How to not GROW on Social Media in 2026! - Episode 39
Welcome back to the greatest newsletter ever to grace your inbox - according to me, anyway! I hope you’ve had an amazing past 7 days and are ready to smash the week ahead.
Today, we’re stripping it right back. We’re talking about:
How to not GROW on Social Media in 2026!
If you’re reading this newsletter, I’m assuming you want to grow your business or personal brand across social media. So instead of telling you what to do, I’m going to tell you exactly what not to do - so you don’t repeat the mistakes I made at the start of my journey.
Let’s get into it.
1. Create as little content as possible.
When I first started creating content, I’d post once every 4/5 days on a single platform.
Today? I post well into double digits, every single day, across multiple platforms.
Short-form content does not punish you for posting more, if anything, it rewards you. Yet so many business owners build a narrative that posting too often will somehow hurt their growth. It won’t.
If you want to grow, create as much content as you can while maintaining quality. The more you post, the more chances you give yourself to be seen.
2. Don’t use SEO Keywords within your content.
Social media has evolved.
2/3 years ago, hashtags were the golden method for reach. You’d load up 20+ niche-related tags and hope for the best.
But today? Hashtags hold very little weight.
SEO keywords in your username, bio, captions, and even within your scripted content are now the key to reach. Social platforms have turned into search engines - so treat them like one!
3. Ignore your hooks.
I mean this wholeheartedly:
HOOKS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR CONTENT!
With short-form (the world I live in), you get about 3–5 seconds to grab someone’s attention. If your hook isn’t strong, they swipe. Simple.
Stop worrying about the tiny details no one sees - start obsessing over the first sentence, the first shot, and the first 3 seconds.
That’s where the growth is.
4. Don’t reply to your viewers.
If you want to stay stuck at your current level, then by all means - ignore every comment you receive.
But if you want to grow a community, build trust, and create loyal followers… reply to people. Engage back. Start conversations.
Social media rewards social behaviour.
5. Blank out the numbers.
Seriously - why would you want to understand what makes your content do well?
All jokes aside, knowing your numbers is crucial. If a post underperforms, look at where viewers dropped off. If one overperforms, understand why.
Analytics are your cheat code. Ignore them and you’ll stay exactly where you are.
Conclusion:
Most people suck at making content - honestly. That’s the truth.
But that means standing out is easier than you think.
If you simply avoid the mistakes above, stay consistent, and focus on improvement, you’ll outperform 95% of creators and businesses in 2026.
Keep going. Your future audience is waiting.
If you understand how important content is, but don’t have the time to maximise it, check out Pintsizedhumour, where we could really help you to get the success, without doing it yourself!
Make sure to subscribe, and remember - “Most people fail because they stop. Keep going - and you’ll leave them behind.”
- Jacob
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