content creator – Everbright Social Media

Break the mold: understand how to leverage social media as an artist

Creating a strong brand presence

I think one thing most artists forget or maybe don’t consider is building a strong brand presence.

I see this on ETSY a lot with crafters a lot. They underestimate not only the energy you need but mostly how long it takes to build trust and show expertise. People who have talent, a market and a great product, expect that because they have these qualities, people should jump for their product. It’s said that 20% of the outcome is from 80% of work input. Not only this, but a long-term presence that showcases authority over time, enables trust for the client. Which is really important here on the internetz. It takes time. Something most successful people either don’t mention or outright lie about to sell you that thing they are selling. For those who are in the know, know, it’s a marathon, not a race.

There are many quiet successes along the way.

Some tips for building a strong brand presence on Pinterest include the following:

Create visual storytelling on Pinterest. Pinterest is a visual search engine as opposed to regular social media. On Pinterest, you aren’t seeing what your friends and family are up to, or sharing and updating your life with your friends. It’s a place where people can go to find ideas, search for images, plan crafts or meals etc. By creating boards such as “Abstract” or “Watercolour Painting” it becomes like a homing pigeon for potential buyers and gets the right traffic to your work. I actually use it as a portfolio aside from my main website (true story). Include behind the scenes pins and WIP pins too.
Optimize your pins for searchability. You would think that your image alone would just pop up in the correct person’s feed. Yes and no. You show up in a person’s feed with keyword-rich words. By using keyword-rich descriptions and titles for your pins, artists like yourself can improve your content’s discoverability on Pinterest. You should also include keywords related to your art style, techniques, materials, etc. which ensure the pins show up in search results. Go to trends.pinterest.com to find the best keywords for your art.
With Pinterest, you can also link your website or online store to your pins and drive traffic that way. Pinterest underwent several changes to how to create the right pin for your purpose; but settled most recently on Simple Pins. And it is just that–a simple pin where you can link your site to your pin. Couple this with optimization, it will help a buyer not only visit your site but will help people see your pin in their feed to begin with. Make sure your pins are quality photos and high resolution!

I hope that helps.

This service is for

The ones who need help with their social media and don’t know how it works.

For those who would like to learn more for themselves but mainly for their business.

For those who make art and want to start selling and get a website up and running.

For those who want someone to manage their social media for them.

It’s also for those who are interested to learn how social media works so they can keep up with friends and family.

TBT

How do I know what kind of digital marketer I should hire?

In a sea full of marketers, it’s always a difficult to know where to start. It’s certainly a process of elimination. What I’d suggest is thinking about your brand, where you want to be in a few years and how will you get there; along with that, there are many forms of content out there. You should have your ideal customer in mind and at least some idea of where you are coming up short. Do not leave that bit up to the new hire.

For example, perhaps you are a small business starting out. You’ll want to focus on brand awareness and building that value in the online community. Build loyalty, not likes. Think long-term and not short-term, inconsequential vanity metrics.

Find someone whose media style is close to the look you want and go for it. Listen to them and understand their limits and you have a good start.

Why social media management?

“I don’t want to sellout”

“I don’t want to pester people”

“I don’t want to compromise my art”

We’ve all been there and identified with at least one, or maybe more of those comments, and now, the “not good enough” phase has passed and the first mountain has been climbed.

You want to make money selling your art without compromising your integrity.

The first scary first step. I am here to help you and guide you through your journey.

We’ll delve into who your buyer persona is, we’ll work together to create a strategy for posting, we’ll study the best platforms for you to be on and so much more…

Content creation and marketing

Content creation in relation to marketing is like white to rice. You can’t have one without the other.

As a creative person, it’s the ultimate dream job. There are a bazillion combinations of content to get your message across. The hard part is getting your message across. Lemmie back up.

Just like with art, there are good ideas and there are bad ideas. Some are just better than others and they communicate perfectly and effectively. Like Nike. And just like a good teacher, you need to know when to take the drawing away from the child. You can overdo it.

It’s why it’s so important to have a positive, nurturing work environment.

So in conclusion, while there are many ways to get an idea across, just like a good roast, it takes time. You can’t have a marketing idea without content to support it. White without rice.

Content creation

For excessively creative people like myself, writing and content creation comes a bit naturally. However, knowing where to go to find ideas and be able to put a unique twist on them to make them your own yet still be trendy and trending and relevant and relatable? Now that’s a bit tricky.

Don’t forget authenticity.

I figure the most essential part in content creation is finding your writing voice. From there you develop your style. I enjoy writing. Relating and connecting with people brings an immense amount of fulfillment so I figure this is what I’m meant to do. I don’t mean content creation specifically but connecting with people through art and creativity.

I’m biased (let’s just put that out there) but it’s very important to find someone who loves what they do. It’ll bring a freshness to their work and you will both be all the better for it. In saying that, not everyone who loves what they do will be your jam. Everyone has different values and goals. Sit down. Have a conversation and see how it goes from there.

What is the difference between freelancing vs consultant?

After looking at the definition of both, freelancers work for themselves contractually and consultants work for a company or organization (still contractually) but tend to stick with one business for longer periods of time. Basically, freelancing is inconsistent when it comes to obtaining a client as opposed to consulting which is more steady.

Freelancers have a reputation of not having college degrees, or formal training. Of being self-taught and have little loyalty to one particular company or business. They learn as they go and study in unconventional ways in their field, but mostly they learn by picking up information by trial and error. Basically. It’s not to say they aren’t skilled, instead they have insatiable creativity and drive which pushes them to learn. It’s what also makes them great at what they do.

Consultants are more experts in a field and typically have some kind of college degree or training. That training goes further down the rabbit hole for very specific training. They provide council and guidance to businesses and advise where decisions need to be made. They make recommendations and will make long-term plans and set goals to achieve them. They have more loyalty towards a company because of the time factor.

It’s important to note, however, that some freelancers do pursue certifications or obtain technical training in specific skill areas. However, consultants will go one step further by choosing a broader study of the same subject in order to advise decisions between say, types of programs within that subject for a company to purchase.

Content creation is like a red, red rose

So I live in Edmonton (now that I’ve caught your attention), what’s the difference between content creation and social media strategy?

Content creation is very different. Content creators take care of the difficult parts of digital marketing. Like taking care of video, audio, display, writing, (compelling) copy, grammar, editing, photography…the content. The meat 🥩 of the post.

In order to make good content, you have to be creative and have good ideas (note: GOOD ideas).

Now with strategy, a digital media strategist is responsible for things like understanding numbers. Analytics. Overall projection. Long-term thinking. Knowing your brand’s audience (buyer persona). Researching to determine which platforms you should be on. Doing content research and directing creators. Developing your message and observing your brand’s pillars.

So if you’re looking for a digital marketer, make sure to do your research and understand their skills. Also, call them. Not just email. Do a video chat. Maybe they have a video on their website or better yet, have sent a small video along with their proposal describing what they can do specifically for you. Do you think you guys could work together? Are they professional and respectful and respond timely to you? Consider these things before hiring and you’ll save a lot of headache in the future.