Bent Incentives: Fix Social Media Marketing for Solos

In 2025, Americans lost $12.5 billion to fraud (FTC data). That number sticks with me because it’s the grown-up version of the same annoyance Seth Godin describes: the endless spam calls that keep coming because someone in the system benefits when they do.

Most solopreneurs bump into this exact dynamic on social media. The platform keeps nudging you to post more, pay more, and chase reach—while your actual business needs qualified leads, trust, and cash flow. When your marketing “isn’t working,” it’s often not your talent or your offer. It’s bent incentives—your incentives, the platform’s incentives, and your audience’s incentives pulling in different directions.

This post is part of the Small Business Social Media USA series, and it’s a practical one: a diagnostic for spotting misalignment, plus a way to restructure your content and lead generation so the work you do on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube actually compounds.

What “bent incentives” look like in social media marketing

Bent incentives are when the system rewards behavior that doesn’t help the people it claims to serve. In Seth’s examples: telecoms tolerate robocalls; inboxes hide newsletters; marketplaces charge sellers to be seen. The pattern is consistent: the gatekeeper profits from friction.

On social media, the incentives are usually bent like this:

• Platforms are incentivized to maximize time on app (not your customer’s clarity).
• Creators are incentivized to maximize impressions (not qualified conversations).
• Viewers are incentivized to consume (not to commit).

That’s why “post daily” advice can backfire for solopreneurs. A platform can reward volume and novelty. Your business rewards relevance and repeatable conversion.

A useful rule: if your metric can go up while sales stay flat, it’s not a business metric—it’s entertainment data.

The most common bent incentive solopreneurs fall for

You optimize for what the platform measures instead of what your business needs.

Examples:

• You chase followers when you need email subscribers or booked calls.
• You chase views when you need the right 20 people to believe you.
• You chase viral hooks when you need positioning that filters.

It’s not that reach doesn’t matter. It’s that reach without alignment turns into busywork.

The real issue: your audience has incentives too

People don’t “engage” because your post was good. They engage because it served their incentive in that moment. On social, those incentives are usually one of four:

1. Look smart (share/save something useful)
2. Feel understood (comment “this is me”)
3. Reduce risk (ask a question, lurk, compare)
4. Get a result (download, book, buy)

Most small business social media strategies overproduce content for (1) and (2) because it’s easier to earn quick engagement. But leads come from (3) and (4)—content that reduces uncertainty and makes a next step feel safe.

A simple alignment test

Before you publish, ask:

• Platform incentive: Will the algorithm like this (watch time, shares, comments)?
• Audience incentive: Will the right buyer feel less confused or more confident?
• Your incentive: Does this create a path to a lead within 7–14 days?

If you can’t answer yes to at least two, rethink the post.

Where incentives get bent in your funnel (and how to straighten them)

Solopreneur marketing breaks when each step rewards the wrong behavior. Here are the common choke points and fixes.

1) Content that rewards attention, not intent

If your content is mostly:

• trends
• hot takes with no practical next step
• broad “motivation”

…you’ll attract attention without intent.

Fix: publish a “buyer-path” mix.

A weekly structure that works for many solopreneurs:

• 2 posts that diagnose a costly problem (specific, not generic)
• 1 post that shows proof or process (how you think, what you do)
• 1 post that handles objections (price, time, fear, comparison)
• 1 post with a clear CTA (reply keyword, download, book)

This is how you keep the algorithm fed while still feeding your pipeline.

2) Calls-to-action that reward the wrong click

A bent-incentive CTA looks like: “Link in bio” to a generic homepage.

It creates friction, and friction kills leads.

Fix: match CTA to buyer readiness.

• For cold audiences: “Comment CHECKLIST and I’ll send it” (native action)
• For warm audiences: “DM AUDIT for a 3-question fit check”
• For hot audiences: “Book a 20-min consult” (direct scheduling)

Your job is to reduce the number of decisions between interest and action.

3) Offers that reward you, not the buyer

A surprising number of solopreneur offers are structured around the creator’s preferences (“I only do 12-week programs,” “I don’t do calls,” “I don’t do strategy”). Preferences are fine—until they collide with the buyer’s incentive: reduce risk.

Fix: add risk-reducers without rebuilding your business.

Risk reducers that work:

• a “first step” product (paid audit, starter package)
• clear outcome scope (“by week 2 you’ll have X built”)
• a strong guarantee boundary (not a vague promise)

Your offer should make the next step feel obvious.

The bent-incentive playbook for small business social media (USA)

Answer first: You’ll get more leads from social media when you measure what forces alignment: conversations, qualified opt-ins, and sales—not vanity metrics.

Here’s a practical playbook I’ve found works across industries (coaches, consultants, local service providers, creators):

Step 1: Replace vanity metrics with “alignment metrics”

Track these weekly:

• Qualified replies/DMs (count the conversations that match your niche)
• Email opt-ins from social (new subscribers, not total list size)
• Bookings or consult requests (even if they don’t all close)
• Conversion rate by content type (which posts drive action)

If you want a single north star: “number of sales conversations started” is hard to fake.

Step 2: Build 3 content pillars that match incentives

Pick three pillars that map to what your buyers want:

1. Problem clarity: “Here’s what’s actually causing X.”
2. Decision support: “Here’s how to choose between A and B.”
3. Proof/process: “Here’s the method I use and why it works.”

This mix meets audience incentives (reduce risk, get a result) while still playing well with platform incentives (saves, shares, watch time).

Step 3: Add one “anti-algorithm” habit: capture attention you own

Seth’s point about inbox filtering is real: even email has gatekeepers. But it’s still more durable than relying entirely on social reach.

So don’t aim for “more followers.” Aim for permission.

• a simple lead magnet tied to one specific problem
• a short weekly email with a consistent point of view
• a DM automation that starts a conversation (not a spam blast)

Owned attention is how you unbend incentives. It gives you options.

Quick examples: straightening incentives in real posts

Example 1: Local service business (USA)

• Bent incentive post: “Before/after + trending audio”
• Aligned version: “3 reasons your kitchen remodel quote jumps 20% mid-project—and how we prevent it (scope checklist included).”
• CTA: “Comment SCOPE and we’ll send the checklist.”

Example 2: Solo consultant

• Bent incentive post: “5 productivity hacks”
• Aligned version: “If your LinkedIn content gets likes but no leads, your offer is too hard to describe. Here’s the 12-word positioning template I use.”
• CTA: “DM 12 WORDS and tell me your niche—I’ll tighten yours.”

Example 3: Course creator

• Bent incentive post: “My morning routine”
• Aligned version: “The 3 mistakes that make Instagram Reels bring the wrong audience (and the fix that filters for buyers).”
• CTA: “Reply FILTER and I’ll send the outline.”

Notice the pattern: each aligned post lowers uncertainty and creates a next step that’s easy.

FAQ: the questions solopreneurs ask once they see the incentives

“Do I have to play the algorithm game at all?”

You have to respect it, not worship it. Use formats the platform rewards (Reels, Shorts, carousels) while keeping your business metrics in charge.

“What if my audience isn’t ready to buy?”

Then your job is to publish decision support content—pricing realities, timelines, “who this is for,” and “who this is not for.” That moves people from lurker to lead.

“How often should I post?”

Post as often as you can maintain quality and follow-up. For many solopreneurs, 3–5 posts per week plus daily 10–15 minutes of comments/DMs beats posting daily with no relationship building.

A better stance: build marketing that rewards trust

The annoying part about bent incentives is you can’t fix the whole system. AT&T is going to do what AT&T does. Instagram is going to optimize for Instagram.

The empowering part is you can fix your part of the system:

• Measure what moves revenue, not what boosts dopamine.
• Create content that aligns with buyer incentives: reduce risk, get a result.
• Build at least one channel you control so your reach isn’t rented.

If you’re working on your small business social media plan for 2026, here’s the question that keeps you honest: What is my audience trying to achieve, and what am I rewarding them for doing next?

Because when incentives line up, marketing stops feeling like posting into the void—and starts acting like a repeatable lead engine.