You publish a post.
Then you check it an hour later.
Three likes.
You check again that evening.
Still three likes.
The next morning?
Maybe five.
And immediately you start thinking:
“Nobody is seeing our content.”
“Social media isn't working.”
“What's the point of posting if nobody engages?”
But there's something every business owner should understand about social media:
Your next customer might never like, comment on or share a single one of your posts.
They could still be watching.
They could still be researching.
And when they're finally ready to buy, your business could be one of the companies they contact.
👀 Not Everyone Who Watches Will Engage
Think about your own behaviour on social media.
How many posts do you see every day?
How many do you actually like?
Probably a fraction of them.
You might watch an entire video without pressing anything.
You might read a post and continue scrolling.
You might visit a company's profile.
You might even visit its website.
None of those actions necessarily result in a public like or comment.
Yet the content still reached you.
Your potential customers can behave exactly the same way.
📱 Meet the Silent Customer
Imagine someone is considering having a new kitchen installed.
They're not ready today.
Maybe they're planning the work for three months from now.
They discover a local kitchen company on Instagram.
They watch one of its videos.
No like.
A week later, another post appears.
They watch that too.
Still no like.
Later they visit the company's profile.
They look through previous projects.
They read customer reviews.
They visit the website.
Then they disappear.
From the company's perspective, it might look like:
Nothing happened.
But from the customer's perspective, they're gradually learning about the business.
Several weeks later, they're finally ready.
They search for the company again and submit an enquiry.
That's why visible engagement doesn't always tell you the full story.
❤️ Likes Are Useful — But They're Not the Whole Objective
There's nothing wrong with wanting engagement.
Likes, comments, shares and saves can all provide useful information about how people respond to your content.
The mistake is assuming:
More likes = more business
or:
Fewer likes = social media isn't working
Neither conclusion is automatically true.
Imagine two posts.
Post A
Gets 2,000 likes but attracts people who are unlikely ever to buy from the business.
Post B
Gets 30 likes, but several relevant potential customers visit the company's website afterwards.
Which was more valuable?
You can't answer that simply by looking at likes.
🧠 Social Media Can Build Familiarity Before the Enquiry
For many businesses, customers don't make decisions instantly.
They research.
They compare.
They think.
They come back.
Social media can become part of that process.
Someone might discover your business through one video and then see your content several more times over the following weeks.
Eventually your company name starts becoming familiar.
They understand what you offer.
They've seen examples of your work.
They've heard you answer customer questions.
They've seen reviews.
Then when the need becomes urgent, your business isn't completely unfamiliar.
They've already been exposed to it.
🔎 Customers May Research You Without Following You
Here's another important point.
Someone doesn't even need to follow your social media account for your content to influence their impression of your business.
Imagine someone receives a recommendation:
“Try ABC Roofing.”
What's one of the first things they might do?
Search for the company.
They find its Facebook or Instagram profile.
Now imagine the most recent post is from:
18 months ago.
They might wonder:
Are they still operating?
Compare that with finding a profile containing recent work, useful information, customer reviews and regular updates.
The social media content may help reinforce that the company is active and credible.
The visitor doesn't have to press Follow for that content to have served a purpose.
🌐 Social Media Doesn't Exist in Isolation
This is where businesses sometimes misunderstand digital marketing.
They look at each channel separately.
Instagram needs to generate the enquiry.
Facebook needs to generate the enquiry.
Google needs to generate the enquiry.
The website needs to generate the enquiry.
But real customer journeys can be much messier.
Someone could:
1. See your Instagram Reel
Then…
2. Search your company on Google
Then…
3. Read your Google reviews
Then…
4. Visit your website
Then…
5. Return to Instagram
Then…
6. Contact you three weeks later
Which channel deserves the credit?
The answer isn't always obvious.
Multiple touchpoints may have contributed to the final decision.
⭐ Reviews Can Become Part of the Journey
Imagine a potential customer sees one of your videos.
They're interested, but they don't know whether they trust the company yet.
So they search your business on Google.
They read ten reviews.
Then they return to your website.
Your social media got their attention.
Your reviews helped build confidence.
Your website explained the service.
Your contact page made the next step easy.
That's digital marketing working together.
This is why Page Crowd's wider approach focuses on building credibility across a business's digital presence rather than treating every individual post as a standalone advert.
🚫 Don't Turn Every Post Into “BUY NOW”
If you judge every post solely on immediate sales, it's tempting to make every piece of content promotional.
BOOK NOW!
BUY TODAY!
LIMITED OFFER!
CONTACT US!
There's a place for promotional content.
But your audience may not be ready to buy every time they see you.
Your social media can also:
- Answer questions
- Educate customers
- Demonstrate expertise
- Show your work
- Address objections
- Explain your process
- Share genuine customer experiences
- Show behind-the-scenes activity
- Introduce your team
- Explain your services
Then, when somebody is ready to make a decision, they already have information about your business.
🎯 Create Content for the Person Who Isn't Ready Yet
This is a powerful way to think about social media.
Don't only create content for:
“I need this today.”
Create some content for:
“I might need this soon.”
Imagine you're an estate agent.
Someone might follow your content six months before selling their home.
A wedding supplier could be discovered months before somebody books.
A web designer might be followed long before a business decides to rebuild its website.
A training provider could be researched before a company is ready to arrange training.
A potential customer doesn't need to buy today for your content to have value.
💡 Educational Content Works Particularly Well Here
One of the easiest ways to stay visible without constantly selling is to answer the questions customers already have.
For example:
A plumber could explain:
“Why does my boiler pressure keep dropping?”
A mortgage broker could explain:
“What documents might you need when applying for a mortgage?”
A web designer could answer:
“How much should a small business website cost?”
A removals company could explain:
“What should you do the day before moving house?”
You're providing useful information while reminding people what your business does.
That's very different from shouting:
BUY FROM US!
seven days a week.
📊 So What Should You Measure?
Likes can still be useful.
But look beyond them.
Depending on your objectives and the platform, you might also consider:
Reach – How many people are seeing the content?
Video watch behaviour – Are people actually watching?
Saves – Are people keeping useful content for later?
Shares – Are people sending it to somebody else?
Profile visits – Is the content making people investigate the business?
Website traffic – Are people moving from social media to your website?
Messages – Are people starting conversations?
Enquiries – Is social activity contributing to genuine leads?
Sales – Is social media supporting actual business?
Not every platform gives you perfect visibility into the entire customer journey.
That's another reason not to obsess over one metric.
🚨 Don't Use This as an Excuse for Poor Content
There's an important distinction.
Saying:
“Some customers watch silently”
doesn't mean:
“Engagement doesn't matter, so every post we make is brilliant.”
If nobody watches your videos, nobody visits your profile, reach is consistently poor and your content isn't contributing to any meaningful business activity, you should investigate.
Maybe the hooks aren't strong enough.
Maybe the content isn't relevant.
Maybe you're speaking too much about yourself.
Maybe the creative needs improving.
Maybe you're targeting the wrong audience.
Maybe the platform isn't right for that particular objective.
The point is simply:
Don't use likes as your only measure of success.
📅 Consistency Helps Build a Body of Evidence
One good post can help.
But a strong social media profile is usually built from multiple pieces of content working together.
Imagine someone discovers your business today and visits your profile.
What do they see?
One post might explain your service.
Another might answer a common question.
Another could show your work.
Another could feature a customer review.
Another might show your team.
Another could explain your process.
Together, those posts give the visitor a much better understanding of your business.
That's why consistency matters.
You're not simply creating today's post.
You're building the profile tomorrow's potential customer might research.
🔥 The 10-Post Test
Here's something practical you can do today.
Open your business's social media profile.
Look at your latest ten posts.
Now pretend you've never heard of the company.
Ask yourself:
Can I tell what this business does?
Can I tell who it helps?
Is there useful information?
Can I see evidence of real work?
Is there social proof?
Does the business look active?
Do I understand why I should trust it?
Is there an obvious way to contact the company?
If the answer to several of those questions is no, don't worry about getting more likes yet.
Improve what potential customers see when they investigate you.
👤 Think About People, Not Followers
Businesses can become obsessed with follower counts.
But imagine you're a local electrician covering a relatively small area.
Would you rather have:
50,000 random followers from around the world
or
1,000 relevant people from the areas you actually serve?
The larger number might look more impressive.
The smaller audience could potentially be far more relevant to the business.
Social media shouldn't become a popularity contest.
For most businesses, the objective is ultimately to support the business.
📱 Your Content Has More Than One Job
Some posts are designed to generate enquiries.
Some build trust.
Some answer questions.
Some demonstrate expertise.
Some show personality.
Some provide social proof.
Some keep your company visible.
Some help somebody understand what you actually sell.
That's why judging every post using exactly the same metric doesn't make much sense.
A customer testimonial and an entertaining Reel may have completely different purposes.
Your content strategy should reflect that.
🚀 Your Next Customer Could Already Be Watching
The person who buys from you next month may already know who you are.
They might have watched three videos.
Read two posts.
Checked your reviews.
Visited your website.
And never once pressed the like button.
You won't necessarily know until they contact you.
So don't let a quiet-looking post automatically convince you that nobody is paying attention.
Keep creating useful content.
Keep answering customer questions.
Keep showing what your business does.
Keep building credibility.
And make it easy for people to take the next step when they're ready.
Because some of your best customers could be watching silently.
Want a Stronger Social Media Presence?
At Page Crowd, we help businesses plan, create and manage consistent social media content designed to build a stronger online presence — not simply chase likes.
Want us to take care of your social media?
Visit Page Crowd to find out more.
