Engagement Isn’t Sales: Rethinking Social Media Strategy for Real Results

Allie Hughes

If likes were dollars, most businesses wouldn’t need a sales team. But they’re not. And yet, far too many marketing strategies are still being measured by metrics that look good in a monthly report but don’t do anything for the bottom line.

Engagement matters. It’s a signal. But it’s not the outcome. In 2025, smart businesses are measuring impact, not just impressions. That starts by rethinking how you use social media in your marketing mix.

Vanity Metrics ≠ Business Growth

You can’t deposit likes at the bank. Shares, saves, comments - they’re all signs that your content is hitting somewhere. But they’re surface-level. Social media has become a performance space where creativity is rewarded, but conversion often isn’t.

Here’s the kicker: your viral post means nothing if it doesn’t move someone closer to becoming a customer. Content that entertains but doesn’t inform, inspire, or activate is content that’s wasting its potential.

We’re not just making noise. We’re trying to drive business.

Social Should Feed Something Bigger

Social media is the handshake, not the deal. If your content strategy stops at Instagram, you’re missing the opportunity to build relationship infrastructure. That’s where email comes in.

Social introduces. Email deepens.
Social grabs attention. Email builds trust.
Social gets you seen. Email gets you paid.

The best brands know this isn’t about choosing the better channel. It’s about how the two work together. A smart post gets the click. A smart email gets the conversion. When your content is designed to flow between these channels, you’ve built a revenue engine. Not just a brand booster.

Metrics That Actually Matter

So what should you be looking at? Metrics that map to intent and action:

Click-through rates to your website, not just post reach
Lead capture from social campaigns (hello, UTM parameters)
Email list growth as a downstream effect of social content
Conversion rates on landing pages from social and email traffic
Revenue attribution from first- or last-click sources

If your social content isn’t nudging people toward these outcomes, it’s time to get strategic.

Build for the Funnel, Not the Feed

The goal isn’t to go viral. The goal is to build a consistent, predictable flow of interest and action. That’s the magic of social and email. When your social content is designed to start a conversation and your email marketing is built to continue it, you're not just marketing. You’re selling, and doing it without being gross.

Here’s the truth most agencies don’t say out loud: you don’t need more content. You need better use of the content you’re already making.

So, What Now?

If your marketing team is chasing likes but ignoring leads, it’s time to recalibrate. Social success isn’t about how many people saw your reel. It’s about how many followed the trail you laid out and showed up in your CRM.

We build systems for that. At Hughes&Co, our social strategy isn’t performance theatre. It’s performance marketing. We craft content ecosystems where every post has a purpose and every campaign has a revenue target.