Why Customers Ignore Your Content (It’s Not the Algorithm)

In this episode of Full Fat Marketing, Leonora breaks down the real reason your content gets ignored, and why blaming the algorithm is often the easiest excuse in the room.

Using Chipotle as a real brand example, she unpacks why strong content is rarely random, how the best brands build campaigns people actually care about, and why most business content is not hidden… it’s rejected.

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And if you’re building a food, drink or hospitality brand and want help applying these strategies to your business, feel free to reach out at leonora@lrbcreative.com

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Disclaimer: Insights shared are based on Leonora’s experience with food and hospitality brands and are for educational purposes only. Results may vary.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Every week, somewhere on the internet, a founder is staring at their phone like it has personally betrayed them. They posted the reel, they did the carousel, they used the trending audio, they added the perfect caption, and still 17 likes. One of them from their cousin, one accidental, and one from a man trying to sell SEO services in the comments. Humbling. Can anyone relate? But naturally, they blame the algorithm. Which is convenient because blaming the algorithm means you never have to ask the more uncomfortable question. What if people saw it and simply didn't care? I'm Lenora and this is the Full Fat Marketing Podcast, where you'll hear the uncomfortable strategy truths for FB brands that most people won't tell you, but I will. Now, most content is not ignored. It is actually rejected. Important distinction. A lot of content is not being hidden at all. It's being seen briefly and then dismissed immediately. People scroll so fast. In fact, it's reported that you have one to three seconds to engage someone straight off the bat. That is so fast. It's almost like as fast as this sound. Sh. I don't even was that three seconds? I think maybe that was three seconds. But anyway, people do this not because they're cruel, because we're so overstimulated, we're sort of tired all the time and already being hunted online by like six brands, three creators, two podcasts, a mindset coach, and a shirtless man selling discipline. And honestly, it's this is the story of our lives, right? Your content is entering the sort of war zone for attention. So if it doesn't earn attention really quickly, it dies quickly. It's not the algorithm, it's just serious competition. And the thing is, your customers don't owe you interest, no matter how much you might think this. This is where so many people lose the plot. They think we boasted consistently, we worked really hard on it, we used Canva, we made this amazing graphic. That's lovely. It's still irrelevant to the customer. Nobody wakes up hoping your cafe uploaded a quote graphic. Nobody's canceling dinner plans because your bakery posted Happy Friday, everyone. People don't owe brands engagement just because the brand showed up. Attention is earned every single time. Is that harsh? Yeah, of course, maybe. But is it useful? Absolutely, because there is something that you can do to change it. Look at Chipotle. This is a perfect example. If you don't know Chipotle, it is a fast food US chain that has since opened chains all over the world. They offer sort of Mexican foods to say like burritos, burrito bowls, sort of all sorts of stuff. Their food's really delicious. And their social media page on Instagram is really cool. I mean, if you've got a minute, go check it out. It's just hilarious. They've got really cool like memes and they've got really cool sort of graphics and really relatable videos, things that will genuinely make you laugh. And from there, they've built like a huge audience. And their success online is not just someone in the office randomly posting these memes and hoping for the best. This is where people misunderstand great brand content. And now I know it might be hard to believe that someone is getting paid for the type of content they put out, but I guarantee they have a whole team that sits down and completely dissects every single post with a fine tooth comb, no matter how at first glance, how chaotic their feed or their posts might seem. Behind strong social media is usually serious strategy. You've got clear campaign pillars, audience understanding, tone of voice decisions, creative consistency, behavioral insight, a proper understanding of what makes people engage. In other words, it looks really fun on the surface because the thinking underneath is really sharp. They resonate so much with their target audience, it's a joke. To give you an example, Chipotle's bio reads: Cilantra lime sauce has entered the chat. And something as simple as that makes the brand so culturally relevant as well. They could have posted like close-up burritos or team member smiles or fresh ingredients daily, national avocado day graphics nobody cares about. But instead, they've built content around serious internet culture, humor, participation, and relevance as well, because that is their brand. That is where their brand, they want to take their brand to as well. And more importantly, they behave like a brand that understands the platforms they're on too. That doesn't happen by accident. That happens when content is treated like strategy, not just admin or a chore that you have to tick off every Friday. And that's the real lesson here. And let me be blunt, as a nice change, as if a lot of brand content is just digital wallpaper. It's there. Nobody asked for it, nobody remembers it, nobody would notice if it vanished tomorrow. But if you want serious attention, you've got to build it properly. And let me be clear: not every post needs to be chaos. And for so many brands, this model absolutely does not work. And it won't work for your audience or for the people who follow you. If you want content to work, you need more than random posting. And don't work on the virality. I know that I mentioned this yesterday as well, but slow and steady wins the race, no matter how many overnight successes have taken years to build that you think have done this literally in 24 hours. You need pillars based on your exact brand personality and your target audience as well. Themes people recognize, messages worth repeating, a consistent feeling, a reason to follow, a reason to come back, pain points you target to resonate with the consumer as well. You have to be targeting their real life problems in a certain way, however, your brand personality is then dictated. That could be, again, through fun and entertainment, can be more educational, it could be more aesthetic, but there has to be something that you're actually giving the customer. And the best content strategies are not actually built post by post. They're built around ideas the brand can own repeatedly. Safe content is usually invisible content and random content is usually forgettable content. So if you're a founder, operator, or marketing manager listening to this, here's the practical takeaway from this episode. Before posting anything on social media, ask yourself, is this part of a bigger content idea? Would a stranger stop for this? Would they stop, would it stop the scroll? Does this feel alive or does it feel more corporate? Are we entertaining, helping, or provoking thought? Who exactly are we trying to target? If our brand were a person, who would it be? Are we building recognition or are we just filling the calendar? If maybe your social platforms aren't performing as well as you'd hope, do not blame the algorithm. Blame the fact there was no real strategy behind it. The good news is this is fixable though. So take that advice and really try and answer those questions because it will really help you start building the back base and the foundations of your content. And that is the Full Fat version. Tomorrow I'm talking about how Rood Health made healthy food feel cooler, which frankly is more commercially useful than another carousel saying five tips for growth. So stick around for that. Thank you so much for listening and remember you can listen to the Full Fat Marketing Podcast wherever you get your podcasts with new bite-sized episodes released daily from Monday to Friday. You can thank me later for that. Oh, and if you're really loving the podcast, which I'm sure you are, make sure to leave a rating and a review as it really helps more people find it. I'll see you tomorrow.