MY PERSONAL KPI: DID THIS MAKE SOMEONE FEEL SEEN?

(or, why every report, post, and DM I send at Spill has one secret ingredient)

I built Spill Social not just because I knew social media was a must, but because I kept seeing the same thing over and over: businesses hiring a “social media agency” and ending up feeling like just another slot on a calendar. Content goes up. Metrics get tracked. But somewhere between the grid and the story, the people were lost. The owner. The brand. The story behind the brand.

And that? That wasn’t going to fly. Because here at Spill Social I believe (loudly, boldly, human-to-human) that the biggest win isn’t a triple-tap-rate. It’s when someone on the receiving end says, “Whoa — that post understood me.”

So yes — my personal KPI (key performance indicator) is: Did this make someone feel seen?

And I’m about to walk you through why that question matters (for you, for your brand), how we actually build a process that prioritizes it, and what it looks like in real life — with real examples, lived-in conversation, and yes, even some truth bombs.

WHY THIS KPI MATTERS

You might think social-media metrics are all about reach, impressions, conversions. And yes — those are important. But here’s the twist: when people feel seen, the rest tends to follow.

1. FEELING SEEN = TRUST

According to psychology research, when someone feels seen and heard, it builds connection and trust. (Psyche)

In other words: When a brand acknowledges your specific struggle, your weird day, your voice — you stop scrolling. You lean in. You feel part of something, not just marketed to.

2. FEELING SEEN = DIFFERENTIATION

In a sea of generic posts, captions and hashtags, the brands that feel personal stand out. This isn’t nice-to-have — it’s strategic. Because the best social media management isn’t “spray and pray.” (sorry, kinda gross) It’s “connect and convert.” A brand that makes someone feel seen is a brand someone will rather engage with, trust with, invest in.

3. Feeling seen = better business metrics

Yes, I admit I still care about metrics. But here’s the thing: one of the foundational pieces of strong customer-experience (CX) is how people feel across touchpoints. Metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), and sentiment analysis all show that emotional connection matters. (FullStory)

When your customers feel seen and understood, they stick around. Statistics show that companies leading in CX grow revenue 80 % faster than competitors. (SuperOffice)

4. FEELING SEEN = HUMAN-FIRST STRATEGY

Here’s where I lean in personally. I don’t want your brand sounding like a broadcast tower. I want it sounding like your best friend in your industry. The one who gets you, uses your lingo, laughs at your inside jokes, shows up when things get messy. Because when you feel seen, you participate. And participation is what social media was born for.

HOW I BUILD “FEELING” INTO MY SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT WORKFLOW

Let’s drop the jargon and get into the actual steps we use at Spill Social to make sure this KPI isn’t just a nice sentence on a slide deck—but a lived reality.

STEP 1: DEEP-DIVE ONBOARDING

Before I ever craft a post, I spend time (yes, time) getting to know you. What keeps you up at night? What part of your business brings you joy? What’s the voice you cringe at? We build a short “brand story” document together: your mission, your quirks, your brand personality (because we all have one — even if it’s “messy but real”).

I consider this like entering your friend-zone: You don’t just say “hi” and start pitching. You ask genuine questions, you listen. Because in that listening you pick up the signals of how to make people feel seen.

STEP 2: PERSONA MAPPING & CUSTOM CONTENT BUCKETS

Define who your people are (not just “business owners” or “DIY novices” but: “the owner who finishes their to-do list at 11 p.m. and still drinks decaf hoping for one more hour”).

Then: Map content around them. What are they thinking? What do they secretly fear? What brings them joy at that moment? Posts that address those things explicitly (not abstractly) make your audience say: “Yep. That’s me.”

For instance: you might post a Reel of “late night email doom-scrolling” and caption: “still drafting that caption at midnight? me too. let’s get you out of the loop and into your weekend.” Boom — you’re seen.

STEP 3: REACTIVE & PROACTIVE CHECK-INS

It’s not enough to post. Monitor comments, DMs, engagement patterns. If someone asks a question, respond like people, not bots. If I notice a pattern (“lots of DMs about burnout”), I proactively create posts or stories that speak to that feeling.

Because being seen isn’t just the first time someone clicks. It’s when they keep seeing themselves in your brand voice again and again.

SREP 4: REGULAR RETROSPECTIVE CONVERSATIONS

Don’t just look at likes and clicks. Look at sentiment. Look at comments. Ask open-ended questions: “Which post felt most authentically you to your audience?”

It’s less “did we meet our KPI” and more “did people feel like we know them.”

STEP 5: ITERATING WITH EMPATHY

If I get it wrong? I own it. I recalibrate. Empathy means not assuming we always hit the mark; asking “Did I drop the ball on making someone feel seen?” and leaning into ways to improve.

WHAT MAKES A POST (OR A CLIENT INTERACTION) REALLY HIT THE KPI

Here are the characteristics I look for, and you can too if you’re running your own show (or partnering with me 😉):

• Specificity over generality. “We know you’re tired” is okay. “You’re making that IG story while your toddler colors the wall, wondering if anyone will actually sign up this month?” hits.

• Voice that sounds like a human—your human. Too many brand voices are ultra-polished. I lean into the “friend in the room,” the one who sits beside you, shares a snack, and says, “Me too.”

• Invitation to respond not just to consume. A caption that ends with “What’s your midnight-to-morning mindset right now?” invites someone to actually show up and feel seen.

• Follow-up actions. You felt seen today. We’ll follow up with a story poll tomorrow asking how you’re doing or a DM saying “saw you commented—wanted to ask…” Consistency matters.

• Reflection & revision. If a post falls flat (despite being confident), we ask: Did it miss the mark on feeling seen? Was the wording off? Did we assume instead of asking? We learn and go again.

HOW I RUN MY BUSINESS WITH EMPATHY FIRST (BECAUSE SYSTEMS WITHOUT HEART ARE WELL… BORING)

In my world, there are buckets, templates, dashboards. But the magic happens in the zone I call “Empathy meets Execution.” Here’s how I weave that into daily operations:

• Client on-boarding question that goes deeper than “what are your goals?” I ask: “What do you not want to feel this year when you open Instagram?” Then: “What do you want someone who visits your page to feel in thirty seconds?”

• Weekly check-in emails—not just metrics. Instead of “here are your stats,” I talk “these comments made us pause,” “this DM surprised us,” “this follower’s question tells us something.”

• Creating space for mistakes + feedback. I tell clients: “If you feel unseen or mis-represented inside our process, tell me.” The moment we shut down feedback is the moment connection dies.

• Remembering the human behind the brand. When a client tells me about their toddler’s first steps, or their sleepless night prepping for a launch—I remember. I bring those stories into content where relevant (with consent) because that’s where authenticity lives.

WHY THIS IS MY KPI (AND YOURS) MORE THAN ANY “LIKE RATE”

Because here’s a secret: you can get 10,000 likes, sure. But if your people don’t feel seen—you’ll never build the trust that keeps them coming back.

If someone says: “Your post got me. You get what it’s like,” then they’re more likely to click, to share, to convert. They’re more likely to stay.

According to research, when users feel their experience is being validated, they engage more deeply. For instance, “feeling heard” is a vital component of healthy relationships (and yes, your brand-customer relationship is a relationship). (PMC)

In customer experience research: 73% of buyers say experience is a key factor in their purchasing decisions. (SuperOffice)

Don’t you want to be in that 73 %? The one that feels aligned, connected, understood?

HOW YOU CAN USE THIS KPI IN YOUR OWN SOCIAL MEDIA + FREELANCE WORK

Whether you’re working with a brand, or you’re the brand, or you’re a social-freelancer doing both—you can adopt this KPI:

• After each piece of content ask: “Would someone reading this say: ‘Yep. That was for me’?”

• In your onboarding or strategy calls ask: “When did you feel most seen by a brand? What made you stick around?”

• Use surveys (even short ones) asking audience: “Did you feel like this post understood you? Why or why not?”—open-ended answers tell you gold.

• Track comments and DMs for cues like: “Finally someone said it,” “I was wondering if I was alone,” “Thank you for putting that into words.” Those phrases = checkpoint hits.

• Build your content buckets around feelings and stories—not just marketing themes. “The 3 p.m. slump,” “launch day jitters,” “celebration that feels weird when you’ve been hustling so hard.”

• Use your voice. Don’t hide behind corporate cloaks. Be the friend who says: “I’ve been there. Let’s talk about what we can do together so you stop feeling the struggle alone.”

SOME CAVEATS (YES, WE’RE STILL IN HUMAN MODE)

• Feeling seen doesn’t mean everything will go viral. Some posts will flop. That’s fine. Because we’re building relationship, not just chasing benchmarks.

• It’s not about over-sharing or losing professionalism. It’s about authenticity. The line between “human brand voice” and “too casual to be trusted” is subtle—but you’ll find it.

• It takes time. You don’t bake trust in a day. But you can stall trust by ignoring whether someone feels seen. That’s the scary part.

• This KPI isn’t a replacement for strategy. It is strategy. Because when someone feels seen, they’re more likely to click, engage, convert.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you take anything away from this: feeling seen is the new “like-rate.”

In a world where brands shout, build funnels, chase algorithms—I promise you this: the brands that win are the ones that whisper (in that magnetic, warm, just-enough-cheek voice) “We see you.”

So yes, when your next post goes live, your next client report lands, your next workshop slides pop up—ask yourself: Did I make someone feel seen today?

If the answer is yes, you’re doing something right. If the answer is no, you’ve found your pivot point.

Because at Spill Social I'm not just in the business of social media management or freelance content strategy. I'm in the business of connection. And connection happens when someone stops being “the audience” and becomes you see the human behind their screen.

Here’s to your next post making someone feel exactly the way you want them to feel — and then some.