I'll start with why I love it.
It's my life.
No, I'm not saying that because I'm your basic 21-year-old girl with her pocket-sized mobile device glued to her left hand and her grande-sized Starbucks cup to the right. Rather, it's because it's my passion, my focus, my career and my calling. Yes, the first statement is partly true: I do spend a chunk of my day aimlessly scrolling through Twitter and taking way too many selfies on Snapchat, trying to prove to others and to myself I can actually do more with my appearance than sweats, glasses and a ponytail. I do this in an attempt to show people I can actually look good as opposed to the common conception I live in my pajamas, which is actually the truth.
Just from that explanation, there you have it, the definition of my job: to create a desirable image. Whether it's posting a picture on Instagram to show how fun my life is, or adding an over-exaggerated description of a job on my LinkedIn account, I'm forming a view of myself I want others to see. The process of that creation is where I get addicted.
Graphic design, text, platforms, pictures, multiple ways to take a person or brand and make their reputation in the world. That's what we do as marketers. We figure out what consumers are looking for and how we can reach them. We create interesting and compelling content people want to interact with. Our imagination and originality are our biggest assets.
I think about the creation of social media almost every day. How completely insane it is and how, if we still did face to face interaction in the marketplace, I would be out of a job.
Thoughts that go through my head as a marketer:
“Wow, there is a science to this, which I'm still continuously trying to figure out.”
“People have no idea how hard it is to understand a market and engage with them.”
“Dang, this takes a lot of self-motivation.”
“What’s my purpose again?”
“People always say I get paid to scroll on social media.”
“So not true!”
“OK well, sometimes true.”
“Why didn’t my college classes tell me I would need to know how to use Adobe Suites, HootSuite, Google Analytics and all the other million marketing apps? I would have started learning years ago.”
“I feel like I’m a mix of media relations, graphic designing, writing, event planning, photography, videography, sales, advertising, investigating, researching and public speaking all rolled into one.”
“I think I created my own rules on what are the best time slots to post.”
“I love editing anything and everything. Want me to edit your picture?”
There are many different forms of marketing, but in this day and age, digital marketing, hence social media, is what the focus is. How to speak to someone, without actually speaking with them. A truly difficult task, but also an intriguing one. I love the strategies that can be created, the ideas yet to be discovered and the risks in establishing an innovative campaign. It takes integration and motivation. Also, it brings out a competitive side. How much engagement did your post get compared to a competitor? Continuously striving to be the best and be different. We have the ability to put your ideas out on platforms everyone can see and react to, which is why I love social media.
Then, there is why I hate it: The creation of an image can also be the easiest way of deception.
Anything can be put on social media, and people will believe it. How many times have thousands of people shared an article that turned out to be false? Way too many times. It's hard for people to acknowledge credible sources, and people believe the robots behind the screens.
Not to mention, social media made my teens and 20's a heck of a lot harder. More tears, more doubt and more judgement comes when people can hide behind a phone. I can't tell you how many relationships are ruined as a result of a Snapchat or an Instagram post. The lack of privacy is what I dislike. Obviously, you don't have to be on social media, but it's like a drug. It becomes a goal for people to stay off of their accounts for a day or a week or longer. A week off of social media is like eating no carbs for a week. For some of us, it's incredibly difficult. We are dependent on seeing other people's lives. We see more and do less.
There you have it, a marketer's feelings toward these computer-mediated tools.
It's a love/hate relationship.
