The “More Mindset” for Social Media Marketing Confidence

Most solopreneurs don’t have a social media strategy problem—they have a confidence problem that shows up as inconsistent posting, vague messaging, and endless “research” instead of publishing.

If that sounds familiar, Diana Pagano’s idea of the “More Mindset” lands at exactly the right time. Early January is when motivation is high and follow-through is fragile. This is the week many solo business owners promise themselves they’ll “get serious” about Instagram, LinkedIn, or TikTok… and then disappear by February because the inner narrative turns every post into a referendum on their worth.

Here’s the stance I’ll take: your social media results will never outpace your identity. If you see yourself as “not the kind of person people listen to,” you’ll market like it—quietly, cautiously, and inconsistently. The fix isn’t “post 5x a week.” The fix is rewiring the story that decides whether you post at all.

The “More Mindset” isn’t doing more—it’s becoming clearer

Answer first: The “More Mindset” is about aligning your marketing with who you’re trying to become, not piling more tactics onto an already full calendar.

In the Duct Tape Marketing podcast episode featuring mindset coach and author Diana Pagano, she’s explicit: “More” isn’t about doing more—it’s about becoming more of who you were meant to be. That matters for solopreneur marketing because your business is the brand. Your voice, your point of view, your willingness to be seen—those are the assets.

When solopreneurs say they want “more clients,” what they often need first is:

• More clarity about what they stand for (so content stops sounding generic)
• More conviction about who they help (so they stop trying to please everyone)
• More emotional tolerance for being visible (so they can post without spiraling)

In a “Small Business Social Media USA” context, this is the difference between:

• Posting “3 tips” content that gets polite likes, and
• Posting a clear stance that attracts the right people and repels the wrong ones

One-liner worth saving: Social media doesn’t reward perfection. It rewards presence.

Your brain filters opportunity—so your self-talk becomes your strategy

Answer first: If you keep telling yourself social media won’t work for you, you’ll miss the evidence, ignore the signals, and stop before momentum can build.

Pagano references a common neuroscience idea: your brain’s filtering system (often discussed as the reticular activating system, or RAS) notices what you repeatedly tell it matters. You’ve probably felt this without naming it: you buy a new car and suddenly you see that car everywhere.

For social media marketing, the same mechanism shows up like this:

• If your baseline belief is “My audience is saturated and nobody cares,” you’ll interpret silence as proof and quit.
• If your baseline belief is “My people are out there; I just haven’t reached them yet,” you’ll treat low engagement as data and keep iterating.

That’s not fluffy optimism. It’s practical. Your belief dictates your behavior:

Belief → emotional state → action/inaction → results

If you’re a solopreneur building a personal brand, your internal narrative is part of your marketing system. It decides whether you:

• record the video,
• publish the post,
• follow up with the lead,
• ask for the sale.

A quick “More Mindset” rewrite for common social media loops

Here are useful swaps I’ve found work because they’re believable (not fake hype):

• “I’m bad at content.” → “I’m getting reps, and reps make me better.”
• “Nobody engages.” → “I’m building familiarity; trust compounds.”
• “I don’t know what to say.” → “I can say one true thing I believe today.”
• “I’m behind.” → “I’m consistent starting now.”

Fear isn’t a stop sign—it’s a direction marker for your brand

Answer first: The posts you’re avoiding are often the posts that build trust fastest.

Pagano frames fear as “false evidence appearing real.” Whether you love that acronym or not, the practical point stands: most social media fear is prediction, not reality.

For solopreneurs, fear typically shows up as:

• “People will think I’m salesy.”
• “My peers will judge me.”
• “I’ll get it wrong.”
• “No one will watch.”

Here’s the thing about small business social media in the U.S. market: your audience doesn’t need you to be impressive. They need you to be specific.

If fear is pointing at something, it’s usually one of these growth edges:

1. You need a sharper point of view. (Safe content feels safe because it’s forgettable.)
2. You need to ask more directly. (A clear CTA feels scary when you’re used to “hoping.”)
3. You need to own a niche. (Generalists stay anxious because they’re competing with everyone.)

A strong “More Mindset” move is to treat fear like a compass:

• If you’re scared to post a pricing opinion, it might be because it will finally qualify leads.
• If you’re scared to share a client story, it might be because you’ll be seen as an authority.
• If you’re scared to go live, it might be because it accelerates trust.

Habits matter, but mindset decides whether habits stick

Answer first: Posting schedules fail when they’re built on shame, not identity.

You’ve seen the advice: post daily, batch content, use a content calendar, follow a social media checklist. Those tactics work—for people who can sustain them.

Pagano’s point is blunt: habits without mindset don’t work. I agree. A posting habit built on “I should be doing this” collapses the minute life gets busy. A posting habit built on identity—“This is how I serve and sell”—survives.

A simple weekly social media habit stack (built for solopreneurs)

This is a realistic baseline for small business social media marketing without burnout:

1. Monday (30 minutes): Write 5 bullet points about what clients struggled with last week.
2. Tuesday (30 minutes): Turn 2 bullet points into 2 short posts (LinkedIn or IG carousel).
3. Wednesday (20 minutes): Record 1 quick video answering one objection you hear often.
4. Thursday (15 minutes): Engage intentionally: 10 comments on ideal-client posts.
5. Friday (15 minutes): DM/follow-up with 3 warm leads or past clients.

That’s ~110 minutes/week. Not heroic. Sustainable.

Mindset is what keeps you doing it when a post flops.

Redefine “success” so your content stops draining you

Answer first: If your definition of success is constant growth, social media will feel like a treadmill.

Pagano talks about how achievement can become a trap when it’s tied to identity—always chasing, never satisfied. Social media intensifies that because metrics are public and addictive.

For a solopreneur, a healthier definition of success is operational:

• Success is shipping 3 quality posts per week for 12 weeks.
• Success is clarity: your audience can describe what you do in one sentence.
• Success is lead flow: 2–5 qualified conversations per week from your content.
• Success is energy: you’re not dreading your next post.

The metrics I’d watch (and the ones I’d ignore)

If your goal is LEADS, focus on signals that correlate with revenue:

Track these:

• Profile visits per week
• DMs and inquiry emails
• Comment quality (questions > compliments)
• Link clicks to a consult/offer page
• Sales calls booked from social

De-emphasize these:

• Random follower count jumps
• Viral views with no saves/comments
• Likes as the main KPI

One-liner worth quoting: If your content doesn’t create conversations, it’s entertainment—not marketing.

A “change the channel” reset you can use before you post

Answer first: Interrupt the negative loop, then publish something small and true.

Pagano offers a practical tool: change the channel—like using a remote control when your mind is stuck on the anxiety station.

Here’s how to apply it to content creation:

1. Notice the loop: “This post is dumb / people will judge / it won’t work.”
2. Interrupt it (physical helps): stand up, 10 deep breaths, short walk.
3. Switch to a new script: “I’m here to help one person today.”
4. Publish a smaller version: one tip, one story, one belief.

If you’re stuck, use this prompt (works on any platform):

• “Here’s what I wish more people understood about [problem].”

It pushes you toward clarity and authority without forcing you to be flashy.

What to do next (if you want more leads from social)

If you’re building your presence as part of the Small Business Social Media USA series, take this as your January assignment: pick one platform and commit to 12 weeks of consistent, identity-aligned posting. Not because algorithms demand it, but because trust does.

Start with one “More Mindset” decision: you’re not posting to prove you’re worthy—you’re posting to make it easier for the right client to choose you. That shift changes your tone, your CTA, and your follow-through.

If you had to choose just one change this week: will you keep treating social media as a performance… or will you treat it as a service channel that builds leads one clear message at a time?