The Disappointed Notary: Why Social Media Hasn’t Made Your Phone Ring

I’m going to share a hard truth with you, especially if you’re a brand new notary: You’re probably wasting a LOT of time posting on social media. 

I know you’ve been told, maybe by marketing gurus, maybe by other notaries, maybe even me (I have a course on this) that posting on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn is the ticket to a thriving business….That if you just show up consistently, share your “value posts,” and sprinkle in a few memes, the phone will start buzzing with appointment requests.

It won’t. 

Not because social media is useless (it’s not), but because the numbers simply don’t support that fantasy. To me, it's all about setting proper expectations. 

I speak to disappointed notaries all the time, and when I ask them what they’re doing to generate revenue, inevitably social media is one of their top “strategies.” That’s usually because they’re taking advice from well-meaning notaries that are in a different season of their business (they’re more experienced and in a reputation-building phase, not the business-building phase). 

They may spend hours upon hours thinking of what to say, how to say it, obsessing over graphics, scheduling posts, and then…waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.  

Here’s why social media doesn’t make the phone ring for most new notaries, let’s look at the data:

Facebook: On average, only about 1.4% of your followers even see your posts. That’s 14 people for every 1,000 who clicked “like” on your page.

Instagram: Slightly better, but still only around 3.5% organic reach. That means a post to 1,000 followers might be seen by 35 people.

LinkedIn: The winner here, averaging anywhere from 2.9%-6.5% reach with a stronger engagement rate. But still, most of your network won’t see your posts. And, by the way, I don’t count LinkedIn as traditional social media. This is a strategic platform for networking that, when used correctly, can change your business forever. But that’s an article for a different day. 

X/Twitter: About 1,000-2,000 impressions per post, depending on your activity. Engagement hovers around 1.6%.

Now think about it. Out of those 14, or 35, or 60 people who may actually see your post, what are the chances they happen to need a notary at that exact moment?

Basically zero.

So if you’re feeling like your posts are falling flat, it’s not you, it’s just the math.

This is where so many notary entrepreneurs get discouraged. They expect their post to generate phone calls, but the reality is, social media doesn’t work that way.

So why post at all?

Because when used the right way, social media is still incredibly powerful:

• It builds credibility and positions you as a thought leader in your space.

• It keeps you top of mind so when your audience does need a notary, or when someone in their circle does, you’re the first person they think of.

• It strengthens trust over time. People may not need you today, but when they do, your consistent presence makes you the obvious choice.

But here’s the rub, and where notary expectations go awry.

That’s the long game of social media. Visibility, credibility, authority.

It’s not the short game. It doesn’t pay the bills or put food on the table today. 

If you want appointments this week, if you want to make money NOW, your time, energy, and resources have to go into proactive prospecting.

That’s where my Daily Do’s come in. Things like:

• Reaching out to new prospects every day.

• Following up with prospects you’ve already messaged.

• Asking for referrals from the people who already know and trust you (with actual conversations and NOT social posts).

• Making sure your Google Business Profile is optimized, so when someone actually does search “notary near me,” you show up.

Social media can support all of this. It’s the backdrop. It shows that you’re active, reliable, and knowledgeable. 

But the real money, the real relationships, and appointments, come from direct action, the kind we talk about and practice every day inside High Performance Notary.

So post if you want to. Share your wins, your insights, your stories. That’s how you build reputation.

But don’t confuse reputation-building with business-building.

Don’t use social media as an excuse, or an escape from the real work of client-getting.  

If you want the phone to ring, you’ve got to do the work that makes the phone ring.

And that’s not posting memes, or ads. It’s prospecting, following up, asking for referrals, and showing up where your clients are actually looking for you.

That’s the difference between a thriving notary and a disappointed one.

Want to be around others that follow this practice? Get the support of 800+ notary entrepreneurs in the most engaged notary community on Skool. Join us in High Performance Notary today. We’re building your best year yet! 

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