I have always been amazed over how quickly social networking became engrained in our culture. It’s revolutionized the way we interact with one another, especially in the professional world; it practically happened overnight. It’s hard to even remember what life was like beforehand! Today, it has become the primary platform for most of our society to get their news (whether factual or not), learn more about their favorite topics, and of course, stay in touch with their friends, co-workers, and family members (especially those long-lost 4th and 5th cousins)!
The point of this post is to offer some of my observations about social networking as well as some suggestions about how to effectively use it to help your career, gain followers, and exposure to the rest of the world. This is an ongoing process and it continues to change, as social media is still evolving before our very eyes.
In today’s world, a successful artist needs to effectively utilize all of the social media platforms they have available at their disposal.
When I talk about utilizing social networking effectively, I am mainly speaking towards marketing. In this case, you are marketing yourself! How do you want people to perceive you? Remember that anything you post on social media is a direct reflection of you and what ideals you stand for. It’s online for all the world to see.
Consider all the social media options out there. There’s the big personal networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google Plus. Then you also have photo sharing social networks, such as Instagram, SnapChat, Pinterest, and Flickr. There are several blogging networks like Blogger, LiveJournal, and WordPress (the latter actually hosts this site). There are media-sharing websites too, like YouTube and DeviantArt. It seems as though there are more and more popping up all the time with no end to the madness.
The social media networks that you choose to participate in are ultimately a reflection of who you are. They all have the same basic purpose, but each one has its own unique audience to be considered. For instance, SnapChat is one that appeals to the late teens to early thirties crowd. Hollywood knows and exploits this in the SnapChat platform in an effort to appeal to the teenage and 20-somethings market. It works great for things like blockbuster movies and television shows. It’s a much less formal platform than say, LinkedIn, which is geared more for professional networking and job searching. Whatever social networks you choose to participate in, always keep your audience in the back of your mind. They are going to see it and you will be judged one way or another.
Some social networking websites out there do have somewhat negative connotations attached to them, which will also reflect on you. As mentioned above, sites like SnapChat are generally very informal and have the ability to make you look unprofessional if used poorly. DeviantArt is a place where mostly amateur artists display their works, which can in turn, make you look like an amateur as well (although there are a handful of professional designers on here as well). LiveJournal is a more personal blog than some others, which are more journalistic in nautre.
What this all ultimately comes down to is how you decide to use these platforms to showcase yourself to the world.
Too often I’ve seen people I’ve known let social media interfere with their professional lives. I’ve seen many instances where someone was fired because of something they posted or were even tagged in. Don’t call out sick and then check-in at your favorite pub (seems like common sense, but it turns out that common sense is not that common).
Employers pay attention to social media and they can and will use it to evaluate your performance as an employee whether you are on the clock or not. It can affect all sorts of things, interviews, hiring, promotions, raises, benefits, and much more! Don’t let it!
Things to consider with social media sites:
- Consider creating a separate page for your professional work. Keep your professional profile separate from your personal profile.
- Make your public profile private. Anyone can Google your name and find you on social media these days.
- Add privacy filters and categorize your contacts to show them only what you want them to see. Keep your professional contacts professional! They don’t need to know every little detail about your life.
- Review everything you are tagged in. You don’t want to get tagged in a photo or post that might reflect badly on you down the road. Unfortunately with most of these types of sites, anyone anywhere can tag you in anything at all whether it applies to you or not. This helps you regain control.
- Use hashtags wherever possible to help tap into new avenues and gain exposure. You may open doors to an entirely new audience by using a hashtag, particularly if it is a trending topic.
- Post often, but keep it interesting. Nobody wants to see pictures of your food or a ton of selfies.
Anti-social Networking
The trouble with social networking is that it is not very social at all if you think about it. Everything takes place within a virtual space and these sites are just one big glorified message board. Back in the days before social networking, people actually made connections by physically meeting one another and having phone conversations. The power of personal connection will always trump a machine any day (until robots take over the Earth, but let’s save that for another blog post). Never underestimate the power of a phone call and a hand shake. You will instantly become more memorable than just meer words and pictures on a screen.
When making a personal connection, make sure to include your social networking info on your business card, letterhead, resume, etc. The physical hand off of this information from you will definitely have a more lasting and memorable effect!
Artists in general are introverts. This is the #1 most crippling personality flaw that I’ve seen time and time again throughout my career in art. The business world requires you to get out there and meet people and make connections. You absolutely have to go outside of your comfort zone if you want to be successful in this field. Be bold, be persistent, and be confident. If you keep to yourself and are a quiet loner, you will have a much harder time and most certainly will struggle to survive.
In conclusion, social media is a great platform to stay in touch with your audience, co-workers, peers, friends, and family. I’ve had various forms at one time or another and I choose to stay active in a select few professionally. The social networks that I participate in are a reflection of who I am as an artist and what ideals I embody. This varies from person to person, depending on how you want to market yourself to the world. It can make or break you, so make sure you are using it as effectively as possible.
In the comments, I’d like to hear your thoughts on social networking. How do you use these tools to your advantage? Do you have any tips on marketing yourself that you’d like to share?
Schmitty out.