I've taken dozens of sales calls in the past year. Same pattern every time.
I ask: "What's working for you on social right now?"
They tell me about a post that got good engagement last month. Or they mention they're "trying different things." Sometimes they say "video seems to be doing well."
Then I ask: "What are your competitors doing that you're not?"
Silence. Or: "We keep an eye on them." Which means someone scrolls their feed occasionally.
Then: "What content formats get you the best engagement?"
"We think short-form video? But it's hard to tell."
This is what working without a system looks like.
The questions nobody can answer
From the sales side, you see patterns fast. The teams crushing it on social can answer specific questions about their strategy. The ones struggling can't.
Here's what I mean. When I ask high-performing teams "What's working?", they say things like:
- "Our behind-the-scenes content gets 3x more saves than product showcases"
- "Posts with questions in the first line get 40% more comments"
- "Our competitor's educational content performs way better than ours, so we're testing that format"
When I ask everyone else the same question, they guess.
These teams work with better information. They know what to look at and where to find it.
Before you add AI to your team, ask these questions
Every company wants to "use AI for social media" now. But AI tools won't fix your information problem. They'll just help you create more content without knowing if it'll work.
Before you bring in another AI writing assistant, answer these:
Do you know what's actually working for you? Can you identify patterns in your top-performing content? If not, AI will just help you make more guesses faster.
Can you map what your competitors are doing? What content types are they investing in? Which posts are getting traction? Most teams manually stalk 3-4 accounts when they remember to check.
Do you have a content system or just a calendar? A calendar tells you when to post. A system tells you what patterns work and how your performance compares to benchmarks.
What actually works: Map → Analyze → Create
The teams winning on social media work with better information.
Map your ecosystem. Track competitors, aspirational accounts, and creators in your niche. Most teams do this manually when they remember. That's not a system.
Turn observations into insights. Ask "Why did that work?" instead of just "What did they post?" Look at the topic, the format, the hook. Find patterns you can learn from. Your comments section alone can tell you which hooks resonate.
Create content with context. Once you know what's working, decisions get easier. You make informed bets based on patterns.
Stop improvising
If I asked you right now to tell me:
- Your three best-performing content formats from last month
- What your top competitor has posted in the past week
- Which topics are getting the most engagement in your industry
- How your engagement rate compares to similar accounts
...could you answer?
If not, you're improvising. The teams with systems will outpace you every time.
You have an information problem. And information problems have solutions.
If you're tired of making decisions without data, try MOD. We built it to help teams see what's working, track what competitors are doing, and make better content decisions based on real information instead of guesses.
