When the Likes Don't Pay the Bills: Why Engagement Isn’t Always Business Growth

By Nwakwesi Milash - Founder Milash Brand Digital 

Earlier this year, I sat across from a client who was visibly frustrated.

Their brand page had thousands of followers. Each post got hundreds of likes, dozens of comments; people even reposted frequently. But when we checked sales?

Flat.

Crickets.

Not a single inquiry had come from Instagram in three months.

She looked at me and said, “Milash, we’re getting all this attention, but our sales dashboard looks like a desert. What are we doing wrong?”

And that’s when I knew we had to talk about it: the difference between engagement and actual business results.

Know this: Likes Don’t Pay Salaries

We’ve glamorized engagement so much that many business owners think social media is about getting attention. But here’s the truth:

There’s a difference between being popular and being profitable.

Your post can go viral, yet your product stays dusty on the shelf. Why? Because most engagement today is fake-deep. It's surface-level—driven by trends, audio hacks, or generic posts that get clicks but don't connect to your business goals.

Real Scenario: The Engagement Trap

A professional service brand came to me after a viral post brought in 5,000 new followers. But guess what?
Their client acquisition dropped by 40%.

Why?

• They attracted followers, not buyers.

• They posted trendy skits and quotes, but gave no real offer.

• Their content lacked clarity on who they were serving and how.

In chasing engagement, they lost alignment with their actual business goal: clients who need premium strategy consulting.

The Rise of ‘Fake Engagement’

Let’s call it what it is.

▪️Not every like is a lead.
▪️Not every comment means conversion.
▪️Not every follow is a future customer.

Sometimes it’s just vanity. And in today’s world of “comment an emoji to win,” fake giveaways, and bots lurking around every algorithm corner, the metrics can lie.

But the bank account doesn’t.

So, What Do You Do?

Here’s what we tell our clients at Milash Brand Digital and what we implement through our training and consulting programs:

1. Define Success Beyond Likes

Ask yourself: What’s the goal of this post?

• Is it to get inquiries?

• To book a call?

• To nurture an existing audience?

If it doesn’t serve your funnel, it’s just fluff.

2. Engagement Should Have Intent

Post content that connects and converts. A real caption can do more than a flashy reel. For example:

Good engagement:
32 likes | 5 shares | 0 clients

Better engagement:
10 likes | 2 DMs | 1 client booked

3. Shift from Viral to Valuable

People may laugh at your trending video, but do they trust you enough to pay you?

If your content doesn’t position you as a solution-provider, expert, or brand authority, you’re just entertaining, not converting.

4. Turn Your Metrics into Conversations

Ask:

• How many DMs did we get?

• Who clicked the link?

• What were people asking in the comments?

Engagement is only powerful when it opens doors to meaningful conversations.

Your Brand Deserves More Than Attention—It Deserves Growth

Listen, we've helped brands go from crickets to contracts, from trending to trusted and the difference wasn’t more hashtags. It was strategy.

If you’re tired of performing online but still not profiting offline, it’s time we have that CEO conversation.

Let’s re-align your content with your business goals, so every post pulls its weight.

Because at Milash Brand Digital, we don’t do basic and we don’t let our clients settle for vanity metrics.

Ready to go from “popular” to “profitable”?

Join our Social Media Strategy Audit or book your Visibility-to-Sales Roadmap Session.

DM us “GROWTH” on Instagram or click here to get started.