You're not being ignored; you're just not being felt.

People aren’t scrolling past your posts because you’re boring. They’re scrolling because you sound like everyone else trying to sell something.

It’s not about visibility anymore.
It’s about emotional proximity and being the voice people trust before they ever buy.

In 2025, social selling isn’t about outreach.

It’s about inreach. It’s about creating moments that pull people in vs. chase them down.

Let’s go deep on what’s actually working now.

1. Story is the new sales funnel, but not just any story.

You’ve heard this before: “Tell stories, not sales pitches.”

But most people are still telling stories that sound like a highlight reel:

“Client came to me struggling… now they’ve made $50K!”

That’s a case study, not a connection.

What works now:

Tell the moment you questioned your offer.

The time you lost a deal.

The message you rewrote five times before you hit ‘post.’

→ Example:

"I almost shut down my offer last month. Booked 2 calls, 0 conversions. Thought I was losing my edge. But it wasn’t the offer — it was the way I was framing the problem. I shifted the narrative from ‘outcomes’ to ‘obstacles.’ Booked 7 calls the next week. Sometimes it’s not your product — it’s your perspective."

That post got 40+ comments. Not because it was a strategy — because it was a mirror for my audience.

Takeaway:

If your story doesn’t show doubt, frustration, or human conflict, it won’t create trust, or worse yet,  it’ll create distance.

2. Conversation-first content outperforms value-first content.

Here’s what I see most people doing:

Teaching too early, too often.

Your content reads like a lecture.
But people don’t want another teacher — they want a dialogue.

Try this instead:

☑ Start with a hard truth from your own experience.
☑ Drop the ‘tip list’ and end with a raw question.

→ Example:

"Most people aren’t undercharging — they’re underpositioned.
I spent 2 years pricing based on insecurity, not impact.
Here’s what helped me shift it…
But I’m curious — how do you know when to raise your rates?"

Why it works:

Because it doesn’t just share value — it invites reflection.The post becomes a conversation, not a content piece.

3. DMs aren’t where you sell—they’re where you listen.

The moment you cold DM someone with a pitch, you’ve already lost trust.

But that doesn’t mean DMs are dead. In fact, they’re more important than ever.

How it’s shifting:

→ People want to be seen before they’re sold to.
→ Warm up your outreach with 2 weeks of public engagement.
→ Comment on their posts with insight, not flattery.
→ Share their content in your stories with thoughtful commentary.

Then when you DM, it’s not a cold pitch, but a warm bridge.

→ Real example:

I commented on a founder’s post 4 times over 2 weeks — never pitched.Shared her story in my newsletter with a short spotlight. She DM’d me, asking about my services. That’s social selling in 2025: Earn the invite.

4. You don’t need reach. You need resonance.

Everyone’s chasing virality.
But the most profitable creators I know are pulling 1,500 views and 6-figure months.

What they understand:

You don’t need 100,000 impressions.
You need 20 people who feel like you’re speaking directly to them.

Here’s an example: Last week, someone I’d connected with on LinkedIn months ago who occasionally engages, but not often, left a comment that said:

“It’s like you just dived into my tangled mess of a mind.”

That’s the power of resonance.
It’s not about being everywhere.
It’s about being recognized and remembered — at the right time.

BONUS: 

Here’s the key most people miss:
Those 20 people are usually in different stages of readiness.

If you’re not segmenting your audience, you might be speaking too early or too late to the people who were almost ready to move.

This is where smart content starts to outperform loud content. 

To help you out, I’ve created a FREE  audience segmentation tool for my readers. You can find the link at the end in the TL;DR section.

→ Ask yourself:
Are you talking to a crowd? Or are you talking to your person?

That’s how business gets built now,  not through loud, overt messaging, but through intimacy.

→ Ask yourself:
Are you talking to a crowd? Or are you talking to your person?

5. Make your content feel like proximity, not positioning.

A big mistake I see:
Trying so hard to sound “expert” that you stop sounding human.

The best-performing posts I’ve written this year started with lines like:
→ “I almost canceled this offer…”
→ “This one still hurts to write…”
→ “I fumbled a discovery call today…”

They weren’t polished.

But they were real. And that’s what makes people lean in because they don’t want to buy from perfect.
They want to buy from someone who understands the problem before selling the solution.

TL;DR — If you take nothing else from this:

☑ Tell stories that reflect pain, not just wins.
☑ Start conversations, not monologues.
☑ Let people come to you because they trust you — not because you chased them.
☑ Make your brand feel close, not clever.
☑ And if you want to segment your audience by buyer stage so you can speak to the right people at the right time:

👉 Here’s the free Notion tracker I use every week →  https://tinyurl.com/4ksf8jz3

Here are 3 ways I can help:

1. Get my FREE 9-to-Thrive Escape Plan, a roadmap for leaving your 9-to-5 job and starting your solo business.

2. Sign up for the 9-to-Thrive Launch Pad, a five-day mini course delivered by email that guides you through the important foundational steps to take before leaving your job.

3. 1:1 coaching - for people who want personalized guidance to help them move toward their goal more quickly. Book a Free Discovery Call.

Welcome to the 9-To-Thrive Newsletter, your weekly roadmap from corporate career to successful solo business. Each issue delivers actionable strategies and mindset shifts to help professionals transform their expertise into sustainable independence. I distill complex business concepts into clear, practical guidance so you can build the freedom and flexibility you've been looking for—without the overwhelm. Whether planning your exit or already building your business, 9-To-Thrive gives you the clarity to succeed beyond the 9-to-5.