I’ve been itching to create a post that invokes this conversation for a long time, and had plenty of talks about it with fellow creators and friends, but haven’t been able to come up with a clear and concise way to write about it. This is my best attempt. This is a subject that is close to me and frustrates me to my core, because I work stupid hard on the content I put out, the way I think and hope most creators do. And I/we do so with little return, it feels like.
While it would be nice to have monetary support in endeavors to create, it’s not something that is expected or common. What people can freely give, though, are “likes,” comments, and most importantly, shares on the social media platforms to which the work is posted, thus aiding artists in gaining more exposure-and ultimately, the means to keep creating.
Everybody knows social media is taking over marketing these days. Companies and brands need social media to gain exposure from and tap into the largest audience possible, and like it or not, the largest audience available today are online users:
Therefore, it should come as no shock that independent artists need that same exposure-but many, if not most of us don’t have money to blow on ads and campaigns. As a result, we make attempt after attempt to promote our work organically. And this is where our friends and families should come in-your support helps us grow.
Algorithms on all platforms are changing and “likes” seem to be thrown to the wind lately (some people are saying it’s for mental health, but I have my own feelings on that). On facebook, for example, users now have to “react” to photos on facebook to boost engagement on a given post.
What does this mean? A simple “like” is nice, but reacting (see how in the gif below) is what moves our facebook posts to the top of other peoples’ feeds, so more people can see them.
Comments matter more on the current instagram algorithm (rumors of throwing out “likes” altogether have been circulating, but read this for more reliable information).
What does this mean? A comment is worth more than a “like” in helping a user’s post reach more people.
Now, I am of the opinion that in today’s day and age, who you are on social media should at least somewhat reflect who you are in the real world-even if your photos are filtered. If you’re a supportive human in real life, you should also be one online. I’m not saying there aren’t months when I’ve deleted my account or haven’t looked through my own feed. But some months I’m so fed up with the way in which social media platforms work that I’ll stop creating altogether because I’m so jaded by the whole thing-and this is not because I’m having a creative block. It’s because I personally grapple with the point of creating if it’s not going anywhere.
Here’s one example of what really gets to me: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bumped into someone who doesn’t support me online in real life, in public, and they have the audacity to say variation of, if not word for word:
“I love all the photos you post!”
And in my head I’m like, REALLY? DO YOU? THAT’S FUNNY, BECAUSE I NEVER SEE YOUR USERNAME POP UP UNDER MY “LIKES.”
Because, for some reason, this person has trouble hitting the button when it comes to my posts, and I’ve seen them “like/react to” plenty of mutual connections’ posts. Instagram did have that feature for awhile, so I was able to catch people in their lies, if only for my own sanity. So don’t be this person. People know a snake when they see one, and you’re not fooling anyone.
I’ve supported a lot of peoples’ endeavors who haven’t reciprocated. So the next time I try to extend the olive branch your way, remind me to slap you with it instead. Or, we can sow the garden and watch it grow.
The aforementioned olive branch slapping may sound harsh, but I can literally spend days on one photo, and I know others creators who feel the same, not just in the art of photography. Some of the processes of what I do include: researching a conceptual idea, locking down a location, hiring a model if needed, schlepping props around from place to place, prepping the camera equipment, taking lighting into account and fixing the lighting depending on the project, staging everything I’ve worked on so far, finally taking the photo, editing (my least favorite part), fixing the megapixels for each platform if needed, sometimes researching hashtags, and more I’ve probably left out. It is a full time job-planning, prepping executing, editing, posting, managing, and maintaining-and I wish I could say it was all “for fun.” I do it because eventually I’m hoping my work will go somewhere, and not get lost at in a pool of selfies, or whatever.
I hope this is food for thought the next time you see a friend or family member’s artistic work pop up on your feed. A wise woman once said, “it’s not a complaint if there’s something that can be done about it,” and I wholeheartedly believe that. At the very least, I hope this was somewhat informative. Now go be the change you wish to see in the world (Ghandi), for lack of a better phrase! Tell me your thoughts below-I’d love to hear them! And to those of you who have continued to support what I do, thank you immensely, from the bottom of my heart. It means the world to me.
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