🐹 The Algorithm is a Treadmill. Here’s How to Get Off.
Jan 11, 2026
Let’s be honest for a second. Managing paid ads in 2026 feels a bit like running on a treadmill that keeps speeding up.
One week your ROAS is healthy. The next, a "Core Update" rolls out, your CPMs spike, and your best creative stops working.
If you rely purely on the algorithm to save your business, you are playing a dangerous game.
We have been analysing the latest insights from marketing heavyweights Seth Godin and Neil Patel, and the data is clear: The era of "hacking" the algorithm is over.
Here is why smart brands are shifting their strategy and how you can use your paid ads to build a moat that no algorithm update can destroy.
🚧 Stop Renting Your Success
Neil Patel calls social media "rented land". When you build your entire business model on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok organic reach, you are essentially a sharecropper. The landlord (the platform) can change the rules, raise the rent (CPMs) or evict you (ban your account) at any moment.
The argument is simple: relying on algorithms is a trap because of volatility. A single tweak to the feed can wipe out 50% of a business's traffic overnight.
The HWC Takeaway: We love Meta and TikTok ads. But we don't use them to rent attention forever. We use them to buy data.
Your goal with paid media shouldn’t just be immediate sales; it should be moving people from rented land (social) to owned land (your email list and SMS database). Once you have the email, no algorithm can stop you from reaching your customer.
🎯 Go Broad or Go Home
A common mistake we see in ad accounts is over-complicating the targeting. Business owners try to outsmart the machine by layering interests, behaviours and demographics, thinking they can snipe their perfect customer.
The reality? The algorithm is smarter than you.
In 2026, the best targeting strategy is Broad Targeting. Why? Because Meta and TikTok have thousands of data points on every user. When you restrict them with narrow audiences, you force your CPMs up and your results down.
How to apply this to your Ads:
- Remove the guardrails. Stop using interest stacks. Let the pixel find your buyers.
- Creative is your targeting. If you want to reach dog owners, don't select "Dog Interest" in Ads Manager. Put a dog in your video. The algorithm will show it to people who stop scrolling for dogs.
- Trust the machine. Give the platform Broad parameters (age, gender, location) and let it do the heavy lifting.
🤝 Consistency > Authenticity
Here is a controversial one. We hear all the time that brands need to be "authentic".
Seth Godin disagrees. He claims authenticity is a myth. Think about it: If your surgeon is having a bad day, do you want her to be "authentic" and sloppy? No. You want her to be professional.
Your customers don't want your real messy feelings; they want your consistency. A brand is simply a promise kept.
The Lesson for Your Content: Show up. Even when you don't feel like it. Even when the ad account is glitchy. Trust is built over years of showing up and delivering on your promise. In the age of AI where attention is cheap, Trust is the only thing you can't automate.
🚀 The New Strategy: Search Everywhere
The way people find brands has fundamentally changed. It is no longer just about ranking on Google.
Recent data shows that ChatGPT usage for general search has tripled in the last year alone. Even more telling is that nearly 40% of Gen Z now prefers TikTok or Instagram for search over traditional search engines.
This means your customers are searching for you on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and AI platforms. <span style="background-color:
