Plan? What Plan?
I still don’t have a good grasp on how to post things on my art blog. It’s hard enough to think of what to post, but figuring out when to post it is a confusing process. I simply didn’t want to look at numbers. This was a mistake on my part — analyzing my data earlier would have helped me decipher what type of content to post and why I should upload at specific times. Reaching more people during active platform times means I have more opportunities to reach my desired audiences.
The Experts
Michelle Martin understands that it is more important to identify the critical questions surrounding why your content is necessary to post in the first place. Uploading things on a whim can sometimes lead to success, but for the most part, the numbers speak for themselves.
The manager of social media communications at American Express, Brooke Ihnat, emphasizes the value in selling experiences. Audiences are attracted to interactivity. She made a point that got stuck in my head: it is important to stand out from competitors and provide something original that people can enjoy.
Oh, That’s What It Is
When I started out with content creation, I stressed myself out over what to post. Either I uploaded original things I was proud of but were unfamiliar to audiences, or choose the safer, fan-friendly options that were easy to recognize at a glance. This, coupled with my struggle for a ‘marketable’ art style, were difficult to balance. Comparing myself to other creators was unfair to me. It was hard to unlearn this over the years, and to be honest, I still find myself criticizing my own work too harshly when it comes to writing.
When I drew those simple MS Paint kittens, the first creator that came to mind as inspiration was catcrumb. Their content consists of daily MS Paint cat drawings. All of them contain humorous text.
I don’t have a monopoly of stylized cat drawings. Neither of us do. catcrumb even states this in their F.A.Q. I think we both realized that they’re so simple, there’s no need to claim that kind of style as our own brain child. After all, anyone can draw the vague shape of an animal with pointy ears and call it a cat. That’s the charm in it: it’s simple and it makes people laugh.
Looking at it now, I think my content hit the sweet spot of an original spin on a classic recipe for virality. I just happened to post at the right time, too, which blasted me over to Tumblr’s radar.
I have to actually implement strategies if I want to make consistently delightful, far-reaching content. It’s like the saying that lightning never strikes twice. I just happened to post something without thinking at the right exact moment for it to get popular within days. My next step is taking everything I’ve learned from both experience and in-depth lessons, then applying it to my next endeavors.