Artistic Vulnerability in the Digital Realm: Triumphing Over Social Media Anxiety
It was towards the end of the first decade of the century when social media became an integral part of the internet landscape, that’s for me at least. A new mode of communication and self-expression emerged. It was then that I found myself in a process uploading my work and then patiently waiting to see its reception (which essentially meant constantly refreshing the page). I compared the number of Likes my work received with those of others, and then engaged in the reciprocal act of Liking other people's posts, hoping for a similar gesture in return. It was a cycle that repeated as I uploaded my work to different platforms. This process of putting my creations out there had always been quite intimidating for me. I couldn't help but feel apprehensive about sharing my carefully crafted artwork and subsequently gauging its worth based on the number of Likes it accumulated.
Have you ever experienced such apprehension?
The part that unsettled me most was the uncertainty surrounding my audience – who were they? Was I even effectively communicating with them? The lack of response could have been due to various reasons: perhaps they hadn't seen my work, maybe they didn't like it, or they simply chose not to engage. The message I was receiving was, at best, unclear.
Fast forward to today, and I've come to realize that this need not be the case. The online realm is populated by real individuals with aspirations, dreams, struggles, and vulnerabilities, much like myself. There's no reason to fear sharing my work and personal narrative with them. A lot has changed around the way we use the internet too and rather than tossing my message into the vast unknown, I can now direct my communication towards specific individuals who constitute my intended audience. This realization required substantial research, but its impact has been transformative, fundamentally altering how I present myself online.
Employing strategies transformed my approach to online engagement
There are three fundamental strategies I employed to maintain clarity in my communication with my desired audience:
Crafted an outline of my ideal customer: While I used to believe that creative work should resonate with everyone, I now understand that not everyone possesses the capacity to appreciate or comprehend artistic expressions in the same way. This shift in perspective enabled me to precisely outline the characteristics of individuals who are capable of appreciating and actively seeking what I have to offer. Developing this customer profile served as a guiding principle, ensuring consistency across all forms of communication.
Built an email list: Initially, the notion of a creative individual sending out emails seemed perplexing. However, I soon grasped the value of this approach. Maintaining an email list facilitated direct communication with individuals who had expressed genuine interest in my offerings. Unlike social media, where algorithms could obscure the true reception of your work, communicating through email provided a more direct and transparent channel.
Leveraged Pinterest: A substantial portion of individuals seeking creative solutions and insights into cultivating a creative lifestyle dedicated a considerable amount of time to platforms like Pinterest. This virtual realm was home to an array of visual solutions curated by fellow creatives. By organizing boards on this platform, I found success in attracting my desired audience, directing them towards my work and chosen avenue of communication.
The daunting process of sharing my work in the online sphere and the subsequent uncertainty surrounding its reception had once been paralyzing fears. However, by employing strategies like outlining ideal customers, nurturing an email list, and harnessing the power of platforms like Pinterest, I transformed my approach to online engagement.
