Mercy Emeka recently shared something that caught my attention: "Trying to please everyone is a good brand strategy. It's the fastest way to grow your brand." She followed it with the reasons it feels tempting: people like you, you avoid criticism, and you stay in everyone’s good books.

And then she flipped it: "It's not." That contrast is the whole lesson.

I want to expand on what Mercy is pointing at, because it is one of the most expensive branding mistakes I see in content and marketing: confusing "broad appeal" with "strong positioning." Pleasing everyone can create short-term safety, but it usually destroys long-term distinctiveness.

The comfort trap: why people-pleasing looks like a strategy

Mercy listed the surface-level benefits perfectly. When you try to be liked by everyone:

You sound agreeable.
You reduce the chance of backlash.
Your content feels "neutral" enough to avoid conflict.

In the moment, that can even look like growth. Your posts attract polite likes from a wide range of people. Your website copy avoids excluding anyone. Your brand voice stays soft and generic.

But the real cost shows up later: when the market cannot explain why you are different.

Mercy put it bluntly:

"You don't stand FOR anything"
"You don't stand AGAINST anything"
"There's not ONE idea people associate you with"

That last line is the killer. If people cannot associate a single idea with you, you do not have positioning. You have activity.

Positioning is not popularity. It is a choice.

Mercy’s most powerful line, in my opinion, is: "Make a choice."

That is what positioning actually is. Not a tagline. Not a color palette. Not a mission statement you wrote once and forgot.

Positioning is the set of decisions that makes it easier for the right people to pick you, remember you, and recommend you.

When you "make a choice," you are doing three practical things:

Choosing what you stand for
You define the principles and outcomes you are committed to. Not in vague terms like "quality" or "innovation," but in specific, observable beliefs.

Examples:

"We stand for simple systems over complicated stacks."
"We stand for premium support, even if it costs more."
"We stand for beginner-friendly education, not insider jargon."

Choosing what you stand against
This is where most brands get scared, because it feels like you are picking a fight. But you do not need to be rude or performative. You just need to draw a line.

Examples:

"We are against hidden fees."
"We are against vague strategy that cannot be implemented."
"We are against hustle culture being sold as wisdom."

Sharing your perspectives and not hiding
Mercy’s point here matters for creators and businesses equally. If you keep your thinking private, your market fills the silence with assumptions. Usually, the assumption becomes: "They are like everyone else."

Why trying to appeal to everyone makes you forgettable

Here is the paradox: the more you try to avoid friction, the more you blend in.

Most categories already have a "safe" language. In marketing, that looks like:

"We help you grow."
"Results-driven solutions."
"Customer-centric innovation."

It is not that these statements are false. It is that they are non-committal. They do not force a decision in the buyer’s mind.

When a brand refuses to be specific, the audience has to do extra work to understand:

Who is this for?
What problem do they solve best?
What do they believe that others do not?

In a crowded market, extra work equals lost attention.

You will lose people. That is the point.

Mercy wrote: "Yes, you'd lose people. But you'd build a great community." This is the part many founders and creators intellectually agree with, but emotionally resist.

Because losing people feels like failure.

In reality, losing the wrong people is focus.

If you serve everyone, you end up designing for the average. But the average customer is rarely your best customer.

A strong position does a few things at once:

It repels buyers who will churn, complain, or haggle.
It attracts buyers who value your approach and are easier to satisfy.
It creates language your audience can repeat, which improves word-of-mouth.

That last point is key. People share clear ideas, not careful disclaimers.

The Nike example: consistency beats constant adjustment

Mercy mentioned Nike: they do not shift their message every time the market shifts. They maintain it.

Whether or not a brand is as large as Nike, the principle is useful: consistency builds memory.

Many brands treat messaging like a weekly experiment:

New offer every month.
New audience every quarter.
New tone every time a competitor trends.

That behavior is often driven by anxiety, not strategy.

When you keep changing, you may feel responsive, but your audience experiences you as unstable. And unstable brands struggle to earn trust.

Consistency does not mean repeating the same post forever. It means your content and marketing reinforce the same core beliefs over time.

"They'll say you're arrogant" - no, you are positioned

Mercy said: "People would likely say you're arrogant but you're not. That's positioning." I agree, with one nuance: arrogance is about superiority; positioning is about clarity.

You can be clear without being cruel.

You can say:

"We are not the cheapest."
"We do not work with everyone."
"We are for teams who want X and do not want Y."

Those statements may trigger some people, especially those who equate "inclusive" with "for everyone." But a brand can be welcoming and still selective.

In fact, the most welcoming brands are often the ones with the clearest boundaries, because customers know what to expect.

A simple positioning exercise you can do this week

If you are unsure what you stand for (or you suspect you have been people-pleasing), try this quick audit.

1) The "one idea" test

Answer this in one sentence:

If someone recommends you, what is the ONE idea they would attach to your name?

If you cannot answer, start there. Pick one idea you are willing to repeat for the next 90 days.

2) The "against" list

Write three things you believe your industry gets wrong. Then rewrite them as calm, customer-focused statements.

Example:

Wrong: "Everyone is lying about results."
Better: "We are against overpromising. We set realistic expectations and measure what matters."

3) The proof inventory

List 5 proof points that support your position:

a client result
a case study insight
a process step that is different
a principle you refuse to compromise
an example of what you turned down

Your opinions land better when you can back them up.

Bringing it back to Mercy’s question

Mercy ended with: "How often do you share your opinions on topics?"

My answer is: often enough that the right people can predict how you think.

If your audience cannot predict your perspective, you are not building a brand. You are renting attention.

So share the opinion. Draw the line. Make the choice. And accept the trade: fewer people overall, but more people who truly belong.

This blog post expands on a viral LinkedIn post by Mercy Emeka, Helping YOU build a Category-Leading Brand | Brand Strategist for growth stage businesses and select personal brands. View the original LinkedIn post →