In all honestly here, there’s basically this very specific kind of stress that shows up when a small business owner opens their phone and sees it. What exactly? Well, someone else in the same industry has 40,000 followers, comments rolling in, and well, everything is perfect. It’s just utter perfection, yet here you are dealing with marketing time leaks left and right because you’re just struggling. In a way, it feels hopeless, right?
But there’s just one thing you absolutely need to keep in mind here, well, all business owners have to keep in mind, but it often gets neglected. So, a large following can look like success, but it doesn’t automatically equal money. Please read that again! Now, sure, engagement can look like demand, but it doesn’t automatically equal sales. And marketing can make people notice a business, but sales is what makes people actually buy. Those aren’t the same job, even though people treat them like they are.
Attention and Engagement isn’t the Same Thing as Customers
Attention’s easy to confuse with traction because attention’s visible. It shows up as likes, shares, comments, and follower counts. It feels like proof. It feels like progress. It feels like something’s happening. Well, there’s a lot of feels (marketing in general plays into that). Just understand first that attention doesn’t pay bills unless it gets converted into something real. Leads, inquiries, email subscribers, booked calls, purchases, repeat buyers. The stuff that actually keeps a business alive.
So, a lot of followers are also just… people. Well, some are bots, and apparently, AI/bots are getting bad, too. But anyway, these followers are just random people. People who like watching content but have no intention of buying (you might be similar when it comes to who and what you follow on social media). People who live nowhere near the service area. People who think the products are cute but aren’t actually shopping. People who save posts because they like the aesthetic, not because they’re about to pull out a credit card.
Now, with that part said, awareness still matters. It’s not like it’s useless or anything. But it’s only one piece, and it’s the top-of-funnel piece. If a business stops there, it’s like throwing a party and never telling anyone what the event is.
No, Marketing and Sales Aren’t Twins
Alright, so this was already mentioned before, but it really helps to bring this up again; marketing and sales get lumped together because they sit near each other in the business world. But they do different things. Think of it like this: marketing gets someone interested. Sales gets someone to commit. You see, there’s actually a difference here.
Plus, marketing creates attention, curiosity, and familiarity, while sales handles clarity, trust, pricing confidence, and the moment where a person decides that they’re actually doing this. If a business has decent marketing but weak sales systems, the result is a lot of “OMG love this” comments and not many payments. Again, it’s a massive difference.
And yeah, by all means, here it can get awkward because most small business owners didn’t start a business to be in sales. They started because they’re good at a service, or they make something great, or they wanted freedom, or they wanted a better life. And to a degree sales can feel pushy, and nobody wants to be that person, like a sleazy used car salesman, that energy is just gross and unprofessional too.
Yes, Vanity Metrics Make People Overspend
So, this is another reason follower obsession becomes a problem. And yes, this is pretty common too. So, it can trick business owners into spending money in the wrong places (and some business owners genuinely seem to think that the more money spent, the more followers, therefore more sales). And it’s not just that, it’s other things too, like paying for content to look more professional before the offer’s even tight.
Buying more inventory because a post went viral, even though the audience wasn’t the right audience. Spending hours making content every day, while the website still doesn’t tell people how to buy ( a surprisingly big one, too).
It can also lead to marketing choices that are designed to perform socially, not commercially. Well, that, and posting things that get likes, not things that get leads, sharing entertaining content, but never giving an actual reason to purchase. Keeping everything super broad so it appeals to more people, even though broad messaging usually sells to no one.
It Might be Time to Get a Professional On Board
So, it’s best to start out with this; a lot of small business owners will either look into a marketing agency, freelancer, or even hire someone, and there’s the expectation that they’re going to work on social media, make content, and that’s going to convert to followers and sales. Well, that, and the expectation of going viral, too, that’s another one. But you need to drop that mindset when it comes to getting help from a professional be it outsourced or hired.
If the business is service-based, that usually means a simple booking link, a contact form that doesn’t feel like homework, or a quick “request a quote” option that sets expectations up front. If it’s product-based, it means a website that makes buying easy and doesn’t force people to hunt around for basic information like shipping time, returns, and sizing. And paid traffic can help here, too, because it brings intent into the picture. One thing a lot of businesses don’t realize is that social media attention’s often passive.
But when it comes to paid search traffic, at least, well, it’s more active because people are literally looking for something. That’s why some businesses bring in a Google Ads team like Loudmouse Digital, because it’s one way to put an offer in front of people who are already searching, not just scrolling for entertainment. They’re an example, and Google Ads is an example (a highly recommended example), but it’s just to show you that there’s more options than trying to put all your eggs into one basket with social media.
But What Should You Track Instead of Follower Count?
Yeah, it’s true, follower count’s easy to look at, but it isn’t the main indicator of success. It’s basically everything else; it’s these questions, like how many inquiries came in this month. How many were qualified? How many converted? What is the average order value is. What is the close rate is. How long does it take for a lead to become a customer? How many customers come back? How many refer others? How much profit’s left after expenses?
Add Comment