Our CEO shares his expert opinion on why “ready, fire, aim” beats perfection when it comes to your social strategy with Inc. Magazine.
Perfection is overrated, especially on social media. Your average TikTok user knows this, but even now it seems like brands still haven’t gotten the message.
In a way, I get it. Taking a chance is risky and chasing perfection is a way to mitigate that risk. But social can’t solely be a world for brands that tiptoe. Not only do you learn faster by putting things into the world and watching what happens—seeing what your audience actually wants more directly than you ever will in a brainstorm. But the culture of social media demands that brands do more than play it safe.
The brands that win on social are the ones willing to look a little ridiculous while figuring it out. They embrace a “ready, fire, aim” philosophy—not over-strategizing and being more instinctual. Take coffee brand Blank Street, who rolled out its popular Spring 2025 “Strawberry Shortcake Matcha” campaign clad in Y2K nostalgia, Tamagotchis, retro songs, and in-person activations. It could have been cringy, but instead the throwback energy felt spontaneous, smart, and imperfect in all the ways that make social media so unique.
It’s not that perfection itself is the problem. Of course, high production value can work if it fits the idea. Look at the Calvin Klein ads with Jeremy Allen White or Bad Bunny. Both were polished to the highest level and they crushed on and offline. But they weren’t successful because they were “perfect.” They were successful because they were culturally right for the moment. They picked the right faces, the right energy, and the right feeling. Then they took a leap of faith.
These types of big swings matter because small, safe moves don’t move culture. But “big” doesn’t have to mean “expensive” or “complicated”, just a willingness to move fast and continually take creative risks. Those brands able to trade in endless approvals and testing for quick experimentation will discover the many benefits of imperfection.
Shifting perceptions
For brands looking to show their cultural relevance, imperfection offers a license to experiment in new ways. Brita is a great example of this in practice—over the past year, it’s leaned into a social strategy that feels intentionally odd, playful, and rough around the edges. Instead of trying to look like a premium wellness brand, it’s embraced this quirky, almost cartoonish personality that doesn’t match what people expect from a water-filter company, and that’s exactly why it works.
Plus, it’s clear that Brita’s committed to the bit. A look at its content shows that it didn’t test its new approach once, then pack it up when it hit a snag. It kept posting, experimenting, and letting the internet meet it halfway. And the more it leaned into that identity, the more people paid attention.
Earning trust and respect
Social audiences are surprisingly forgiving when they sense honesty. They’ll let you trip, test, and even flop, as long as you own it. People don’t expect a brand to be flawless, but they sure as hell expect it to be self-aware.
When a brand can say “that one didn’t land” and move on, it earns respect. You’re showing that you’re listening and evolving. That’s what audiences reward. The mistake doesn’t matter nearly as much as how you handle it and maintain constant communication between you and your community.
Of course, there’s a limit to how far that forgiveness goes. Audiences won’t tolerate tone-deaf behavior, offensive humor, or performative apologies. If you post something harmful, you can’t charm your way out of it. They’ll also turn fast on anything that feels inauthentic—pretending to care about an issue you don’t back up, or copying cultural trends you don’t understand, will get you dragged. But as long as brands engaging in experimentation and not exploitation, they’ll be fine.
Building momentum
A “move fast and make things” approach also allows you to adjust internal processes to be more nimble, less risk adverse and ultimately more creative. By comparison, perfection slows everything down. Every extra edit, approval, and “alignment call” drains the momentum out of the idea. By the time something is polished enough for everyone to feel safe, the opportunity that made it exciting in the first place is usually gone.
And here’s the other thing people forget. A beautifully shot, color-corrected, perfectly edited video doesn’t matter if it isn’t entertaining. High production value can’t fix a boring idea. It can’t replace personality. It can’t replace timing. The internet rewards what’s interesting, not what’s immaculate.
Then there’s the basic reality of budgets. The more premium you go, the fewer things you can afford to put into the world. When everything has to be perfect, you produce less. When you produce less, you learn less. That’s one of the biggest hidden costs of perfection. It limits experimentation, volume, and the reps you need to actually get good.
You don’t win on social media by crafting one masterpiece a quarter. Imperfection allows you to show up often, try new angles, see what sticks, and adjust.
In the end, it all comes down to intention. The content should always match the story you’re trying to tell, whether it’s fast and loose or big and cinematic. All I’m saying is that the mistake is thinking one is always better—that perfect brand campaigns can safely deliver impact. It’s not enough to have the most resources and safeguards. To succeed in today’s landscape, brands must push to have the least fear.
Featured Image: Getty Images