Week 16

My viewpoint of social media has changed in that I can now see that there may be an opportunity to create a business from it. I have always used social media for fun and to interact with friends but I now see it as more of an opportunity to have a second job as a photographer and to potentially sell prints of my work. I have learned how many tools are out there that I had no idea about and the amount of help there is to increase your social media audience if you want to take the time and effort to do so. There is so much more that goes into a post than most people realize. It comes down to what times of day are the best, what days of the week are the best; there is a science to it in order to receive the best interaction possible. 

I feel the tools that were given to us during this class has opened my eyes to an entire new world of how to use social media properly. I have always had my doubts, seeing that social media is such an integral part of everyone's lives now I never really felt I could be someone who would get noticed. After really reviewing the tools and other social media platforms to look into I can see that I can be noticed if I work hard at it and know it will take some time. These businesses created on social media take a lot of research and a lot of effort, it is extremely rare for someone to blow up over night. 

It is so important to be as active as possible with your social media accounts or you end up getting lost in the algorithm. This is the one thing I cannot stand about how social media, especially Instagram has changed. Your post can be completely lost and many people miss out on the opportunity to see it, I have learned you have to be super active to keep your posts on the timeline. It is important to be prepared with a variety of photos so I can continue to post daily or twice a day to stay interactive. 

I have found a lot of products, people, and inspiration by using social media over the years. I have found that I absolutely love interior design since following quite a few pages that I initially followed for their photography. I feel that photographing for real estate could be a cool opportunity to explore and tie in two of my favorite concepts and create beautiful advertising. I love following other photographers and people who share similar interests to me to see how they shoot their photos and what angles they use etc. It has helped me grow and shown me how to take better pictures which I love. 

I have learned that social media is a huge part of business, not just for a photographer, but for any brand out there. It has become the most innovative way to reach out to people on such a broad spectrum. I feel that social media is going to continue to be what we use for business, products, and networking overall. In order to stay relevant and to keep your business in the loop you have to have social media and you have to be able to put a lot of effort to get the best results.