There’s a mistake businesses make constantly on social media… and it slows growth without them even realizing it.
It’s this:
Your target market and your target audience are not always the same person.
Your market is who benefits from your product or service.
Your audience is who actually makes the first move, the person researching, inquiring, asking questions, and initiating the buying process.
And here’s where most brands (including us, until recently) get it wrong:
The person who benefits the most isn’t always the person who reaches out first.
A simple example?
🧼 Men’s body wash
Target Market: the man using the body wash
Target Audience: the partner who buys it
Totally different people. Totally different motivations.
Where We Got It Wrong (And How We Fixed It)
For years, our content was built to connect with entrepreneurs.
But once we reevaluated who our true ideal client is, we realized something important:
We were speaking to the wrong audience.
Propel does its best work with established businesses, especially those with marketing departments, where we act as the specialized social media execution arm alongside their team.
But our content was speaking to business owners…
while leaving out the people we collaborate with most:
👉 Marketing Managers
👉 VPs of Marketing
👉 Brand Specialists
👉 Marketing Coordinators
👉 Department Leads
These are the people who:
understand bandwidth gaps
feel the pressure of execution
recognize when they need specialists
advocate internally before the CEO signs off
But they weren’t hearing content created for them.
The Shift We’re Making in 2026 (and You May Need the Same)
To reach the right people, your marketing must:
✨ Speak to the leader’s priorities — ROI, growth, risk, results
✨ Empower the doer to make the case — clarity, workload, process, support
Brands that speak to both win faster.
Because speaking to the leader matters…
but respecting (and empowering) the first mover matters just as much.
Why This Is the Power of a Third-Party Partner
An external execution team isn’t emotionally attached to “how you’ve always done it.”
We bring perspective that internal teams simply can’t:
✔ We challenge assumptions
✔ We ask sharper questions
✔ We spot blind spots
✔ We think based on where you’re going, not where you’ve been
Internal teams bring brand expertise.
A specialized partner brings momentum, execution power, and clarity.
Together?
You get results neither could achieve alone.
📩 Ready to Strengthen Your Marketing Department for 2026?
If you’re considering adding specialist support, not another hire, we’d love to help you explore what that could look like.
👉 Book a Strategy Call
No pressure, just clarity on whether a dedicated social media execution arm is the competitive advantage your team has been missing.
