Social Media Checklist for Creatives
Most creatives don’t have the time (or interest) to search for the best social media to highlight their passions. This is a summary of the different types, the applications and some suggestions to help:
Google+
First of all, not having a G+ account already puts you off the Google map. Bing is catching up slowly, but it’s super simple to create your personal site or business page.
Sample: https://plus.google.com/+RogerShahOfficialArtistPage/posts
You need a gmail account, or a G+ site in order to have a page. You can’t have a page without either. You can’t have a ‘local page’- i.e. people in your area that can find you and your beauties- without a basic page.
The Bad News: You’ll have to maintain it, perhaps link it to either Twitter, Youtube or Facebook.
The Good News: You don’t actually have to spend a large portion of your precious time maintaining it and Google loves Google.
The Rewards: Creating a fan base/connection base on G+ gives you a start on one of the newest- with the highest longevity- social networks, without the daily Facebook posting about what someone had for breakfast.
Also, you get to choose who sees what and when, BUT it takes time to develop your groups. It’s an exercise in patience, and if you’re not serious- it reflects on you, company name/brand and you can’t retrieve interest back from apathetic responses. Really.
The second-hottest (and important) social media site for creatives, it’s a fast-growing and easy way to gain international exposure/interest. At the moment, it’s mainly popular with women- but men are on a rise.
Sample: http://www.pinterest.com/gallerin/sculpture-installation/
To open an account, you can either mesh it with your Facebook account (be warned, it will post any ‘pins’ onto your Timeline) or use a gmail account. You will have to start by ‘pinning’ others to get started- it’s easy to navigate and find your niche or genre.
The Bad News: You can’t just highlight your work, you have to include other creatives- but this is also a great way of introducing your work to them. Pinterest can also be a time warp.
The Good News: Once you’ve established a basis of your work, it’s easy to maintain. You can choose how much activity you want to do, i.e. once weekly/monthly. You can also post images from your website, which gives you a direct link with anyone that clicks on your image. Free traffic.
Depends completely on your personality and what you wish to convey. But. It’s beautifully suited to the short-attention-span-syndrome that many people have. Quite simply: it’s short, quick and to the point- but it has its issues.
Sample: https://twitter.com/CharmingGFX
The Good: If you’re doing a lot at the moment, or have a lot of shows, or have a specific promotion, etc.- Twitter is perfect to reach out. But you have to reply, favorite, follow and Tweet. If you don’t, you kill your online audience and their attention span. Their interest is super short.
Having a loyal Twitter following will be repaid tenfold anytime you need to advertise an event or show. Each person that tells their followers helps tons. It also boosts your Google search ratings.
The Bad: Twitter is limited in expressing yourself, and it can take up a lot of your time. It’s also in real-time, which means you have to interact regularly. It becomes a pain in the ass, if you aren’t interested in communicating in 140 words or less.
Facebook Fan Page
It’s fantastic for announcing events or doing promotions, especially for a local audience. The highest interest/traffic comes from photos, quotes or comments- just don’t make the mistake of creating a huge ‘me-centered’ page.
Sample: https://www.facebook.com/KyleThompsonPhotography
The Bad News: You have to be really interactive on pages to keep your fan base (as in commenting/liking others’ comments/posts) and you need to create a schedule. And stick to it. Or you lose fans. Also: don’t get caught in the numbers trap of obsessing about how many ‘likes,’ just be consistent.
The Good News: Since Facebook is a social media staple, you can get exposure from all walks of life, not just your niche audience. Word can be spread quickly about a show or event. It’s also very simple to use and navigate, with less work than you imagine.
How to Increase Your Ratings
Always add people in your target audience to circles/pins/likes/following/etc.- including competitors. Admiring work via photos and small asides, circle adds, direct comments give you online leverage in a way of respect. Smile gracefully at any bad feedback; you’ll be rewarded by ‘kind comments’ being highlighted in searches.
Uncle Google loves activity, which means invest in just 1 or 2 sites if you’re business- or sales- oriented. If it suits you, you can have one Buffer account for every post- which can multiple post to G+/Facebook/Twitter. You can also schedule posts ahead of time. For example, take an hour each Sunday to schedule posts for the week. Then you only have to reply to comments during the week- a huge time saver.
Note* Never have a public difficulty with a person you disagree with online, unless you want it written in code- forever. You can’t take back those ideas or words, and will hit high for your negativity. Your comments will crop up next to your good reviews, and you can’t get rid of them.
