Archive for the ‘Pinterest’ Category

 

Social Media Techniques for Creative Types

Tuesday, November 13th, 2012

Social media shouldn’t be a drudgery–at its core, it’s communicating creatively. And that’s exactly what creative people do.

For artists of every medium, hue, and palatte, social media provides a challenge: shall I write/sculpt/sing/dance/teach/paint or should I hop on the computer and crank out some Facebook and Twitter posts?

Social media can certainly be quite overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.

Here’s the traditional approach to building your platform online:

Write blog posts.
Share blog posts on Twitter.
Share blog posts on Facebook.
Share blog posts on                             .
Reply to comments on your own blog.
Comment on other people’s blogs to build relationship.
Find and add more like-minded Twitter followers.
Find other content to share to build relationship.
Share that content.

Oh yeah, don’t forget to write/sculpt/sing/dance/teach/paint. As with any creative endeavor, we need a roadmap. We need social media management techniques for artists so we can do what we love to do: create and share our creative work.

Hootsuite

HootSuite takes the ‘crazy’ out of updating multiple social media accounts. One status update is typed and is easily shared with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn… you name it.  

As an added bonus, updates can be scheduled in advance.

What does this mean for you?

Take ten minutes in the morning, schedule your social media updates for the day, then go create.

HootSuite does the work for you.

In less than ten minutes, this simple how-to video walks you through setting up a HootSuite account, connecting your various social media accounts to your Hootsuite account, and beginning to use it.

Buffer

Buffer is a tool which allows you to schedule updates on various social media platforms at specific times. It’s simple and it’s free!

Here’s a video introduction to Buffer if you’d like to give it a go.

Google Reader

Found a blog you like? Want to visit that blog more regularly? Would your own readers and/or followers find the content helpful?

Set up a Google Reader account and add your favorite blogs to that reader.

On many blogs there’s a ‘subscribe’ button or an RSS icon.

By clicking on that icon on the blogs you like, you’ll open a window that will enable you to subscribe to that blog.

Think of Google Reader as a folder of your favorite blogs and content sites.

Then go to this ‘folder’ for…

+Creative inspiration from those you respect.
+Content to share with your readers (remember to share the content of others, not just your own content).
Social media sanity.

Google Reader keeps you organized so you can spend more time doing what you love: creating.

By using just one or two of the tips above you’ll streamline your social media efforts, enjoy more time doing the things you love, and share your creativity with others who can benefit from your work.

 

Tumblr + Pinterest = Medium

Saturday, August 18th, 2012

What if there were a way to combine the visual interest of Pinterest with the blogging simplicity of Tumblr?

This past week Biz Stone and Evan Williams, co-founders of Twitter, did just that when they launched the new site Medium.com.

What Is Medium.com?

From the creators:

“Media is still the “connective tissue of society,” as Clay Shirky eloquently put it. And we think it can be better. Better for creators. Better for consumers. Better for the world. So, we’re re-imagining publishing in an attempt to make an evolutionary leap, based on everything we’ve learned in the last 13 years and the needs of today’s world.”

My own take on Medium is that its a faster, sleeker social media platform for those who appreciate design over writing copy.

Why Would I Use Medium?

Though the ability to post onto Medium is not yet open to everyone, the draw to incorporate Medium into your social media consumption and production is two fold:

1. You don’t have to become a blogger to use it (read: no writing).

2. You don’t have to develop an audience.

For some, those are two major selling points that other social media platforms don’t offer.

Take it For a Spin

Admission: I was a bit skeptical. Another social media site? Really?

And as the saying goes: don’t knock it ’til you try it.

So I jumped onto Medium.com and read this page. I found myself saying yes a lot while reading more and more about why Stone and Williams founded the new scocial media site.

Initially, many users who feel that Pinterest is just for recipes and fashion will enjoy Medium’s Pinterest-esque feel with it’s broader scope of topics and interests. Many Tumblr users who don’t want to take the time to write copy will also be drawn to the layout and simplicity of Medium.

I particularly enjoyed a sample page called Been There. Loved That.

Have you tried Medium? If so, leave a comment and let us know what you think!