Social media has become the go-to place for launching new businesses throughout India, from small-town business owners trying product ideas on Instagram to well-funded companies developing D2C brands. “Be consistent on social media, and your brand will grow” is something you will hear repeatedly. It sounds easy and comforting. It’s tempting for new business owners who don’t have a lot of money to spend on marketing to think that a few well-designed posts can get them noticed and bring in consumers. And in a country where digital platforms have made it easy to get things out there, it’s easy to think that visibility is just a post away. But the concept that just blogging a lot will help create a brand is wrong. There may be a cosmetics brand in Indore, a chain of cafés in Hyderabad, or a crafts firm in Kutch that posts daily. However, they still don’t have a strong digital presence, their interaction is minimal, and their brand identity is uncertain. The problem is that things aren’t in line.
When blogging takes the place of thinking.
Many new businesses start out with a tactical strategy. They begin with a name, a logo, and an account on Instagram. A calendar of content is made. Reels are made based on holidays and popular music. Hashtags and emoticons are used to write captions. However, little attention is given to why the brand exists, who it serves, or what it wants to be recognised for. The idea is that being seen will make anything valuable. But in a congested digital market, being seen without clarity often goes to nothing.
The fallacy of “post and prosper”
It is not uncommon for brands to run on hope. A startup founder shares a picture of a product, waits for likes, and then checks sales. They post again if that doesn’t work. Eventually, this turns into a cycle of performance based on platform algorithms. Not much time is spent thinking about whether the material sounds like the brand’s voice or if it is reaching the correct people. Social media is a way to get things out there. But tools only work if the base is sturdy. Even the most regular posts become background noise without a strong brand story, meaningful positioning, or audience insight.
Activity over coherence
Brands people remember for a long time tend to undertake more work off-screen than on-screen. They put money into figuring out their values, learning about their market, and creating experiences that people will remember. Their internet presence is a significant part of who they are, but it’s not the only one. A local label that works with Ajrakh weavers in Gujarat might only post once a week, but each post shows how much they care about quality work. A cloud kitchen in Pune may not follow every trend, but its look, packaging, and tone stay the same on all platforms.
From content to the environment
Posting is not pointless. But it’s just one aspect of the whole. Strong brands see social media as only one of many ways to connect with customers. Email marketing, the experience on your website, encounters in person, customer service, and word-of-mouth are all equally important. They don’t just design for the post but for the complete thing. A well-made reel could help a Bengaluru-based speciality coffee startup get its first customers. The in-store experience, the quality of the brew, the packaging, and how the brand reacts to questions are all ways to get return customers. You have to earn trust over time.
Finding out what matters
Vanity metrics are not good guides. A reel can reach 100,000 accounts, but if none of them are the right ones, the work is for nothing. Businesses would be better off tracking retention, customer feedback, and repeat purchases than getting more people to see their ads. These are slower signs, but they are the best signs of how well a company is doing. Iteration is important too. Don’t just copy and paste posts that do well. They should be researched to figure out what made them work—timing, tone, design, or distribution. Genuine growth arises from understanding.
Final Thoughts
You can see social media, but you can’t always see branding. Clarity, consistency, and strategic effort fill the space between the two. If your company model is based only on publishing every day, it could keep you busy but not necessarily relevant. It’s not about following trends when you develop a brand. It’s about having a point of view. A post can help show that, but can’t make it happen.
Beyond the Scroll: Why You Need More Than Social Media to Build a Brand
By Shiraz Khan, the Founder and Director of Spicetree Design Agency
