Attention Artists: How Facebook, Twitter, Google+ YouTube & Other Social Media Sites Help You

Posted on July 11, 2011 by itees

Facebook and YouTube have become great resources for artists! (illustrators, designers, fine artists, photographers, musicians and actors…) Not only do we have the ability to post galleries and videos of our work, but we can create event pages about upcoming productions or exhibitions and invite all our friends. Our friends can share the events with other friends and so on. Facebook even stores our response, “attending” or “maybe” and will remind us of the event.

Today, we still receive direct mail postcards and brochures about upcoming productions and exhibitions, but there’s nothing better than having that information stored in a place we visit everyday. It’s a great way to be reminded as the event draws near.

Facebook also lets us feature our lastest videos so business owners can feature a new brand or product, actors can show a clip from an upcoming show, and musicians can feature their latest song.

We have the ability to create custom pages (iFrame apps) and they can include audio, video, forms, basically anything you can put on an html page and then you can set any of those custom pages as the landing page for newcomers. You can grab the link to that custom page and post about it, sending people to check it out. You can even load a store custom page and sell products right in there as well.

So okay what’s the ROI (return on investment)?

Since Facebook is FREE, I’d say the ROI is pretty amazing, but here are a few stats just from my own experience.

In the past two years my Facebook friends have tripled. It’s amazing to me sometimes over these many years just how many people I’ve met and know from the last! I have been invited to many more exhibitions, webinars, teleclasses and events, and by knowing about them and attending them (some in person) I have been introduced to so many new people.

As a creative, the larger your reach, the more opportunities will come your way.

As for Twitter, it has been a different experience. The sharing of bits of information can be a wonderful resource for news and meeting and learning about new people has it’s benefits, but so far I don’t see the ROI as much as on Facebook and I think it’s because the dialog on Facebook is much more personal and engaging. The conversation can be among lots of people at once, rather than just a dialog between two.

On LinkedIn, I have been using this networking site for a few years and have built a great business posse. My connections have also probably quadrupled. It’s a great place to share information with like-minded individuals and groups to have engaged discussions. When looking for companies to pitch to, or people who might help you, you can’t beat it’s database of millions of professionals.

I have a channel on YouTube and I can subscribe to other people’s channels… then YouTube sends me notifications when those people have uploaded new videos, as others get mine. I can embed a video in a blog post or just share it with my friends and colleagues on social media.

Savor The Success is a growing community of women entrepreneurs across the planet (15,000+) and I have been a member since 2010. This has been a very valuable resource for me. My visibility and clients are expanding due to this exceptional online community.

In the past few weeks, I joined this new community, Social Buzz Club, and I can see now how being a charter member and soon blogger of this new social media community is going to explode it all for me and super charge my online visibility. The sharing of valuable content between colleagues, having brand advocates in your corner for your own business, and being able to share that information with friends, what could be better?

Today I joined Google+ and so far it’s pretty great! Once I joined it instantly pulled together all my information for me… my profile photo, links to website, blog and social media, even all my company details. Now I’m connecting with people I know and you share on the wall like in Facebook or Twitter. I’m wondering why it recognized my YouTube account but doesn’t seem to load any of the videos there? Also it’s not immediately recognizing people but these may be kinks in the new system they are still perfecting. Check it out!

Branding YOU Better! Making My Clients Look Great!

Posted on May 15, 2010 by itees

In my last post I wrote about attending the all day event of Rock The World, given by Savor The Success. Listening to the speakers and meeting other women entrepreneurs, I have learned so much.

Michael Gerber of Origination asked us to write this down: “What do I want?”

For about a week I walked around saying different things to myself and it finally came to me.

I want to make whatever I come across better, whether it’s by creation, design or spreading environmental awareness.

I started thinking about how that is reflected in my company, SNDI.

Before when visitors came to my site there was a splash page and I had you select a link to go inside, but unless you dug deeper, visited my profile page or company page, you didn’t see me, the site was all about design and the portfolio.

I realized that what separates me from other design firms is ME! It’s my visions and conceptuality. What I come up with to brand a client or their product, is what makes me unique. It’s also what helps me retain clients year after year, they trust me, respect my expertise and know that whatever I create is solely for them, to help them shine.

New Branding YOU Better! Logo

So, I have started revising my site by branding the new phrase geared toward clients, “Branding YOU Better!” I removed the splash page and put my photo and a quick animation of a few client projects showing the branding I created for them. This is more direct and immediately separates me from other design studios. Next, my plan is get new headshots, create more graphics that show the continuity and style from print to web for many of my clients, and to add photos and video of my clients with their testimonials and perhaps new shots of them surrounded by the materials I created for them.

I also registered the new domain for Branding YOU Better! and will build a new site there, that is simple and direct. It will have just enough branding samples to make the point, and will use the latest javascript animation or programing techniques so I’m showing by example that I can create whatever a client wants or needs.

I also learned that when you have a design and logo that you’re using, you must make sure that you’re using it throughout your social media as well. I had been using my logos of course but forgot about the backgrounds. So I took that splash page and dropped it into Twitter (@sndinc), and did the same for our Frog Blog, you’ll see that the background on Twitter (@greeninnature) is now the same as Frogs Are Green. All banner ads I create are also using the same appropriate graphics.

This all helps to support my brand and creates trust for clients who know me and for new clients who have just discovered me.

Using Social Media & Email Marketing in This Tough Economy

Posted on February 7, 2010 by itees

Over the past year and a half, the percentage of new clients and new projects coming in, is down by 20%, so using email marketing and social media is more important than ever.

First I want to explain how to use LinkedIn.com to it’s advantage.

You start by creating a profile and loading it up with all the important details, such as, links to your personal or company website and/or blog, the various companies you’ve worked for, and the organizations you belong to. Then you might want to search for people you know, clients you currently have, friends who may be able to help you, and co-workers from previous companies. Then you might do a search on companies or target job descriptions, such as Art Directors or Creative Directors in a 25 mile radius. You can invite them to connect, by sending them a message, and be sure to personalize it by complimenting them on their work or why you’re contacting them.

Another wonderful feature on LinkedIn is the groups. I belong to many groups, some are green, sustainability, green-thinking, Nature Conservancy, National Geographic Society, Non-Profit Network, and some are graphic design or marketing and advertising groups. There are groups for music and entertainment, Apple, mac, and alumni for the schools you attended. You can search in groups for whatever interests you, and request to join. In each of these groups, there are hundreds or thousands of members. So if you post a discussion or a job, you have the potential to reach so many people at once. For example, I just posted a job description that I was looking for new clients and projects and by posting it within each group I belong to, who knows how many might read it. I’ve also posted discussions, and sometimes depending on just the right topic or headline, you can send hundreds of people to read your post and that’s also a wonderful way for people to get to know you.

Once you are a member of a group, you can also participate in a discussion posted by another member, and when you comment, all the people following that discussion can see your comment and it becomes another way for people to know who you are. You can also connect with people who are within your group, by selecting them and marking the group you both have in common.

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Facebook is another great way to get your name, company, or cause out there. In addition to having a person profile, so you can chat with friends and family, you can create company pages and invite people to become fans of your company. You can have as many company pages as you have companies, but only one profile page is allowed.

My cause with Mary Jo Rhodes, Frogs Are Green, has both a Facebook company page, so we can keep people informed of our latest news, products and posts, and a cause page. Until we become a non-profit organization (which we hope to establish in 2010) we’ve designated that donations go to Amphibian Ark.

I also have company pages on Facebook to help promote Susan Newman Design Inc., i-Tees, and Web Design NJNY.

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Twitter is a fascinating addition to social media. It’s amazing how you can keep up to date on a topic around the world instantly. Most news items that I see on Twitter, aren’t even on the TV news yet. I remember when that plane made an emergency landing on the Hudson River and I saw that news clip on Twitter. I ran into the living room to watch the TV news and it didn’t come on until at least 1/2 hour later. Then of course it dominated the news.

You can also customize your Twitter design by altering the background picture and the style colors of the page. I have two Twitter accounts, one for my design company which is @sndinc and one for all things “green” including the Frogs Are Green blog, @greeninnature.

It’s also wonderful now that you can hook up your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts together. So a posting on one, will automatically be seen on the other two.

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For the past few years, I have been emailing out a newsletter to my client base, as well as potential clients. I use Constant Contact and find this is a valuable resource. I have also used it for various clients who’s websites I’ve designed and maintain. When you’re a designer and constantly competing against so many, across so many industries, I find that you must keep people informed on what you’re latest projects are. Even if you designed a few book covers for someone, it doesn’t mean he/she may not be interested in seeing your website design. They may know someone who is looking and it helps to refresh their memory of you, when they may be assigning work.

I would say that so long as you don’t send it out too often, you’re going to keep these people watching and clicking. To see some of my clients newsletters, click here, and to read mine, click here and be sure to sign up if interested!

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The recent earthquake crisis in Haiti, really showed us the power of social media. The fact that people could post messages and pictures when trying to locate loved ones, was so resourceful. For those of us here in the USA and others around the world, being able to follow news reporters for the latest details, or organizations for updates helped us all feel connected.

Today, we cannot survive without these tools.