Social Media: Relax…
[by Thomas Werner]
Much has been made of social media and it’s importance in terms of building your market and creating greater visibility for yourself and your business. While I agree social media has become essential to a well-rounded marketing a program, I find the emphasis many have placed on this topic a little extreme.
While giving lectures I often hear people say they have been told to spend one hour a day on social media. That is an extraordinary amount of time to devote to what should become a consistent but casual interaction in which relationships are developed over the course of time. If you spend a couple of hours a week reaching out, creating new connections, and letting people know what you are doing via Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, you should find your network slowly growing and the benefits to yourself and your business growing as well.
Leave the five or seven hour a week to those who want to become online “experts” in this field. Get out, create images, have lunch with an old client, find new ways to partner with an expanded network of creatives in your city. Develop your marketing plan and relax when it comes to social media; grow your social network in a manner that you are comfortable with and your “friends” and “contacts” will be comfortable as well.
8 Responses to 'Social Media: Relax…'
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Smartest thing I’ve read on the topic of social media!
Thomas
Thomas,
Thanks for this post.
I am one of the consultants who have suggested photographers use social media at least one hour a day (or 5-7 hours per week). Social media is not only Facebook and related social networks, but includes blogging and commenting on blog posts (such as I am doing now). The gist of my suggestions are to be active, to resonate, to engage new contacts and markets, to make then directly aware of you and your skill set through the exchange of ideas, notes, comments, thoughts, links, etc. There is an accessibility within social media that is not available within any other marketing platform. (Would you have answered my email I had written you, returned my call?)
I’ve found that most gigs come through peer referrals and contacts (word of mouth). Using social media wisely can cultivate and reaffirm these types of connections with new friends and old. Similar to your very wise suggestion of having lunch with an old client, you could compound that meeting by seeing if that client uses one of the social networks and connect with them there. Then this contact can be kept abreast of your happenings via these new channels. In parallel, seek out all of your former clients and see if they are using one or more of the networks, seek to reconnect with them through the networks. It could warm them to your future call when you ask them to lunch.
If I was to break down my own social media time, it would look like this…
- 45% creating posts and commenting
- 35% using Twitter (for conversations AND research)
- 10% using Lazyfeed or other aggregators (Alltop) of social media
- 7% using Facebook
- 3% using LinkedIn
So far I’ve spent 20 minutes writing this comment, which I found via Twitter. If I wasn’t using social media I would never had found your post, which itself is your use of social media (and at lunch time I’ll check back in with Twitter and see who else I can engage with and either write some more comments or save that allocated time for later.)
How about you and I take it one step further. If you’re interested let’s engage in a dialog about social media and finding a balance for photographers. We could do a pro/cons type post, or an interview, or maybe a panel-type discussion, or a live-chat; I’m open to continuing this dialog if you are. You never know what new opportunities can arise from new connections. But, if not, no worries. One key element I suggest about social media is to depersonalize, to take risks and not be distraught if they don’t work out.
Maybe a more pertinent note is the con-flux of ideas that are emerging via social media and its influence on the creative professions and the marketplace. Social media has put a bright light on the industry, a transparency, which is pointing out that the artists who have a few more tools in the toolkit are thriving, rising, to match the expectations of the post-recession economy. I believe that keeping up with the marketplace is easily worth 5 hours a week.
Thank you again for your thoughtful post, I enjoyed reading it.
- Jason
I would write a response, but I’m out networking with friends now.
I’m a big proponent of Social Media, but I agree with you. It should only be part of your marketing efforts. It is not the be-all, end-all. It’s an excellent way to stay on top of current industry topics and to communicate with potential clients. That being said, you’ll get more mileage out of a cup of coffee with someone than you will out of a tweet. The trick is to have a strategy, batch process, and add value to your network.
t.werner – while i agree with you “emotionally”
in a world where ADHD has become a virtue, people like jason will eventually take over whether we like it or not.
Twitter is a good example. the person who tweets 5 times in a row will very quickly force the person who tweets only once off your screen.
even this message from just the week before can be applied to our current conversation
“If you are going to make a living in an over-supplied industry, you must be able to deliver more than a pretty picture.” rosh sillars posted 04 march 2010
i’m gonna go get some sun:)
Hello to all; though a longtime industry professional, recently have been making good use of what little time available to connect with the many talents to be found in this forum (and forums the like).
Social Media is the big boom these days and can give all an equal footing thru the doorways/communities of industry professionals and talent. Having built (and still building) nearly a lifetime of contacts and friends, the digital domain provides the vehicle to connect in an instant. That said; I would have to also agree with the subject of this post by Thomas Werner. Relax, and don’t miss the point.
Jason and all,
First, yes, I would have returned your e-mail, as for the phone call, I barely find time to talk to my Mom on the phone, so most likely that would have waited a while.
I agree that Social Media is essential and that time should be spent creating your personal network. For someone like Jason, spending 7 or more hours a week on Facebook, blogs, Twitter and LinkedIn is essential to building his visibility as a Social Media consultant and relates directly to his clientel. He is seen and heard by a number of photographers and other creatives who may use his service. It is also his job. This is the same reason you should invest some time in social media to raise your visibility and let people know who you are and what you are doing.
Where we disagree is in terms of the time spent. As a creative I cannot see spending one out of 5 or 6 working days a week promoting yourself online. Time needs to be spent doing research, creating new work, going to meetings, preparing for jobs, and hopefully shooting photographs, video, artwork, manifesting design, or partnering with other creatives in your community to realize real results in your work and career.
I too am on Twitter and LinkedIn (TWprojects), and Facebook (ThomasWernerProjects and Thomas Werner), and they have all been beneficial to my career. Yet, like BlackBook and mailers, and e-mail blasts, and other forms of promotion, there is a limit to the amount of time and success that each form of promotion can bring. As well as a cost benefit for the time spent working on each venue (Dr. Kim, my economics class with you did pay off!). There is always another outlet for self promotion and we should take advantage of them all, but no amount of time will replace your personal relationships, and creating new and exciting work. So, relax, makes some work, partner with new people, go see an exhibition to renew your vision, and then post something about how you spent your day out in the world.
Tweet me and we’ll chat on Facebook…!
Thomas
Quickly…as a consultant I spend over 10 hours on social media each week. My suggestions for photogs is not based on my own goals, but on the goals delivered to me by my photog clients. We can debate the points, if you wish, but my thrust is that we are within a shift in behavior of the market (those that hire), and that artists should match the shift to make new opportunities.
Thanks,
JM