Pull up a seat. We just wrapped a full audit of September and October’s social performance – every reel, every carousel, every platform that pulled its weight, and every platform that quietly… didn’t. 

The data gave us a clear story: 

Where momentum surged, where attention dropped, and where our audience showed us exactly what they want more of in this ever-evolving-content-landscape.

Some posts we thought would overperform barely stirred. Others exceeded expectations, quietly moved people, and even drove conversions behind the scenes (even though it doesn’t look like it from the outside). This is precisely why we analyze: clarity replaces assumption, and intention replaces effort.

Before diving into the platform-by-platform breakdown, I want to start with the pieces that defined the two month season – these posts didn’t just perform well, but revealed repeatable patterns in our audience psychology. 

If we want to create a sophisticated, streamlined ecosystem where marketing, messaging, and model all work together moving forward – we can look to these recent top-performing posts as our compass.

Below are the three pieces that outperformed everything else in September and October 2025 for us – and the strategic, data-backed reasons why.

& if you’re here for the templated stats tracker and doc? Those are at the bottom. So keep scrolling!

Let’s look at 3 of our posts from these two months and break them down…

Piece #1: Your Black Friday Playbook

• What it was:
  • A piece breaking down a Black Friday plan + an exact ChatGPT prompt to reverse engineer their own Black Friday/Q4 into a Q1 blowout sale

• Why it worked:
  • Timely topic:
    • Black Friday is high-intensity, high-relevance for business owners already thinking ahead.
  • Strong CTA: 
    • Asking comment “BLACKFRIDAY” gives a low-barrier action and triggers algorithm engagement (comments = good).
  • Hybrid of pop culture + business: 
  • It leverages a major retail moment (Black Friday) and connects to strategy.
  • Visibility lever:
    • The comment request helps surface the post in more feeds (boosts reach).

Takeaway: When you tie a business strategy to a cultural/business moment, and lead with action + value, that’s a winning combo. 

Piece #2: Q4 Kick Off

What it was:

A relate-able meme scroll about Q4 and tips for what they should focus on in their business as we move into this quarter

Why it worked:

• Framing the timeframe: 
  • Q4 is the final quarter, people feel urgency. Framing it as the runway to 2026 gives long-term vision with short-term action.
• Authority + utility:
  • Offering a playbook hits the “I want strategy” switch for our audience.
• Relatable pain point:
  • Business owners know Q4 matters, they want a plan rather than random posting.
• Clarity and benefit oriented:
  • “How often to post” + “what type” = specific.

Takeaway: Posts that combine time-based urgency + strategy/utility + clear benefit are gold. So plan more posts around business calendar arcs (year-end, launch windows, etc.) and give them actual tactical value, not vague pep-talks.

Piece #3: What Your Prices Say About Your Brand

What it was: 

A behind-the-scenes / transparency content piece – likely performed really well because it felt insider, not promotional.

Why it worked:

• Human access:
  • People love to peek behind the curtain. It feels exclusive.
• Story > sell:
  • It gives the “how we did it” vs. just “buy this.” That builds trust and credibility.
• Relatability + aspiration:
  • “You can see inside the process” + “You can imagine it for yourself.”
• Differentiation:
  • Many posts show success; fewer show process.

Takeaway: Scale up the transparency content. Think: “Here is the real-life tactic I used this week,” “Here’s what failed, here’s what worked.” It builds both trust and authority. And keep it less glossy – more raw, more “moments you wouldn’t normally share.”

How the Rest of the Ecosystem Performed – and Where We’re Steering Next

After identifying the top-performing posts, we zoomed out to analyze the rest of the landscape. 

Each platform revealed something important about how our audience engages, what they trust, and where we should be allocating time, energy, and content moving forward – and the tone/voice they prefer for each (as of right now, atleast). 

Below is a breakdown of the major channels, the data that stood out, and the decisions shaping our next two months of content.

Instagram: The Primary Growth + Authority Engine

Performance Notes

• Reels and carousels continue to drive the strongest reach and conversions.
• September generated 122k views, with 29% from non-followers.
• October jumped to 139k views (+12%), with 34% from non-followers.
• Engagement increased despite fewer posts in October (due to archiving launch assets).
• Best performing content pillars:
  • Pop culture crossovers
  • Educational authority carousels
  • Behind-the-scenes breakdowns

What This Means

Instagram remains the most reliable platform for both discovery and nurture. The data reinforces what we already suspected: authority needs personality, and personality needs purpose. Our highest-performing content pairs strategic insight with cultural fluency, delivered through clean, digestible formats.

Our Forward Strategy

• Maintain a minimum of 3 reels + 2 carousels per week.
• Increase pop culture tie-ins that ladder back to core business lessons.
• Prioritize transparency posts to deepen trust and expertise.
• Strengthen mid-post CTAs to support funnel health.
• Continue using IG as the central hub where attention is captured, educated, and moved toward the signature offer ecosystem.

Broadcast Channel: The Intimacy Driver

Performance Notes

• Highest reactions (11–14 per post) occurred 10/7–10/16, aligning with the emotional momentum of launch week.
• Audiences respond more to voice-note energy, personal insights, and real-time reflections than to announcements.

What This Means

People don’t want polished statements – they want proximity. The channel’s job is not traffic; it’s trust.

Our Forward Strategy

• Treat the channel like a “close friends” space.
• Short, punchy, intimate updates (not program announcements)
• Use it to surface in-progress thinking, private reflections, and lightweight storytelling to maintain connection between long-form content pieces

Facebook: The Proof + Retargeting Platform

Performance Notes

• Likes per post remain negligible (0-3).
• The only posts with traction were bold headline-over-image pieces (9/2, 9/4).
• FB is no longer a discovery tool for this audience.

What This Means

Facebook has shifted roles. It’s not where people find us – it’s where they confirm us. It’s proof, not growth.

Our Forward Strategy

• Two posts/week max: one educational, one personal/story-based (or one for The Goods + one for blog)
• Use for ads, of course
• Use FB as a credibility-builder and retargeting ecosystem, not as a primary engagement channel
• Can implement more longform-style posts for depth and authority

Threads: The Thought Leadership Playground

Performance Notes

• Highest-performing post all season? A thread about the Louvre – not business.
• Cultural commentary, personality, and curious observations outperform strategy content.

What This Means

Threads is a space for unfiltered thought leadership, not carbon-copied IG content. The audience is there for ideas, nuance, and cultural takes – not announcements or promotions.

Our Forward Strategy

• Use Threads for thinking-out-loud, not broadcasting.
• Lean into arts, culture, celebrity commentary, and bold insights.
• Ask questions, spark conversation, and drop perspective shifts.
• Avoid program updates – the platform doesn’t want them and the data proves it.

Summary & What We’ll Do With These Insights

When we zoom out, the patterns are loud and clear.

Each top-performer had a hook that stopped the scroll (Black Friday urgency, Q4 momentum, or a rare behind-the-scenes reveal). The value was obvious from the first line, giving people a reason to lean in rather than skim past. 

The content itself was tactical and grounded in real strategy, not just pretty words. And every piece centered our audience’s headspace: the end-of-year push, the need for clarity, the craving for transparency. 

Even the formats played to Instagram’s strengths, pairing clean visuals with strong CTAs.

Here’s how we’re using these insights moving forward:

• We’ll create more content tied to business-moment anchors like holidays, launch seasons, and quarterly transitions.
• We’ll add 3–5 transparency-style posts each month to keep that “insider access” momentum going.
• We’ll strengthen our CTAs and comment prompts to drive higher-intent engagement.
• And we’ll track which posts convert – not just which posts get attention – so we can trace the direct line between content and revenue.

It’s simple, it’s sophisticated, and it keeps us building toward a model that works even as the market shifts – exactly how it should be.

Now, this isn’t the full scope of what we do – we have an entire content process rooted in deep messaging work (which is coming in an upcoming program)!! Here’s the streamlined version of our content planning:

We look ahead at the next quarter and get crystal clear on what we’re selling. From there, we reverse-engineer the content. 

We ask: What does our audience need to know, believe, and understand in order to be a viable buyer for this offer? Where are they now? Where do they think they are? What beliefs are currently shaping their decisions? And how do we guide them across the bridge toward what we’re selling?

Once that’s mapped, we turn it into topics. 

Then, week by week, we create from that strategy – pulling from performance data where it’s useful, but always anchored in the bigger model of messaging, market awareness, and demand-building.

While I have you here! Do you want access to the Google Sheet template for pulling your own stats weekly and monthly? Click here to get access. And, if you’re like me and need a space to organize your thoughts – here’s a templated doc for you to organize those thoughts too!

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