90% of small business owners are NOT ready for what happens after a post goes viral

Why?

Sudden spike in demand means you sell out of stock fast and you can’t sell to people who actually want your product (if you’re selling physical goods)

It gets hard to predict demand on a day to day basis

Suddenly getting hype for your product mean production has to be made more efficient to meet demand (which is fine on paper but the reality might be different depending on what you sell)

BUT!

The good news?

Your business grows and you begin to see holes in your model that you haven’t seen before (opportunities for growth).

Having a post for your business go viral can be terrifying and awesome at the same time.

How to be an artist on social media, grow your audience, and find your spot in the market

You’re a creative. 

You make killer work. 

You want people to see and be impacted by what you do. 

Sound familiar? 

If so, you need to market yourself. 

But how?

This is where social media comes in. 

Social media is free for everyone to use. Literally everyone (4.4 billion) is already on it and is using it daily. 

Now the question is, how do you get your art out in front of other people? 

How will others find you?

Let’s dive right in. 

1. Here’s how to be an artist on social media:

To be an artist on social media, you must share your work in service of others. 

That is, publishing work regardless of perfect (because perfect is selfish). 

You must adopt the mindset of serving others before yourself. 

You must also publish as often as you can to build up your own body of work. This will help others understand what you can do for them. 

  1. Grow your audience. 

Followers can be bought, but an audience has to be built. 

I’ll explain. 

The number of followers you have doesn’t mean anything if there is no actual community supporting you along the way. 

When it comes to content, quantity > quality. 

But when it comes to audience, quality > quantity

At the end of the day, your audience are the people who will look at your stuff and buy from you. 

And to build your audience? Simply engage with the kinds of people who will find your stuff relevant. 

  1. Find your spot in the market.

This one is the trickiest of the 3.

It’s the trickiest because your spot in the market can change over time. 

Finding your positioning isn’t an answer you can find from a google search or textbook.

Finding your positioning takes consistent execution of content and engagement with your audience. 

It will take time for you to find your spot and nail it down. 

Sometimes months, or even years. 

This is the part where you need most patience.

But I promise you if you do steps 1 and 2 consistently and successfully, your spot in the market will come. 

It will come because by then you will have built your brand. 

Being an artist on social media doesn’t have to be hard. 

There is a formula, and it’s been tried and true for many. 

Luckily for you, I’ve been working on a project specifically about social media for artists and designers. 

And it’s specifically about how to be an artist on social media, growing your audience, and finding your spot in the market. 

Want to be a part of it? We’re hosting an event on this very topic and we’d love to have you there. 

Sign up for our email list to get the updates when it comes: https://mailchi.mp/6988bd0c81c7/content-workshop

Social Media Saved Our Family Business From Going Under

Start of pandemic:

  • 80% of customer base gone
  • General fear of going outside and in public spaces
  • Uncertainty and fluctuations in demand

What’s a family restaurant to do in this situation? 

Nothing, as our entire restaurant staff collectively twiddle our thumbs while waiting for customers to order something in 2020. 

Then, something incredible happens. 

We get featured on a local news/entertainment blog, as they want to drive traffic to businesses within Toronto. 

Immediately the following plays out: 

  • Spike in sales for the next 2 months 
  • A 200% growth in social media following
  • Lots of new and old customers remembering that our restaurant exists so they come and say hi 

How did this happen? 

All because of one Tiktok video. 

We shared one Tiktok video in 2020 that got the attention of someone on the blog’s team. That video led them to follow our accounts on both Tiktok and Instagram. Fast forward a few days, they message us on Instagram telling us they’ll be making a video about our business. 

It was that simple. 

And the journey has been wild since. 

Social media saved our family restaurant from going under. I’m pinning it as one of the most valuable business skillsets to have in 2022.