017: Why do Social Media? My Social Media Plan, and Small Talk

☕️ Introducing, “Small Talk”.

Helooooo! Small talk is hard, isn’t it? Lets practice. Here. I’m trying to preserve a timeless quality in the posts, so I’ve removed small talk and references to current affairs from them. Now I’m thinking of putting it back in but on the side. This is it. If you’re the type who would rather skip the small talk, I’ve italicized it so you can know which words to skip and go straight to the CONTENT. The content today being some thoughts about social media. And my Social Media Plan for 2023.

use the ☕️ to respond to the small talk in the comments or start some small talk of your own.

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#socialmedia #goals #community

More Social

We communicate in small groups online daily. On Whatsapp, Slack, Discord etc.

But when it comes to social media, does it sometimes feel like we’re talking to a void? Like we’re pulling a lever in a slot machine, but never winning the jackpot of likes and followers?

How can the time we spend on social media feel less like a gamble, and more, well… social?

I’ll try to answer that today.

What’s your Goal

I listed my 5 goals for social media in 2023:

1. Gain more social media subscribers

2. Grow a platform/audience to sell more books

3. Connect with Mentors, Peers, and Beginners

4. Be in contact with a lot of people who hire illustrators

5. Empower creative people to close the gap between their taste and ability

I crossed off the first two Goals because they felt dooshy, and they are exactly the reasons people will avoid you on social media.

My next 3 goals feel like something meaningful. Each of them is reason enough to be on social media. And the funny thing is those first two goals are more likely to happen as a side effect of doing the next 3 goals.

Now if your top social media goals are dooshy, strike them off and see what’s left. Focus on those. That’s where the real value lies. Your ‘next 3’ goals are going to be different from mine, and that’s what’s going to make your social media presence unique.

It feels like I’m talking into a void

Except you are not. You’re talking to the future, and that’s a big difference. In my case I’m talking to someone who is going to hire me in the future to illustrate a book. Or to someone who is going to subscribe to my newsletter. Or yes buy a book.

These things might not happen today, but one day, someone, a very real person is going to scroll through the feed and read your captions and make a decision about you.

My wife and I got to know each other based on the breadcrumbs we left on social media. The post you put out are very much not going into a void.

It’s a job interview, a date, and a sales pitch all in one.

The important difference is it’s happening at scale.

Wouldn’t you get a better job if you went for more interviews?

Wouldn’t you meet ‘the one’ if you were actually meeting more people?

Wouldn’t you sell more products if you went to more conventions?

That’s what your humble social media post. It’s NOT nothing. It will be seen, and it will do a job for you. What kind of job do you want it to do? Treat it as you would a good employee!

If even one person paid attention to your post, it could be life-changing, you don’t need thousands of likes for this to be important.

Also, you could do nothing. Don’t go for any interviews, dates, or conventions, and continue to hope someone is going to show up at your door with a briefcase of cash and offer you your dreams on a platter.

Narrow the Gap

Other than likes, follows, and sales … what are the goals you have for social media? Can you make a plan around those goals instead?

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🎟 Weekly Tasting Party 🍷

Every week I’ll take you behind the scenes and show you the gaps between my Tastes and my Abilities. It’s not for everyone, and it’s not free. The price is $20 for a month of tastings (every Monday) or $200 a year. But I’m reducing that to the minimum that Substack will allow me to charge until I reach 200 paid subscribers. (As low as $2.50 per tasting)

In today’s tasting, I’ll show you my social media plan for 2023. I had a very clear social media plan before I got an agent and my first book. Having done that, I need quite a different plan, and it’s actually taken me a couple of years to figure out how I’ll use social media in this season of my career. Here’s the plan.