Using Social Media For Business When Your Audience Is Tired Of Being Sold To

After years of marketing overload, it’s no surprise that social media audiences are tired of feeling sold to every time they open their favorite app. It’s time to do things differently if you want to grow your ethical business on social media.

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It’s hard enough to grow an ethical small business during normal years, in a good economy, with the usual market fluctuations.

But it can feel damn near impossible to show up and boldly promote your offers when the world is in chaos and everyone’s just waiting for the recession to officially hit.

This may be the worst time in (online) history ~ elections, wars, tariffs, deportations, border conflicts, and oh so much more. But it isn’t the first global upheaval that veteran (online) business owners have survived.

There are mentors to guide you and they have tips to share!

We decided to discuss the topic publicly on Bluesky so we can get a well-rounded range of advice and share the gems with you.

Is Marketing & Sales Fatigue Worse On Some Platforms?

I was not at all surprised to hear many echo the same thing I experience ~ that yes, some platforms are much worse than others.

On a scale of 1-10 of how tired people are of being marketed to and sold to on social media, the numbers were MUCH HIGHER on Meta platforms.

Specifically Instagram and Threads. With LinkedIn also ranking high for too many “unhinged and AI” interactions.

Before leaving Meta, I was at a solid 7. Tired of never seeing community members because the algorithm was busy promoting everyone other than those I wanted to see. Now, I'm at a solid 1. I'm connecting more than ever with people aligned with my purpose. It's so refreshing.

— Stephanie V. Rubio (@stephanievrubio.com) May 14, 2025 at 4:16 PM

In the above response, Stephanie is referring to being a solid 1 now that she’s using Bluesky instead.

This might be why Bluesky is growing at a rate of one new signup per second with over 35 MILLION users total. People are burned out by Meta’s algorithms, the ads to posts ratio, and an abundance of bot trolls.

Our brains aren’t wired for this kind of overwhelm! Especially with a 24-hour news cycle playing all the latest atrocities happening across the globe.

So if your audience is feeling worn out by marketing and sales oversaturation, it might be time to help them migrate to a platform where you’ll stand out and they won’t get burnt out. (Pop over to: Bluesky is better for business to learn more about that.)

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The Role Of Social Media In A Modern, Ethical Marketing Strategy

The main theme here is balance.

Some brands don’t want a social media presence at all while others rely too heavily on social media for all their lead generation and sales. Neither one is good for a business’ long-term success.

Instead of treating social media as a free marketing platform (or avoiding it entirely), every business would benefit from using it to create deeper relationships with their audience.

Social media is “borrowed land” so to speak. You don’t own it and you can lose it at any time. But it’s also a quick win, as Stephanie V. Rubio pointed out:

“For so many, it becomes their primary source for lead generation. Since SEO + long form content is a marathon, the instant gratification social brings causes many to rely solely on it over more sustainable methods.” ~ Stephanie

So what’s an ethical business to do? If potential leads are tired of being sold to, but social media is still very much needed (even for brands that would rather let Google My Business and referrals fill their funnels?)

Naturally, Fern CX had a lot to say about that!

I love social media as part of a customer experience strategy. For staying connected and top of mind with buyers, for UGC, shout outs, referrals, and reviews. I love using social media as a nudge to return to the thing they bought and use it again. All of that naturally creates new leads & sales!

— Mollie | 🌿Fern CX and CRM | Activist, Founder, Ally 🍉🥥🌴 (@ferncxandcrm.com) May 14, 2025 at 4:31 PM

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Specific Tactics For Creating Deeper Connections On Social Media

But what does that actually look like?

How does an ethical brand bond with buyers and potential buyers without it feeling like “marketing?”

• Build in public, ask for feedback, ask questions that spark conversation, and most importantly RESPOND to every comment with something thoughtful that keeps the conversation going.

• Use it to engage with your existing buyers, be active and engaging so your brand stays top of mind.

• Inspire UGC and celebrate those who post about your stuff.

• Talk about the things happening inside your offers, as a way to remind your existing buyers that they already own it and get them excited to use it again. This also creates curiosity with potential new buyers and gets them motivated to click over to your funnels to learn more.

• Use it to learn more about what your audience wants. Before investing time and effort into creating long-form content, test your ideas on social media first, get input from your audience, & turn the ones your audience loves into bigger pieces for your blog, YouTube/PeerTube, a workshop, an offer, etc.

Or you can do the opposite, as Stephanie suggested: “…you can reverse engineer it. Repurposing newsletter content into podcasts, blogs, and social posts is my fave!”

I think the “build in public” is a really powerful one that a lot of business owners overlook. I’ve seen Natalia Sanyal, Sara Lobkovich, and Jamar Diggs use this technique with huge success. For example:

Building in public has been the best decision I made for my membership! I knew it would be changing pretty quickly so I wanted to share what was going on so they all knew a lot of thought and research was going into the club

— Jamar Diggs (@jamardiggs.bsky.social) May 14, 2025 at 7:30 PM

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The Shift From Broadcasting Content To Engaging With Your Audience

Maybe you’re starting to sense a theme here.

We’re seeing an emphasis on listening to your audience as much as, or more than, posting an endless feed of educational content and product placement.

A shift from storyselling to good old fashioned storytelling, with no (overt) sales angle.

We’re reverting back to a time when the message was more important than the packaging. (Or that brief interlude when imperfect posts got higher engagement, clicks, and sales because it was a refreshing change from the overly perfect posts that Instagram had inspired.)

This is why social media community management is so important! People put a lot of weight on the pretty fonts, great graphics, and fantastic brand photography, but then miss the mark because their customers are talked to with no engagement to be had.

— Stephanie V. Rubio (@stephanievrubio.com) May 14, 2025 at 4:38 PM

Let’s say you’ve got a blog post topic in mind.

Instead of writing the post, publishing it, and sharing the link… Why not ask your audience what they think first? Get their input, see what direction they take it.

They’ll learn from the discussion & you can still streamline it into a blog post.

You can also use social media to get those survey answers you desperately need for market research every year, without the terrible conversion rates of sharing an actual survey. Just post the questions themselves!

Or, follow in our footsteps and host your own live conversation on Bluesky.

And never forget ~ being a small business means it’s easier for you to course correct, pivot, or respond to what you hear from your audience. You can be the first to market with a new idea that would take an established business multiple departments and thousands of dollars to achieve.

And if the thought of trying to do something different feels impossible with your current tech stack, get in touch!

We have tools that grow as your business grows so you can flow more easily through rough waters while saving money on your software. It’s a big part of why we’re able to do so much with such a small team.

(That topic came up during this part of the conversation, and while we didn’t have time to go too deeply into it then, it’s something we can definitely discuss more with you.)

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Turning Non-Salesy Social Media Content Into Sales

If social media audiences are tired of being sold to and the shift is from broadcasting content to starting conversations and listening to your audience… then how does this translate to sales?

Should we be trying to turn non-salesy social media conversations into sales?

And there was an almost unanimous response: “It’ll come naturally…”

People will naturally seek out more info and click through to your site after experiencing an authentic connection with your brand on social media.

Does this mean you should never sell on social media?

That depends. And you’ll probably have to figure out where the line is for you, your brand, and your audience.

I’m a firm believer that sales should happen inside the sales funnels, not on social media.

So for me, I use social media to raise awareness, reach new people, and deepen those connections.

Social is social. If they want to buy, they need to click through & spend time on a blog post, email, etc.

But at the same time, I WANT to see small businesses selling. I want to see them promoting their solutions to the world’s problems and saving buyers from being led astray by brands that don’t have their best interests in mind.

So, like most things in ethical business, it’s a balancing act.

Stephanie and Sarah have similar advice:

This will come naturally, and I firmly believe that not everything will result in a monetary exchange. Maybe a newsletter subscriber, a podcast listener, a blog reader… or maybe one very active community member. This is why the omnichannel ecosystem has to be a well-oiled machine.

— Stephanie V. Rubio (@stephanievrubio.com) May 14, 2025 at 5:05 PM

I’ve always let that happen naturally. Maybe that’s a bad thing for a strategist to say, but it feels more true to the social element of social media.

— Sarah Moon (@sarahmoon.bsky.social) May 14, 2025 at 7:19 PM

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Promoting Your Ethical Business On Social Media When The World Has Bigger Problems

One of the most common concerns I’ve heard from business owners this year is how it doesn’t feel right to promote their offers or even talk about their brand when something horrible is happening in the world.

And this year, it feels like it’s one horrible thing after another without any breaks for self-promotion.

I always validate those feelings because, yeah, I get it. But also I want amazing people doing great work to thrive—otherwise the assholes win. I think we can thread the needle and support ourselves while also caring about the big picture.

— Sarah Moon (@sarahmoon.bsky.social) May 14, 2025 at 7:21 PM

This is another area where everyone participating had similar advice.

Something that has remained true since our ancestors first opened mom & pop general stores, that has outlived every recession and every major industry shift:

Be of service to your buyers and potential buyers. Be more than just a product or service. Be the community they’re longing for.

Or as Stephanie put it:

“Value, value, value. Provide value and be of service. It truly is not that hard. Show up with consistent value and develop deep connections with your community.” ~ Stephanie

As for selling when the world’s on fire, it’s another balancing act.

Read the room.

Don’t sell when everyone’s eyes are on Gaza.

Don’t promote when the world needs to make space for black voices.

Don’t make it about you or your brand when people are suffering.

That goes without saying.

But don’t hide forever either.

Speak out as much as you’re able to. Help amplify the voices of people who are struggling to be heard. Be a community leader.

But “don’t let the assholes” win because you can’t find time in between disasters to talk about your offers.

If you only talk about business and never about current events, your audience might tune you out like they do every sales pitch they’re tired of seeing.

But they followed you because you’re a brand. They want your solutions. They want to know what you’re offering.

And they’re people who need to know there’s a human on the other side of your screen. A human who cares about what’s happening.

So make space to promote ethically!

We need ethical businesses to show up, more than ever. As fear sets in, people will be vulnerable and easier to target. Time to dial up the activist small business mindset and show up loud! The other guys are not pumping the brakes. Neither should we. The time for bold is now.

— Stephanie V. Rubio (@stephanievrubio.com) May 14, 2025 at 5:08 PM

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Links To Learn More

Stephanie V. Rubio, founder of SoVerve Marketing

Learn more about SoVerve here: https://soverve.com/

And subscribe to her email list to continue learning from her expertise and experience: https://soverve.com/subscribe

Follow her on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/stephanievrubio.com

Sarah Moon

Learn more about Sarah Moon Co here: https://sarahmoon.net/

And sign up to get her amazing, authority-building and totally easy to read emails here: https://hey.sarahmoon.net/

Fern CX and CRM

Click the links at the top of this page to read more blog posts from Fern CX and CRM and/or follow us on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/ferncxandcrm.com

Need a tech stack that makes it easier to grow, evolve, and pivot your business as needed? Check out Fern CRM, our competitive advantage for boosting profit margins and reducing expenses: https://ferncrm.com

More info about 🌿Fern Talks:

We host a live conversation twice a month on Bluesky, covering different topics that affect ethical business owners to help you grow your business and make “change the world money!”

2nd Wednesdays at 4pm PT / 7pm ET (which, depending on global Daylight Savings Time adjustments, is typically between 7am-noon in Oceana)

4th Wednesdays at 8am PT / 11am ET (which, depending on global Daylight Savings Time adjustments, is typically 4pm BST)

To join the conversation, go to #FernTalk on your favorite ATmosphere app (Bluesky works best) – https://bsky.app/hashtag/FernTalk

You can also go to that link to see a record of all previous🌿Fern Talks.