The Name of the Game
Being a poet has
been a very eye opening experience for me. I have met many fellow artists in my
writing career, from a myriad of art forms. I recently had a conversation with
a friend of mine, a photographer, who has pages for her photography business in
various social media outlets. We spoke about art and promoting oneself as an
artist. She made the point that she occasionally feels that, posting her latest
work on her photography page, makes her feel that others will view her as being self-involved or self-obsessed; in
reality, nothing could be further from the truth.
Listening to her
voice these concerns made complete sense to me. I have felt this way upon
occasion. It is a delicate balance, to let people know about your art,
your latest pieces, what you’re currently working on, and what projects you
will launch in the future, and to not be thought of as being self-involved.
Too often, responses
from posts can act as a form of validation. It’s almost like the artist is jumping
up and down, furiously waving their arms, screaming:
“Look over here! Look at me! I just did
something awesome! I just put out a book! I just put out an album! I have a new
movie coming out! I have a gallery opening this weekend! Please come find me!
Click 'like'! Share through every social media platform there is!”
In these days of
constant feed from social media, self-promotion is the name of the game. Anyone
doing business must utilize this tool: artists, doctors, lawyers, small
business owners, entrepreneurs. Self-promotion
is important to help the artist connect to their audience, the small business
owner to their clients and customers.
As artists, we
need to learn to utilize this tool. Sharing your art, posting a recent project, sharing an upcoming event, should never be seen as being self-involved
or self-obsessed. It is simply
self-promotion.
© Esperanza Habla All Rights Reserved
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