You know the feeling. You're hitting deadlines. The content calendar is packed. The posts are... fine. But are they actually working?
In the race to feed the algorithm, it’s easy to slip into autopilot—simply ticking boxes instead of breaking through the noise. But, the truth is, the thing holding your content back might not be the algorithm, client, or the budget... It might be you.
It’s time to be honest—have you been coasting?
This guide isn’t about tactics or trends. It’s about pausing, checking your ego, and asking the uncomfortable—but necessary—questions to help you start separating cut-through content from forgettable filler.
Ready for some tough love? This is your spicy but supportive wake-up call.
1. Am I making content for my audience or my peers?
Are you creating content that impresses your boss or your industry friends, or content that actually serves your audience?
It’s tempting to flex your vocabulary, over-design your carousel, or name-drop in a post because it makes you look clever. But unless your audience consists of fellow marketers, they probably don’t care about your wordplay, reference to an obscure TikTok trend, or beautifully kerned headline.
Take a beat and ask: Who is this for? Would your ideal customer understand it? Would it resonate, inspire, inform, or entertain them? If not, it might be time to recalibrate.
Top tip: Pull up a few customer comments or DMs and check if your recent posts actually speak to the problems they mention. If not, you might be creating content for the wrong crowd.
2. Would I stop scrolling for this?
Be brutally honest with yourself. If this content came from another brand—one you don’t work for—would you stop to watch it? Or would your thumb keep flying?
In 2025, attention is your most valuable currency. The first three seconds are absolutely crucial for a video to earn its keep. So if your assets aren’t immediately grabbing, intriguing, or surprising your audience, unfortunately, it’s already failed.
Check your last few posts. What was the hook? What did it promise? Did the opening visual pop? If not, it’s time to rethink your approach. Being "good enough" isn’t good enough anymore.
Ask yourself: would you double-tap, comment, or share your content? If not, your audience probably won’t either.
3. Is this clever or just confusing?
There’s a fine line between “witty and memorable” and “wait, what?”
Sometimes, in an effort to stand out, we go too far with the puns, metaphors, or in-jokes. But cleverness that confuses your audience isn’t clever at all—it’s a bounce waiting to happen.
Test your content with someone outside your team. Ask them what they think the post is about. If they can’t explain it back to you in one sentence, it might be time to strip it back.
You’re not dumbing it down—you’re making it land. Remember: clarity is key. Clever is only useful if it helps people get the message faster.
4. Have I earned the right to talk about this?
Before jumping on a trend, social issue, or viral moment, pause and ask: Do we have the credibility to speak here? Or are we just adding noise?
Audiences can smell inauthenticity a mile away. If your brand hasn’t consistently shown up on an issue—or doesn’t have skin in the game—it might be better to sit it out than post something hollow or tokenistic.
Instead, focus on owning the conversations that align with your values, products, and audience’s needs. Earn the right to speak by showing up consistently, not opportunistically.
Audit your past content: Does your history back up your point of view? If not, it might be time to listen—or amplify the voices of others—rather than post.
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Get Started for FREE5. Would I care about this if it came from a brand I didn’t work for?
Here’s a gut-check that’ll sting (but help): If this post showed up in your feed from a random brand, would you engage with it? Or would you ignore it, like 90% of sponsored content?
Too often, we’re too close to our own work to judge it fairly. But your audience doesn’t owe you their attention—you have to earn it.
Put your content through a perspective test: Would a complete stranger find this helpful, funny, thought-provoking, or worth sharing?
If not, it’s probably filler. And as we’ve already touched on, you don’t need more posts—you need better ones.
6. Is this asset helping us meet a business goal, or is it just filling a slot on the calendar?
Just because there’s a blank spot in your content calendar doesn’t mean you need to post something there. Content should drive something: awareness, engagement, signups, retention, advocacy—something.
Ask yourself: What is this post intending to achieve? What action are we hoping it sparks? Does it relate to a broader goal?
If the answer is “it’s just a regular Thursday post,” you might be creating content simply to stay busy, not to drive impact.
That doesn’t mean every post has to convert, but it should have a purpose. If it doesn’t, skip it—your audience won’t miss it.
7. Is the feedback loop broken?
Are you still learning from your content, or just posting and praying?
If you’re not taking the time to reflect on what’s working and why, you’re just guessing; and guessing at scale is how strategy dies.
Look at your top-performing posts. What made them land? Was it the hook? The format? The timing? Then, look at your flops—what didn’t work, and why?
Set aside 30 minutes every month for a no-fluff content retro. Invite your team, pull up the data, get real about what’s connecting—and call out what’s not.
Pro tip: Sked makes it easier to reflect with custom reporting, social listening, and actual insights—not just vibes.
8. Would my audience thank me for this post, or scroll past it silently?
Think about your audience as real people, not metrics. If someone saw this post on a bad day, would it help? Make them smile? Teach them something? Or would it just take up space in their feed?
Great content adds value, not always in life-changing ways, but in small, meaningful ones.
When planning your next post, ask yourself: Is this something my audience wants to see? Is it useful, interesting, uplifting, or entertaining?
If you wouldn’t forward it to a friend or bookmark it for later, maybe it doesn’t need to go out at all.
Final thoughts: Good content starts with keeping it real
If this guide gave you a bit of an existential crisis—well, that’s kind of the point! Because great content doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you stay curious, honest, and stop creating on autopilot.
The truth is, your audience doesn’t need more content; they need better content. And it better starts with asking the tough questions—not just about your work, but about yourself.
So, we’ll leave you with one final question: Are you creating great content… or just creating to stay content?
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