Social Media - work in progress

 

Over the last few months I've been researching how best to use the web and social media. There's a lot of information out there. Our last Professional Practice lecture covered social media possibilities so here is an update on what I've learned so far. I've made some progress, but still quite a way to go!

Website -
I looked at a range of artists' websites and found one I liked - very simple and minimalist with an integrated blog. I contacted the artist, Debbie Lyddon and she put me in touch with her website designer Liz Wilkinson. I made some enquiries and was quoted about £400 for designing and arranging hosting for a wordpress website and blog with editing powers and a package of support.  The website template is called Twenty Twelve. Liz was very helpful, and suggested that I could have a very simple web page with a free online blog if I wanted to save money.

In preparation I selected and resized photographs and wrote text for the main bodies of work. Some of the larger work really needs to be photographed professionally, and I sourced a photographer. However, I think I will try to get the website started first to see how many additional images I need.
Having set my sights on Wordpress I heard that it was complicated to set up, so I have also looked at WIX as a possibility. http://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/wix-vs-wordpress/ is a useful discussion on the pros and cons of WIX and Wordpress. The Professional Practice module in Shetland takes students through setting up a WIX website and I thought I might get some help. I am at the stage of selecting a WIX template and working out which is currently the best and cheapest hosting option. 

Blog

I've kept blogs on various topics for a while. The blogs associated with learning I use more as a way of recording progress and thinking. Blogging is more reflective than other forms of social media. This Professional Practice blog will help me chart my own progress over the next year or two. 

Pinterest
I've had a pinterest collection of other people's work for some time, but I need a website before I can have a pinterest page of my own. Things to remember include:

• The half life of Pinterest is about 3.5 months, and images are constantly repinned, so it can be a good way of opening up work to a wide audience.
• There are privacy settings if you want to restrict access to your boards
• ensure that your website address and an interesting description accompany your images - items with descriptions tend to be pinned more often
• share other pinterest sites - this will extend your own exposure

Facebook
I've been very resistant to having Facebook as I was afraid it would be intrusive. However, I've finally set up my own artist's Facebook page to help with networking.  It's been very useful in keeping in touch with the Cold War Project team from this summer in Iceland and preparations for the Relate North conference in Shetland in November. Things to remember include:

• Create Page - on the far right is a 'create page' tab - you don't have to make a separate FB site, you can simply create a new page to separate work from personal
• Create Event - you can use FB to advertise an event you're running
• FB has a very short half life (only about 30 minutes) so posts will soon be lost. It is a good way of reaching people quickly, but not a good way of keeping attention on a particular issue.
• It takes time to post on FB

Etsy
Selling on Etsy is possible, especially for craft items. You need to include keywords so that your items appear in search engines. There are charges for selling online, so add about 8% to the cost of the item to cover this. I am not yet at the stage of online selling.