{"id":49003,"date":"2024-06-11T12:41:53","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T12:41:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zealous.co\/about\/?p=49003"},"modified":"2025-10-29T15:07:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T15:07:03","slug":"i-wish-i-knew-that-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zealous.co\/about\/spotlights\/i-wish-i-knew-that-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"I Wish I Knew That: Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Lauren Little, Founder of Dark Yellow Dot<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Lauren Little<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I look back on my social media journey, there are a couple of things I wish someone had told me sooner. Firstly, patience is key. It takes lots of time, sometimes years to build a genuine following, despite what the flashy influencers might suggest. And secondly, having a big following doesn’t automatically mean big bucks and lots of income. Only a fraction of your audience actually sees your posts, which can affect engagement rates, affecting sponsorship opportunities and monetisation strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, here’s my advice for emerging creatives: focus on your craft and connecting with your audience authentically. Forget trying to please the ever changing algorithms and trends because at the end of the day, it’s about sharing your creativity and building relationships with those who genuinely appreciate it. That’s where the real fans are and when you have real fans, magic happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find more of Dark Yellow Dot’s work on their\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Tabish Khan, Art Critic<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Tabish Khan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I wish I knew both how powerful and addictive social media can be. I had no idea how much it would blow up and how people would come to recognise me by my Instagram handle. It’s a great way to connect with artists and other arts professionals and especially Instagram is its own platform that’s largely separated from my writing – i.e. a lot of people who follow me there have never read anything by me for other publications. I’m also glad that I keep all forms of social media strictly professional as I wouldn’t be comfortable having anything of my personal life on there, though I appreciate that’s an individual choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we all know it’s highly addictive to flick to socials on my phone if it’s next to me so now I sleep with it in another room and often have it in a different room when I’m working. Posting regularly can also be extremely burdensome and I recently hired someone to schedule all my posts for me and now I’m wondering why I didn’t do this years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tabish Khan is an art critic specialising in London’s art scene who believes passionately in making art accessible to everyone. Tabish has been visual arts editor for Londonist since 2013 and also regularly contributes to FAD, Artsy and other publications. Tabish is also a trustee of ArtCan, a non-profit arts organisation that supports artists through profile raising activities and exhibitions, and of the prestigious City & Guilds London Art School and Discerning Eye, which hosts an annual exhibition featuring hundreds of works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find more from Tabish on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>,\u00a0X<\/a>, his\u00a0Website<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Kirsty Paints, Artist<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Kirsty Paints<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Making art and making content are two completely separate things. There, I said it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s so easy for us to believe that our art must suck<\/em> because our post got two likes. It feels like we need to stop sharing because OBVIOUSLY the world is telling us we\u2019re terrible artists and they\u2019re not interested in our creativity, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My friend, I tell you this with the most love and compassion I have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning to make content has nothing<\/strong> to do with your artistic ability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an entirely different skill.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wrapping your artistic identity around your follower count and your engagement levels is the fastest way to burnout and give up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust me, I\u2019ve done both of those about 10 times!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THIS is what I wish I knew (and did) sooner\u2026 The number one greatest skill you could possibly learn before you even begin thinking<\/em> about posting your art online is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Detaching the outcome of your post to the way you feel<\/em> about your own art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You fall head over heels in love with your own artwork first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026. And then take the time to learn how to make content – just like you took the time to learn how to create your art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kirsty is a Painter and Creativity Coach dedicated to elevating the lives of artists. By sharing everything she knows about creative living, she\u2019s here to make the world brighter, one painting at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find Kirsty on her\u00a0TikTok<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Johnathan Williams, Photographer<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Johnathan Williams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Everything you post on social media contributes to the identity you\u2019re constructing for yourself, whether you\u2019re aware of it or not. A majority of the people who follow you will never meet you in real life. They’ll probably never have a conversation with you either. So whatever you\u2019re posting contributes to the image they’re creating of you in their heads. So be mindful. Be your authentic self, post content aligned with your values and morals, and represent yourself in the best light possible. Your online identity should always match your real-life identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, use social media in moderation. It’s all about balance. Don’t spend every waking moment scrolling through Instagram and TikTok looking for inspiration and then be surprised when you feel uninspired. Overconsumption of online content can be detrimental to your creative career and well-being. Inspiration isn’t always found online. Go for a walk, take a drive, hike up a mountain. You’d be surprised how doing the most ordinary activities can lead to the best creative ideas. Some of my most popular TikTok video ideas came to me while driving to the supermarket or going on my weekly park run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnathan Williams is a freelance photographer and TikTok content creator, specialising in portrait and event photography alongside music-related TikTok content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find more about Johnathan on his\u00a0website<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0TikTok<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>. Johnathan has recently opened his debut solo photography exhibition at Grosvenor Road Studios which you can read more about\u00a0here<\/a>, and you can visit the exhibition until October 2024.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Zoe Thompson, Founder of sweet-thang zine<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Zoe Thompson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I think about the start of my creative career, two years come to mind: 2017 and 2021. I started sweet-thang zine at the end of 2016\/beginning of 2017, when a lot of the UI and business tools we seamlessly use now didn\u2019t even exist! Then I started freelancing as a social media manager in 2021, when social media had taken on an entirely new meaning in just a few short years. Not only was I using social media differently as a consumer, but I also had to learn and grow with the times to use it as a marketer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I wish I had known back then was how important curation is. I used to post sporadically and not have a system in place for what I wanted to say, who I wanted to speak to, and how. Content creation is one thing, but curation is where the organisational magic happens. Knowing how to structure and curate your social media offers you a framework to understand your mission and brand and cultivate a sense of trust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, I would remind myself that consistency doesn\u2019t mean posting every day. Quality over quantity is key, as well as making sure each post brings some form of value to my community and comes from an intentional headspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoe Thompson is the founder of sweet-thang zine and is a freelance zine artist and writer. She is currently the listings coordinator at Creative Lives In Progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find more on her LinkedIn<\/a>, and check out the sweet-thang zine website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Verity Babbs, Art Critic-Comedian & Presenter<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Verity Babbs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I wish I knew that you don’t have to do it all. It can be easy to fall into the trap that posting what you want when you want isn’t enough, and actually you need to be posting on Instagram and TikTok and Twitter on a tight schedule and that you should be making different platform-specific content every day and getting really into Canva. I think the best way to use social media for your career is to be as authentic as you can, and that includes the frequency of your posts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I get no joy from content plans, so spending time curating a feed on a social media platform I barely use wouldn’t be authentic for me. It would become a chore, and wouldn’t be conducive to me making content that I or anyone else would actually enjoy. For some people, that kind of curated approach across various platforms is completely their thing, which is great, but don’t waste time comparing yourself to people who genuinely enjoy doing that sort of stuff. Social media is a great tool for connecting to other people, and building thousands of followers isn’t actually necessary for you to do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verity Babbs is a writer, presenter, and host of Art Laughs art-themed comedy nights. She studied History of Art at the University of Oxford and now works to bring laughter into conversations about art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find more from Verity on her\u00a0website<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>. Also check out\u00a0Art Laughs<\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Haydn Corrodus<\/strong>, Digital Consultant to the Arts and Cultural sector <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Haydn Corrodus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The truth is, there is probably little I can tell you about social media that you don\u2019t already know on some level, but knowing and doing are two different things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So below are some cliches that, if you can take to heart, will lead to digital success!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Content isn\u2019t king. Storytelling is.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you can identify the story you want to tell about your work, passions, etc., and find a platform that allows you to do this consistently, you will grow an audience. As the saying goes, build it, and they will come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t have to be on every platform.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The notion that you must be on every platform is false. With 5.07 billion social media users globally, I promise you every platform will have the audience group you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When building a community, focus on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n