Social Media for Creative Artists

December 17, 2009 | Published by Kjell-Roger |

This post takes a deeper look into social media, what it is and how to use it. I’m gonna talk about facebook and twitter in this post, but most of these tips does apply to other forms such as blogging. I don’t consider myself an expert in the field, but I jumped on the wagon quite early and have a keen interest in the subject. So the post is based on my own experiences and what I’ve learned from attending a few seminars. Read on for the full post.

What is Social Media?
The definition is quite wide and still not really set in stone. But in general social media is something most people use everyday, like Facebook. Blogging, Twitter and Flickr is also under the definition of social media, it’s a way to share information to many people and giving them the possibility of interaction around the information published.

«Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many)» – Wikipedia

What use do I have for it?
As a creative artist (designer, photographer and so on) you most likely already use some form for social media. It’s been around for along time, but it’s only lately the term has become more apperant and we’ve seen an explosion in it’s use. Many of you are most likely on Flickr, which is a highly regarded image publishing media; Photographers use it to display their work and others are publishing their photos from a recent vacation. The beauty of it all is that people can discuss your photo, give comments and critique. And on the way you might learn something from it or even salvage some glory from other users.

As an creative artist it’s a great way to get your works out in the wide open, besides your portfolio. Services like Facebook and Twitter is often a good way to reach out to the people you want, even potential clients. In this day and age the use of social media could be defining for you as an artist. It will never replace the face to face interaction between you, your clients and people who appreciate your art, but it will help you reach them in an easier way.

How?
There are several services out there that soon is a platform to reach, well, almost everybody. I’m gonna give you some tips and some does and dont’s on two particular services in this article.

Facebook
Facebook has over 350 million users, which means if it was a country, it would be the worlds fifth largest. Larger and smaller companies early saw the potential, they started advertising immiedately. When people say «Everyone I know is on Facebook», they’re in many ways not far from the truth. That’s why Facebook is a good way to market yourself, as many companies have done before you.

Register yourself a Facebook Page, for yourself or your company (some freelance, other dont). Put up every information you feel is necessary and what you provide. Since Facebook is quite personal it’s a good idea not to have a to static language. I’m not saying you should try to act like someone your not, but speaking on a more personal level is more approriate. Then start inviting people on your facebook to become a «fan». Some people will decline, some will join. But in my experience your friends will support you or your company and from there others might add your page as well (my own page got alot of «fans» I have no idea who is.)

Twitter
At the moment Twitter is the fastest growing social media on the web. It’s called microblogging because of the limited space of each message. But this way you’ll get faster to your point, which is good.

Creating a twitter account is easy. Adding people on your list is easy . And if you write about the right things getting followers is not to hard either. And the glory of it all is that there is tags that add you’re message to what you can call a «tag». If for example you’re writing about a new design, you put #design in the message and everyone that is interested in design can find your message by checking out the tag #design.

I mostly use twitter to follow people in my field and interests. Some of those will follow you back, but other people, including potential clients, will follow you too if they find you interesting. Twitter is still growing and you might find that the core is mostly, for now, people like yourself.

Do’s and don’ts
-As with everything, don’t spam. Both on Facebook and Twitter people get feeded your message directly. It’s quite annoying reading the same thing over and over again
- If people decline you, they decline you. Don’t bug them with another invite.
- If people asks questions and comment, answer them. It’s important to show that you care.
- Act as you would in any proffesional manner, if people make stupid comments, don’t start an unecessary discussion. You’re a proffesional, never forget that.
- Talking about other great artists, bringing tips and sharing experiences is important. It also percieve you as somewhat an expert in your field. And talking about the occasional great movie you saw or great new band you’ve been listening to isn’t a bad thing either.
- Because; talking about only yourself and your work/products might not be that entertaining in the long-run. But of course; you’re also there to promote yourself!

Many of these tips also apply to other social media such as blogging on your proffesional site. Blogging is a big aspect of social media and a good way to reach out, but it also require alot of work.
As with every social media service things won’t just be done in a flash. It takes time building up credibility and followers. So don’t expect a take off right away.

With this I wish all of you good luck. Some of you might already be a social media junkie like myself, some of you might just be getting into it. Just take your time, it’s totally worth it.