Sharing work as a designer or small agency is the single most valuable thing you can do to generate new leads. The work is fully visual and there are a ton of ways of distributing it online. Here’s my approach of finding out what’s the best medium for me:
- Can I post here consistently? Is the experience of adding a post on this medium enjoyable for me?
- Does this medium show my work in the best possible format?
- Are there too many or too little designers AND clients on this platform?
- Is there potential of distribution at scale here?
- How much effort goes into one “post”? Can I do this at scale without burning out?
- Is it easy to track my progress on this medium? Can I see when I’m winning or losing?
- Is there an algorithm that can blow up my distribution 100x if it wanted?
- Are other people who are seeing success here? Can I do what they do?
The best way to answer these questions is to get your hands dirty and try shit to see what sticks. I’ve tried posting our work on Medium, my studio site, online press websites, Instagram, Dribbble, Behance, Twitter, etc. For me, the best medium is Twitter since:
- I have the distribution needed to reach an audience
- There’s a good section of that audience that can be a client
- Other people are doing well on the platform
- The algorithm has the ability to blow up my engagement if I play the right cards
- Followers convert to customers
- I like using the app and can consistently post the work.
Instagram, on the other hand, does not tick all the boxes for me. I’m able to post consistently and there is definitely the potential for scale, but my distribution and reach on the platform is very limited as the algorithm doesn’t show my content out to a large enough audience. However, the experiement is not over yet. I’m still posting daily and experimenting with the content styles to see if anything sticks. Other places where I’m consistently sharing our work are Dribbble and the HEX Swipe File. They also face issues of low reach but I enjoy putting them together.
One thing to remember is to not be discouraged by low engagement. Not because any post can blow up, but also because often social profiles are an easy way to double check the reliability of a vendor, and having a profile set with up to date work is all you really need. And, 7 likes can be 7 customers and 700 likes can be 7 customers and 6993 people who just liked your post.
The only important thing for anyone who’s trying to get on social media to showcase your work is to just start and keep consistently going. You’ll figure out what’s working and what’s not when you do. You’ll make a few mistakes, learn from them and get better on the go. That’s been my approach so far.
