Words: Chloe Metcalfe
So, you’ve got your creative business up and running, you’re making and creating - but how do you attract customers? How do you get noticed by the media and how do you make the most of social media?
It’s a common problem many artists and creatives run into, however there are some key ways you can get on top of your business’ marketing and stop it controlling your life.
While we have some great tips we can share, we decided to chat to Upstairs Studio’s in-house marketing powerhouse Isobella Caruso, founder of marketing and PR service for the creative industries, Rebel Yell.
Bella has over half a lifetime of experience with organisations such as Adelaide Fringe, Rip It Up, Adelaide Festival Centre, South Australian Living Arts Festival and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre; to put it simply - she knows what she’s talking about.
So let’s dive into the five ways you can improve your marketing and common mistakes to remember.
1. Know your brand and your point of difference
If you don’t know what your brand is, how do you expect your audience to know?
“It’s not only your logo or your product your brand is you. So you’ve got to ask yourself questions such as what are your beliefs? What do you want your customers to feel? Are you sustainable? Are you accessible? Are you challenging the norm? And what separates you and your product from your competitors,” Bella says.
2. Learn how social media works
“Really get to understand how Facebook and Instagram work, don’t just think that posting a photo every now and again because you think it’s exciting will work. You can't assume that it's interesting to people and, most importantly, that they’re going to see it. There are so many resources online, you have to spend the time and understand it,” she says.
“When it comes to understanding social media, learn how to schedule your content ahead of time, too. If you don’t think you have content to post, that’s a problem and you need to invest in professional photos if you can or learn to take photos of your products yourself to post.”
3. Educate yourself
“Educate yourself - there are so many great tools online. If you have library card you can access LinkedIn Learning for free!” Bella says.
“You can access resources on how to take photos, use Facebook, pretty much anything that you want to up-skill in or learn for the first time! There’s courses on how to schedule social media too so you can learn how to do those things.”
4. Outsource what you can
“If you are looking after all the business side of things yourself and you aren’t good at accounting, if you can and you’re in a position to do so, get someone to look after it for you,” Bella suggests.
“If you don’t understand areas of your business, if they’re chewing up your time; like accounts, book keeping, social media, or general administration, get someone to help you do it. If you feel like you don’t have time to do marketing you need to invest, but instead outsource other areas of your creative business.”
Common mistakes
Now we’ve gone through the key tips to improve your marketing, it’s time to highlight the common mistakes people often commit.
One of the biggest mistakes people make according to Bella is posting content for the sake of it, which can actually deter from your brand.
“Only post things that are post worthy,” she says. “Posting content for the hell of it can either deter people because it’s not appealing or interesting, or it just clogs up their feed.”
Another common mistake people run into is not valuing the power of having a portfolio or resume that reflects them - not to mention having professional headshots.
“If you’re wanting to do this full time or get more work and pick up more opportunities, you need to have a simple website to link people to your work - it’s the absolute first thing you need to do!” Bella says.
And while you’re in the realm of websites and emails, remember to proof-read your media releases and emails before sending out, no matter who it's to. If you’re contacting a media organisation with an exciting announcement or press release, make sure you include all the necessary information in one email - make it as easy for the journalist as possible.
“It's crazy, the amount of emails I get from creatives where they haven’t used a simple spell check or have spelled my name wrong,” Bella says.
“I see a lot of artists contacting third parties with something that’s not newsworthy or getting the contact's name wrong and not making it easy for them to give the answer in one hit. Not giving the date, the time, link to their portfolio, etc.”
If you’re still feeling a bit overwhelmed or need additional support, you can reach out to Bella as she offers a range of services designed for artists and creatives.
Rebel Yell’s marketing and publicity packages start from $300 and cover everything from brand direction, website design, copywriting (thinking of a new bio, perhaps?), product photography, publicity services, social media and campaign marketing.