When Your Content Flops: Stop Comparing Your Numbers and Start Reading Them
By Sarah Sadler | Content Strategist & Photographer | Chester
Sarah Sadler. Content Creator Chester
Let me set the scene.
It's 3am. My content is out. And instead of sleeping like a sensible human being, I'm lying there running through every creative decision I made, convincing myself I am completely terrible at this, and that I should probably just burn the whole thing to the ground and go back to photographing people for a living.
Sound familiar?
Here's the thing I've learned, not from a course, not from a marketing guru, but from actually being in the trenches as both a content creator and a business owner for over two decades: the spiral is not the problem. The comparison is.
The Real Issue With "My Content Flopped"
When we say our content flopped, what we usually mean is: someone else's got more likes.
But here's what we're not asking:
More likes than what?
Compared to whom?
Against what baseline?
We're not comparing data. We're comparing feelings. And feelings — especially at 3am — are catastrophically unreliable metrics.
As a content creator based in Chester, I work with small businesses and founder-led brands who are producing content consistently and still feeling like nothing is working. Nine times out of ten, the content isn't the problem. The context is.
The Number Nobody Talks About
Before you compare your post to anyone else's — anyone within your industry, anyone with more followers, anyone who seems to be absolutely smashing it — you need to know the industry benchmark for engagement.
It's 3.7%.
That's it. That's the average across most industries. Not 10%. Not 20%. Not the viral numbers you see being celebrated on your feed.
(Unless you're a beauty salon. In which case — bless you — that space is so saturated that you genuinely do need to be more inventive. We salute you.)
Most business owners I speak to through my work — both here in Chester and beyond — have no idea this number exists. They're measuring their content against the loudest voices in their niche, not against any actual standard.
That's not strategy. That's self-sabotage.
How to Actually Calculate Your Engagement Rate
Here's where it gets slightly maths-y. Stay with me.
Instagram's text and image insights don't hand you your engagement rate percentage. For that, you need to do a tiny bit of arithmetic — and I promise it's worth it.
The formula:
Add up all your engagement (likes + comments + reposts + profile visits + follows + shares + saves)
Divide that total by your accounts reached
Multiply by 100
That's your engagement rate.
So if your numbers look like this — 23 likes, 53 comments, 2 reposts, 8 profile visits, 4 follows — that's 90 total engagements. Divide by 478 accounts reached. Multiply by 100.
You get 18.82%.
That post didn't flop. That post performed nearly five times the industry benchmark. But if you're just looking at 23 likes and comparing it to someone with 200, you'd never know that.
This is the difference between data and perception. This is the difference between strategy and spiral.
For Reels: Look at Your Like Rate
If you're posting Reels — and most of you are — Instagram does actually show you your rate breakdowns inside the insights panel. Look specifically at your like rate.
Anything below 3.7%? That reel didn't quite land. And that's not a disaster — that's information. Something about the hook, the pacing, the messaging, or the audience match wasn't quite right. You can work out why. You can adjust.
Anything above 3.7%? That content resonated. Study it. Understand what it did. Do more of that.
This is what I mean when I say most businesses don't need more content — they need clearer communication. Because once you start reading your numbers instead of feeling them, the path forward gets a lot less overwhelming.
Why I Teach This (And Why It Matters to Me)
I've been a photographer since 2003. I've run my own studio since 2011. I spent years creating content that got attention, good engagement, high reach, genuine interaction… and still couldn't work out why it wasn't converting into aligned clients or sustainable business growth.
The answer, when I finally found it, was simple: attention is not the same as alignment.
I was attracting the wrong people with the right content. Or the right people with content that didn't communicate what I actually did clearly enough. Understanding the numbers ….truly understanding them, not just glancing at them…. was part of what helped me see the difference.
Now, through my work as a content strategist and photographer in Chester, I help other business owners build the same kind of clarity. Strategic, psychologically-aware visual communication that doesn't just get seen … it gets understood, trusted, and acted on.
A Note on Being Kind to Yourself
You and your content are doing better than you think.
Not because I'm trying to make you feel good (although I am, genuinely), but because the standard you're measuring yourself against is probably wrong. The viral post you're envying might have a 2% engagement rate. The creator you think is smashing it might be attracting thousands of people who will never buy from them.
Numbers without context are just noise.
So next time you're looking at your 15 likes at midnight, spiralling … STOP. Pull up your insights. Do the maths. Compare yourself to the benchmark, not to someone else's highlight reel.
You might find out you're doing extraordinarily well.
Want to Create Content That Actually Works?
If you're a founder-led brand or small business in Chester or beyond, and you're posting consistently without seeing the results you want … let's talk.
I work from a content creator studio in Chester, helping businesses move from performative visibility to genuine strategic communication. Whether that's through one-to-one strategy, studio sessions, or content direction, the goal is always the same: content that attracts the right people, not just attention.
Because the best content isn't the loudest. It's the most aligned.
Find me on Instagram or get in touch to find out how I can help your brand communicate with more clarity and trust.
