I’ve noticed that a lot of business content is performance, not wisdom.
We scroll. We stop. We nod. But often what we consume from business leaders,freelancers, coaches, and business pages is a performance on their behalf, their marketing in a sense. It’s not necessarily there to help you- it’s to make you notice them.
Seeing the business content patterns
My first degree was a double major in Psychology and Sociology, so I can’t help noticing the patterns in how people present themselves online or offline.
That’s where the idea of archetypes comes in. In psychology and literature, an archetype is a recurring character or pattern that represents a familiar behaviour. I’ve sketched out a few I see over and over again in social media business posts. I hope you’ll recognise them, maybe even laugh at how familiar they feel, and see why copying them like a formulaic post template doesn’t always get you where you want to go.
What these characters are doing (and why)
Here are a few archetypes you probably recognise. I’ll name them, show what they typically do, and then point out what they lose performing rather than teaching.
| Archetype | What they say / how they show up | What’s missing / what’s the risk |
|---|---|---|
| Captain 4AM | “Woke up at 4am… did 10 things before breakfast… discipline = freedom.” (You know the post – sunrise photo with “While you were sleeping, I was grinding.”) | Implies hustle is the answer. Ignores the fact that a lot of people burn out or waste energy doing busywork. |
| LinkedIn Lama | “My child / nature / charity moment taught me leadership / kindness / purpose.” (Picture: perfectly composed moment with profound life lesson attached.) | Feels too polished, too perfectly staged. Lesson often vague — “be kind” doesn’t help with how to lead. |
| Hook & Baiter | “Drop ‘playbook’ and I’ll DM you the strategy.” (The post that promises everything but delivers little.) | Tease with a promise, tries to establish themselves as “I know stuff you don’t know” |
| Trophy Polisher | “I’m honoured, humbled to announce…” (insert whatever achievement, speaking gig, or milestone) | Brag disguised as modesty. It’s about status, not sharing what was hard, what failed. |
| Motivation Bot 3000 | “Fail fast. Be authentic. Grit wins.” (Usually over a stock photo of mountains or handshakes.) | Buzzphrase overload. Soundbites that are easy to say, hard to live. Many people don’t know how to apply them. |
| Coffee Philosopher | “Spilled my latte… this taught me resilience.” (Every mundane moment becomes a business metaphor.) | The metaphor overload. Sometimes a spill is just a spill. Doesn’t always lead to insight. |
| Tragic Titan | “I built a huge business… But I was miserable inside.” “I failed so many times” (The vulnerability that feels rehearsed.) | It can feel like a tear‑jerker. Also, success + suffering = special status. Might unintentionally normalise acceptance of burnout, or make everyone think you need to suffer to achieve. |
| The Pollster | “What’s the oldest thing in your office right now? I’ll go first – my stapler from 1987! Your turn!” | They think engagement equals connection. It doesn’t. |
Why all this performance exists
Why do people keep doing it? Because it works. The social media/posting systems reward certain patterns. Some research helps explain this:
- Authenticity as performativity: People consciously produce a version of “being authentic” so it looks genuine but still follows patterns that are known to work. It’s a performance.
- Algorithms favour engagement: Likes, comments, shares = reach. So content that generates strong emotional response or controversy tends to get amplified.
- Labour of authenticity: Some creators talk about how presenting yourself “raw” or “relatable” takes effort. (Strange I know but if you are yourself – no effort involved). Very curated vulnerability is still curated. Not all authenticity is natural.
Because of all this, there’s an incentive to lean into characters or tropes — they’re low‑effort ways to get attention, visibility, maybe even leads. But they also create noise, fatigue, and make it harder for people doing the real, gritty work to be heard.
Understanding why these patterns persist helps explain what gets lost in the process.
What people miss when they lean too hard into performance
- Clarity over flash: If your post is shiny but vague, people leave thinking “Cool story, but what do I do with this?”
- Credibility and loyalty suffer: Over time, people see through the persona. It diminishes trust.
- Your voice gets diluted: Following “what’s trending” or “what gets likes” too much erodes your uniqueness. All the posts start to have a very similar pattern (particularly on LinkedIn, forums and X)
- Real value > short-term reach: Posts that teach something solid, however technical or niche, build deeper connection and more useful outcomes (referrals, paid clients, repeat business).
Business Content you can create instead
I want to say be yourself, say what you genuinely want to say. Keep it simple.
- Pick one truth or lesson you’ve lived lately. Share what went wrong, what you fixed. Not to humblebrag, but so people can avoid the same thing.
- Use questions (“Here’s what I thought would work. It didn’t. What about you?”) to invite conversation rather than show.
- Be specific: “Here’s the tool I used, here’s the process I changed, here’s what improved.” Don’t lean on platitudes.
- Be consistent but flexible: Don’t adopt a “character” you have to maintain. Your content should evolve as you do – if you learn something new, share it. If your approach changes, explain why. Consistency is about showing up regularly, not about maintaining a “persona”.
- Focus on usefulness: If someone finishes reading/hearing your post and they can do one thing differently, your content has done its job.
Why this matters to solo / small business owners
If you’re flying solo, or you’ve got a tight team creating your business content here’s why this matters:
- Time is limited. You don’t want to waste hours writing clever “Captain 4AM” fluff if it doesn’t result in anything.
- You’re competing for attention, not just with businesses with bigger budgets. Authenticity (done well) can cut through.
- The pressure to “build a personal brand” is real – but you’d rather just do good work and let that speak for itself. That instinct is often right.
- Clients/customers sense it. They smell cliché a mile off. If you’re being real, people trust you more, refer you more.
- Mental load matters. Maintaining a persona is exhausting. Better to show up as you are, do good work, share real lessons.
Business content is not theatre!
Insight isn’t a costume. It’s the thing you learn.
Theatre might get applause. Insight earns repeat customers.
You don’t have to be Captain 4AM, LinkedIn Lama, or Trophy Polisher (or any of the others). You can just be you. Share what you actually learn. Show the work. Let people in on what’s messy.
