7 Reasons People Aren’t Paying Attention to Your Social Media Posts

It’s time for some tough love – let’s talk about why people aren’t paying attention to your social media posts because ultimately, there’s gotta be a reason. 

And no – the algorithm doesn’t hate you. 

It’s likely a disconnect between the content you’re creating and what your community wants to see. I know it’s frustrating as heck (trust me, I’ve been there!) but there’s always something that can be done. 

Let’s review some of the possibilities so we can get you back on track!

1. Your Content is All About You

If you’re always positioning your content around you – your products, your brand – it’s unlikely to connect with your community. People don’t want to hear about you, you, you, they want to know how your products can make their lives better. They want to know what’s in it for them. 

How to Fix It

Use “you” language when you’re writing copy. For example…

We love this new product for its delicious flavour, mood-boosting benefits, and easy-to-digest formula.

OR

You’ll love this new product for its delicious flavour, mood-boosting benefits, and easy-to-digest formula. 

See the difference? It’s so subtle (which makes it easy to implement) but it shifts the conversation from you to your community. 

2. Your Community Doesn’t Feel Seen

The saying goes “When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one.” Seth Godin’s got it right on this one. When you use general messaging, in an effort to appeal to the masses, you’ll end up appealing to no one. 

General messaging doesn’t reach out, grab a customer’s attention, and speak directly to their problems with a clear solution. 

Think about it this way. If you’re hiring a photographer for your spice business, would you prefer to hire a food photographer or a photographer who does weddings, portraits, food, and home? 

You’d probably prefer the specialist because you trust they know what they’re doing. 

How to Fix It

Identify one to two community personas (find out how in my workbook!) and speak directly to them. Use language they understand, pinpoint their exact problems, and use visual content in a format they like to consume. Keep it specific. 

3. Your Content Doesn’t Catch Their Eye

No matter how good your product is, if the content isn’t catching your community’s attention they can’t pay attention to it!

How to Fix It

Pay attention to the kinds of content your community engages with, visually. Do they prefer bright colours, soft hues, or patterns? Do they prefer in-your-face videos or subtle photography? Social media is so visual that paying attention to what types of content catches your community’s eye will help you create more of it. 

Use a hook to capture your community’s attention. For example: 4 Need-to-Know Benefits to Raw Honey or The Supplement Advice Nobody is Talking About. You want a hook that’s bold, easy to understand, and enticing to encourage a customer to actually consume and engage with your content. 

4. They Don’t Know What to Do After Consuming Your Content

While it might feel obvious to you that you want your community to leave a comment with their opinion, share a post with their friends, or shop through the link in your bio, it’s not always obvious to your community.

Reminding them with a clear call to action ensures your community knows exactly what to do after consuming your content, which means they’re more likely to pay attention to it. 

How to Fix It

A social media best practice is to always include a call to action related to your goals. 

If you want the post to drive engagement, ask your community to leave a comment, share it with their friends, or save it for later. If you want the post to drive sales, ask them to send you a DM for more info or shop with the link in your bio. 

5. Your Content is Inconsistent

Do you like having inconsistent friends? Ya know, the ones who sometimes show up, sometimes initiate plans, sometimes help you feel supported? Probably not. 

Inconsistency is annoying – as a friend, partner, family member, and as a customer. 

Showing up consistently helps you build strong relationships with your customers, even if you’re not actually talking to them. When you have a consistent posting schedule, your content becomes part of your community’s daily routine and it can become something they can look forward to. 

How to Fix It

Create a consistent posting schedule that you can stick with. Choose the days of the week and time of day you’ll post, and stick with it. 

You can also plan ahead, batch create content, use your insights to come up with lots of post ideas, and ensure you’re repurposing all of your content ideas to improve consistency. Anything you can do to plan ahead and make content creation more efficient will help you be more consistent!

6. There’s No Substance

The days of pretty pictures and filler photos are gone. Social media is less about picture-perfect feeds and more about value. 

What does value actually mean? Valuable content is educational, inspirational, or entertaining (which doesn’t necessarily mean funny). 

How to Fix It

Ensure each post has a clear goal, and consider why your customer would care about it. If you can’t think of a reason, tweak the idea or ditch it altogether. 

7. Nobody is Seeing Your Content in the First Place

If nobody is seeing your content, it’s a little hard for them to pay attention to it. 

While organic reach is down across platforms, there are ways you can increase your organic reach and get more eyeballs on your content. 

How to Fix It

Share educational reels & graphics, turn your static posts into carousels, use Instagram’s collab feature, and don’t forget the good ol’ twitter reposts. These do so well for improving your reach! 

It is incredibly frustrating when people aren’t paying attention to your social media posts. But it’s also a sign that it’s time to change something. If you have any questions leave them in the comments or send me an email at hi@sarahprice.co!

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First things first, hi! I’m Sarah—social media manager for food & wellness brands. If you liked this blog post and want more marketing tips, tricks, and bev recs, here are a few ways to do just that:

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