The Harsh Truth About Social Media and Lead Generation

You’ve been posting diligently. Carefully chosen images, a dash of personality, maybe even the odd video where you bravely pointed your phone at your own face.

And yet… the phone’s not ringing. No new enquiries. No leads.

Here’s the harsh truth: for most small and medium-sized businesses, posting on social media doesn’t generate awareness... and without awareness, you won’t get leads.

People rarely stumble across your posts out of nowhere. They see them because they already know you. They’ve met you, followed you, or been nudged your way by a mutual contact. That makes social media a fantastic middle-of-the-buyer-journey tool (interest → consideration), but a poor way to get new people into the start of that journey in the first place.

The real role of social media in your marketing machine

Let's say your buyer journey looks like this:
Awareness → Interest → Consideration → Meeting → Purchase → Loyalty

Aside from paid ads, social media marketing mainly works in the interest and consideration stages. It builds trust, shows your expertise, and keeps you front of mind. But if you’re relying on it to bring in completely new people, you’ll soon be talking to the same small group again and again - and that group will slowly shrink.

If your marketing machine has no other cogs feeding the awareness stage (like advertising, SEO, PR, networking, exhibitions, or partnerships) posting on socials simply can’t deliver the volume of leads you want.

Other reasons social isn’t converting (even with awareness sorted)

Once you’ve got awareness covered, organic social can still fall flat if…

You’re speaking to the wrong audience.
No clear ideal customer persona means you’re talking to people who will never buy from you.

You’re posting without a strategy.
Random updates don’t guide anyone towards becoming a customer.

Your messages don’t match your audience’s needs.
If you’re not tackling their problems and desired outcomes, they’ll scroll past.

You’re on the wrong platforms.
Your ideal buyers might be on LinkedIn while you’re slogging away on Instagram.

You’re measuring the wrong things.
Likes and followers don’t pay the bills: measure clicks, enquiries, and conversions.

You’re inconsistent.
Wild changes in tone, style, or frequency break trust.

Social media simply isn’t your best lead-gen channel.
In some industries, it’s better as a credibility-builder or loyalty-nurturer than a lead generator.

It’s disconnected from the rest of your marketing machine.
Without a link to your website, email, or call-booking process, leads fall through the cracks.

What to do instead

Decide what you actually want social media to do for your business. If the answer is “generate leads,” you’ll almost certainly need to add awareness-driving activities to your strategy. Then, use social to nurture those people - answering their questions, showing your expertise, and building confidence in you.

And if you’re not sure which cogs in your marketing machine are missing, that’s where I can help. As your fractional CMO, I’ll make sure every part of your marketing is doing its job, so leads don’t just trickle in, they flow. Let's have a chat.