For over 8 years of working alongside hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the question the DPS.MEDIA team hears most often from business owners is not “how can we make our products better,” but rather: “How can your channel get more views?”, “Why hasn't this month's video gone viral?”.

That mindset is entirely understandable. Watching view counts skyrocket into the hundreds of thousands, with notification bells constantly ringing in the app, brings an irresistible sense of satisfaction. But what often follows is a bitter disappointment: views explode spectacularly, yet the consultation inbox remains empty, the hotline does not ring once all week, and by the end of the month, the business is still sweating over rent and staff salaries. You are falling into an invisible trap: the million-view trap.

Social media platform algorithms are designed to keep users on their screens for as long as possible, not to sustain your business model. If you fail to distinguish between “entertainment views” and “conversion rates,” your business can easily become an unpaid worker for the algorithm.

1. The Million-View Illusion: Are You Running a Business or Working for the Algorithm?

Is it difficult to get lots of views on social media these days? Not at all. Jump on a trending dance, perform a sensational drama skit, edit together shocking statements, or write cheap clickbait headlines... and the views will naturally soar. Crowds are always curious about easily consumable entertainment.

But take another look at that audience. Who are they?

Most are people mindlessly scrolling through their screens in their spare time. They tap the like button, watch 15 seconds, and swipe to the next clip. Three seconds later, they no longer remember who you are, what your brand stands for, or what solution you are selling.

Applying that mindset to commerce is a costly mistake. A workshop producing premium natural wood tables and chairs cannot survive on the joking comments of students who happen to come across a situational comedy clip. The number of viewers does not determine sales capability; only the relevance of the viewers creates revenue.

Vanity views create a glamorous outward appearance. They lull marketing teams into complacency with beautiful but hollow reports, while the company's actual cash flow gradually dries up.

2. Casual Visitors and 1,000 Loyal Customers: What Does a Business Really Need?

In a classic essay published in 2008, Wired magazine founder Kevin Kelly introduced the concept of 1,000 True Fans (1,000 genuine fans). The central argument is that to thrive through creative work or independent business, you do not need millions of followers; you only need 1,000 people who genuinely trust you, are willing to support you, and will pay for any worthwhile product you create.

For SMEs, this philosophy is more relevant than ever. You do not need millions of people applauding you from the sidelines. You only need a few hundred to a thousand customers who understand your business's value, are willing to buy repeatedly, and proactively recommend your services to their friends.

Consider the real-world case of Trường Thịnh Natural Wood Furniture Workshop (Bình Dương), a former DPS.MEDIA partner. Previously, the workshop outsourced trend-based transformation videos of its woodworking facility, achieving 1.8 million views on TikTok but failing to generate even a single completed order. After restructuring its content strategy, the workshop switched to a series of simple, 3–5-minute videos that carefully explained how to distinguish genuine imported oak wood from veneer-laminated particleboard. The videos received just over 16,000 views—a modest figure on social media. But the result was that 14 homeowners preparing to complete their townhouses proactively contacted the workshop to schedule on-site measurements, bringing in construction contracts worth more than VND 680 million in total.

16,000 people with the right needs are worth tens of thousands of times more than 2 million viewers who watch for a laugh and then forget everything.

3. From “Public Traffic” to “Owned Home Turf”: The Way Out of Platform Dependency

The biggest difference between an amateur content creator and a brand strategist lies in the concepts of: Public Traffic and Private Domain (Owned Digital Assets).

• Public Traffic: This is the volume of views you earn on TikTok, Facebook Reels, and YouTube Shorts. It is like a stream of pedestrians on a crowded street. You stand on the sidewalk and pitch your products, and some people may look in, but the land belongs to the platform. When the algorithm restricts engagement, your account is mistakenly flagged, or distribution costs skyrocket, you can be left with nothing.
• Private Domain (Owned Home Turf): These are direct-access channels over which you have full ownership and control—your own website, Zalo OA contact lists, and loyal customer data stored in your internal systems.

The right purpose of creating content on social media is not to rack up views for a good-looking channel, but to use valuable content as a natural filter. Identify people who share your wavelength, resonate with your values, and genuinely have a need, then bring them back to your “home turf”:

• SEO-optimized website: A place to store in-depth knowledge and provide detailed answers to technical challenges that a 30-second short video can never fully convey. This is an asset that steadily accumulates value over the years.
• Zalo Official Account (Zalo OA): A secure, professional 1:1 communication channel that enables you to care for existing customers and send direct notifications at virtually no cost.
• Automated lead-nurturing system (CRM & n8n): Automatically send instructional materials, record feedback, and categorize needs without bothering customers with intrusive sales calls.

The cost of acquiring a new buyer in the market is 5 to 7 times higher than retaining an existing customer who already trusts you. Building a strong home turf is the best defense against every algorithmic disruption.

4. Selling to Existing Customers Is Not “Squeezing Money Out of Them,” but Co-Creating Value

Once many people have built a certain following, they often rush to exploit it to the fullest: raising prices unreasonably, creating artificial scarcity, or distributing low-quality products to maximize immediate profits. This short-term approach may bring in a small gain upfront, but it will destroy all the brand credibility painstakingly built over time.

Today's audiences and customers are extremely perceptive. Clumsy sales performances and deceptive schemes will sooner or later be exposed. Authenticity and an ethical professional mindset are the only defensive barriers that no technology can replace.

At DPS.MEDIA, we remain committed to the principle: “Effective Marketing, with All Our Heart”. Business operations are sustainable only when businesses and customers exist in a mutually beneficial relationship that creates value. Customers spend money not because they are manipulated by flashy headline tricks, but because they recognize the care, honesty, and responsibility embedded in every product and service you provide.

When trust is fully established, sales costs naturally approach zero.

5. It Is Time for Your Business to Redefine Its Content Strategy

If you are feeling exhausted from chasing trending dances every week, if your marketing team is struggling with vanity engagement metrics without seeing actual revenue, pause for a moment and ask yourself:

Are we creating content to please mechanical algorithms, or are we creating content to engage in dialogue with the people who genuinely need our solutions?

Do not be afraid of long-form articles. Do not shy away from calm, understated videos without sensational effects. Mature customers with strong purchasing power always seek depth and authenticity before deciding to sign a contract or open their wallets.

If you are looking for a sustainable direction, building long-term digital assets, and turning traffic into meaningful sales, explore the comprehensive Digital Marketing solutions at DPS.MEDIA. Our team of experts is always ready to listen and accompany your business with the utmost integrity.