There’s nothing wrong with getting likes.
Views, shares, comments and follower growth all have their place.
They show that people are paying attention.
They help build visibility.
They can bring new people into your world.
But they are not the whole story.
Because if your content is getting attention but not creating the right conversations, it might not be working as hard as you think.
In Episode 3 of Feeling Content, Kofi Richards from Shapeshifter Performance spoke about this really clearly. He talked about the difference between chasing vanity metrics and creating content that leads to engagement, trust and eventually sales.
That distinction matters.
Because not all attention is useful attention.
The Problem With Chasing Likes
It’s easy to get pulled into the numbers.
A reel performs well.
A post gets more engagement than usual.
A video brings in new followers.
So naturally, you want to repeat it.
The danger is when the metric becomes the strategy, you start making decisions based on what might get the most attention, rather than what will attract the right audience or support your business goals.
That can lead to content that performs on the surface, but doesn’t do much underneath.
It might get likes.
It might get views.
It might even get shares.
But does it tell people what you do?
Does it build trust?
Does it position your expertise?
Does it create a reason for someone to enquire?
That’s the bit brands often miss.
Attention Is Useful. But Conversion Is the Goal.
This is where we need to be careful.
Likes and views are not pointless. Attention matters.
As Kofi pointed out, people often look at followers and engagement before they look at anything else. Those numbers can attract more eyeballs and make people curious about what all the attention is about.
So this isn’t about dismissing visibility. It’s about understanding what visibility is supposed to do.
For most brands, the goal isn’t just to be seen. The goal is to move people closer to action.
That action might be:
Sending an enquiry
Booking a call
Buying a product
Signing up to an event
Trusting you enough to keep paying attention
Good content doesn’t just chase reach. It gives the right people a reason to move closer.
The Cost of Content Without Direction
When content is created purely for engagement, it can quickly lose direction.
You might find yourself:
Jumping on trends that don’t fit your brand
Creating posts that attract the wrong audience
Prioritising entertainment over trust
Repeating content that performs but doesn’t convert
Measuring success only by likes and views
That might keep your feed active. But it doesn’t necessarily build your business.
This is especially important for service-led brands. Because your audience isn’t just buying the thing you do. They’re buying trust.
They want to understand your thinking, your process, your standards and your personality before they make contact.
That trust is built over time and it comes from content with purpose.
The Shift: From Attention to Intention
The better question isn’t:
“How many likes did this get?”
The better question is:
“What is this content designed to do?”
Some content should attract new people.
Some content should educate.
Some content should show proof.
Some content should build trust.
Some content should make it obvious how to work with you.
The problem is when every post is expected to do everything. That’s when content becomes messy.
A better approach is to understand the role each piece of content plays.
A Simple Content Structure
If your content is getting attention but not creating enquiries, it might be missing structure.
A simple way to think about it is this:
1. Reach Content
This is content designed to bring new people in.
It might be:
Tips
Short educational clips
Relatable observations
Trend-adapted content
Problem-led posts
This content earns attention. But it should still connect back to what you do.
Kofi gave a good example of this. He talked about using tips that anyone could try, while still keeping the content connected to his niche and the work he does with athletes.
2. Trust Content
This is where people start to understand why you are credible.
It might include:
Case studies
Testimonials
Behind the scenes
Your process
Results
Client stories
Founder or team-led content
This is the content that helps people feel more confident about you.
It gives context.
It shows that there is substance behind the brand.
3. Conversion Content
This is content that helps the right person take the next step.
It might be:
Clear service explanations
FAQs
Offer breakdowns
Pricing context
Booking prompts
Problem and solution posts
Content that explains who you help and how
This doesn’t need to be pushy. It just needs to be clear.
Because sometimes people don’t enquire because they are not interested.
Sometimes they don’t enquire because they don’t understand what to do next.
Structure Makes Consistency More Effective
Consistency matters.
But consistency without structure can still feel random.
Kofi explained that he used to create content based on what he felt like doing on the day. More recently, he moved to a more disciplined system, using Tuesdays as a content day to batch his weekly content.
That is the shift.
Not more pressure.
More structure.
When you know what each type of content is doing, it becomes easier to create consistently without everything feeling reactive.
You’re no longer asking:
“What should we post today?”
You’re asking:
“What part of the system needs feeding?”
That is a very different way to create content.
Personality Still Matters
A structured approach doesn’t mean removing personality.
Actually, it gives personality somewhere to sit.
Kofi spoke about wanting people to associate him personally with Shapeshifter Performance. Not because he wants to become an influencer, but because putting more of his personality on screen helps create familiarity with the audience he wants to reach.
That matters.
People buy from people.
Especially when the service requires trust.
When someone has seen your face, heard your thinking and understood your approach, the conversation is warmer before it even starts.
That is where content becomes more than marketing.
It becomes a relationship builder.
One Post Can Be Enough
A post doesn’t need to go viral to be valuable.
Sometimes, one person seeing the right piece of content at the right time is enough.
Kofi said it well: it only takes the right person seeing your post, sending a message, having a conversation and becoming a client. But it all stems from your content.
That’s the point.
The right audience matters more than the biggest audience.
A smaller post that leads to a serious enquiry can be more valuable than a viral post that brings in people who were never going to buy.
A Simple Reset
If your content is getting attention but not leading anywhere, start here:
Look at your last 10 posts
Ask what each one was designed to do
Split them into reach, trust or conversion content
Identify what is missing
Build your next month of content around that gap
You might find you are posting lots of reach content, but very little proof.
Or lots of behind the scenes content, but no clear conversion points.
Or lots of nice visuals, but not enough clarity around what you actually offer.
That is where the opportunity is.
Not in posting more.
In posting with more purpose.
Final Thouht
Likes are useful. But they are not the destination.
Good content should build attention, trust and momentum.
It should help people understand what you do, why it matters and why they should take the next step with you.
So the next time a post performs well, don’t just ask how many people liked it.
Ask what it helped move forward.
Because the strongest content doesn’t just get seen.
It leads somewhere.
If your content is getting attention but not creating the right conversations, it might be time to look at the strategy behind it.
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