Likes Don’t Equal Revenue

Read time: 4 mins

Welcome back, everyone 👋

This week’s Automation Playbook covers:

🚀 Why vanity metrics mislead decision-making

📉 What real marketing performance actually looks like

⚙️ A practical way to focus on outcomes, not attention

Let’s get into it 👇

Last Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to take my son to Wembley to watch England in the send-off series, their last home game ahead of the World Cup.

While the 1-0 defeat to Japan wasn't the best spectacle of football, it reminded me of a saying from a friend of mine, Nick.

He always jokes that when he goes to watch rugby, the rugby usually gets in the way of a good day out.

It was a very similar feeling at Wembley last week.

Coincidentally, earlier in the week on the Ctrl Alt Dev podcast, Sean and I were discussing the impact of AI in football.

We invariably landed on the topic of data, discussing analytical AI, predictive AI, and VAR.

Football is a sport absolutely swimming in metrics.

But the most important point isn't how much data you have.

It is knowing which metrics actually matter.

A team can boast 80 percent possession, but if they fail to score a goal, they can’t win the match.

Which leads us directly into this week's newsletter: why social media likes are the business equivalent of tracking possession, and how to be selective about your data.

Much like possession, social media engagement creates a comforting sense of momentum, but it can be highly deceptive.

A founder shared their latest campaign results with me last week.

'Best performing post this year.'

Huge reach.

Thousands of likes.

Strong engagement

On paper, it looked like a win.

So I asked a simple question.

“What did it lead to?”

A pause.

Because this is where most marketing quietly breaks down.

We measure attention.

But we rarely measure what happens next.

And that gap is where performance gets distorted.

Why vanity metrics mislead decision-making

Metrics like likes, views and impressions are easy to track.

They give instant feedback.

They create a sense of momentum.

But they do not tell you whether anything meaningful is happening.

They do not show if passive interest is actually turning into intent and leading to real outcomes.

Without that, you are optimising for visibility, not value.

Nugget #1: If the metric does not connect to revenue, it is not a performance metric.

What real marketing performance actually looks like

Strong marketing does not just attract attention.

It attracts the right kind of attention.

The kind that leads to questions.

The kind that leads to conversations.

The kind that signals real interest.

This requires a shift.

From broad messaging to specific problems.

From general awareness to clear relevance.

When someone sees themselves in the message, they respond differently.

They do not just engage, they act.

Nugget #2: The goal is not to be seen. The goal is to be relevant.

A practical way to focus on outcomes, not attention

I worked with a business that was consistently producing content with strong engagement.

But results were inconsistent.

Some weeks felt busy. Others felt quiet.

Nothing predictable.

We focused on one adjustment.

Instead of measuring how content performed publicly, we tracked what happened privately.

We tracked the leading indicators that bridge the gap between marketing activity and actual revenue:

1. Conversations started

2. Responses received

3. Follow-ups booked

Over time, patterns emerged.

Certain topics created traction. Others did not.

The team adjusted accordingly.

Less noise. More signal.

The result?

• More consistency.

• Clearer direction.

• Better alignment between effort and outcome.

Nugget #3: What happens after the click matters more than the click itself.

What you can do this week

🔹 Review your recent content and identify what led to actual conversations

🔹 Separate engagement from outcomes

🔹 Double down on what creates real responses

🔹 Take our Escape the Chaos audit or book a 1-on-1 call with me to help map your marketing metrics directly to your revenue

You do not need more visibility.

You need more clarity on what drives results.