What advantages and disadvantages does social media present to the modern writer?
Most of us would consider social media as a way of interacting with family and friends, close and far. Although on one level this is true, social media has been operated largely for business purposes. The modern writer uses social media for many reasons such as “to reach new clients/customers” (Smith, 2018) or to self- publish. It can therefore be described that: “The currency in social media isn’t euros, pesos or dollars; meaningful engagement, participation and value creation rule the day.” (Qualman, 2009). In my essay I will be discussing the advantages and disadvantages of Instagram to the modern writer considering this idea. Created in October 2010, Instagram became the number one photography app. It went from 100,000 users in one week to 1 million users in two months. (Eudaimonia & Co, 2017). Now it is said to be a multi-media social network which can help or hinder a writer.
Unlike other Social Media sites before it, Instagram was solely created on the basis that users communicate through photos and videos. The way a writer would present their story would as a result be different to publishing on a traditional blog or as a book. Instagrammers such as Tony Ciampa (@emolabs) focus on the visual aspects of its functions. Writers like him use it as a part of visual storytelling, his work consist of mainly handwritten poems (Ciampo, 2016). This creative approach works positively in terms of Instagram’s youthful audience of 62% between the ages of 18 and 34 (Statista, 2018), focusing more on the form over function of social media. A writer can indulge in an aesthetic style that focuses maybe less on their writing skill and more on their ability to make their content visually interesting. Although Instagram users have ownership of this content, they do not have full control over plagiarism as they work on a visual basis rather than written. Their work could be reposted, and it would be hard to trace the data. Many people who post purely for aesthetic use secondary images without credit and it takes Instagram offices viewing the content for the problem to be solved (Instagram, n.d.). Writers can also post 2200-character captions to comment on their creative image/video or create written content in conjunction with the image. This allows readers to gain more than just an image, and, if the right language is used (mainly active), will cause followers to engage with the post. It could be followers commenting and liking the post or even being influenced to engage in outside content. Rupi Kaur, the writer of the poem collection Milk and Honey, uses Instagram to promote externally, an example being her post announcing her American tour (Kaur, 2018). The caption is active and directs the reader to ticket sales. Not only is this a great marketing technique for writers, but also engages users to comment on the post. A disadvantage of this is that users scrolling through their feed tend to like images and move on. This is described as one stop social media. Writers who are using their account for purely promotional purposes are wasting time and content. Only business profiles with over 10,000 followers can add links into their Instagram captions and their stories. Instagram is therefore a social media site that requires a lot of time and fine tuning to be relevant for writers: ‘Some new online publications aren’t even bothering to build a site as a first step; they begin by developing a following on a specific social media channel, such as Instagram, then expand from there.’ (Friedman, 2018). Visual social media as a business function for writers is less advantageous then those who use their visual content as their main driving point.
Although social media plays a large part in business, it needs to be remembered that it was created solely for communication. This causes it to be a lot more informal, even if a writer is using it for business purposes. People are looking for quick, up to date, entertaining and relevant content. Instagram can be applied when discussing an informal atmosphere when it comes to writing. I will explore a further in the next section that Instagram users do not really make money from traffic, but from sponsorships and affiliation. For those already popular writers, Instagram can be used purely for creating profit for their physical work outside of the app. However, if you have a smaller following and perhaps base your content in captions or the visual side of Instagram, it is about building from the bottom up, gaining interactive followers and perhaps leading into sponsorships.
Social Media: Marketing Strategies for Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, LinkedIn and Instagram (Martin, 2015) mentions, in my words, that social media marketing strategies begin with building an interactive profile. User submitted content also creates for a more personal environment. Instagram users can use direct messaging and replies to stories to gain access to their fans and other followers. It is advantageous to create person
al content on Instagram as it is not a formal social media app - focuses more on visuals. A writer may not choose Instagram if they consider themselves as strictly professional. That idea is advised by business opinions “Facebook
, Twitter and LinkedIn are considered the biggest online social media sites today.” (Smith, 2018). This is a negative as social media should be encouraging writers to use its platforms not deter them. Overall, I believe that Instagram’s social purpose can work well for writers promoting their brand and posting content. But, the informality of such social media sites does not perhaps accommodate some writing styles and brands.
Social media sites/apps have applicable functions to help users make the most of them. Writers benefit from some function when it comes to promoting and sharing content. Instagram was bought by Facebook for $1 billion in 2012 (Eudaimonia & Co, 2017). This ownership allows posts to be shared across multiple platforms (mentioned previously in this essay) making it easier for writers to share their work and gain response. Images transmitted to other platforms can be viewed with a direct link and is accompanied by the caption – if there is one. By gaining traffic, writers can self-promote without having to create any extra content. Having said that, Instagram is not the best for traffic internally or externally. Social Media: Marketing Strategies (Martin, 2015) suggests that using quantitative data is more accurate and specific than qualitative data. Business Instagram accounts have the limited capacity to allow and monitor traffic. And, according to the text just mentioned, ordinary accounts must calculate manually. Indie writers may not see the use in using Instagram as its promotional tools are restrictive. Traffic is a good way in creating brand profit. Hashtags are not only connected to Instagram but user of the app benefit from the increase in followers, comments and personally made hashtags. Tony Ciampa is one of the pioneers of the movement “#fourpartpoems” which he used in combination with his Instagram posts (Ciampa, 2016). Social media has a continuous place for viral posts. The hashtag allows the writer/owner of the it to follow their movement and repost user content or comment or like on those participating. If a user adds too many hashtags, readers can become irritated and it can gain unwanted attention on those who only see certain hashtags to promote their own brand in other users comment section. Instagram’s promotional tools are overall positive; however, the largely inaccessible qualitative data does not help to analyse the success of these tools. Perhaps writers would benefit from a more quantitative social media type.
To conclude I believe that the modern writer can harness social media to promote their story as well as post content. The advantages and disadvantages are subjected to why a writer is using social media. For visual writers, Instagram is the perfect way to engage audiences in their User Generated Content, creating a community-based atmosphere. Instagram’s business functions enable a writer to promote their work freely through what I have mentioned in my essay (hashtags etc.), gaining interest inside and outside of the app. It seems that the visual aspects of Instagram allow for negatives such as plagiarism and little traffic. These obstruct the writers use for Instagram as a professional tool. If a writer uses Instagram, they should take advantage of its visual aspects and the facility for multi-platform posting. Social media is both good and bad for the modern writer.
Bibliography
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Kaur, R. (2018). see you in the states this fall!! i can’t wait my loves. presale tickets go on sale tomorrow at 1pm est. presale code: timeless. [image] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl5uagIgCIJ/ [Accessed 16 Nov. 2018].
Martin, J., 2015. Social Media: Marketing Strategies for Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, LinkedIn and Instagram. Winchester: Amazon.co.uk.
Qualman, E., 2009. Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business. 1st ed. s.l.:John Wiley & Sons.
Smith, L. L., 2018. The First 7 Steps to a Successful Social Media Plan for Writers. [Online]
Available at: https://writetodone.com/the-first-7-steps-to-a-successful-social-media-plan-for-writers/
[Accessed 15 November 2018].
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