🎙️ Why Chasing “Likes” Keeps You Stuck (How Education Buyers Actually Decide)🎙️
I did not start LinkedIn with 11,000 followers.
I didn’t start with momentum. I started exactly where you are: Posting into the void and wondering if education buyers even use this platform.
If you are showing up every day and feeling like nothing is happening, I have good news for you.
You aren't failing. You are just measuring the wrong thing.
Most founders treat LinkedIn like a Social Market (Instagram/TikTok). They chase likes, views, and viral trends.
But Education is a Trust Market.
In a Trust Market, buyers are risk-averse. They don't "double tap" every post. They don't leave public comments on vendors they haven't vetted yet.
They watch quietly.
If you are hearing silence, it doesn't mean you are invisible. It means you are being vetted.
Here are the 2 Mental Models that shifted my LinkedIn strategy from "chasing likes" to "closing deals."
1. The Conference Model (Stop Treating It Like a Feed)
If you treat LinkedIn like a social feed, you will quit in three months.
Instead, imagine LinkedIn is a massive education conference that never ends.
There are three places at a conference. You need to show up in all three.
The Stage (Your Content): This is your daily post. You don't need to be loud on stage; you need to be clear. When you speak clearly about the problems schools face, the audience nods. They might not clap (like/comment), but they remember you. Clarity is credibility.
The Sessions (The Comments): This is where you sit in the audience and support others. When you leave thoughtful comments on a superintendent’s post or a peer’s article, you are networking. You are showing up.
The Hallways (The DMs): This is where the deals happen. You never pitch on stage. You pitch in the hallway. The goal of the Stage and the Sessions is simply to earn the right to say "Hello" in the Hallway. If you aren't moving conversations to the DMs, you are just performing, not selling.
2. The Gym Model (Reps > Results)
You don't go to the gym once and expect abs.
You don't post on LinkedIn for a week and expect a contract.
In the education market, Consistency is Credibility.
If a superintendent sees you post once, you are noise.
If they see you post valuable insights for six months straight, you are a fixture. You are safe.
Paul King (Founder of Clayful) told me his mantra for surviving the long sales cycle:
"Take the action, let go of the result."
You have to fall in love with the reps. You show up when it's boring. You show up when it's quiet. That is how strength is built.
3. The "Lurker" Reality
Here is the hardest truth to accept: Your best future client has likely never liked a single one of your posts.
Paul King noticed this as he expanded into New York City. The district leaders who eventually bought his program had been watching him for months. They never commented. They never clicked "like."
But when he got them on the phone, they knew exactly who he was.
In education, because of political optics, leaders rarely endorse vendors publicly. They lurk.
Quiet doesn't mean invisible. Quiet means compounding.
4. Your Story Completes Your Authority
Dr. Tara Williams (a member of our community) worried that sharing her personal struggles with learning would hurt her credibility. She thought she needed to look "perfect."
She found the opposite was true.
In a Trust Market, people don't trust logos. They trust humans.
As Tara put it:
"Your story doesn't weaken your authority, it completes it."
The Bottom Line
If you are judging your LinkedIn success by vanity metrics, you are playing a game you will lose.
Stop trying to be a "Social Media Star."
Start being an "Industry Educator."
Keep posting. Keep showing up. The silence isn't failure—it’s the sound of trust being built.
🎧 Listen to the full breakdown on the podcast:
[Apple Podcasts] | [Spotify]
Quiet means compounding. Keep going.
— Josh
