Marketing is Not Science, Marketing is Psychology

As an entrepreneur and a marketing enthusiast, my brain is overcrowded with thoughts, especially when leading a team that everyone looks up to.

I always have a passion project on the side that nudges my creative side, and these passion projects help me bring perspective to my professional life.

My latest passion project started 6 months ago when I decided to start my content creation journey. I have been managing certain personal brands and consulting on the social media of various brands, most of which came through my connections. I lost a $48,000 consulting contract because the marketing team thought I couldn’t do the job.

However, the director was kind enough to take me to lunch to inform me of the bad news. It was up to the marketing team to decide on my contract, and I generally don’t push for consulting gigs unless I am passionate (in love) with the project.

While leaving, he gave me some advice: "Show your work and then talk about it; the world will listen to you. Otherwise, you are just another PowerPoint presentation!" (We had an amazing bond, and out of pure respect, he told me this.)

The next month, I started my content creation journey on Instagram.

What I achieved in 6 months is around 6,500 followers with two team members, and that too without a product or ad budget. My product was my content, and I watched closely how my audience reacted to each piece, understanding what worked and what didn’t.

During this time, I was able to make one video go beyond 2.5 million views and three other videos reach over 100k views, reaching around 10 million accounts in total.

During the journey, I got three business ideas, which I have validated through my content and audience reactions. (I am not saying this is a valid way to test your product-market fit.)

In the world of budget for “brand awareness,” brand strategies, and funky ads, if marketers focus on fundamentals, you should be able to connect with your audience with the 2 A’s of marketing: Authenticity and Audacity.

Next destination: LinkedIn & YouTube.