Module 10: Creating Your Multi-Platform Strategy

Okay, we’ve talked about Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. We’ve covered email and your website. Now let’s talk about how all of this actually works together, because that’s where the magic happens.

You don’t need to be everywhere, but you do need to be strategic about how you use the platforms you choose.

The Foundation: Your Owned Channels

Remember how we talked about “owned” vs “rented” channels? Let’s build your strategy from the ground up, starting with what you own.

Your website is your home base. This is where people learn about your brand, browse your collection, and make purchases. Every other platform should ultimately drive people here.

Your email list is your direct line to customers. No algorithm can take this away from you. When you have someone’s email address, you can reach them whenever you want (well, as long as they stay subscribed).

These two channels are your foundation. Everything else supports them.

The Discovery Layer

On top of your foundation, you have your discovery platforms. These are where new people find you:

  • TikTok (algorithm-driven discovery)
  • Pinterest (search-driven discovery)
  • Instagram Reels and Explore (algorithm-driven discovery)

    • Your job on discovery platforms is to reach new audiences and get them interested enough to want to learn more.

    The Engagement Layer

    Then you have platforms where you build relationships and stay connected:

  • Instagram feed and stories (relationship maintenance)
  • Email newsletters (deeper connection)
  • Your website blog if you have one (brand storytelling)

    • Your job on engagement platforms is to build trust, showcase your brand personality, and stay top-of-mind.

    How to Choose Your Specific Combination

    Let’s create your actual platform strategy. You’ll want:

    One primary discovery platform: Where you focus most of your energy to reach new people

  • If your customer is under 30: Probably TikTok
  • If your customer is 30-45: Instagram Reels or TikTok
  • If you have very search-friendly products: Pinterest

    • One primary engagement platform: Where you nurture relationships

  • For most fashion brands: Instagram (feed and stories)
  • For some brands: Email might be your primary engagement tool

    • Your owned channels (non-negotiable):

  • Website where people can learn about you and buy
  • Email list to stay connected

    • One secondary platform (optional):

  • Use this to test new audiences or have a backup if your primary platform changes

    • Real Examples of Multi-Platform Strategies

    Let’s look at how different fashion designers might structure this:

    Designer A – Jewelry for young professionals:

  • Primary discovery: Instagram Reels (reaching her target age group)
  • Primary engagement: Instagram stories and email
  • Secondary: Pinterest (people search for jewelry inspiration)
  • Owned: Website + email list
  • Time split: 60% Instagram, 25% Pinterest, 15% email

    • Designer B – Sustainable basics for millennials:

  • Primary discovery: TikTok (showing her process, educating about sustainability)
  • Primary engagement: Email newsletter (deep dives into her values and practices)
  • Secondary: Instagram (repurposing TikTok content, product photos)
  • Owned: Website + email list
  • Time split: 50% TikTok, 30% email, 20% Instagram

    • Designer C – Luxury eveningwear for mature customers:

  • Primary discovery: Pinterest (brides and event-goers searching for dresses)
  • Primary engagement: Email and Instagram
  • Secondary: Instagram (beautiful brand imagery, customer features)
  • Owned: Website + email list
  • Time split: 40% Pinterest, 35% Instagram, 25% email

    • Notice how each strategy is different based on the designer’s specific customer and strengths?

    The Content Flow Strategy

    Here’s a smart way to think about content creation across platforms:

    Create once, adapt everywhere.

    Let’s say you pack an order for a customer. You could:
    1. Film yourself packing it (for TikTok)
    2. Pull stills from that video for Instagram stories
    3. Write an email about your packaging philosophy
    4. Create a pin showing your beautiful packaging
    5. Take a final photo for your Instagram feed

    One activity, five pieces of content.

    Or let’s say you’re launching a new collection:
    1. Create a TikTok series showing the design process
    2. Post final product photos on Instagram
    3. Send a launch email to your list
    4. Create styled pins for Pinterest
    5. Update your website with the new collection

    See how everything connects?

    The Customer Journey Across Platforms

    Let’s follow a potential customer and see how your multi-platform presence works:

    Week 1: Sarah discovers you on TikTok. She sees a video about your sustainable production process. She watches it, finds it interesting, but doesn’t take action.

    Week 2: Sarah sees another one of your TikToks, this time showing how to style one of your pieces. She clicks through to your Instagram to see more.

    Week 3: Sarah follows you on Instagram. She sees your stories, gets to know your brand more. She sees a post linking to your website and clicks through to browse. She doesn’t buy yet, but she signs up for your email list to get 10% off her first order.

    Week 4: Sarah gets your welcome email series. She learns about your story, your values, your process. She’s almost ready to buy, but not quite.

    Week 5: While planning her summer wardrobe on Pinterest, Sarah sees one of your pins showing styling ideas. She saves it for later.

    Week 6: You send an email about your summer collection launch. Sarah remembers she’s been meaning to order. She uses her 10% discount code and makes her first purchase.

    This is exactly how your multi-platform presence works. Sarah needed to see you multiple times across multiple places before she was ready to buy. That’s normal. That’s how marketing works.

    The 80/20 Rule for Platforms

    Here’s a practical tip: spend 80% of your energy on your primary platform and 20% maintaining presence elsewhere.

    If Instagram is your primary platform, that might look like:

  • Creating 3-4 Instagram posts per week with stories daily (80%)
  • Repurposing some content to Pinterest twice a week (15%)
  • Sending one email per week (5%)

    • Don’t try to be fully active everywhere. You’ll burn out and do everything mediocrely instead of doing one thing well.

    Knowing When to Add (or Drop) a Platform

    Start with 1-2 platforms. Get good at those. Build consistency. See results.

    Only then should you consider adding another platform.

    Add a platform when:

  • You’ve maxed out what you can do on your current platforms
  • You have data showing your audience is active somewhere you’re not
  • You have the time and energy to do it well
  • You have a specific goal that platform can help with

    • Drop or deprioritize a platform when:

  • You’ve given it 6+ months and see no results
  • It takes energy away from what’s working
  • Your audience isn’t there
  • You genuinely hate using it (you won’t be consistent with something you hate)

    • Your Weekly Schedule Template

    Here’s what a realistic multi-platform schedule might look like:

    Monday:

  • Create and schedule Instagram posts for the week (1 hour)
  • Create Pinterest pins from recent photos (30 minutes)

    • Tuesday-Friday:

  • Post Instagram stories (15 minutes per day)
  • Engage with comments and DMs (20 minutes per day)
  • Scroll and engage with other accounts (15 minutes per day)

    • Wednesday:

  • Write and schedule email newsletter (1 hour)

    • Thursday:

  • Film TikTok content for the week (1 hour)
  • Edit and schedule TikToks (30 minutes)

    • Total time: About 8-10 hours per week

    Adjust this based on your primary platforms and how much time you actually have.

    Tracking What Works

    Every month, look at:

  • Which platform is driving the most website traffic?
  • Which platform is driving the most email signups?
  • Which platform is driving the most sales?
  • Where are you getting the most meaningful engagement?
  • Which platform feels sustainable for you?

Use this data to adjust your strategy. Maybe you discover Pinterest is driving way more sales than you expected, so you shift more energy there. Or maybe TikTok is exhausting you and not producing results, so you drop it.

Your strategy should evolve based on actual results, not what you think should work or what works for other people.

Starting From Zero

If you’re just starting out and everything feels overwhelming, here’s my advice:

Month 1-3: Pick ONE primary platform (probably Instagram) and your website. Get good at consistent posting. Build your email list.

Month 4-6: Add a secondary platform (maybe Pinterest or TikTok). Repurpose content from your primary platform.

Month 7+: Evaluate what’s working and consider adjusting or adding.

Don’t try to be everywhere from day one. Build momentum on one platform first.

The Most Important Thing

At the end of the day, the best multi-platform strategy is the one you’ll actually stick with.

It doesn’t matter if TikTok is “hot right now” if you absolutely hate making videos and won’t do it consistently.

It doesn’t matter if Pinterest has great ROI potential if you don’t have time to create pins.

Choose the combination that:
1. Reaches your target customer
2. Matches your strengths and interests
3. Fits your available time
4. You can sustain long-term

Consistency on two platforms beats sporadic presence on five platforms every single time.

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Congratulations!

You’ve completed Program 1: Fashion Marketing Foundations. You now understand why marketing matters, who your target customer is, what your brand stands for, how to set goals, how to think about budget, and which platforms make sense for your specific brand.

This is your foundation. Everything else builds from here.

In Program 2, we’ll dive deep into organic marketing and content strategy – the actual day-to-day work of showing up on these platforms and creating content that resonates with your audience.

But take a moment to acknowledge what you’ve learned. You’ve built a solid marketing foundation. That’s huge.