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Free Social Media Marketing Strategies

Lesson 14 from: Create a Knockout Graphic Design Portfolio

Ram Castillo

Free Social Media Marketing Strategies

Lesson 14 from: Create a Knockout Graphic Design Portfolio

Ram Castillo

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Lesson Info

14. Free Social Media Marketing Strategies

Lesson Info

Free Social Media Marketing Strategies

Let's get into some free social media marketing strategies. The first thing is that we need to go fishing where the fish are, Don't we? Don't be fishing in some other pond where no one's there. Um, we needed to find the primary and secondary social media channels to reach your customer so you can publish content that appeals to them. So for the purpose of this workshop, we're speaking to creative directors, right? Uh, but of course, that can vary depending on who you are targeting for your job that you want. So make sure that you define the channels that they're swimming in. Okay. Treat each channel as an individual entity. When your customers are using a specific network, that's where you need to pay. Not everywhere else. Our most creative directors, I mean, all the heavily on instagram Some? Yeah, I would say, But are they predominately on linked in? All right, so But in my experience for credit directors, the order is linked in number one right there. It blows the others out of the ...

water. If you want to speak to a crave director, linked in is the place to be Twitter. I've found that I've gotten a lot of response from Twitter. It's funny because you think, Oh, just just a tweet. I don't know. 140 characters quite limiting, but it's funny. It's It's a great way to get the conversation going. Then you can take it to a Skype call or an email. Honestly, I've gotten in touch with celebrities through Twitter, you know it's actually them, but I've got in touch with a lot of people through through Ah, Twitter in terms off Craig directors. Okay, so it works. Instagram instagram There are also many uses now. I mean, Instagram is just rapidly surpassing. Ah, lot of the social media platforms that were now accustomed to. It's essentially, you know, visual Twitter, isn't it? Facebook? Some use it Nuttall Google Plus is getting up there quite rapidly. Google plus Google are doing a lot of things to ramp up that if you read about it, you will know what I mean. Pinterest. Of course, a lot of creatives in general use Pinterest just as inspiration or to get research on particular projects. Super great resource. They're Tumbler. Chris MacLean's on Tumbler, as you saw. So, um, there is some activity there from crave directors and then you to will probably be a bit more of the ah Thea lower end demographic off in terms of engagement with a creative director directly, Uh, YouTube, Probably last or later on in the list, but linked in is up. They have a plan and commit to it. So you need to set a minimum benchmark and execute. Okay, a little of the times when you know, when I pulled up that hitting social media strategy, how much do I have to invest in my time? And what do I need to know? And where do I begin? Where do I go? Right. A lot of people are smiling. They're like, Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. All you need to do once you've figured out which, Which upon do you want to play in? Okay, let's just take Twitter as an example. Okay, then you've decided that because you have defined that you want to speak to some credit vectors, then you need to decide on what type of post you're going to send out. Well, that's easy. Relevancy is a big one. Anything that's cool about design, I can read, tweet or post or, you know, the other day on the other side of the month was in Michigan and there was a T bag shaped as a as a pyramid. And out of the pyramid was the was a the leaf. And when I opened the box, the tea itself looked like dirt, and it it was just incredible. Like, my gosh, amazing took a photo of it posted. It was cool. You know, people like, Wow, that's really clever. So decide on what type of post you're gonna send out, decide how many poster gonna send out. And don't tell me that you can't do one post a day or one post a week because that's all it really takes. If your plan that you've written up is one post awake, stick to it, show that you can commit to that. If you need to schedule it in, then great. But I'm talking about if you want to leverage something, you know, have a minimum having been a member, right? So if something that if you're a busy person and you only do two tweets a day to then do that but do it every single day without fail and I can guarantee that you will attract the content. Ah, that up that people are also interested in Craig directors. They love that stuff. Yes. Um, I used buffer app dot com cause it's free and I can schedule for the whole week, and it does, too. And it's content that's interesting is not my own content. I do my own content once a week, but I dio content with regards to family stuff and yeah, for my photography. I'm going to get to the president's values next. That's a really great point because sometimes you might have a whole day free and you might have the next three weeks not free so you can schedule your posts. All right, so we're gonna get to that. Definitely, that's a That's a great strategy there to tackle how many poster gonna send out and commit, then decide when you're going to send them out. That's that's pretty simple. But also, we're gonna talk about timing because, as we know, if you post something on someone's feed, for instance, on Facebook, does it exist if you got pushed down or later the bottom so fast, so quickly, so we got to know when the best times are for the demographic that we're speaking to really engage with. So I'm gonna give you some tools that about that. So now or later you got a time your post on social media when your ideal customer is most ready to receive it. Okay. When is that? We're gonna tackle that soon. Use huge sweet dot com. Uh, that's what I use. It's very popular. It supports social network integrations for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google plus foursquare MySpace. That's still around my space. Um, it is It is a WordPress transporter and mixi. Meaning you go on hoots. Wait. And you can blast out your social media posts through that one. That one free mind you platform. I'm sure many of you are using this. If if you're not, get on it also, and the frequency of your post is important. It could be the difference between increasing in followers and likes and dislikes and, uh, gaining some. So let's dive into that. What are the best times to post on social media you ask? Well, I'm gonna pull out a couple of bits of information, but these two resource ah, this resource here is incredibly useful. You can just google Neil Patel Best times the post on social media. But essentially, you can talk that in o w dot l y slash capital age seven Capital B capital E Lower case s. That's a short link to his infographic that he did based on a ton of research. When when is the best time to the Post? So far, this has Bean shared 1.3000 times and 1. times on Twitter and Facebook. So check it out. So I've stripped a couple of from that one is linked in best times to post are between seven AM and eight AM and the most clicks and shares happened on a Tuesday between 10 a.m. and 7 a.m. Sorry. 10 AM and 11 am of course, that's based on the geographical location of where you are and who you're targeting Ah, seven am and is different in Australia, then to New York. So depends on who you're talking that on. Why is that? Well, really, because the craziness of the diet hasn't started yet. For most people, it's a huge one. So if you're gonna post out something that's something towards just posted my latest project. Do it at 6 30 in the morning or 6 45 in the morning on linked in so crave directors can see it. Or if you're freelance designer post at 6:30 a.m. Just finishing up my contract and available for freelance timing guys. Otherwise it's gonna get flushed out. Twitter five PM has the highest retweets. And according to Twitter, engagement, 181% during ah hice engagement is his commute period. Yeah, so, I mean, that's not so. Um, that's not such a shock. You know, people on their phones and they coming home from work, right? So But if you're gonna play something on Twitter, try it out, See if, uh, if there's an improvement in your retweets. So you know Ah, Twitter engagement. If you put something at around 4 45 versus 4 45 AM you know, see how you go. Facebook one PM get to the most shares. Three PM gets the most clicks. All right, really? That for me when I think about it, has to do with people on their lunch break. And usually when they're on Facebook, it means that they don't want to do any work so naturally, right? But this that's back up. What you might already be thinking again. Human behavior go back. What creative directors doing? When can I get them to look at my portfolio? Okay, these insights should lead you, Uh, never ignore comment posted to your account. Very important. And a lot off the creative life speakers actually that specialize in instagram and Pinterest and all these things. Uh, also support this point because by failing to respond to someone that tweets or tags you, you've lost their trust. And when you respond, especially if you respond quickly, you show that you're human and that you care and it's really important. Guys, you know not just about creative directors, but building your brand to someone you know mentions you brought them back. No, it doesn't take much, but it's It's the beginning off authenticity and integrity and what you do go above and beyond if possible to discounts, freebie freebies and priority, you know? And if you're thinking how, But I'm a designer, well, did you put together Ah Siri's off cool of cool icons that you've created for everyone to use That would be cool. You're giving it away for free. That's going to get me on your side. At least think about what value you can give to people. Okay, Um, discounts. I mean, if we're just talking about her hands. Oh, my gosh. You know, Ah, I've had interactions where I've gotten freebies from from certain brands because I've tweeted them. And then I've I've bought and being an advocate of the item, I've been seen with the item, and they're like, we're gonna send you some more stuff. That's cool. Uh, also, interestingly enough, when I went on my 18 event speaking to across the USA recently, I was tweeting people, uh, that I was responding to just naturally. And one of them came up to me and spoke to me as if we'd known each other for a long time. And we had just on Twitter, you know? And she came out to meet you said, Hey, I'm you know, and she told me her into a twitter handle, and I'm like, Oh, my gosh, that's so bizarre that you hear that I'm speaking to you in real life and she said, Yeah, you know, I read every one of your blood posts. And it's been really helpful for me. And I've now got a job. And I've actually I drove three hours just to just to see you be part of your event through Twitter just cause I was responding in a couple 140 characters issue. Ah, it's amazing what it can do. And again Look what happened to me with my block. A couple little pieces of riding and then escalated. Escalated. It'll have to start from somewhere, so it never ignore comment. You wouldn't ignore someone in real life, right? If they said to you. You know how Stephen Ah, check out this cool thing. You know, I discovered you know this cool at work. Take a look at this picture. You wouldn't go up. Piss off. Probably not. Right, fellas. You had something that reason to that you probably would. It. So, uh, you have to treat people offline. How you doing? Like you know. So try not to ignore that. Oh, let me let me show you a quick story of milled. Ah Already showed you a story of my recent to about about like go. Um, meeting. Maybe it Mel. She is, uh, going to jump through Twitter simply the woman, one of the principals off melts judo's. They are a user experience company, and she basically sent me a tweet and said, Love your work. When can you come in and meet me? I was actually too busy. They said That's fine. We just want a phone call conversation to make sure that your riel and ah did that. And I did a two month project. So this Twitter, I didn't even come for an interview. I just rocked up on the day, and then it was like, Sit down And this is the brand and this is the research. This is what we got to do. That's how fast it happened, how you treat people already said this one. But how you treat on communicate with people face to face should be no different to how you treat people online. Very simple principle that I live by that has really any business person will appreciate that, and I know you guys do to. We are all customers as well. We're on both ends. So let's remember that negative feedback. It happens. Ah, and it needs to be addressed with patients and respect. Okay, There are gonna be people that are gonna troll online and give you grief and make it difficult for you. That's just life, right? So it's important, uh, to use that and channel that in a good way. So I think of your social channels as an opportunity to display how wonderful and kind you treat your customers. Okay, It's in for that. You know? What? If someone slams you online and says Are this looks exactly like this work. Well, let's say that you know, Lannister, you never saw that work in your life. You know what? They use the circle as well. I use the circle in my you know, it can easily happen. And there's a lot of critics out there. Ah, oftentimes you know, you can not respond at all. Ah, if it's if they're being rude and disrespectful to you. But it's an opportunity to kind of go. Okay, thanks for bringing. That's a lie. I really appreciate that. You know, thank you for your for your critic. I'll definitely take that on board, however you want to do with it. But generally speaking, you can do with it in a good way, no matter what the circumstance

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

23 digital resources to keep in your back pocket
The 6 most crucial design principles to implement on any design
Top 10 mistakes to avoid when creating your online design portfolio
5 free online creative communities you need to be on and why
Daily ideas to improve and retain creativity
How to Photograph Your Work with a Home Setup

Ratings and Reviews

Stacy
 

I have been asking for a portfolio class for graphic designers since last year on Creative Live. So, I was excited to see Ram Castillo teach this class. Thank you CL! This is one of my favorite classes on CL. This class is not only for specifically graphic designers, but can also be applicable to other artists and designers as well. I had to create a online, print, pdf and dvd school/job graphic design portfolio to graduate with my degree and was taught vaguely about what exactly to include in the portfolios several revisions later. I wish I had discovered Creative Live, then! Ram Castillo walks you through the steps of getting to know yourself which helps you to create the portfolio and knowing your potential employer/customer which let's you analyze what your portfolio should include. But, it isn't always just about you. A degree in graphic design doesn't always guarantee you a design job. But, Ram Castillo, his sense of humor and his cute accent will show you how to get that design job. Ram shares his secrets some designers probably wouldn't want you to know. Ram Castillo shows the portfolio sites you need to be on and how to market yourself to be seen, how to self edit your work, and getting feedback from others. Ram has guests that explain how they prepared their portfolio to get a design job. Ram addresses what to do and what not to do, what to include in your online portfolio, how to think daily and how to take care of your mind and body which can impact the way you create your portfolio which can also be an emotional journey. This class was a huge source of inspiration and breaking down the steps that you need to do to have a knockout portfolio and be a successful designer to shattering those hurdles and excuses. After watching this class, you too may be inspired to create that knockout portfolio whether you are starting out or not, your confidence may soar after watching this class, you may be the one holding yourself back and this class may help you to get out of your own way. Ram suggests if you don't have that hero project in your portfolio, create those knockout personal projects to put in your portfolio. Ram Castillo prepares you for your portfolio and beyond to get that interview and job. I highly recommend this class for purchase for the bonus materials, the videos for inspiration, how to photograph your work, there is enough room for you, inspiration, process and accountability. This class will also prepare you for the next step, getting a design job which is the next class you need to watch and purchase. Thank you Ram Castillo! Thank you for teaching this class and so grateful that you taught this class. This class has been added to my design library of resources. If you will excuse me, now I have a lot of work to do to create that knockout design portfolio.

JenVazquezPhotography
 

I was excited to meet Ram from his first email prior to the live class that I was going to take. He is personable, authentic and eager to help others. I thought I would enjoy his class but wasn't sure how appropriate it would be to me as my photography business. Surprisingly this class would be perfect for any Creative business. It was so appropriate for my business and had so much actionable content, that I took 10 pages of notes! Many can train about portfolios. Many can be powerful speakers. Ram was not only those things but so much more. He started out by telling us about WHY and HOW he became who he is and had us explore ourselves. It was powerful. It was a light bulb moment to realize my focus in business has a direct result to how i was raised and what I believe is important. That was just one part of the training. In the end, I had direct and actionable goals toward revamping my portfolio. It's great to take a class that is not only motivating but changes the way I do business. As a direct result of this class, I changed my portfolio and got a photography job where the client told me they hired me due to my portfolio. How powerful!! It would be a FANTASTIC investment you won't regret.

ATworks
 

this class is amazing! I have just graduated my graphic design education and started completing my portfolio so I could show interested companies or employers wat I am capable of... I will never ever look at my portfolio the same way after this class they don't learn you these things at school... What your portfolio projects should represent, how many, how to show trough your portfolio, what you are looking for in a job, how complete or incomplete your current portfolio could be and how to give it that extra something so they actually check out your portfolio when you contact them to apply for a job... This course was great, the guest speakers made it even more valuable. They are all very experienced in the aspects they were asked for... Ram Castillo has some great life experience to share! Get this course if you want to give yourself that extra push to achieve great things with your design!

Student Work

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