We checked in with three tweeters–illustrators Candace Sepulis(@ballyhoomedia) and Ed Shems(@edfredned) and photographer Nick Hall (@Nickhallphoto)–to find out how Twitter is helping their businesses. The upshot? Those 140-character pronouncements land gigs only indirectly, but Twitter’s ability to increase brand awareness and keep artists on top of industry news is off the charts.
How do you use Twitter?
Candace Sepulis: It's a bit of a mishmash for me. On the one hand, I try to post neat design links and mention newly completed projects. On the other hand, I slide in some humor and personal anecdotes, so that potential clients get a sense of who I am.
Ed Shems: I use Twitter mostly to find information. It's been an amazing resource for inspiration, discovering tutorials and reading what other illustrators are doing with their businesses.
Nick Hall: I use it for brand awareness, sharing and learning, and to connect with photographers and colleagues. Usually I tweet about my blog postings, new work, business news–items that I think might inspire others. It’s also a quick way to keep up with industry news and find inspiration.
How do you build followers?
Candace Sepulis: When I signed up a few years ago, I actively added and sought followers. Now I mainly take them as they come. It's probably at least a couple new people every day.
Ed Shems: I build followers carefully. I'm not trying to get thousands of followers who don't really care about what I'm tweeting. I'd rather have a smaller number of people who actually might appreciate my tweets.
Has Twitter landed you any assignments? Or are the benefits on the “softer” side?
Candace Sepulis: I've had a couple of direct commercial leads come from Twitter. But the expectation for pricing on custom illustration was a bit too low–sort of comparable to low budget gigs on Craigslist. As a whole, the benefits are a bit intangible, if not intrinsic. I do feel that my household consumer fan base [Sepulis sells her prints and merchandise] has increased. And in my opinion, public awareness is just as important as getting clients. I'd like to think that, once my work becomes more recognized to everyday folks, the commercial clients will come knocking, too.
Ed Shems: I may have gotten assignments in 2010 because of Twitter but that's not really what I'm looking for. Yes, it's nice to get leads, but it really comes down to being out there in a way that reflects your myriad abilities.
Nick Hall: The business benefits are pretty intangible at the moment, but it’s certainly helped with brand awareness and website traffic. Although it’s questionable how much of that traffic is relevant to getting assignments and how much is other photographers checking out my work.
What’s the best thing about Twitter?
Candace Sepulis: Twitter doesn't guarantee success and you're rarely tweeting directly at a potential client. But it's a great way to create awareness and quickly give someone an overview of your personality, success and tech savvy.
Ed Shems: The best thing is that it allows you to get your message seen–if you play your cards right–by so many more people than you’d normally reach. But there is a learning curve that I think many newbies don't take the time to overcome and never find out how useful Twitter can be.
Nick Hall: It enables you to connect with people in a completely unique way–people you might not otherwise meet.
Any Twitter advice for aspiring “tweeps”?
Candace Sepulis: Stay within the golden mean: Don't pump your business incessantly, but don't use your stream for overly personal items either.
Ed Shems: Connect with artists who do what you want to be doing. Don't tweet for the sake of tweeting. Don't vent (unless you're a comedian). Support others and they’ll support you. And don't retweet until you've actually read the article!
Nick Hall: The essential ingredient to making this work: Generate good, useful content that’s relevant to your audience–and do it often. That’s how you build followers.