If you’re like a lot of creatives out there, you probably dread the thought of wasting hours on twitter or facebook, but social media doesn’t have to consist of mindless comments and unwanted attention.
Getting savvy with social media can help grow your creative business in the following ways:
- Facebook pages are one of the cheapest ways to get you and your work noticed. You don’t have to do a hard-sell. Maintaining a page with a showcase, or links to, your work, and updating with daily/weekly discussions on current news and events relevant to your particular field can generate useful leads. You can join creative groups in your field and post updates to the group. If you want to grow followers quickly, you can boost your page for a fee.
- Use a Twitter account to keep up with breaking news and connect with agents, publishers, galleries, film companies, etc. You don’t have to tweet about your every waking thought: use twitter to stay up to date with the latest opportunities and build online relationships with the people who hire and fire in your field.
- If you work in a creative industry, having a LinkedIn account will help connect you with individuals and companies in the same field, making it easy for prospective employers or agents to connect with you quickly. This can save hours of résumé building and door-knocking (virtual or otherwise).
Social media isn’t the answer to all advertising and media needs, but use it wisely and it can be a valuable tool in your creative business kit.