Professional Social Media

This week is all about professional social media. Now, I'm no stranger to social media. I've wasted more hours than I'm willing to admit perusing my social media accounts. I love seeing what my friends and family are up to, sharing what's happening in my crazy life, and connecting with awesome people.
But in my heart of hearts, I am an artist. And I use social media as an artist. I love to share to images that I create, and I love to connect with other artists and see what they are creating. There is an entire community of photographers on social media who share work, inspire each other, and band together to help one another improve our craft.
When this week's assignment was to dig into LinkedIn, I have to admit I was reeeaallly skeptical. LinkedIn is the "business suit" of the social media world. What value could it really have for me, the artist? But I was pleasantly surprised. I did in fact find a photography network on LinkedIn, although not quite as strong or bonded as found on other platforms. What I found really beneficial was the ability to connect with other business owners. Hampton's Chamber of Commerce and Norfolk Young Professionals are both really strong groups on LinkedIn that I have joined. As much as I pride myself on being an artist, I am also a businesswoman. And LinkedIn gives me some great business connections.
So, this self-confessed artist may have been a bit quick to judge, and I'm planning on keeping my LinkedIn up and running and tap into my businesswoman side a little more often.