There’s something intoxicating about watching your follower count climb. A little dopamine hit with every new like, a smug little grin at every comment—proof, or so it seems, that your organization is making an impact. But what if I told you that most of those likes, those followers, those "viral moments"—don’t actually mean much at all?

The hard truth is that spending money to boost social media engagement is often a waste of funds—not because advertising is inherently bad, but because most organizations are using their budgets in ways that don’t actually benefit them. They’re renting visibility instead of owning influence.