How to Think Like a Marketer: Why Strategy Beats “Posting” Every Time

I had the most incredible conversation with Zara Jarvis on the podcast recently, and honestly, it's one of those episodes that made me want to grab every small business owner by the shoulders and say “LISTEN TO THIS!”

Zara is the Senior Social Media Specialist at The Digital Picnic, and she's absolutely nailing it with her “Think Like a Marketer” TikTok series. But what I love most about her approach is how she's shifted the conversation from “what should I post today?” to “how does everything I'm doing work together strategically?”

The Power of Non-Linear Career Paths

First up, can we talk about Zara's journey? Because if you're feeling like you don't have the “right” background for marketing, this will inspire the hell out of you.

Zara started as a singing teacher, opened her own music studio (which she still owns!), and then decided she wanted to test out marketing full-time. She pitched herself hard, found transferable skills, and landed roles at Adore Beauty before moving to agency life.

Her secret? “Deep self-belief and unrelenting audacity.” I'm obsessed with this mindset. She sees every opportunity as either going to be everything she hoped for, or a massive learning experience that makes her stronger for next time.

Why You Need to Think Like a Marketer

Here's the thing that most small business owners get wrong – they're thinking about marketing at the post level instead of the strategy level. Zara explained this perfectly: “It's not about the post, it's not about the caption. It's about your brand holistically and how everything fits together.”

This is exactly what I see in my community all the time. People are asking “what should I post today?” instead of “what message am I consistently sharing across all my touchpoints for the next six weeks?”

Platform Strategy That Actually Makes Sense

Zara broke down the key differences between platforms in a way that finally makes sense:

TikTok is your comfort scroll – sound on, in bed, doom scrolling territory. People expect:

• Strong hooks (verbal, visual, or text)
• Consistent content series
• Recognisable format and visuals

Instagram is sound-off scrolling – people are out and about, so your content needs:

• To work without sound
• Strong visual elements
• Closed captions for videos

LinkedIn is for busy professionals who want:

• Skimmable content with short sentences
• Human-first storytelling
• Thought leadership that's easy to digest between meetings

The Content Series Game-Changer

This absolutely blew my mind. Zara posted over 100 videos on TikTok with minimal growth. Then she started her “Think Like a Marketer” series and gained 3,000 followers from just 13 episodes.

The magic is in the repetition and recognition. People can grab onto something specific about your brand instead of just being “that girl with brown hair who does marketing from Melbourne.”

Her formula for creating a series:

1. Create a repeatable format – same hook structure every time
2. Use recognisable visual elements – same editing style, fonts, even location
3. Put your face first in every piece of content
4. Focus on one core theme but explore different angles

The AI Integration That Actually Works

Zara's approach to AI is brilliant – she uses it to enhance her thinking, not replace it. She'll brain dump her thoughts via voice-to-text, then ask ChatGPT to refine it into her established format. The opinion and expertise always comes from her first.

She's also using Fyxer AI to organise her emails (game-changer for anyone drowning in inbox chaos) and ChatGPT for everything from content planning to figuring out what to cook for dinner!

The Hero Hub Hygiene Framework

This Google marketing strategy is something The Digital Picnic teaches, and it's perfect for small businesses:

• Hero: Your big campaigns and messaging
• Hub: Community building content
• Hygiene: The consistent marketing that maintains your brand (social media, EDMs, etc.)

The key is creating hero campaigns that span across all platforms for 6-8 weeks. This gives you that consistent message and makes content repurposing so much easier.

Where Small Businesses Are Getting It Wrong

Zara sees two major opportunities right now:

1. Embrace AI – Don't be the person who refuses to adapt and then tries to catch up five years later
2. Double down on human connection – In-person touchpoints, community building, real relationships that AI can't replicate

The sweet spot is using AI to streamline your processes while creating more space for genuine human connection.

The Try-Hard Revolution

Can we please normalise being a try-hard? Cherri from The Digital Picnic called Zara “the biggest try hard I've ever met” as a compliment, and honestly, we need more of this energy.

Why do we think trying hard at something makes us less cool? I want to work with try-hards. I want to be around people who show they care and put in the effort.

Your Marketing Reality Check

If you're still thinking about marketing as individual posts instead of connected strategy, this is your wake-up call. Start asking yourself:

• How does everything I'm doing connect together?
• What's my consistent message across all touchpoints?
• Am I thinking 6-8 weeks ahead or just today?
• Where can I create more human connection?
• How can I use AI to enhance (not replace) my unique voice?

Zara's journey and success prove that with the right strategic mindset, you don't need the “perfect” background – you just need to think like a marketer.

Go follow her TikTok series – https://www.tiktok.com/@itszarajarvis and watch how she breaks down marketing concepts that will completely shift how you think about growing your business.