🎾 How to play the social media game · The Bunker #127

You're doing it wrong :(

Apr 14, 2025

Hey!

I know this newsletter isn’t just about design and business, so today I want to talk about something else. Something that’s been on my mind for weeks.

Lately, I keep seeing the same content over and over again on social media. And don’t get me wrong, I understand that if something works, you should make the most of it.

I’ve done it too.

But what’s really starting to bother me is that most of today’s content feels soulless.

No intention. No personality.

And that’s terrible if what you’re trying to do is sell a digital product.

A lot of it is written by AI (and it shows), or follows exactly the same formula used by dozens of accounts for months. Reels with the same music, the same gestures, the same hooks like "Type 'free' and I’ll DM you." I’m not saying it’s wrong, but… where’s the intention behind that content?

I think we’ve lost a lot of authenticity, a lot of personality.

Let’s remember: to make a sale, you need two things:

The perceived value of your product must be greater than the price. If the price feels higher than the value, people simply won’t buy it.
There has to be trust. The landing page is there to persuade and generate that trust.

And to generate trust, you need the human factor.

Without humanity, you won’t build trust, and that makes it way harder to make a sale.

This happens a lot to people who are too formal when they communicate. Due to their tone, they feel like very distant people; it’s hard to create bonds with them.

I’m not saying don’t use proven formulas.

That would be silly. But at least do it consciously.

Understand why they work.

Adapt them to your voice, your story, to what you want to say.

Because if you’re only doing it for engagement, you’ll end up with the opposite.

Your audience won’t empathize with you, and they may even start to mistrust you, which kills your chances of selling anything later.

When everyone copies the same format without understanding the reason behind it, we all end up with a flat, soulless feed.

What used to feel fresh now feels repetitive.

It’s like that ad that caught your attention the first time, but by the 10th, it’s just annoying.

And on social media, this fatigue happens really fast.

To me, this is one of the big problems with modern marketing strategies: we’re posting without soul.

Without real intention.

Without the desire to connect, just the need to collect likes. We’re creating for the algorithm, not for people. And don’t forget, you’re ultimately selling to people.

Scroll through your feed right now and tell me: how many posts actually made you feel something this week? Or tell me one you can remember clearly.

Most of them say nothing to you. Because they weren’t made for you. They were made to gain reach, to grab 1.7 seconds of attention. And that builds nothing in the long term.

Also, I think many people overestimate social media. You think it’s just about posting consistently and boom, you’re set. That anyone can get 100, 000 followers with a magic formula.

And then once you hit 100, 000 followers, it should be super easy to sell a digital product and live off passive income, right? Not so simple.

First, you have to build that audience. That means years of creating content until your message resonates and you gather a solid group of people.

If you’re lucky, maybe you can do it in 5 years. But some people don’t even figure out what kind of content they should be making in the first 3.

Truthfully, nothing could be further from reality.

We’re underestimating the work behind all this.

Not the content creation itself, that part is easy nowadays with tools like Canva, CapCut, or AI. The hard part is keeping people engaged, building a real community, having something meaningful to say every week. And that, my friend, is tough.

The hard part isn’t posting. The hard part is staying relevant. Not falling into the obvious. Having the courage to say what you really think, even if it’s not popular. And that’s something no AI prompt can automate.

The key is learning to be patient. To keep sending newsletters for 3 years even if you have a tiny audience, trusting that maybe, just maybe, it’ll blow up in year ten.

There’s a whole mental game in saying: “I’m not seeing results yet, but I’m still here for when it happens.” And that’s the real challenge.

Soulful content doesn’t scale as fast, but it builds deeper.

And that’s what really matters when you’re building something meaningful.

Because while others chase virality, you’re building connection. You’re planting something more valuable than a spike in likes: trust.

And yes, it’ll take longer than chasing virality, but you’ll last much longer, too.

Virality lasts hours. And then you’re right back to irrelevance.

I remind myself of this every week when I write these words. I’m not writing for everyone. I’m writing for those who are truly building something with intention.

For the ones who know this is about more than just metrics.

So if you’re one of those people building something intentional, a personal brand, a product, a creative project, do it from that place. From the desire to contribute, not just to go viral.

By the way, what do you think about using AI as a designer? Would you like me to cover that in the next article? It’s a huge topic.

And if what you're building is related to freelancing or design, don’t forget I’ve got some resources that can help you out:

Koala UI: our Figma Design System that saves you hours of work.
Freelance Bundle: templates, books, and resources to improve your freelance life, from personal organization to project budgeting.

See you next week.

Jordi Espinosa.

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