Social Media Is Entertainment. Your Brand Is (Probably) Not an Entertainer.

There is a thing that happens in marketing meetings, where somebody says, “we really need to be posting more on social media.”

Everyone nods solemnly as though this is an unquestionably wise statement instead of a sentence that should probably trigger several uncomfortable follow-up questions.

Like, why? For whom? To accomplish what? And perhaps most importantly: are we actually capable of creating content people want to consume, voluntarily? Like, of their own free will?

Social media has changed pretty dramatically over the last decade, and I don’t think businesses and nonprofits have fully absorbed what that means yet.

At one point, social media functioned more like a communication platform. You followed businesses because you wanted updates from those businesses. Organic reach was attainable enough that your local bakery could post “we made croissants today” and people would actually see it.

Now social media platforms are monetized entertainment platforms first.

TikTok is entertainment. Instagram is entertainment. Facebook is mostly rage, Marketplace scams, the occasional event, and political memes, but still fundamentally entertainment. LinkedIn somehow transformed into a strange hybrid of résumé, motivational seminar, and emotional performance art.

This means that businesses are competing against comedians, influencers, celebrities, cooking videos, conspiracy theories, relationship drama, gaming streams, and emotionally devastating dog rescue content, rather than against, well, other businesses.

Definitely not a fair fight.

Most Businesses Are Not Naturally Entertaining

And honestly, they probably shouldn’t even try to be.

One of the most frustrating developments in modern marketing is that businesses increasingly feel pressure to behave like content creators instead of businesses.

Organizations believe they need a quirky internet personality. Brands are expected to participate in trends, make short-form videos, react to current events in real time, and somehow maintain a consistent “authentic” voice while also trying to run payroll and answer customer emails and do what it is they actually do.

Meanwhile somebody at a regional accounting firm is being told to “make the brand more fun online.”

Ok, sure. Easy peasy.

Not every organization is naturally suited for entertainment-driven marketing, and trying to force it often creates content that feels deeply uncomfortable in a way everyone can sense immediately.

You know the feeling.

A hospital attempting trending TikTok audio. A law firm trying memes. A university writing Instagram captions like a sleep-deprived Gen Z influencer. A financial institution posting “relatable” jokes about burnout while simultaneously charging overdraft fees.

Some brands can pull this off but most definitely cannot.

Organic Social Media Reach Is Much Harder Than Businesses Want to Admit

A lot of businesses are still operating under the assumption that if they simply “post consistently,” social media success will eventually happen.

Unfortunately, consistency alone is no longer particularly meaningful to platforms designed to maximize engagement, emotional reaction, and user retention.

Social media algorithms reward content that keeps people scrolling, reacting, arguing, laughing, watching, or emotionally unraveling for as long as possible. Which means highly polished (but emotionally neutral) business content often disappears instantly into the void.

This is why businesses frequently experience the same emotional cycle over and over again.

First, everyone becomes very excited about “building the brand online.” Then somebody spends six hours making a Reel that gets fourteen likes. Morale collapses. Someone announces that “social media just doesn’t work for our industry.” The account goes dormant for four months before eventually returning with a deeply cursed post that says:

“Hello Facebook! It’s been awhile!”

Honestly, many businesses would benefit tremendously from accepting the harsh truth that your audience probably does not wake up hoping your brand posted today.

Social Media Rewards Entertainers

The accounts that tend to perform best organically are usually doing something extremely well, from an emotional angle. They are entertaining people, educating people, creating outrage, building parasocial relationships, offering escapism, or providing highly specific expertise people actively seek out.

Many successful “brands” online have essentially become entertainment entities that also happen to sell products or services. Pulling that off consistently requires an enormous amount of creative labor that many businesses dramatically underestimate.

That is not a realistic expectation for most business owners, nonprofit directors, school administrators, therapists, attorneys, accountants, or HVAC companies. Nor should it be.

Sometimes Social Ads Make More Sense than Organic Social Media

This is the part many businesses resist emotionally because organic success feels more authentic somehow.

If your actual goal is generating leads, increasing applications, driving purchases, selling tickets, raising donations, or reaching a very specific audience consistently, paid advertising is often dramatically more effective than trying to “go viral” organically.

Ads allow businesses to target specific demographics, control messaging, test campaigns, track conversions, and reliably reach people without depending entirely on algorithmic luck.

That does not mean organic social media is useless because it still helps reinforce trust, humanize a business, support brand awareness, and reassure potential customers that your company is alive and operated by actual human beings instead of an abandoned CAPTCHA experiment.

Instead, many organizations are exhausting themselves trying to become entertainers when what they actually need is a clearer strategy.

You (Probably) Don’t Need to Become a TikTok Personality

I really want businesses to hear this part.

You do not necessarily need a viral mascot, aggressively trendy Reels, dance content, fake authenticity, or a “brand voice” that sounds like somebody forced ChatGPT to spend six consecutive hours on TikTok.

Sometimes a strong website, good SEO, strategic advertising, thoughtful email communication, and occasional genuinely useful social content will outperform a chaotic attempt to become internet famous for posting artisanal candle content three times a week.

Also, and I say this gently, many business owners do not actually want the level of visibility they claim to want.

Internet fame sounds fun until strangers begin aggressively debating your sandwich shop branding decisions in the middle of the night.

Social Media Still Matters

Despite everything I have said here, social media still matters enormously because people absolutely use it to evaluate businesses now.

Potential customers look at reviews, comments, responsiveness, activity levels, customer interactions, photos, and whether your last Instagram post was from February 2023.

For many organizations, social media functions less as direct-response marketing and more as ongoing reputation management, customer service, and trust reinforcement.

Which means the goal for many businesses should probably be maintaining a credible, active, human presence online rather than attempting to become the Duolingo owl, may they rest in peace.

There is (was?) only one Duolingo owl, and frankly I am not convinced we as a people needed even that one.

You Don’t Have to Become an Entertainer to Market Effectively

Some brands absolutely can thrive organically by becoming entertaining media entities. Most probably cannot, and that is totally fine.

Businesses do not need to become full-time content creators to market themselves effectively. They do, however, need a realistic understanding of what social media platforms are designed to reward now and whether their strategy actually aligns with their goals instead of a vague fantasy about accidentally becoming famous online for “funny office content.”