Create, and the work will speak for and sell itself. That’s the dream, right? Maybe so. But the reality is that work can’t do everything. The most successful artists, musicians, makers, and creatives rely on solid marketing to build their brands, sell their products, and land new clients within their respective industries. If you’ve yet to create a real marketing strategy, now’s the time.
Marketing on social media has proven to be one of the best tactics for creative job seekers. From how many people you can reach to how easy it is to create and share unique content that goes viral, social media is a sure bet for starting your marketing journey and showcasing your work.
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Use the following guide to plan and execute a successful social media marketing strategy that elevates your creative career.
Determine What You Want To Use Social Media For
Many creatives get on social media and go with the flow. They don’t have any real direction, and the results they’re getting (or not getting) clearly indicate that.
If you want to get something out of social media marketing, you need to determine what that something is. In other words, what are your social media marketing goals? What would be your ideal results from a successful social media marketing strategy? What types of clients are you hoping to attract? Which gigs are you hoping to land?
Whether it’s brand awareness, showcasing your portfolio, creating a community, or another goal, determine what you want to use social media for and be clear about it.
Write Out an Actual Plan
Once you know what you want to use social media for and the ideal results you want from your strategy, it’s time to write out an actual plan. Get the details of your marketing strategy down on paper or in a digital document.
Discuss the specifics of who you’re targeting on social media. Think about how you will present yourself on social media in order to showcase your best work. Dig into details about the platforms you’ll be on and the kind of content you’ll create for each. Detail everything you will do on social media to create the best experience for your fans and followers.
Your plan is the roadmap you’ll follow to ensure you’re successful on social media.
Get Into a Content Creation Routine
Creating content is the most time-consuming part of social media marketing. You need to create a lot of it and post often to break through the oversaturation plaguing social media today.
The thing is, you can’t just create any old content and expect it to take off. You must invest time and effort to develop high-quality, original content. A content creation routine will help you get into this habit.
Start with designing a dedicated space for creating content. In it, you’ll be able to get into your creative “zone” much easier. Intentional colors, shapes, lighting, and accessories can all facilitate comfort, creativity, and a good mind for creation. Additionally, any photography, videography, and visuals you create will have a great backdrop.
Once you’ve got your content studio set up, develop a routine around creating content. Choose the days you’ll focus on creating and editing content. Time block to ensure you’re getting as much as possible done during those days. And be specific about what you’re working on, and what your goals are.
Experiment With Various Kinds of Content
Social media isn’t a place for boring, stagnant content. Nor can you expect to stand out doing everything that every other job seeker does. It’s essential to experiment with various kinds of content for a few reasons:
- You need to figure out what type of content gets the most engagement from your audience, and what resonates most with the clients that you are trying to attract;
- You need to find the content that supports who you are as a creative and brand;
- Different types of content allow you to connect with more people.
Experiment, and do it with conviction. Get into reels. Create a lot of video content. Shoot standout images and post them. Go live. Make infographics, polls, and surveys. Throw some written words in there.
The key is that you create content that showcases your authentic self. While the exact type of content you create may vary, you want to make sure that your tone and the way that you present yourself online are in line with how you present yourself as a creative professional, especially if you are using social media to land a job.
Understand Data Analytics and Use It to Your Advantage
Data analytics is not everyone’s strong suit. But to get results from your marketing, you must understand data analytics and learn to use it to your advantage. Yes, learning about how to collect, process, and analyze social media data can be overwhelming.
However, breaking the learning process down into digestible chunks and giving yourself time to really comprehend what you’re looking at will help. Set aside time each week to learn the analytics tools on each social media platform you’re using.
Familiarize yourself with how to access these tools. Then, look at the data and note what you think it means.
Taking a social media data analytics course or asking a specialist for guidance will help you leverage data even better.
Spend a Lot of Time Engaging With Your Followers and Fans
You can post a lot of content on social media. But if you aren’t getting any engagement on your posts, you just put in a lot of time and effort creating content that won’t get results.
The first step is creating high-quality content that motivates people to leave comments, direct messages, and start conversations. In other words, create content that inspires action.
When you get people to take action, ensure you’re following it up by engaging with them. Spend time responding to every comment and shoutout you get. Answer every direct message with something thoughtful. Always thank those who share your work or engage with you on live streams.
Each follower you have could be a potential client, so be sure to always put your best foot forward. At its core, social media is about meeting other people, and you can use it to network effectively if you know the right techniques.
Think Long-Term Marketing and Campaign-Specific
You should think about social media marketing in two ways:
- A long-term, ongoing strategy;
- Individual campaigns for specific reasons.
You’ll need to continuously market yourself and your work for the life of your creative career. But you’ll also need to develop individual campaigns for product launches, new partnerships, upcoming shows, and so forth. Balancing both is critical.
Sometimes you’ll have to work diligently on an individual campaign, and your ongoing strategy will take a backseat, and vice versa. This is okay. So long as the time you spend on each type of campaign eventually equals out. You’ll know you need to adjust your approach if progress stalls on either.
Social media is one of the best places for a creative to market themselves, their work, and their brands, and can also be a major networking opportunity. Putting effort into your social media presence and marketing upfront can go a long way toward getting you to the career you want.
