For those in charge who feel their engagement isn't growing despite daily posts: Rethinking the sales promotion scene in the AI era from a 'structural' perspective

For those in charge who feel their engagement isn't growing despite daily posts

Rethinking the sales promotion scene in the AI era from a 'structural' perspective

This is not an article for business owners.
※Well, business owners might be reading this too, or rather, my readers are likely business owners who are hands-on! (laughs)

People entrusted with store SNS accounts.
People thinking about LINE distribution.
People managing Google Maps posts and review replies.
Store managers and staff who are also creating in-store POPs while managing daily operations.

In short, I am writing this for the people who are most actively working on the front lines of communication every day.

Business owners might be worried about sales.

But those in charge have their own set of worries.

Posting every day.
Choosing photos.
Thinking about the text.
Using AI too.
And yet, the engagement isn't growing.

Being asked things like this by a boss.

'Are we seeing any results from SNS lately?'
'What is the purpose of these posts?'
'If you're using AI, shouldn't you be able to do more?'

The person being asked isn't doing nothing.

On the contrary, they are doing it properly.
They are spending time.
They are using their brains.
They worry about post topics, take photos, refine the text, and even pay attention to posting times.

Even so, the numbers aren't growing.

When looking at other stores' accounts, for some reason they seem to have more engagement than your own store.
More likes. More comments. A better vibe.
Every time you see that, you feel a little anxious.

'Maybe I lack the sense for this'
'Maybe I need to study more'
'Is this post really meaningful?'

While feeling that way, you still think about the next day's post.

This kind of fatigue is quite exhausting.

But first, let me say this clearly.

The reason your engagement isn't growing despite daily posts is not just a problem of your own ability.

It is not because you lack sense, nor is it because you lack effort.

In many cases, it is a problem of 'structure'.

The manager's sense of futility is not a matter of ability.

Social media managers are often viewed like this.

The person who grows Instagram.
The person who sends out LINE messages.
The person who manages Google Maps.
The person who makes POP displays.

In other words, they are easily seen as being in charge of each specific medium.

That is why the managers themselves try their best to make improvements within their own media.

For Instagram, improving photos.
Making the text easier to read.
Coming up with clever hashtags.
Thinking about Reels and Stories too.

For LINE, thinking about text that is easy to open.
Adjusting delivery times.
Changing how coupons and announcements are presented.

For POP, making it easier to see.
Making it shorter.
Giving it a handwritten feel.
Including prices and reasons for recommendations.

This is diligent work.

However, there is a pitfall here.

Customers do not see the store by each medium.

The Instagram store.
The LINE store.
The Google Maps store.
The in-store POP store.
The note store.

They do not remember them as separate entities like that.

In the customer's mind, it is all received as 'one store'.

Therefore, it looks like a stylish store on Instagram.
It looks like a discount store on LINE.
It looks like an ordinary store on Google Maps.
It looks like a price-only store on POP.
It looks like a store that shares its thoughts on note.

When this happens, the image of the store does not form in the customer's mind.

They are working hard on all of them.
But it does not result in a single impression.

As a result, it becomes harder to remember.
Harder to be recalled.
Harder to be chosen.

The manager is working hard to optimize within their own medium.

However, optimizing for each medium individually can sometimes cause the store's image to become fragmented in the customer's mind.

This is not the fault of the person in charge.

It is a structural misalignment that easily occurs the moment you compartmentalize work by medium.

In the AI era, this problem has become much easier to see.

Previously, just creating posts was a huge task.

Taking photos.
Writing text.
Editing images.
Thinking about posting times.
Summarizing LINE messages.
Coming up with POP headlines.
Checking Google Maps posts as well.

This alone took a considerable amount of time.

Therefore, the primary job of the person in charge was 'creating'.

They were barely managing just to create content.
There was rarely any room to review consistency across media.

However, the situation changed with the arrival of AI.

AI can provide drafts for text.
It can create catchphrases.
It can suggest image ideas.
It can draft replies to reviews.
It can even suggest post topics.

The work itself has become easier than before.

This is a welcome change for those on the front lines.

However, it creates a different kind of pressure.

'If AI makes it faster, you can post more, right?'
'Let's increase the number of posts.'
'You can handle LINE, Instagram, and Google Maps more, right?'
'Why aren't you getting engagement even though you're using AI?'

When told this, the person in charge feels distressed.

The volume of creation has increased.
But engagement isn't growing.
If anything, the workload just keeps increasing.

Moreover, text created by AI is polished to a certain degree.

That makes it even harder to explain.

'Why doesn't it lead to sales even though the text is polished?'
'Why is customer response weak even though the number of posts has increased?'

It is difficult for a manager to answer this question alone.

This is because the problem lies not in the individual posts, but in the core of the store's overall messaging.

AI helps with the creation process.
However, it cannot determine the core of your store.

If you increase volume with AI without organizing this, your posts may look polished, but they will appear disjointed as a whole.

This is a new type of fatigue that managers have become more prone to feeling in the AI era.

From 'polishing work' to 'work with a core'

Until now, a manager's job was often thought of as polishing work.

Polishing text.
Polishing photos.
Polishing posts.
Polishing content for each medium.

Of course, that is still necessary today.

But now that AI has become quite helpful with polishing tasks, the value of a manager has shifted slightly upstream.

What will become important from now on is having a core for what you communicate.

The core referred to here is not just a catchphrase.

'What kind of store does our shop want to be remembered as in the customer's mind?'

It is the answer to this question.

For example,

A store that helps you with one more side dish for dinner.
A store that is easy to choose from even for first-timers.
A store that is easy to stop by on the way home from work.
A store that is close to the local community's daily life.
A store where you can feel at ease asking the staff.

When you have this kind of 'single image,' it becomes easier to connect your messaging across different media.

On Instagram, post photos and words that fit that image.
On LINE, deliver reasons to visit that fit that image.
On POP displays, place a message that fits that image.
On Google Maps, provide reassurance that fits that image.
On note, write about the philosophy behind that image.

The format can be different for each medium.

In fact, it is natural for them to be different.

However, the core axis running through the center remains the same.

Once this state is achieved, the manager's job changes.

From 'someone who makes good posts' to 'someone who translates the core axis of the entire store's messaging'.

This is a major shift.

And this is a job that AI cannot do.

The person who sees the front lines. The person who feels the customers' reactions. The person who knows the atmosphere of the sales floor. The person who is close to the staff's true feelings.

Because you are that person, you can notice when the axis is misaligned.

Three things I want you to do first to regain a sense of progress

From here on, I will write about things you can do starting tomorrow.

It doesn't have to be a major reform. There is no need to increase the number of meetings. At first, it is enough for the manager themselves to simply make 'what is happening now' visible.

1. Stop looking only at your own medium

First, please try stopping the habit of looking only at the medium you are in charge of.

If you are in charge of Instagram, don't just look at Instagram. If you are in charge of LINE, don't just look at LINE. If you are in charge of POP, don't just look at POP.

Google Maps, Instagram, LINE, in-store POP, and note. Look at these five side-by-side from the customer's perspective.

At that time, ask yourself this question:

'If a customer saw all of this, what kind of store would they think we are?'

If a single image emerges here, your messaging is quite well-organized.

However, be careful if you feel like this:

On Google Maps, it looks like a calm store. On Instagram, it looks like a stylish store. On LINE, it looks like a discount store. On POP, it looks like a store with only product names and prices. On note, it looks like a store that talks about its philosophy.

If that is the case, it is not your posts that are bad.

There is a possibility that your store's core identity is not yet consistent across different media platforms.

This realization is very important.

This is because as long as the person in charge is convinced that 'my posts are bad,' improvement will remain a matter of individual effort.

However, if you look at the media side-by-side, the problem becomes visible as a structural issue rather than an individual one.

2. Keep field observation notes

The next thing I want you to do is keep field observation notes.

You don't need to overthink it.
Three lines a day is enough.

What questions did customers ask at the register?
Which products were picked up and put back on the sales floor?
Which products were the staff genuinely recommending?
In front of which POP displays did customers stop?
What expressions did they have when leaving the store?

Record these small things in your notes.

For example,

I was asked 'How do you use this product?' twice.
Many people looked at the price and put it back.
Staff member XX spent a long time explaining only this product.
In the evening, many people were looking at vegetables that were ready to use rather than prepared side dishes.

This is enough.

These notes are not for submission to your boss.

They are for you to confirm for yourself what you are seeing in the field.

As these notes accumulate, the material you provide to the AI will change.

You will no longer just provide the product name and say,
'Please write a post.'
It will no longer be that.

'People often ask how to use this product on the sales floor.'
'Customers seem more confused about how to use it than about the price.'
'The staff says they want to recommend it for dinner.'

You will be able to provide this kind of material.

Then, the AI's output will also change.

It will move away from being just a polished text and closer to a text that carries the temperature of the field.

3. Visualize the discrepancies in language across media

Finally, let's visualize the discrepancies in language across different media.

Prepare a single sheet of paper.
Write down five items horizontally.

Google Maps.
Instagram.
LINE.
POP.
note.

Then, extract the 'words that represent our store' from your recent posts on each.

Google Maps store description.
Instagram profile.
Recent post captions.
LINE broadcast messages.
In-store POP headlines.
note article titles or opening paragraphs.

Try lining them up side by side.

You will likely find that the words are slightly different.

Of course, it is natural for the phrasing to differ by medium.
However, if the underlying meanings are also scattered, it becomes difficult for customers to form a cohesive image in their minds.

For example,

Google Maps: 'Community-focused'
Instagram: 'Stylish'
LINE: 'Great deals'
POP: 'Today only'
note: 'Philosophy'

In this case, none of these are wrong.

But from the customer's perspective, it's a bit hard to tell what kind of store it is.

What is needed here is not to make everything use the exact same words.

It is to align the underlying core.

By doing this exercise, it becomes easier for the person in charge to explain to their boss:

'It's not just the quality of the posts; the image of the store being conveyed across different media is slightly misaligned.'

This is a very powerful statement.

Because it shifts the conversation from minor SNS details to how the entire store is perceived.

Words to use when proposing to management

This is the most important part.

Even if you as the person in charge realize the structure, how you communicate it to management or your superiors will change how the conversation progresses.

I want to improve the quality of our posts.
I want to increase our followers.
I want to change the vibe of our Instagram.

If you put it this way, it's easily perceived as just a social media issue.

However, the problem this time is not just about social media.

How is the store perceived by customers?
Is the store's impression inconsistent across different media?
Does it form a single, cohesive image in the customer's mind?

This is a management issue.

Therefore, it will be easier to get through if you phrase it like this:

Recently, AI has improved the quality of posts. But I feel like our store isn't remaining as a single, cohesive image in the customers' minds.

There is a possibility that we look like a slightly different store on Instagram, LINE, Google Maps, and in-store POPs.

If we just increase the number of posts further without a set core, our messaging might become even more fragmented.

Rather than a discussion about media operations, I think we need to decide as an organization what the core identity of our store is in a single phrase.

Phrased this way, it can be communicated as an organizational challenge rather than the personal struggle of the person in charge.

Of course, it might not be accepted immediately.

But at the very least, the playing field for the discussion will change.

From 'a story about the social media manager working harder' to
'a story about deciding what the store should communicate.'

Just by shifting it here, the burden on the person in charge will change significantly.

Deciding on that core is not the job of the person in charge alone.

It is something to be decided by bringing together what the management, store manager, on-site staff, and communication staff each see.
It is something to be decided by bringing together what the management, store manager, on-site staff, and communication staff each see.

The person in charge is the one who creates the opportunity for that.

The manager's role is becoming even more important

As AI evolves, the job of an SNS manager will disappear.

Some people might feel that way.

However, I do not think so.

What will disappear is the work of just tidying things up.
The job of simply dumping tasks onto AI, generating text, and posting it is certainly losing value.

But the work of observing the floor, noticing discrepancies, and translating the store's core identity for each medium is becoming even more important.

This is because AI does not walk the floor.

AI does not see the moment a customer picks up a product and puts it back.
It does not know the tone of voice when a staff member makes a genuine recommendation.
It does not know what the boss is worried about, the atmosphere on the floor, or the daily rhythm of local customers.

The person who sees all of that is the manager.

Therefore, the manager's job is not disappearing.

Its focus is shifting.

From someone who creates good posts,
to someone who creates the catalyst for the organization to have a core identity.

This is a significantly larger role.

And when you realize that role, your daily posts should start to look a little different.

Conclusion

You are posting every day, but engagement isn't growing.

When that state continues, you start to want to blame yourself.

Do I lack a sense for this?
Is my effort insufficient?
Do I need to master AI more?
Do I need to increase the number of posts?

But I want you to stop and take a look.

Is that really a problem that belongs to you alone?

Perhaps the core of the store's overall messaging hasn't been decided yet.
You might be presenting different images on each platform.
It may be that customers aren't connecting them as a single store in their minds.

If so, what you need is not to try harder.

It is to take a step back and look at the structure.

Stop looking only at your own media channels.
Keep observation notes from the front lines.
Visualize the discrepancies in language between platforms.
And tell management that 'we need to define our core.'

From here, the manager's job begins to change.

From someone who posts every day,
to someone who observes how the store is perceived.

From someone who increases the volume of posts,
to someone who aligns the core of the messaging.

What is needed for managers in the AI era is not just the ability to mass-produce posts.

It is the ability to observe the front lines, notice discrepancies, and feed that language back to the organization.

If you are tired of posting every day right now,

it is not because you are lazy.
Rather, it may be because you are closer to the front lines than anyone else and are feeling those discrepancies more than anyone.

That feeling is not in vain.

If you put it into words properly, it can become a catalyst for moving the organization.

From here on, the manager's job will become even more important.
And you will definitely be able to regain that sense of accomplishment.

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