The Gospel of Fakebook Stats
Jake ran a custom shop where steel, sweat, and paint turned ordinary rides into beasts. But every night, instead of checking under the hood of his business, he stared at Facebook like it was a dyno machine.
Reach: 12,000.
Likes: 300 on a picture of a lifted F-350.
Impressions: enough zeroes to look impressive.
Jake grinned, thinking, “Hell yeah, this is why orders are rolling in. Facebook’s feeding me horsepower.”
Shiny Numbers, Empty Tank
Thing is, those numbers were just chrome. They looked good, but they didn’t move the truck.
Reach meant some dude in Montana scrolled past a photo of a truck he’d never buy.
Likes came from kids who couldn’t afford car insurance, let alone a custom job.
Shares? Mostly tire-kickers tagging their buddies with “bro, someday.”
Jake thought he was flooring it. In reality, he was just revving in neutral.
The Website That Did the Work?
Meanwhile, his dusty old website—built years ago by a buddy—was pulling in the real torque. Hundreds of folks worldwide were Googling “custom trucks” and landing on Jake’s gallery. They filled out quote forms, booked shop visits, and asked about engine swaps.
That site was the real workhorse, hauling in customers while Jake drooled over vanity metrics. But he never checked his analytics. Didn’t even know the gauges existed.
Reality Check
One day, another builder asked, “Man, how much of your business actually comes from Facebook?”
Jake popped the hood on his website stats. Boom. There it was. His traffic wasn’t from Facebook at all—it was from search, referrals, and word of mouth. Ninety percent of his orders had nothing to do with Zuckerberg’s circus.
Jake felt like he’d been sold a shiny set of wheels with no tires.
The Lesson in Grease and Grit
Don’t get fooled by Fakebook’s dashboard lights. They flash pretty, but they don’t move the rig. If you’re in the business of building, selling, or wrenching, your website is the real engine.
Facebook? That’s just a hood ornament.
