Simple Social Media That Actually Wins Leads

Most solopreneurs I meet don’t have a marketing problem—they have a marketing clutter problem.

They’re posting on three platforms, trying to master every new feature, tweaking hashtags, rewriting bios, changing brand colors, buying templates, testing hooks… and still not getting consistent leads. Meanwhile, the few one-person businesses that seem “everywhere” usually have a quieter secret: they picked a handful of moves that are more trouble than they’re worth—and did them anyway.

Seth Godin put it bluntly: the projects that turn out to be worth doing often feel like “more trouble than it’s worth.” The trouble isn’t always a warning sign. Sometimes it’s the signal you’ve found the kind of work others won’t commit to—work that creates real differentiation.

This post is part of our Small Business Social Media USA series, and it’s built for one goal: help you simplify your social media strategy without dumbing it down—so it creates leads, not busywork.

“More trouble than it’s worth” is often the point

The fastest way to waste months on social media is to copy what’s already “obviously worth doing.” Because if it’s obvious, it’s crowded.

Here’s the useful twist: the social media moves that generate meaningful leads often feel annoying at first. Not because they’re complicated, but because they require consistency, clear choices, and the willingness to disappoint the part of you that wants instant validation.

If everyone agrees something is worth doing, someone’s already doing it at scale.

For solopreneurs, this matters because you don’t have a team to brute-force your way through volume. You win by choosing a few high-yield actions and repeating them until the market associates you with a specific outcome.

Trouble vs. chaos: learn the difference

Not all “trouble” is the good kind.

• Good trouble: effort that compounds—better positioning, clearer offers, stronger proof, deeper trust.
• Bad trouble: fragile complexity—tools stacked on tools, constant changes, chasing platform trends, over-optimizing vanity metrics.

A simple rule I use: if the work makes your message clearer and your next step easier, it’s good trouble. If it adds moving parts without improving clarity, it’s chaos.

The #1 mistake: over-optimizing what doesn’t matter

Most one-person businesses over-invest in the parts of social media that are easy to measure and under-invest in the parts that build demand.

The classic trap looks like this:

• You spend 45 minutes polishing a post.
• You get a few likes.
• No DMs, no email signups, no booked calls.
• So you assume you need a new platform, a new cadence, a new “strategy.”

That’s not strategy. That’s stress with analytics.

What actually matters for leads

If your goal is leads (not “awareness” as a vague feel-good metric), your small business social media strategy needs three things:

1. A clear problem you solve (for a specific buyer)
2. Proof that you solve it (examples, results, receipts)
3. A next step that’s easy (DM keyword, simple form, short call)

Everything else is optional.

A stance I’ll defend: solopreneurs should stop trying to “grow” on social and start trying to be “chosen.” Being chosen happens when your content reduces uncertainty.

Choose one platform and one “lead action” for 60 days

If you want simplicity that still performs, commit to a 60-day constraint.

Pick one primary platform based on where your buyers already pay attention:

• LinkedIn: B2B services, consultants, fractional roles, local professional services
• Instagram: lifestyle-adjacent services, coaching, wellness, creators, strong visual brands
• TikTok: top-of-funnel discovery, education, founders with strong on-camera energy
• YouTube: high-trust education, longer sales cycles, evergreen search intent

Then pick one lead action you want people to take:

• Comment a keyword to receive a resource
• DM you a keyword
• Book a call
• Join your email list

Why 60 days? Because most people don’t fail at social media—they quit during the awkward middle where it is more trouble than it’s worth.

The “more trouble” move: build a repeatable content asset

The content that drives leads isn’t always the trendiest. It’s the most reusable.

A repeatable asset could be:

• A simple PDF checklist
• A one-page pricing guide
• A “what to do first” roadmap
• A short email course (3–5 emails)

Yes, it takes time up front. That’s the point. It’s trouble once, benefit many times.

If you’re a solopreneur in the USA competing in a noisy market, reusable assets are how you create leverage without using the word.

A simple weekly posting system (that doesn’t eat your life)

You don’t need to post every day. You need to post in a way that helps the right people decide.

Here’s a weekly structure I’ve found works across platforms—especially for service-based solopreneurs.

The 3-post week (lead-focused)

Post 1: Proof

• A short case study
• Before/after
• “Here’s what we changed and what happened”

Post 2: Perspective

• A strong stance
• A myth you disagree with
• A common mistake (and what to do instead)

Post 3: Process

• Your framework
• A checklist
• “If you’re in situation X, do steps 1–3”

Each post should end with one of these CTAs:

• “Comment CHECKLIST and I’ll send it.”
• “DM me AUDIT if you want me to look at yours.”
• “If you want the template I use, grab it from my profile.”

That’s it. Not five CTAs. Not “link in bio” plus “DM me” plus “join the newsletter” plus “book a call.” One next step.

The “trouble” part: consistent follow-up

The lead is rarely created by the post alone. It’s created by the follow-up.

Set a 15-minute window after you post to:

• Reply to comments quickly
• Start 3–5 genuine conversations in DMs
• Ask one clarifying question before pitching anything

Solopreneurs avoid this because it’s awkward and time-bound. It also works.

Simplify your strategy by making fewer, stronger promises

The fastest way to make social media manageable is to reduce the number of things you’re trying to be.

If you help “everyone,” your content becomes generic. Generic content doesn’t create leads; it creates scrolls.

A practical approach:

Write your one-line value proposition

Use this template:

• I help [specific audience] get [specific result] without [common pain].

Examples:

• “I help independent CPAs in the USA get 10–15 monthly consult calls without posting daily.”
• “I help local fitness studios fill weekday classes without discounting memberships.”
• “I help B2B founders turn one case study into 30 days of LinkedIn content.”

Now the “more trouble than it’s worth” part: you keep that promise consistent for a full quarter, even when you’re bored of saying it.

Use clarity as your competitive advantage

A lot of small business social media advice is really just content brainstorming. Clarity beats creativity when you’re trying to generate leads.

Clarity looks like:

• Same audience, repeated often
• Same problem, described plainly
• Same proof points, packaged into stories
• Same CTA, frictionless

That consistency feels repetitive to you. To your buyer, it feels reliable.

Quick FAQ solopreneurs ask about simplifying social media

“Won’t simplifying hurt my growth?”

No—complexity hurts your growth because it lowers consistency.

A simple system that runs every week beats an elaborate system you restart every month.

“What if I pick the wrong platform?”

You’re not marrying it. You’re running a 60-day test. If you can’t commit for 60 days, the platform isn’t the problem.

“How do I know if it’s working?”

Track lead indicators, not dopamine metrics.

Use a weekly scoreboard:

• of inbound DMs from qualified prospects

• of email signups

• of booked calls

• of replies to your follow-up messages

Likes are fine. Leads pay the bills.

The work that’s worth it often feels inconvenient first

Social media gets easier when you stop treating it like a performance and start treating it like a sales system built on trust.

The good kind of “more trouble than it’s worth” is the work that others won’t do consistently: building proof, crafting a clear promise, creating one reusable asset, and following up like you mean it.

If you’re building a one-person business, you don’t need a bigger strategy. You need a smaller one that you’ll actually run.

What would happen if, for the next 60 days, you did less—but did the few things that create leads every week?