbles in natural progress:
- Evergreen-focused content material advertising and marketing.
- Direct-response mindset.
- Low-brand natural site visitors.
- Quantity hyperlink constructing.
- Forgoing buyer analysis.
Content material advertising and marketing continues to be properly and alive however not in its unique type.
Content material Advertising Institute’s 2025 B2B report exhibits that over half of content marketers battle to measure the outcomes of their efforts and create content material that results in the specified motion.
User behavior is complex and not linear. But when so many smart people struggle to measure impact, it raises the question of whether the problem is technology and resources or efficacy.
It doesn’t help that Google updates create instability. The way I phrased it in (Hard)Core Algorithm Updates:
“Google updates have turn out to be unpredictable as an alternative of implementing a straight line, which makes web optimization much less predictable as a channel.”
web optimization can nonetheless be very ROI-positive, nevertheless it can’t reach a silo anymore.
Consideration shifted from the open net to (social) content material platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn. The soundbite that 40% of Gen Z use TikTok for Search as an alternative of Google will not be a function situation however a generational shift.
Content material platforms are all about engagement (see extra), not a direct response (click on out). Many leaders make the error of anticipating transactional referral site visitors and get disillusioned, finally leaving the enjoying subject for others.
Whenever you look carefully, all in style platforms are about engagement.
Google is the final holdout, however AI turns Search into an engagement channel that isn’t incentivized to ship customers away as a result of the reply is true there. Customers click on out to validate and confirm however to not get info within the first place.
Engagement results in consciousness, and Google rewards manufacturers that get a variety of searches with extra non-branded searches.
If Google’s algorithms taught us one factor during the last two years, it’s that huge quantities of non-branded natural site visitors have to be carried by model (site visitors).
In Favoritism, I confirmed how Google offers manufacturers extra visibility in most verticals. “Model” has changed hyperlinks as an element. They nonetheless matter, however not in quantity. Those which can be exhausting to get have the largest influence. How do you get them? Model constructing actions:
- Funding rounds result in TechCrunch backlinks.
- YouTube promoting results in homepage hyperlinks (if the product is sweet).
- Good fame results in writer protection.
None of this works with out deeply understanding who you need to interact with.
The unhappy actuality is that almost all advertising and marketing groups don’t know the place to search out buyer analysis or have constructed ties to prospects as a result of efficiency advertising and marketing (metrics) labored too properly for too lengthy.
However now that model is definitely necessary once more as a result of it drives engagement (and vice versa), content material must be impressed by the supply: prospects.
New Formulation

The method for stopping a November 6 shock in natural progress: connection + authenticity + encompass sound.
Connection
The truth that NotebookLM’s site visitors surpassed Perplexity within the U.S. when it launched its podcast function exhibits the facility connection.
Whether or not you promote to customers or firms, you promote to folks, and the primary factor we crave is connection.
The rationale podcasts and Reddit are so profitable is as a result of they’re connecting. The other of connection is scripted company content material.
No person is serious about generic, faceless content material – particularly when Gen AI can provide an equally good or higher reply. However first-person, high-expertise content material resonates.
Listening to somebody in your ear is far more intimate than studying (as I’m penning this, I painfully remind myself to pivot to video).
An estimated 100 million U.S. Individuals take heed to a podcast at the least as soon as every week.
The projected advertising market value of $2 billion in the U.S. and $4 billion globally in 2024 seems too low when comparing the 48 million views to date Trump’s three-hour podcast with Joe Rogan amassed with the average 3.5 million daily views Fox gets.
The growth of people appending “Reddit” to their queries had grown for years before Google lined the domain up with visibility that matches demand.
Many don’t like the visibility Reddit will get in Search, nevertheless it’s a direct results of the need to attach as an alternative of browse web sites.
Marching orders: There’s little doubt firms ought to put money into Reddit and podcasts.
Whether or not it’s promoting or natural campaigns, beginning your personal firm podcast will not be as necessary because the query of how one can join along with your viewers on these platforms. Just a few concepts:
- An unpolished video of the founder telling the story of the corporate.
- AMAs or behind the scenes on Reddit.
- Host-read podcast advertisements.
The inspiration is a deep understanding of what your prospects worth, their issues, and the way they understand you.
Authenticity
Creating content material on partaking channels will not be sufficient. It must be “genuine.” However what does that even imply?
I like Seth Godin’s definition: It’s about constantly proofing that who you might be is who you say you might be. It’s very exhausting to promote a faux model of your self in a three-hour podcast. That’s why the format works.
We name a model or an individual genuine once they’re constant, once they act the identical approach whether or not or not somebody is wanting. Somebody is genuine when their actions are in alignment with what they promise.
As sad as it is, Trump’s personality was more important than his policy to voters. Both candidates got very active on the content platform, knowing that 4/10 young adults get their news from TikTok and brands with a strong approach to social media are 8x more likely to exceed revenue goals by +25% than competitors with low social maturity.
But Trump gained double as many followers and hashtag posts than Harris by recording videos with Gen Z influences like Adin Ross or Logan Paul.
Elections, like company Growth, don’t fail or succeed because of one thing, but social media is a gateway to consistently show up with the same story.
Marching orders: Extend brand guidelines beyond just the written word or usage of the company logo.
There needs to be a script for story points, messaging, and audience personas.
Identify employees who have what it takes to be the face(s) of the company on channels like YouTube or Reddit and put them front and center.
Surround Sound
When I speak at conferences, I usually stare into a sea of laptops or smartphones. I do the same when I watch a presentation. We’re constantly distracted and semi-listening.
As a result, connecting and being authentic is not enough to win; you need to be everywhere.
Trump saying crazy things gets him free exposure, and it has worked for him.
HubSpot has one of the most visible blogs in SaaS, nevertheless it purchased newsletters and constructed a podcast community for an excellent motive: to create encompass sound.
As the standard media business crumbles, firms construct small media empires to market themselves.
Marching orders: Work out the place your viewers is and double down. YouTube and podcasts are no-brainers. Be sensible about content material repurposing. Keep on story > keep on model.
On Goal
At this time’s Development panorama is fragmented and disrupted. Methods that when assured progress could now lead us astray.
Simply because the 2024 election revealed a gulf between notion and actuality, many in advertising and marketing and web optimization are trapped in outdated techniques that really feel comfy however yield diminishing returns.
As AI reshapes content material, the successful method is obvious: real connection, unwavering authenticity, and relentless encompass sound solid on deep viewers information.
The query is now not whether or not natural progress evolves however how quickly you’ll adapt.
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Featured Picture: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal