On Freelancing 2: A sustainable approach to social media
There’s no one correct way to approach social media, but it doesn’t have to be a source of constant anxiety and addiction as it can so easily become.
First things first; this article is not about how to do social media. It’s about reducing the negative impact of social media on us as individuals. By “sustainable” I mean how we can make it sustainable for ourselves on an individual level. Ways we can approach social media to reduce the overwhelm, the addiction, and how we can pull back from the all-consuming beast without completely losing out.
A word of warning: social media can be a tremendous benefit for us and our businesses, but it can also disappear just like that. This is something I experienced myself a few months ago with Instagram. I won’t speak about it much here as we don’t have all day, but I’ll likely follow up in a longer-form piece later on.
Platforms rise and fall, and if we’re not careful they can take all our hard work (and all our private data) with it.
With all this in mind, below is a list of ways of how we can begin to build a more sustainable relationship to our social media:
Ask yourself if you truly need (or want) to be on social media.
Let’s start here. If you already use social media, which you likely do, take a step back and honestly look at how it’s working for you. How much time are you already putting in, and what have the benefits been? Have you gained any work, any opportunities through it? Have you connected with any potential clients? Write a list if it helps.
When it comes to social media, FOMO - the fear of missing out - can be incredibly powerful. When you see others doing something successful and you then feel you need to as well - recognise that, and remind yourself that you don’t need to do it as well. Especially on social media, spreading yourself too thin will exhaust and demoralise you so quickly.
Remember also that there are alternatives out there: direct-to-audience newsletters, mailing lists, chat-based communities like Discord, Slack groups and WhatsApp groups and many more ways of connecting meaningfully.
Consider which channels apply to you.
How many platforms are you on? Is your answer, “way too effing many?” Again, take a step back and recognise which ones are actually working for you and discard any that don’t, or you don’t have time for.
For a long time, I was on Instagram because I felt I had to be. I internalised the idea that, especially for photographers, this is where all the clients and jobs would come from. Even now, I see a lot of discussion around getting rid of websites as Instagram is where it’s at; this simply hasn’t been the case in my experience, though this could be more true for other areas of the industry.
In the meantime, I’ve been getting good work, new clients and opportunities through Twitter, including two separate photobook publishing deals. It took until the end of 2020 and the aforementioned Instagram disaster to say “hold up” - why had I put so much time and money into IG when the goods were elsewhere?
Now, I’ve chosen to completely scale back and treat Instagram like a visual diary and a place to connect with other creatives. Though I still have a calendar, I post only when I can be bothered to and I no longer worry about pleasing the algorithm. Freedom!
Almost, anyway…
Find and build a direct audience.
With many creatives leaving social media, other ways of connecting directly and meaningfully to people are coming to the fore.
One of those is email-based methods, through newsletters, mailing lists, blogs and the like. The benefit is that you have complete control over your audience and what they see; there’s no fighting to please biased algorithms and beg for good organic reach.
There are also other alternatives you can consider if you want something a bit more immediate and with more opportunity for conversation and discussion, like running a chat-based community. Discord and Slack have been popular for this sort of thing, as well as membership platforms like Patreon, or content subscription services like OnlyFans if you’re feeling a bit naughty. No, but really, there are lots of artists making use of the OF system.
Make a strategy (even if you think you don’t need one).
Sometimes, social media can cause us to lose our minds simply because we’re not preparing ahead of time. Are you the sort of person who puts clothes out the day before, or do you only decide when you get up in the morning? (For the record, I’m the former. Even now when all I wear is the same pair of leggings, thick jumper and winter socks. I’m much too brainless in the morning to be able to make any decisions!)
In this case, planning and strategising as far ahead as possible is one of the most helpful things you can do for yourself. Don’t be afraid of the word “strategy” - it could simply be a document with one sentence - “Post a piece of art once a week on Tuesdays after lunch”. That’s still a strategy.
In general, what you want to know is what and when to post. The deeper you can go and the more specific you can be, the easier you will make it for yourself.
If you haven’t already, take some time to brainstorm all the different types of posts you can make for your channels. Brainstorm fully; include anything you think won’t work or is too silly or too ambitious. Include it all. Then, make an edited list of 5 - 10 items and write it all down somewhere.
Plan ahead, make a calendar and schedule EVERYTHING.
Once you have an idea of what, next comes when.
A content calendar and the use of a scheduling tool have been crucial in allowing me to free up my time instead of spending an hour a day figuring out what to share, then editing photos and finally, building a post.
When I really get into the swing of things, I spend a half-day or so building and scheduling posts and that would literally be my social media posts done for an entire week or even an entire month.
Most social media platforms have their own scheduling tools, but there are scheduling tools available that allow you to schedule posts across multiple platforms - I use Later as they have a free account, but there is a variety of good alternatives.
I rely heavily on this. When I finally created a strategy and calendar for myself and started using a scheduler, that was when I was truly able to stop spending so much time on social media.
Engage with care.
As per Marie Kondo, unfollow any accounts that don’t bring you joy.
Be intentional with who or what you connect with.
If it’s an account that you’d still like to follow but not right now, mute them.
Some platforms have the option to mute words. Use this VERY generously.
Flat-out block accounts you never want to see or hear from again.
Turn off notifications. Yes, all of them.
Set timers for your social media apps so that you can restrict your usage as well as monitor it.
If you have any social media apps on the very front page of your device, move them. Put them on another page and into a folder so they’re out of sight. You’ll be surprised how often you end up on social media just because it’s there.
Set regular times for checking your accounts and engaging.
I built up these new habits and processes slowly over the past year, and it doesn’t always go to plan. However, I’ve seen a tremendous change with how I interact with and feel about social media since I started implementing these bit by bit.
One of the most noticeable change was turning off notifications, for social media and emails. It took some getting used to but now I find that without those distractions, I rarely pick up my phone and start scrolling without realising.
If it doesn’t serve you, bin it.
Don’t be afraid to drop anything that doesn’t serve you, and that includes social media.
If all it does is get you down, consider taking an extended break - or even delete permanently. The fact is, social media doesn’t work for everyone and that’s okay. Many of us are exploring new and alternative options, and you’re not alone.
To end, experiment constantly and find what works for you. Try new things and leave behind whatever doesn’t work.
There’s no one correct way to approach social media, but it doesn’t have to be a source of constant anxiety and addiction as it can so easily become. And don’t forget, your wellbeing is more important than whatever social media does or could potentially do for your business.
Stay tuned for the third chapter of the On Freelancing mini-series dropping next week.
A little about me
I’m a photographer and writer based in south London who enjoys telling stories about adventure, the outdoors, and our relationship with the natural world.
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