Social Media Campaign Project Check-In

Similar to a delicious meal, social media content is way easier to consume than produce. Careful what you eat though! Most of the personal time I spend on the internet is passive because of the sheer volume of things to explore and ways to entertain myself. Being a creator however has always been extremely intimidating, especially after having consumed so much content throughout the course of my life that I have developed a certain expectation or bias. Don't get me wrong, I still maintain a presence online, but it always feels forced. One of the biggest struggles for me as a young lady that grew up with the boom of internet culture is with my identity, and how I am perceived online. I try really hard to separate my ego and self-esteem from actual reality versus fake virtual reality, but it is extremely difficult as an artist who uses the platforms as portfolios to build credibility with greater audiences. Not to mention popular culture thrives on social media, so one can quickly feel out of the loop if not part of the greater conversation happening. 

In an attempt to get over my overthinking, I went to school to learn about and specialize in social media so I could ultimately market the things I'm passionate about to the best of my ability. For example, Spiral Space Dance Studio, the business I opened with my sister this year. For this class, (last one before my degree!) I have been tasked with creating a social media campaign, so of course I chose my studio. Nothing beats applying your education to real life, but that is much easier said than done when the subject matter is near and dear to your heart. I've learned so much about researching trends, targeting audiences, and measuring data. None of this has cured my shyness of posting online however. Crafting messages to put out to the public online feels akin to being naked in front of a pack of wolves. I know that's super dramatic, but that is how I feel society acts these days with cancel culture. After literally googling 'fear of posting on social media,' I found a very insightful article that boldly confronts this fear by flipping the notion of online insecurity on its head. The author states: "A paranoia of posting to social media is rooted in a fear of criticism and fear of failure. It’s nothing more than that. Social media is a lean, mean business tool and branding resource you can use to not only grow your own business, but also reach more people with your story and inspire them, too, to follow in your footsteps. It’s not some vanity show or haphazard collection of pictures: it’s a powerful way to go out there and get the life you have always wanted (Fasulo, 2021)."

Wow! That's a refreshing point of view. Definitely a great reminder to focus my efforts on the bigger purpose of WHY I am crafting this campaign, and WHO it is for. Ultimately, despite my personal insecurities of being the messenger, the message I'm putting out is not about me but rather on behalf of Spiral Space Dance Studio's students and potential community. Separating myself from the target audience I consider myself deeply apart of has been difficult but necessary in order to understand their needs and their journey as customers. Essentially my biggest challenge has been conquering imposter syndrome and getting out of my own damn way to let a beautiful thing happen.
 

Reference:

Fasulo, A. (2021). The Fear of ‘Being Seen on Social Media:’ Why Public Posting is Stopping Entrepreneurial-Hopefuls. www.linkedin.com. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fear-being-seen-social-media-why-public-posting-stopping-fasulo/