9. Social Media on the Go
It
frustrates me how many artists are NOT computer savvy. Social Media is
in my opinion the single most important business tool EVER. Yes i said
EVER. It has in fact built my current career. A little over a year ago, I
was just a SAHM (Stay-At-Home Mom) who was losing her mind in sea of
domesticity. Facebook gave me the mental stimulation I needed and social
connection I wasn't getting thanks to small children and nap times. I
started doodling/painting and one day had the absolute balls to post it
on my Facebook page. It snowballed from there. If you read all my
Facebook posts for the past year and a half, you'd see the evolution
which is nothing short of miraculous. What has taken other artists
decades to do, it has taken me in less than 2 years! I don't credit this
to myself because while I do believe my artwork is good - so isn't the
work of a gazillion other artists!! The only difference between them and
me is that I already had a working relationship with Facebook and it
catapulted what I was doing across the masses. And in all honesty, I had
no idea what I was doing at the time. It's only in hindsight that I can
see what literally unfolded.
But once you start using
social media, you can't stop. I'm not referring to the addictive
qualities of Facebook and Twitter - I'm talking about the marketing
aspect of the social applications. You must constantly post to keep
yourself high profile. Which is where the iPhone app comes in! As
previously stated, I don't have time to sit down at a PC and devote an
hour or two to posting and marketing myself. The iPhone notifies me when
something has been said and no matter where I am or what I am doing, I
am able to respond. I take photos of events that I am at and post those
photos with the happenings. I photograph my paintings in process and
post those. I carry on conversations with my friends who are also
potential customers. I mean the list is endless. And I can do it all
while grocery shopping, taking the kids to the Doctor or while working
an event. INVALUABLE! But don't take my word for it - there are a ton of
sites out there that outline the business benefits of Social Media.
PR Agency wrote a great outline. So did
Site Pro News. Go read and find out more reasons why you can't afford NOT to Facebook or Tweet.
I totally agree with you. I must say that I've been slacking a little on that department. I mean, I love blogging but FB and twitting not so much. So I just connected everything so when I blog it publishes on my FB as well and whatever is published on my FB gets to be automatically twitted. But I've been noticing I need to get more involved on FB. It feels very impersonal.
ReplyDeleteNatasha: people want human contact and connection. I too have cross promotion tools I use but they go largely unviewed unless the post is somehow inflammatory. What your audience is seeking is to get to know YOU. The "all business" approach just doesn't engage anyone so just throw out thoughts and funny musings - literally whatever is on your mind! I think it can best be summed up as "if you put nothing out, you get nothing back"
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