If You’re Marketing All Day… When Are You Actually Selling?

Given the recent changes on social mediam, there are some business owners who are flat-out exhausted from trying to market themselves. But here’s the hard truth — a lot of what’s labelled as “marketing” is actually just busywork that looks productive but doesn’t move the needle.

Let’s unpack where time is being wasted, and more importantly, how to shift focus and make your time work for you.

Creating Content Just to Fill the Feed

We’ve all been there — posting for the sake of posting. You feel guilty if a day or two goes by without uploading something, so you scramble to put out a rushed graphic or a half-hearted caption.

🛑 Time-waster: Creating daily content with no strategy behind it.

✅ Time-saver: Batch your content weekly or fortnightly with a clear goal. Focus on quality over quantity. If it’s not aligned with a business objective (sales, leads, engagement, awareness), it’s just noise.

Jumping on Every Trend

Yes, trends can help boost visibility — if they align with your brand. But trying to hop on every trending audio or TikTok challenge? That’s a full-time job in itself… and often doesn’t bring the right audience.

🛑 Time-waster: Chasing virality with no relevance.

✅ Time-saver: Stick to trends that complement your brand’s voice and message. Prioritise evergreen content that builds trust and authority over time.

Over-Editing Everything

Between Canva tweaks, endless caption rewrites, and debating which emoji to use… hours slip away.

🛑 Time-waster: Perfectionism disguised as productivity.

✅ Time-saver: Set a timer. Give yourself 20 minutes to design, 10 minutes to write, and hit post. Good enough is often more than enough. Let data guide your edits, not anxiety.

Spreading Yourself Across Every Platform

Trying to keep up with Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, and X (Twitter)? You’re not a media agency — and you don’t need to be everywhere to succeed.

🛑 Time-waster: FOMO-fuelled platform hopping.

✅ Time-saver: Focus on 1–2 platforms where your audience actually hangs out and engages

Obsessing Over Vanity Metrics

Likes and follows feel good — but they don’t always pay the bills. It’s easy to get caught up checking your stats multiple times a day and feeling either euphoric or deflated based on a number.

🛑 Time-waster: Refreshing the app every hour to see if your post “performed”.

✅ Time-saver: Track what matters: click-throughs, conversions, DMs, and actual sales. Use those insights to shape your strategy, not your self-worth.

DIY-ing Forever

YouTube tutorials and endless free PDFs can only take you so far. If you’re constantly stuck in learning mode, you’re delaying action.

🛑 Time-waster: Consuming more than you’re creating.

✅ Time-saver: Either learn with purpose or outsource what you don’t enjoy or do well. Free up your time for higher-level decisions.

Forgetting to Build a Business OFF Social Media

Social media is a brilliant tool — but it’s not your business. Your offers, systems, customer experience, and email list matter far more.

🛑 Time-waster: Treating social media like the business itself.

✅ Time-saver: Use it as a lead-in, not the destination. Drive people to your site, your store, or your inbox. Build assets you own.

Marketing should serve your business, not consume it. When done with intention, it builds visibility, trust, and ultimately revenue. When done for the sake of keeping up, it becomes a hamster wheel with no real momentum.

So here’s your permission slip: Stop chasing perfect posts, endless platforms, and likes that lead nowhere. Start creating with strategy, showing up with purpose, and letting social media work for you — not the other way around.

Your time is precious. Market like it matters.