Please note that this post is more a summary of the assignment research undertaken in the four ‘production report’ reflective posts rather than acting as the main part of the graded assessment. As a result of this, more production reports are more information-packed than a typical reflection to compensate. I then finish on a reflection of my experience doing this assignment in broader relation to the studio goals. This post addresses the following points:
- Assignment Question and Aims
- Reflective Piece on the value of partaking in assignment 2
Assignment Question and Aims:
‘How can I use social media to expand my photography business as informed by sensis data and further research’
. To develop a critical understanding of the inner workings of Instagram
. Understand usage and consumption habits of target audience (males aged 30-60)
. Analyses the activity of well and poorly implemented social media strategies from other companies
Use for Assignment 3:
. Use this information to construct a test business on Instagram for implementation into my actual business activity
Reflective Piece:
I’ll be the first to admit that this was a really wordy assignment for me, but I felt it was the most effective way I could accurately map out my thoughts. Overall, however, I got exactly what I wanted out of this assignment, I found it was something I could really dive into because I found it so relevant to what I wanted to get out of this course. It’s much easier to do things when you’re passionate about them, and sharing my work with the world is certainly one of those things. I’m only beginning to scratch the surface of what social media can do and I’m excited to share how I will use this research in assignment three. If I had my time again, I probably would have looked into a couple more photography businesses on Instagram, but it just became a bit too much in the end. What the assignment definitely taught me is that social media requires absolute dedication and commitment in order to be a successful marketing platform. Similar in many ways to YouTube, the most successful YouTubers will work up to 16 hours a day in the name of making content. Having the creative output that allows you to consistently upload new and unique content every day is a difficult task, but its what’s required to build and maintain an active following. In my scenario, to followers, it’s just a couple of photo uploads a day, but they don’t see all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes to make that happen. I’m in an interesting position whereby I can’t go out every day and find new things to shoot. But this just makes the research conducted in this assignment all the more valuable, because if I cant shoot new content, I need to use the data to be specific in my targeting. Social media doesn’t operate in a vacuum, the medium is incredibly mobile and active, and this research gives me the tools to be able to read it.
I’m excited to share how these takeaways will be used to effect assignment three.