In today's episode we discuss online barriers for marketing ourselves on social media. A common misconception is that we need money in order to market effectively. This is not true. I still grow my business and generate sales organically. Certainly having a website is one expense you will have to consider as you grow but we dive into the basics on growing an audience and I share some new IG strategies I'm currently working on :)
Listeners save 20% off any of my available online courses with code CREATE at www.taelife.com/learn
(for a limited time!)
Join the newsletter at www.taelife.com
Join the Fused Harmony Waitlist
Find me on Social:
Instagram @janelovesdesign
Facebook janemonteithart
Pinterest janelovesdesign
YouTube janemonteith
In today's episode we discuss online barriers for marketing ourselves on social media. A common misconception is that we need money in order to market effectively. This is not true. I still grow my business and generate sales organically. Certainly having a website is one expense you will have to consider as you grow but we dive into the basics on growing an audience and I share some new IG strategies I'm currently working on :)
Listeners save 20% off any of my available online courses with code CREATE at www.taelife.com/learn
(for a limited time!)
Join the newsletter at www.taelife.com
Join the Fused Harmony Waitlist
Find me on Social:
Instagram @janelovesdesign
Facebook janemonteithart
Pinterest janelovesdesign
YouTube janemonteith
Jane: [00:00:00] I'm so excited that my waitlist. Is now officially open for my new course. That's launching in February, actually, February 21st called fused harmony. And this course is going to be for the artist who is looking to take their art to a new level of expertise. And for artists who love working with resin and or encaustic, these are two of my favorite mediums and we're going to be combining them together in harmony.
With some other metal materials for a really unique and cool look.
And I'm also excited to have some other artists that will be participating in the program to help you kickstart creativity.
So I invite you to visit my website to get access to all of the exciting details and to join the growing waitlist. It's going to be a fabulous program when it launches and I can't wait to help you [00:01:00] learn and grow. And as I said, take your art to a new level of expertise.
All you need to do is go to www.taelife.com/learn. That's taelife, which is TAELIFE.COM/LEARN. And from there, select Fused Harmony.
Now I also want to mention I'm going to be opening a membership on the back end of this program. That means it's exclusive only to those who take Fused Harmony.
Jane: So once this program comes to an end, members within Fused Harmony will have the option to continue their journey with me. And the reason I've decided to open a membership is to not only help artists continue with creating but to take the next step, which I think is a [00:02:00] natural transition.
To marketing and selling your art as well as the other ways that you can generate income from it. Because as we all know, there are multiple ways that you can generate income from being an artist. I'm also going to be having some experts in both art and business. So this is a well rounded membership and I think it's just make sense for it to be together.
So it's for that serious artist. Who, as I said, is looking to elevate their art with resin and/or Encaustic, and then transition and continue within a supportive community, which is key. I might add, as we all know, artists need that community. We need that support. A place where we feel safe, we can ask questions and we're all there on the same journey. We're all there to reach the same goals. And that is to become a happy [00:03:00] thriving artists.
So if you're in a place right now waiting to take those exact next steps, then please go to my website to find out more and while you're there, don't forget to opt into my newsletter because I send a newsletter out to subscribers every single week.
And last week in my newsletter, I asked a major question.
And that was what is the one main objective that is stopping you from moving forward to selling your art? What is it that you can't get over or what is that one thing that you need to learn? You need the knowledge in order to take that next step? Well, I was inundated with replies and I'm still going through my inbox.
And replying to each person individually. So if you have sent me an email and you reply to last week's newsletter, thank you so much. It's wonderful to hear from you. I want you to know that I'm really there on the other end [00:04:00] of those communications. And I truly do read each and every one of them.
So that question really helped me to understand. How we artists think and feel emotionally and what we lack with regards to growing an art business. And I'm going to talk about one, that was a reoccurring theme.
In fact, there were several that were reoccurring themes. But I want to discuss a combination between marketing and money. The vibe that I received when it came to marketing. Was that it wasn't doable unless you had money.
Which is not true, or I don't believe it to be true because we all have to start from somewhere. We all don't have money to spend especially at the beginning in order to get our work out there, to reach our audience and generate interest and make sales.[00:05:00] Now, obviously if you have a website, or if you have newsletter capabilities, you have a CRM or a customer relationship management system. Obviously, those things. You have to pay money for. Technology these days is not free, or if it is, it's only on a trial basis. So you do have to look around and shop and make the decision as to which platform and level of fees works best for you.
But that is a topic for another day. We're not going to get into those paid platforms and paid forms of marketing. I really want to get back to basics. So if you're a beginner and you don't have any money, what do you do?
Obviously, social media platforms are currently free. I'm sure you're on Instagram or Facebook or Tik Tok and you know we don't have to pay rent for our space [00:06:00] on those platforms. So our pages that we create or our accounts, we don't have to pay anything at the moment. Now, who knows how long that will last.
But right now we can take advantage of that situation. I'm going to give you some ideas and some strategies on how you can begin marketing yourself for free on social media. Which will help you to effectively build your audience, generate interest and hopefully make some sales.
[00:07:00]
Jane: Welcome my friend who, another episode of The Curious Creator podcast, I'm excited that you're here with me today. If you haven't yet subscribed to my channel, please do. Because maybe in the past, you've just downloaded episodes, but if you click and subscribe, then that way you don't have to go looking for a new episode, it'll automatically show up in your podcast feed.
So today, as I said, we're talking about marketing strategies. And I'm excited about this one. It's a huge topic. And one that I wanted to speak to because even though marketing hasn't really changed in the sense of the [00:08:00] strategies themselves. They are different in the way we approach them today because obviously a lot of things are now online and we just don't do as many things in person anymore which I think to some degree is a little bit sad, but it is todays reality.
And I will tell you if you're just starting out with an account , it can be a little bit overwhelming and intimidating. Because the amount of growth that's happened, the changes in the algorithm that I've mentioned before, it can sometimes be a little bit more difficult and frustrating at times with what we're doing.
And we're not reaching the amount of people we would like to organically. So a lot of people will start thinking about and investing in paid advertising, but I don't want to get there yet. I don't feel as though that is a necessary option. At this point, even myself, I don't use any paid form of advertising.
That of [00:09:00] course is going to change. It's something that I'm looking into in 2023. But for now I am still all organic. I don't do any paid advertising.
And I know there's going to be people listening to this podcast who follow me on Instagram and realize that I have a large following. So they're going to automatically assume that, it's different for Jane. She doesn't have to try as hard.
And that's not true while I do have a respectable following on Instagram. I have smaller audiences on other platforms. For example, on Facebook. I've really only just started paying attention to that platform, even though Meta owns both Facebook and Instagram.
But I have less than 5,000 followers on Facebook. Now, as I said, I've really been paying attention to Facebook and making sure that I'm engaging with my audience. So if you do follow me there as well at Jane Monteith Art, I really appreciate you. [00:10:00] And, you'll see that I truly make time to respond to people which I wasn't doing in the past nor was a posting as much content there.
But as an example, one of my most recent posts that I put on Facebook. It generated over 1.5 million views. So I want to tell you right now, if you're putting out the right content, it's valuable. Then the platform is going to recognize that, and they're going to reward you by putting your content out there in front of others. Without having to spend money. Now, of course, the post that I put out there was video. And video has been something that I've always loved to do way before video was even popular.
Or was even necessary, right? Everybody says today, you've got to do video. If you need to reach the right audience and get in front of fresh eyes, which I agree to some extent, not a hundred [00:11:00] percent. And I had an episode. I think it maybe was two episodes ago, even though this is a fairly new podcast, but I did talk to the topic of, do you really need video in order to be successful on social media? So you might want to go back and listen to that podcast episode if you haven't yet, because I really do get into the nitty gritty of some of the content that you can put out there and whether or not you need it.
So aside from the actual creation behind the content, whether it's photos or video content, you just need to have some basic strategies to get yourself going.
And I think for the sake of just keeping things simple, I'm going to stick with. What I know best, which is Instagram. Because this is where I primarily started. When I transitioned to an online platform, instagram was the platform of choice. Makes sense for artists and creators, because obviously it's so visual.
And before I get into some of these [00:12:00] strategies, I want to bring up one major point. And really whatever it is you're trying to sell, whether it's a product or a service. It has to be deemed desirable or valuable in order for, to sell. Your product has to fill a want or a need, or you're going to run into problems. No matter the strategy that you use or the length of time that you use it for.
So artists can run into frustration because they're trying all of these strategies and nothing is working. And when this happens, you need to take an honest look at your artwork. You need to ask yourself a few major questions.
Is this artwork something you are truly proud of? Is it something you put your blood, sweat and tears into? Is it exceptional work. Is it at a high level of [00:13:00] expertise? Have you honed your skills? Have you educated yourself? Have you put in the hours to create something special.
And if the answer is no, then you know, deep down in your heart that it's not ready yet. And I say, it's a harsh reality because this happens with new artists, especially those who haven't yet found their way. They're trying new things. They're maybe confused still. And they haven't reached those accomplishments yet in order to A - feel confident in themselves when they sell and B - it shows in the results of the artwork itself. And if you yourself have attempted many marketing strategies and nothing is working. Then I want for you to take a look at what you've created. And answer those questions before moving forward.
But I also don't want that to stop you from continuing on in your journey and [00:14:00] posting your process as you learn and grow on Instagram, because people really enjoy seeing that story. They enjoy seeing the authentic side of you. And even myself, I have come a long way from where I first started and I still continue to evolve.
And the program that I've mentioned earlier on in this podcast. The process and the techniques that I'm going to be taking students through that journey that has taken me months to achieve the results that I'm looking for to get that professional looking artwork. I don't want to just throw something together quickly.
I want to put my best efforts in, and that means educating myself and learning. And if it means that it takes you weeks, months, years to do that, then you have to accept that.
Now the other point i want to make as well is just because you do have something somebody may want. And [00:15:00] it's a really good product. Doesn't mean to say, they're going to buy it right away.
Especially in today's world. Now I've heard different variations of the numbers of touchpoints. And the other day I was watching a presentation from online business owners and one individual specified 37 touch points. Was the average before they made a sale. That's a lot of interactions. Or engaging with one person to make a sale. So don't get discouraged. Even if you start with some of these strategies, that you're not seeing a return on your investment yet you're not seeing the reward for the work that you're putting out there.
Nothing happens overnight. You have to put in the work, you have to be consistent and you have to keep moving forward. So already I've given you some thoughts about your business and about being present on social media.
So the number one thing I would [00:16:00] say is of course consistency, regardless of what happens with the algorithm and , the changes that they make. Who knows what people know about the algorithm. A lot of people will tell you how they can help you beat the algorithm. I truly don't believe that. I really don't buy into that hype and I think you just need to stick with the basics.
So consistency is first. Now I'll be the first to admit I am not anywhere close to being as consistent with my posting of my content on Instagram as I used to be, because I have so many other projects on the go. And, I really have to focus on some of the important things that need to get done. Granted, I should be spending a little bit more time with consistency on Instagram.
Right now is the longest period that I've gone without posting. And I think it's been approximately a week. Now, again that said we're coming up to the holiday season. People want to take a break from social media. So I do try to [00:17:00] pick and choose the appropriate times to be away from the platform. And I, and hopefully.
Right now is the best time to do that. you have to also be aware of your own mental health and wellbeing and recognizing that you need to step away from that is first and foremost, the most important thing. You've got to look after health and your family and those things come first.
But consistency is key. Now, when I first started growing my account. I truly was. A daily poster. Every single day I would post some content. And in fact, sometimes it would be twice a day. That's not necessary but there needs to be a consistent theme. You can't post. Once or twice in a week and then, leave for, four or five days and then come back the following week can say, oh yeah, I need to put a post up with something. And then maybe that week only post once or twice.
You really need to get into the rhythm of being consistent and posting. And so [00:18:00] what you need to think about is how to plan and organize your week out in advance. And I know that's , very difficult, especially with artists. And, if you've got a team of people out there and they're helping you and you've got this big business, great, wonderful.
But I'm going to assume that 90% of people on Instagram who are trying to grow their account and make sales as an artist, don't have a team of people or even one other person to help them.
So, where do you begin? What do you create? Is it video? Is it photo? How often do you post? All of these things can be really overwhelming, especially if you're not tech savvy. You don't know how to create video very easily. Or you're not very good at setting up and taking a photo of your art. Some basic things that, you feel as though you could get better at doing.
So sometimes there's barriers right off the bat. And the thought around those things leads to overwhelm and frustration. And then you just say to yourself, [00:19:00] oh, I I'm just not going to do it today.
But you need to ask yourself a question. How important is it to you to make sales or generate income from your art ?, What is the reason that you're here?
You need to treat it like a business and you need to schedule in the time to do it. If you truly want this to work, then you need to be consistent. You need to plan ahead. And you need to have a goal. At the end of the day, that's what it takes is consistency, commitment. And that focus on your goal.
So, what I like to do is to have on my wall, a quarterly calendar. So three months. Worth of calendar up on my wall. Now I have the big wall calendars are actually the desktop calendars. The ones that, you can rip off the sheets. And then toss them on the way you can write on them.
I like to take those and put them up on my wall. I'm a very visual person. And I need to see it. As soon as I [00:20:00] walk into my art space every day, I see those three months of, time on my wall, my quarterly calendar. And I like to work in quarters. It just, you know, make sense from a business perspective.
And I like to sit down and come up with goals. And I tend to reverse engineer everything. So, what I want for you to do is to sit down and determine, what your goal is for social media. Now, obviously we're speaking to marketing right now, so I'm going to give you an idea.
For the first strategy for selling your art. And this is something that I've discussed in my program earlier on in the year, which was the artist entrepreneur program. I discussed this whole strategy for selling art online. Now I will admit that you do need to have an e-commerce store. So again, this is something that you can work towards if you're not quite there yet.
But the strategies that I'm going to still [00:21:00] share with you to get to this goal are still going to be the same, no matter really, where you are in your journey. But I'm going to assume that it is important to you, that you want to grow and reach the right audience on social media and obviously build those relationships so that you can make sales at the end of the day.
Otherwise, you wouldn't be here. Listening to podcasts like this. So an art campaign is something that I want you to consider doing, or, you know, an art release. As some people call it or shop, update an art drop, any of those things. That is a strategy that I want you to consider for selling your art.
And it's much easier. Than it is to sell. Say maybe one piece of art at a time. So let's say you've. Created one piece of art. And you've posted a photo of it on Instagram. And maybe you say, Hey, you know, I just made this DM me if you're [00:22:00] interested, if you want to buy this from me.
There you go. And that's it. That is your post. You've put it out there. That was your messaging. And you're just going to hope that somebody sees that and they're going to reach out to you in DM you. The chances of that happening are much lower for making a sale, than if you were to have an actual campaign for a number of pieces all at once.
And you'll see this done successfully on other accounts. So I invite you to go and visit some of your favorite artists accounts who are very regular in creating art and selling art. And majority of those people, they have art drops. They have those art releases happening on a specific day at a specific time.
And letting people know way in advance when this is happening. And I want you to think about it in relation to that of a movie trailer. And I know this is nothing new. This is not a new [00:23:00] strategy. Companies have been doing this type of strategy for years and not just movies, all kinds of companies and businesses that have products or services.
This is one of the basic strategies that works really well. And that is the lead up to a release of a certain product or service. So a movie. It's something that we can easily relate to. And the last movie that you went to see, I don't know what it is. Why did you go to see that movie?
What brought you to the movie theater to pay money, to sit in the seat, to watch the movie. Well, you wouldn't know anything about the movie, if you hadn't seen movie trailers leading up to the release of the opening day of the movie. And it's the same concept for an art release.
Your messaging needs to be repeated over and over again. And you always need to have that reminder of the launch what's happening. What day, what time. More [00:24:00] than once. And I'm talking maybe 90 days in advance. Now, maybe this is too much for you, but 30 days is a really good basic starter.
Because you will never see a movie trailer. A week before. Or maybe not even 30 days before they generally start their ad campaigns months in advance. That is how you ended up in the movie theater sitting, watching that movie while you're eating your popcorn. Is because you were shown repetitive messaging.
Around that movie. They built up the excitement. They built up the suspense. So you were raring to go when the movie opened. And having an art release using the strategy is a really good way of generating sales. It works well because you're repeating the message to your viewer. They're saying, oh, wow. She's got an art release coming up. Oh. And I think it was on this [00:25:00] day at this time. I'm not sure. And that's why you repeat your message over and over again.
And she's going to have, a dozen different pieces of art for sale. I don't want to miss it because everybody else knows about this release. And I want to ensure I get the piece that I want. So there's several mental triggers there. That are going to, help you to drive traffic to that art sale, that release of your pieces.
And the very first time I did this myself, I sold out 50 pieces of artwork in under 90 minutes.
And I was floored. I was blown away. I could not believe it happened. They was such an aha-moment. I remember I was crying. I was jumping for joy. I was dancing in my living room going, yes, I can't believe I sold my art. And it just boils down to repetitive messaging.
Building up the hype. Reminding people the date, the time, when is this launch [00:26:00] happening over and over again, you need to have those touch points. If you do it three days in advance or the day before, and you've got all of these. Beautiful pieces of art and you're ready to sell them. And you're excited. And you go out on social media on your Instagram and you post all nine pieces in one photo and say, Hey, I've got all of these pieces for sale on my art shop tomorrow it starting at 12 noon,
that's not enough time for people to have the buildup, the awareness factor, or the fear of missing out the excitement. And so your launch of your art, may fall flat. Maybe you'll get a sale or two, and that's wonderful. We still love a sale, no matter how many.
But wouldn't it be great if you sold more than 50% of your pieces at one time?. That is how you do it. To do an art release or an art campaign. So you need the consistency. You want to build those relationships with people. And when you're consistent, the [00:27:00] algorithm will take notice of that. It will recognize the fact that you're posting on a consistent basis.
The algorithm will then make suggestions to others. And you've seen that when you're scrolling through your feed, right? There'll be suggestions based on either something that you have liked and it will show you a similar account in return. Or the other way around where somebody that you follow has liked another account. And the algorithm will assume perhaps you will like it also. And you'll see that then show up in your feed.
So there's definitely ways of reaching people when you're posting consistently and getting your messaging right. That's another important part of marketing, because you want to ensure that when you have that art release, that you've reached the right people.
And they are willing to spend the money. And I want to be a MythBuster here for a second and tell you that there isn't really a price point that prevents people from buying. What prevents people from buying [00:28:00] is they're the wrong person that you've targeted.
There are very many successful artists who have art drops or art releases. And each piece of artwork that they sell is in the thousands of dollars. So get that thought out of your head to that, it has to be below a certain price point in order to make a sale. That is definitely not true. You have to just make sure that you're targeting the right people. Obviously the higher priced point art, that higher quality, then you're going to be targeting a completely different audience to say that of somebody that would go to a craft fair and only spend $20.
So again, that's something else that you need to consider, but the basics for a marketing strategy online is to be consistent, plan in advance. And that includes breaking down your content. And you can post in a variety of different ways to keep it different and fresh and exciting. It doesn't always have to be the same photo, the same style, the same setup, the same shot. There's lots of [00:29:00] different ways that you can take photos or create videos. So you have to be thoughtful and mindful of the type of content that you're going to create.
And again, that could be overwhelming for some people. But even if you just use your iPhone, for example, there's so many functions and features now in those devices that can really make your photos look great.
And if you can make sure that you take some photos near some natural lighting that is half the battle. And of course it being in focus. Now, I will say that in the course for Fused Harmony, my next course that's coming out in February.
I did mention some artists that are going to be participating. I also have a bonus in that program. From the fabulous, Nat Caron, who is an amazing photographer and actually did the video trailer for my upcoming course, Fused Harmony.
So if you do visit my website and you watch the course trailer, she's the one that put that together, but she's also going to [00:30:00] be creating some bonus content on how to professionally take photos of your art. So present your content in a very professional looking way. And that is her background, she's a professional photographer. So I'm really excited for her to be part of that program and to share with you her knowledge and expertise.
And help you again, not only just elevate the level of your art, but also in the way that you present your art to others in order to sell it.
All right. So a quick little recap, then we've got our consistency of posts in check. We have a goal we're working towards , several months out. And hopefully that is an art release for you. And perhaps now you're getting a visual of how that's going to look and unfold based on the way that we're going to be posting content on our feed in the coming months.
And it's okay too, if you don't have a web shop yet, or you're not quite ready to take that next [00:31:00] step, I should point out when I first started on Instagram is sharing my art. I didn't have a web shop either. I really took the steps to grow my audience a little bit first. And get them interested in my work before I took that next step.
But once you're serious about your art. And you want to sell it, then you really need to take the plunge to opening up a web shop, because then at least you can drive traffic to one place. it's an easier way to generate sales. The transactions are automatic. Everything is done behind the scenes. There's no, let me send you a PayPal or can you DM me this and send me your address? None of that. Is necessary.
So it also takes that workload off of you as well and allows the e-commerce platform to do that for you so saves you additional time so that you can continue on creating art.
But as I said, in the meantime, or the months leading up to that, You can get used [00:32:00] to posting content. You can build your confidence. Really understand the platform a little bit better. And experiment, figure out what works for you when you're posting something, make notes, look at your insights.
And really use those as benchmarks for what to post in the future.
I'll type things out in my notes app on my phone, because sometimes I'm doing something and it's working really well. And I don't want to forget, so I'll type the date and the time, the type of post that I uploaded. And the performance insights with that. So I can really break it down, because what works for me may not work for somebody else and vice versa.
There's so many different types of people on Instagram and who they are as far as their personality and what they offer can really impact how they post and the results of that post. So it's not a one size fits all. And if you [00:33:00] know me at all, then, you know, I'm one of those people that really experiments. A lot. And that means even with the way that I post and the type of content that I put on Instagram.
In fact, I'll share with you a few things that I'm trying right now. That is a little bit different from what I've done in the past. And I've done a lot of things on Instagram. I've pivoted quite a bit. I've tried all of the strategies. And as I said, right now, I'm trying a few things differently.
I was getting caught up in the music, audio vibe. So you'll see right now on Instagram, some of these top performing posts with creators who are saying, use this music audio for your reel. Do that and your video will go viral. Well, that's great. I don't think that's going to be the case for many, although I will admit, I have had a lot of videos that have gone viral and do very well on all platforms. Not just viral on Instagram. facebook tik tok [00:34:00] pinterest all of those but i haven't found that music really makes any difference.
I've actually found for me personally, I've stepped away from using audio. In the sense of music. I might put it in as a background, light music, but most of my posts at the moment don't have any music attached.
It's just me working in my art space and you hear all the sounds and the noises. In fact, we're going through a reno right now. So some of the posts, you can hear the guys in the background, sawing and doing different things. And I feel as though that's more authentic and people can actually sense that they're there in the video with me or they're sitting right beside me in my art space.
Because those are the sounds that they hear. And some of those videos have done extremely well. So it just proves that music isn't really necessary or these trending music tracks that [00:35:00] everybody's supposed to use. They're on the rise and you should use it in order to gain more traction. That's hype, as far as I'm concerned.
The other major strategy or something that I've been experimenting and testing. It's actually blown my mind a little bit because I was not really a believer in this. In fact, my admin girl, Christine brought up this post in our Facebook group. And she said, oh, you know, I read this article about what people think they need in order to grow their Instagram and what they don't need. And one of the things that it said that people think they need is relevant hashtags or to post hashtags. And as you know, you can post up to 30 hashtags, in your description or in the comments? That obviously should help you to reach other people. So last week I put a post on my Instagram. That was a photo post. And I should also mention that. I never do as [00:36:00] well on my photos as I do my videos has always been the way for me. There are accounts out there that do extremely well with photos like thousands and thousands of likes and lots of engagement. And I'm sure they have lots of saves and shares. But for me personally, photos never do as well or did as well as video.
And then I came across this large art account. Who was doing really well with photos. So what I tend to do is all open up their photo. I'll go into their description and I'll scroll to their hashtags because I'm curious to know. If they're using a specific hashtag, and if it's something that I could add to my cycle of hashtags.
And I realized that this artist did not have any hashtags on any posts in their feed and they were generating a lot of likes and a lot of engagement. So likes really, at the end of the day, we're striving for engagement and saves and [00:37:00] shares. Likes is not as high on the scale, although we still tend to look at that and equate it to being successful or not. I know that's not really the way that we should look at things.
Ultimately, but I was still curious. So I put this post last week on my Instagram account. It was a photo. It was a valuable photo in that I was sharing some supplies. That I use regularly in my work. And I shared all of those brands and the type of markers or pens that they were.
I didn't put any hashtags on that post. And it was one of my top performing photo posts in a long time. And it really opened my eyes and thinking to, wow, do we really then need hashtags?
And more recently, I decided to post a video. Which as I just said, they do really well for me. So I'm taking the same approach. and not putting any hashtags on my videos. [00:38:00] To see if they exceed my expectations or it doesn't perform as well.
So I'm trying different things on my feed and my account just to see what works and what doesn't work and making notes of those things. So that I can really decide what to be doing moving forward and what not continue to do. So these are things that you need to do as well. And all of these strategies and the ways that you experiment on social media cost, nothing.
And, you know, what, if it doesn't work. Who cares? You tried it, move on, try something different. Keep trying things until you find something that works and you're in your groove. And as I said is not an overnight thing. Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks or a couple of months, or you'll find something that you really enjoy doing.
Like making videos without music, if you would like that natural feel to it. I feel as though it's more organic. And I feel as though, as I said, [00:39:00] I'm connecting with my audience at a different level without the music behind it. But for you that may not be your thing. So each person is different in the way they connect with their audience.
But at the end of the day, you still have to be you. I mean, there's no sense in trying to be somebody else. It's just not going to work. It's not going to come across the same way that it's working for that other individual you admire. Now, granted, there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to emulate another. Because your perception of them is that they're doing something right. They are perceived to be very successful in what they do. And you're obviously moved by what they're sharing and how they're making an impact. So taking cues from them is great.
That's how we learn from others. We're usually inspired by somebody else, but as I said, you have to bring it back to you and ensure whatever you're presenting to somebody else is truly authentic. You [00:40:00] are you and that is your power.
So that should be a good starting point for you, or at least some things to consider when you're looking to market yourself on social media without any money. As I said, all of these accounts right now are free. It's free advertising for you. So why not take advantage and make the most of it. Try different things, experiment, figure out what works for you and what doesn't.
Take advantage of some of the Instagram insights, as well as the new tools and features that Instagram is constantly updating and coming out with. Make sure you use those tools. Instagram really wants to see their creators trying out their new features.
And I'd like to end today's episode by sharing with you some of my favorite accounts to follow on instagram when it comes to growth and business. So if you haven't followed them yet then make sure you do.
The first one [00:41:00] of course is Adam Mosseri. He is the head of Instagram. So a key account to follow for sure. He always has weekly updates with anything relevant and new when it comes to rollout of features and tools on Instagram.
The second account I want to share with you is called Instagram for business. Obviously self-explanatory but a great account to follow if you're going to be taking your Instagram account seriously on this platform, and you really want to generate growth and monetize your account. So lots of help lots of resources and definitely one you should pay attention to.
And the final account I'd like to share with you is called creators. This is an account that features many of today's popular, successful creators. Ones that are trending right now on Instagram that are doing very well. And they share their tips and tricks some of their strategies that have [00:42:00] worked well for them. And give you ideas then that you could potentially use to grow your own account.
Well, that is it for today. My friend, thank you so much for listening in on today's episode, this is the last one for 2022, but I will be back again in 2023 to share more with you.
Now, if you found value in this episode and any of the others that you've listened to, please share with another friend so they too can learn and get value from these conversations.
And don't be a stranger. Feel free to reach out on my Instagram. Drop me a comment @Janelovesdesign. And let me know how things are going if you've tried any of these strategies that I've mentioned. And if something's working for you, I'd love to hear from you.
Thanks again for tuning in. Stay creative and stay curious.
Bye for now