What is "actual marketing" these days, if not spamming socials?

Understanding how to run paid advertising well beyond throwing money and a budget at a campaign and calling it a day. It’s generally not covered by most solo or bootstrapped founder guides, but in 2026 it can make all the difference. And it may take WEEKS before a campaign can mature before it shows results; depending on the chosen advertiser… which is a little counter to what people want (immediate results, first 10 users, 100 waitlist signups, etc).

You can still pay someone else to spam your product on social media at a fraction of the cost of paid ad campaigns (and a fraction of the results).