Why Likes Donât Matter (And DMs Do)
Letâs dismantle one of the most misleading signals in real estate marketing: Likes feel productive. DMs create income. Most agents arenât failing at content because itâs bad. Theyâre failing because their content stops too early. I call this the đ âContent Without a Conversation Engineâ problem. Whatâs Actually Happening Hereâs the typical flow: ⢠You post something helpful ⢠People read or watch it ⢠You get a few likes ⢠Maybe a comment or two And then⌠nothing. No conversations. No follow-up. No inbound. Not because the content wasnât good â but because there was no next step built in. The Job of Content (This Is the Reframe) Content does not exist to: ⢠Educate everyone ⢠Prove expertise ⢠Perform for the algorithm Content exists to do one thing: đ Move someone from consuming â engaging. If someone finishes your post and doesnât know what to do next, the content is incomplete â even if it âperformed.â Where Most Agent Content Breaks Down Most posts end with: ⢠No invitation ⢠A vague âlet me know if you have questionsâ ⢠Or a hard stop Thatâs like opening a door⌠and not walking anyone through it. The Practical Fix: Install a Conversation Trigger Every educational post you create should end with one of these: Option 1: A Directional Question Invite reflection, not commitment. Examples: ⢠âWhat part of this feels hardest to apply right now?â ⢠âWhere do you see this breaking down in your business?â Option 2: A Choice-Based Prompt Lower the pressure by offering options. Examples: ⢠âIs this more of a content issue or a consistency issue for you?â ⢠âAre you struggling more with ideas or follow-through?â Option 3: A Micro-Action Give them something small to do, not buy. Examples: ⢠âTake your last post and rewrite the final line to clearly invite engagement.â ⢠âLook at your last 5 posts â how many tell people exactly what to do next?â The Rule to Remember Likes are passive. Conversations are intentional. If your content doesnât clearly invite the next interaction, itâs leaving momentum on the table.