#31 Canberk Beker: Breaking free from “paid addiction”

You’ve probably felt the pressure: the pressure to hit your pipeline goals, keep CAC under control, and somehow justify ever-increasing ad budgets.

But what if the real risk to your company’s growth isn’t not spending enough — but spending too much, too predictably, on paid channels?

In our latest conversation with Canberk Beker, founder of ROASted and a B2B growth marketing leader who’s managed hundreds of millions in ad spend and seen the ugly side of “paid media addiction” up close.

Here are the biggest takeaways from our discussion:

Takeaway #1: Paid addiction starts with success, but typically ends with fragility

The story of most paid channels start the same way: you find a channel (LinkedIn or Google, for example) that works, so you double down. Budgets go up. Pipeline goes up. Reporting looks great. But cracks can begin to appear quite quickly.

In Canberk’s own experience, he’s seen paid campaigns work wonders. But these short-term wins tend to hide a deeper issue: the same playbooks get recycled every quarter, and over time, each dollar spent on paid brings fewer returns.

Even when paid was “working,” it still may only touch about 5% of your total market — that tiny slice that’s already in the market for what you’re selling. The other 95% can’t be captured that way, because you need to move them from out to in-market.

The real issue is teams building an entire marketing strategy on something that’s easy to track and quick to show results, but has a distinct ceiling. They become “hooked” on the immediate gratification of paid channels.

Takeaway #2: If everything becomes a campaign, you’re in trouble

It’s easy to spot a team (or entire company) that’s become too dependent on paid. That’s because every marketing activity starts to look like a “campaign.”

* Events are run for lead generation, not genuine connection.

* Content is written just to drive paid traffic, not real thought leadership.

* Success is measured by UTM codes and click-through rates, not by whether you’re actually building a sustainable brand.

Canberk calls this out as a major warning sign: when every part of your team’s output is designed to be “fuel” for paid campaigns, you’re limiting creativity and resilience.

Paid is easy to track, sure. But that’s what makes it a crutch.

The more you let your marketing strategy be dictated by what’s measurable, the more you ignore the slow-burn activities (community, partnerships, organic, product education) that actually move the needle for long-term growth.

And when you finally try to shift budget into something new? Stakeholders panic, because the numbers don’t show up as quickly or as clearly as they do in paid.

Takeaway #3: LinkedIn’s double-edged sword (and why Reddit isn’t a magic wand)

LinkedIn has become the default for B2B paid — and for good reason.

The targeting is strong, the reporting is easy, and the audience is (mostly) relevant. But costs are rising, and the platform’s monopoly means marketers are overexposed.

Canberk points out that while you can “diagnose” your campaigns on LinkedIn with confidence, you’re also at the mercy of their ever-changing algorithms and rising CPCs.

In the interest of diversification, Reddit strikes an intriguing proposition. This is especially true for certain technical or community-heavy products.

But it’s not a silver bullet.

Canberk’s own testing shows that while Reddit can deliver a ton of traffic at a low CPC, the quality can be wildly inconsistent. Only about 5% of that traffic is truly qualified, compared to 40%+ on LinkedIn.

If you try Reddit, be ready to experiment, measure carefully, and adjust quickly.

The big lesson: New channels are useful for resilience, but they’re not a replacement for a solid foundation. Max out what works, but always have a few experiments running so you’re not caught flat-footed when your main channel changes the rules.

The big picture

Paid represents a powerful part of your marketing mix, and in certain contexts it can be a powerful growth engine. But if it becomes the only engine, you’re setting your business up for:

* Volatility

* Rising costs

* Missed long-term opportunities

The teams who will win when the market inevitably shifts are the ones who break this cycle — balancing paid with brand, community, product, and organic growth.

Some final takeaways from our chat with Canberk include:

* Max out your proven channels, but don’t stop there.

* Experiment with new platforms like Reddit or community plays, but measure quality, not just clicks.

* Don’t let reporting drive strategy. Not everything that matters can be tracked in a dashboard.

* Build your forecasting around repeatability, not one-off spikes. Three months of solid results matter more than a single lucky month.

* Push for balance in the boardroom. Remind stakeholders that true growth means building for longer-term sustainability, not just hitting this quarter’s number.

Ready to break the habit? This episode with Canberk Beker is a great place to start.

Want to hear the full conversation with Canberk? Listen to the complete podcast episode for deeper insights on lead scoring, stakeholder management during attribution battles, and why AI won't solve your measurement problems. Check it out here.

Episode Highlights 👇

00:00 – Canberk’s story

09:20 – Discovering the paid addiction

15:32 – First steps towards fighting the paid addiction

16:40 – Combating seasonality

19:25 – Evolution of LinkedIn as a main paid channel

21:38 – Is Reddit worth it?

26:06 – Budget allocation of established channels vs new channels

29:00 – Exploring Reddit ad types and first steps towards winning the channel

35:00 – Rapid fire questions

37:00 – Is Canberk really going to retire? WTF

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