Typically, the reason most businesses fail online is that the signal is muddy rather than the product itself being bad. For instance, a business may present itself differently on its website than on its Instagram account. Additionally, there may be issues such as confusion surrounding offers or no real understanding of what a business actually does.
To promote your brand or presence as a musician who’s selling merchandise, a creator who’s selling something online through a small shop, or as a local business, you need to be grounded in basic principles. Social media promotion helps, but you only see its full benefits when all the other parts of your promotional strategy are functioning seamlessly together.
Make your brand feel consistent
Many people think that the creation of a company’s brand identity is a design task. In reality, brand identity is about making choices. The process of creating a brand identity includes making the following choices: Which types of products/services to offer; who your target audience is; and what you won’t do. The majority of people try to represent their business with everything they post on social media, so the end result ends up being an “active” social media feed, but not a memorable one.
To help your audience decide if they know who you are or what you’re about after seeing 3 random pieces of your own work (an Instagram Reel, a carousel, and a Story), try creating a clean sentence that sums up who you are as quickly as possible. This means that if they can’t identify you, it’s time to work on clarifying your message. Focus on two or three content pillars and continue to incorporate them into your strategy, because your Process, Proof, and Personality are often more than enough of a basis to convey your overall objective.
Own your home base
Think of Instagram as your storefront window, not as a warehouse. You still need a website or landing page that will load quickly, tell your audience what you’re offering in plain English, and give them the next actionable step to take (buy, book, join, contact etc.). A common mistake I see repeatedly is people linking to a very cluttered page full of competing calls-to-action (5 different ones). When creating a page, focus on only one goal per page.
Marketplaces can help as they serve as a great way of getting discovered. If you’re a creator, consider using these platforms like discovery engines because you know people are already browsing items with the intent of buying them. Do not use only one platform or retailer, but rather use the platform to validate your product(s) so that you can transition transference of your customers into direct communications such as e-mail and/or SMS.
Use data, not vibes
To clarify, data-driven digital marketing is more than creating an overly complex dashboard with tons of statistics; it’s essential that you know what numbers will tell you the absolute truth based on objective evidence and data from trusted 3rd parties involved in your business. Ideally, the first things to look at would be: profile visits >positional link clicks/engagement% when targeting prospects/companies, landing page conversion ratios, Cost-Per-Leads (or Cost-Per-Sale), and content Save/Share rates/metrics/reporting for the Post (Link Post). If there’s something you cannot track, you cannot accurately gauge progress/improvement, and you will have to guess!
A straightforward loop for social media management consists of running smaller tests over 7-10 days, retaining the performance, and eliminating the lagging performance of your tests. As noted in the industry reference document social marketing guide, Forbes, you need to align your strategy to your objectives based on clearly defined metrics and identify the platforms where your target audience actually spends its time. While this may seem to be common sense, it is the distinction between generating growth and creating noise.
Content that earns attention
Instagram relies on the creation of a genuine artistry. Too many people are creating ads that are too polished and do not provide any genuine insight or understanding about the products and services they are selling. There is clear social trust built by posting content that explains your product or service clearly, with videos that show how it is created, giving examples of actual purchases, and offering clear responses to customer questions. I recall a company I worked with that saw their inquiries double since they posted their Video Reels addressing the common objections of potential customers regarding price, speed, and how their purchases would be delivered after the purchase was made.
- Document, do not stage everything.
- Teach one idea per post.
- Use Stories for day-to-day proof: screenshots, behind-the-scenes, quick FAQs.
- Turn comments and DMs into your next week of topics.
Where SMM promotion fits
SMM Promotion (Social Media Marketing Promotion) is an Accelerant (i.e., an igniter). It provides a means of bringing attention to ‘best-of’ content – i.e., posting and boosting post with ‘paid’ ads – or viewable content – posted on social media, but have had ‘no’ paid promotion, up front on the timeline of a Facebook Page. It may be beneficial to have your target audience provide indications due to your posts being shared, saved, and followed. Timing and Targeting are key factors for success. A retarget can then use these ‘signals’ to refine their offer. In these instances, it may be beneficial to use an Artist Push Program (APP) to support the curated campaign approach.
If you’re looking for an easy next step, then simply select a single product or offer, and refine/clean up both your Instagram bio and link pages to align with that one product or offer; then do a 2-week content sprint supporting that one product/offer. After that, look at the metrics and adjust as needed. You won’t build a successful online presence in one viral sensation; you will build your online presence by becoming identifiable, easily found, and easy to purchase from.