Busy isn't working

Most business owners I talk to aren't short of effort. They post most days. They've tried reels, carousels, the lot. They're busy.

And still the phone doesn't ring.

After 30 years in marketing, I can tell you the problem is rarely how much you're doing. It's what you're counting.

Reactions feel good. Results pay the bills.

Likes, views and new followers are reactions. They're nice. They tell you somebody saw your post and felt something for half a second.

Results are different. A result is something that moves a person closer to buying from you:

• An enquiry

• A DM asking a real question

• A call booked

• Someone joining your email list

• A referral

You can have a post with 400 likes and no results. You can have a post with 6 likes and two enquiries. Only one of those helps your business.

When you count reactions, you end up making content that gets reactions. Funny posts. Trending audio. Things that do well and sell nothing. Busy, not working.

Every post needs a job

The fix starts before you write anything. Ask one question: what is this post's job?

At SocialHub we use five:

1. Sale. Asks for the business. Prices, offers, "here's how to work with me".

2. Lead. Invites a next step. "DM me", "book a call", "let's look at it together".

3. List. Swaps something useful for an email address. A worksheet, a guide, a checklist.

4. Conversation. Asks a question your ideal client actually wants to answer.

5. Nurture. Builds trust over time. Proof, stories, behind the scenes, lessons learned.

None of these is "get likes". Each one has a result you can count.

Most business owners lean heavily on one or two of these, usually Nurture and Conversation, and almost never post a Sale. Then they wonder why nobody buys. People rarely buy what you never offer.

Check your last ten

Here's a ten-minute exercise. Open your last ten posts and, for each one, write down:

• What job it was meant to do

• How many reactions it got

• How many results it got

Be honest. If you can't name the job, write "none".

Most people find the same pattern. Lots of posts with no job. Lots of reactions. Very few results. And at least one of the five jobs missing entirely.

That's not a failure. It's the most useful information you'll get all month, because now you know exactly what to change.

Your job this week

Before you write your next post, give it a job. Then, a week later, count the result, not the likes.

Do that for a month and you'll know more about what works for your business than any algorithm update could tell you.

Want the audit on paper? I've made a free two-page Results Audit that walks you through your last ten posts and helps you plan the next five. Comment AUDIT on any post this week and I'll send it over.

The week at a glance

Every post does one of the five jobs, and every one points to the free Results Audit (keyword AUDIT).