A few weeks ago I made a quiz to help you make a decision on whether to invest in my content creator program or not (now priced at $20, I think it’s a steal). I’ve been replying to everyone who took the quiz with some personalized reading about how they might be blocked or what they might want to focus on specifically in the program.
There are some common themes in the answers. One, many people have the desire to write a book (stay tuned for a writing program, coming soon!). Two, many people struggle with perfectionism. The third is what I’m interested in talking about today: many people get discouraged by the lack of engagement, or likes.
So let’s answer this question: why don’t people like our posts?
In the guide I wrote for this program, “Content Creator Companion”, I have a section named “Followers Don’t Matter”. The gist of the section is this:
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We think non-followers don’t see our content
- But this is false; our feed is full of posts from people we don’t follow
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We think followers are guaranteed to see our content
- Again, this is false; the following feed is full of algorithmic influence that can hide your post
Increasing reach is best done by simply posting more. Posting more is done by loving the process of creation. So if that’s the case for followers, what about likes? Do likes matter?
If you’ve been following my work for a bit, you probably already know my answer: it doesn’t. It follows the same matrix as above. Does a post with a lot of likes guarantee your continued future success on the platform? No. Does a post without a lot of likes guarantee lack of sales / follow-up? No. Likes are more like an engagement tool that’s designed to get people’s notifications buzzing, but we make the mistake of considering it as a form of validation.
I’ve worked with a lot of people whose entire practice is debilitated by the lack of engagement. They feel so defeated and bitter when they spend hours of work to create a post and nobody bats an eye. My entire philosophy is, if 1) people are going to see it when they see it and 2) the people who won’t be into my stuff won’t care about whatever I do, why not spend 0 effort instead? Obviously I have a creative urge because I have the will and intention to create. So why don’t I respect that instead of what other people might think about my creation?
But enough about me and my opinions, I need to meet people where they are at. And I think an exercise in obtaining likes IS important so that you actually experience how it is a completely different art from creating something “good”. As in, there is a mechanic to “like-able” content and it is completely separate to the topic of your content. You can apply the mechanics of likability to your topic, but you can’t make the mistake of thinking your topic is likeable or not.
One thing I’ve observed from people over a period of time is, if you’re not getting traction on a particular platform then a switch in platform may be beneficial to you.
Why is this?
It’s because every platform has a different standard for likability. For example, on YouTube thoughtful documentaries that are over an hour get celebrated. But would that same piece of content work for TikTok, an app designed for instant consumption? Substack is a longform writing platform, and would the essays here work for Twitter or Threads? Even for Twitter and Threads, they’re both a microblogging platform but the people who thrive in it speak, perform, and engage in a different way.
The most common love-hate platform is Instagram. It’s right at the intersection of common usage and professional marketing platform. People like the feeling of being on Instagram but they dread posting there. My personal opinion is that on Instagram, people reinforce their liking patterns. In other words, they “like” whatever they already like; it is highly unlikely that a user is going to “like” something they didn’t like just by seeing it on Instagram.
The liking pattern is complex. I can not care about the topic but I could like the background music. I could not care about the graphics but care about the topic. I could not care about the content but I could like the creator. All these different dimensions of predefined personal preference gets reinforced and manifested in the form of clicking the like button.
But then again, this is only my opinion. So I thought, what if I asked all of you? What do you think about what you might like on different platforms? And as always, what if I asked you this in the form of a QUIZ (typeform subscription is expensive, gotta get my money’s worth lol) ?
Take this quiz and have an objective view about YOUR liking patterns on common platforms. Then think about all the other people answering these questions. With more samples you can perhaps have a better idea to the eternal question of “why don’t people like my content?”. After gathering results I’ll share the overview of it in a follow-up email.
As a reminder, you can learn happy content creation from me with my content creator program for $20. Sign up today and ask me questions!
Billy Seol
July Life Coach
julylifecoach.com
