...is difficult to understand. But I think I'm starting to figure a couple things out! If you're in the same boat, this video (below) was particularly helpful, and I'm about to go into some of my own struggles and things I'm learning.
The different species of post
There are different purposes of post, as well as different audience segments, as well as your different topic areas, and these all intersect in interesting ways to create different species of post. I've created a sort of table for myself to understand and categorize these species. I'm starting to become more aware of: who will see this? Who are they, in my ecosystem of viewers / listeners? What are their needs, and how am I addressing them with this topic and post type?
This post for example falls into the 'community' purpose category: aimed not at new people discovering me, but sharing something valuable with the folks who are already here reading. Contrast with the 'discovery' category, which is for more widely shareable posts that introduce me to new people's feeds. (The third type is promotion. Also it's been recommended to have a strategy of 70% discovery, 20% community, and 10% promotion. Now you know.)
Specifically, this is a community post with the topic of artist development, (one of my three pillars) and it's for fellow career artists (one of my audience segments) who are also grappling with what authentic and effective online presence looks like.
Massively important: thinking about your online presence with this degree of planning and precision is not inauthentic. It is you, honed and focused.
'Those who aim at nothing are sure to hit it.'
To get hired, you have to aim at the people who can hire you
My biggest mistake so far, has been neglecting the audience segment of potential collaborators. You know, people who are actually in the position to hire me? That thing I want to happen? Their wants and needs are pretty different from the other kinds of people who will see what I share online, and I have to put things out there with them in mind! For example, filmmakers and game devs are interested in game and film stuff. They aren't necessarily interested in how orchestration works; they need to see me engaging with games and film, in a way that also happens to demonstrate my authority and expertise as a musician. All my ideas for YouTube so far have been tailored more towards aspiring young artists or creative peers--but those aren't the people who can hire me. D'oh! It makes so much sense, now that I know it, but this was a complete blind spot.
The other big one related to this is what online communities you hang out in. Being on all the composer forums and Discords doesn't directly help, because other composers aren't the people who will hire me for projects. I need to be in the filmmaking and game dev hangouts! Scary but true!
Anyway, check out the video for one of the clearest breakdowns of artist marketing I've seen in some time. It's aimed at film composers (hello!), but the principles here are totally adaptable to your variety of work. Hope you find it helpful in your career-making!
