Stop Using Social Media As Your Only Marketing Strategy
Today we're talking about the four-phase customer journey that builds your creative business.
Recently, I was working with a client on mapping out their customer journey, and I realized that this is something that a lot of creatives don't actually do. It got me thinking about how many creatives spend all this time on social media trying to create content, but then they feel like it's not translating into a sustainable income or getting people back to their website.
They’ll take hours to create Instagram posts, making sure their Stories are engaging, jumping on the latest trends, and then wonder why their audience isn’t taking action after they've seen these posts.
What I want to share with you is that there's a whole strategic framework that will help your customers go from casually discovering you online to becoming genuine fans and supporters of your creative work.
When you understand these phases, marketing will feel easier. It'll stop feeling random and overwhelming and actually start feeling more purposeful and intentional.
Why Social Media Alone Isn't Working for Your Creative Business
Before we dive in, I want to talk about why putting all your marketing energy into social media isn't working.
Don't get me wrong—I love these platforms. Well, let’s be honest, Instagram is kind of a love-hate relationship. But these platforms are visual, they're really fun if you get into storytelling, they can help you talk with your customers in real time, and they can be great for discoverability if you're able to post consistently and put out content that really resonates with your audience.
But here's what I've learned through my own experience and, honestly, through burning out completely in my previous business: what you want to do is put a system in place (like what I'm talking about with these customer journey phases). Something you can use over and over again to help make marketing easier for you.
A long time ago in my business, I was in a place where I felt like I had to show up on social media or I wouldn't make money. I was glued to my phone all the time. I was always checking: Are people liking my posts? Are they asking questions in my DMs? Are they commenting and do I need to comment back? I was obsessed with the outcomes.
I felt like I needed to be online all the time.
I felt like if I wasn't available, then it was detrimental to my growth. And with that obsession came this idea that I needed immediate results, or else my business would fail.
That's really something that contributed to my burnout. I remember feeling like I was in this constant catch-up mode, like I never had enough time to do all the things that I needed to do. Then when burnout really hit and I couldn't get out of bed, I felt stuck. I couldn't figure out how I could get back to doing the things I was always wanting to do and striving for. At that point, even basic life tasks felt nearly impossible.
So the turning point for me was when I completely shut down my old business and intentionally took a break from social media—a looooong break from social media. I decided that those old methods weren't working for me anymore. They were just making me tired.
Now when I think about my marketing, I think about it in connection to the different parts of the customer journey. I think about it as a system.
So if I'm updating my emails or writing a blog post or creating content for social media, I'm trying to do it in a way that's sustainable.
Doing it this way will not only help you create content that really resonates with your audience, but it will also help you settle into that slower pace I like to call gentle marketing.
Think of Your Customer Journey Like Developing a Friendship
This framework has completely transformed how I've approached marketing in my own business and how I've guided clients over the past several years.
I'd like you to think about your audience journey like developing a friendship.
When you go to a coffee shop and you meet somebody for the first time, you don't ask them right away to be your maid-of-honor or ask them to be your bff and do all these things that you haven't developed a relationship to be able to do yet.
There's a natural progression of friendship that typically happens over time as you get to know another person.
It's the same thing when we're talking about your business—whether somebody's looking at your website, deciding to sign up for your email list, or choosing to buy a product from you. When you think about it, most people are not going to meet you on the first day and hand over their credit card.
(Sometimes it does happen—I'm not trying to say that it doesn't ever happen—but usually there has to be some sort of rapport or there needs to be some established trust.)
There has to be a meaningful connection.
For example, if someone were to go into a gallery that they've been to before, that they know is established and can be trusted, they'll already have a rapport with that gallery and feel more comfortable when buying a piece of artwork there.
BUT if you meet someone out and about and it's the first time meeting them and you're like, "Hey, here's my art, buy it"—that's not normally how it works, right? It would be too sudden and feel spammy or like a sleazy sales tactic.
So, let’s get into the four phases, shall we?
The Four Phases: Connect, Cultivate, Choose, and Cherish
Phase One: Connect
The Connect Phase happens when someone first encounters you or your work. This is when someone gets an introduction to your creative world, where they decide whether or not to follow you on social media or join your email community or maybe read a blog post.
They're not necessarily sold on you yet, but they're like, "I find this person interesting" or "I want to get to know them a little bit more. I want to see more about their art." It’s when they’ve encountered your free things—they're meeting you for the first time, but there's not a deeper connection with you yet.
What happens in the Connect phase:
The person is looking at your posts on social media, or
Clicking on your Pinterest pins, or
They’ve just signed up for your email newsletter or downloaded your freebie, or
They’re browsing your website for the first time, or
They’ve discovered you through a friend's recommendation.
The key thing here is that connection is not just about being discovered. It's about making a good first impression with these people so that they want to stay connected with you.
You can meet someone and be like, "Yeah, that was fun," and then move on and never want to talk to that person again or never want to have a friendship with them.
But if you meet somebody and they're interesting and think, "I would like to be their friend," then you'll take steps to start to develop that friendship. It's the same thing on the internet. You connect with people, they connect with you, and then they see what you're going to do next.
Phase Two: Cultivate
This is where the relationship goes beyond mere acquaintances, beyond someone who's initially connected with you. This is when you're starting to form a friendship. They’ve decided that you're worth following—they want to follow you—but now you need to nurture that relationship or, like in real life, it will just fade away.
Cultivation bridges the gap between acquaintance and friendship.
When you create your monthly newsletter, this is where you're really nurturing. When you add Stories on Instagram (and not just phoning them in), that's when you're really nurturing.
You're going beyond that first meeting, and they're trying to find out more about you.
What points of interest do you have in common? What do you believe in that they find really interesting and that they want to follow you for? What things do they enjoy from you and what to come back to time and time again?
This is where it becomes more of a consistent, valuable communication between you and them. They’re not just seeing your work for the first time, they’re understanding why you create that work. They’re learning what your creative work means to them.
The cultivation phase is one of the phases that you have to pay the most attention to, because it's where people are really going to discover whether or not they trust you, whether or not they like you, whether or not they want to continue following you.
If you're letting the connection fade, you will not stay top of mind with your audience.
Phase Three: Choose
This is decision-making time.
It’s when people who have followed you, who you've cultivated a relationship with, are now considering whether or not they want to buy your work.
This is where you get them to the point of purchase. Where they’ll see your creative work and say, "I want that piece to hang in my living room," or "I want that person to illustrate a logo for me," or "I want that person to take photographs of my family."
This is where they make the decision that you are the right person for them. But you have to do the cultivation work to get them to this phase.
There are some nuances to this, though.
For instance, if you sell something that's low priced, they may decide to make a quick, impulse decision to buy something from you right away. An “impulse buy” without having a deeper relationship.
But, overall, when you cultivate the relationship with people, it’s easier to make a purchase from you as a creative. This means you gain a supporter or super fan who's going to come back time and time again. Leading straight into Phase Four.
Phase Four: Cherish
This is after people have purchased from you. They've taken all the steps to get to this point, and you've developed the relationship so they're a super fan and they're going to cherish your work for years to come.
They'll continue to read your emails.
They'll continue to show up for you on social media.
They'll have conversations with you or feel really connected to you like you're a friend or artist that they really believe in.
They’ll want to continue to see your work and engage with it.
This is where your people who do purchase from you will then spread the word about you, and feel like they want to because they really love your work.
It’s where word-of-mouth referrals happen. It’s where testimonials and reviews come into play.
We’re here to make the relationship a long-lasting one where it's mutually beneficial—to create a relationship where they’ll gladly buy your creative work for years to come.
Why This Framework Changes Everything
There's a lot you can do in each of these phases. What you want to do is think through each phase and what you're currently doing and how you can improve that.
What I've learned with this framework and with working with over 40 clients in my previous agency job is that a lot of those clients wanted to skip the connect and cultivate phases and jump straight to the choose phase, having people purchase from them without intentionally building relationship before selling.
But you have to develop a relationship first, 99% of the time.
It's hard to go from a person not knowing anything about you to them making a purchase.
There are those impulse buys that you can get right away without really developing a lasting relationship. But that doesn’t always work.
Most of the time, you can’t expect people to magically show up and purchase from you just because you created something. You need an email list first. You need to be talking to people to get them onto your email list first. I totally get wanting to take shortcuts. But it's better to build that rapport in the long run.
When you start using these four phases, your marketing stops feeling random. It starts feeling more intentional and purposeful.
Answer this question: What do my people need when they're in each phase? And start thinking about how your content and marketing shows up for them in the customer journey.
Think about where they are and what they need. It will start to help you think in your audience's shoes and help you be a more customer-centric business.
Here's what I've seen when creatives start to think more strategically about all of these four phases:
Your marketing starts to feel more about genuine relationships rather than just collecting followers.
It's not just growing your Instagram account—it's finding people who are going to be fans for a long-term commitment. People will feel more connected to you, more connected to your creative values, more connected to your creative journey. They'll be more invested in you as an artist or creative.
Your Next Cozy Step
Figure out how you’re showing up in each of these phases and evaluate where you need to improve things.
I’ve created a checklist, the Connect Checklist, and it has micro-actions that you can take to improve your marketing, especially when it comes to the Connect Phase. It includes actions for Pinterest, blogging, your website, email, and social media.
I've split these actions up into different time frames. So if you have 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 15 minutes, you can do different things to start building a connection over time.
Remember, you don't need to tackle everything on this checklist all at once. Pick one or two connection strategies that feel good to you and start there. Tackle a couple each day.
Your creative business will grow more sustainably when you focus on building real relationships instead of chasing followers.
Join the Conversation
Which phase do you think you're strongest in right now? Which phase feels like the biggest opportunity for growth with your creative business?
I'd love to hear your thoughts and see where you feel like you are, so feel free to drop a comment below and let me know.