Spark: Social Media Strategy

06/10/2024

Got more than one spot online where you hang out?

Gather your LinkedIn, X, website, SoundCloud, Etsy, TikTok, Instagram, Discord, etc etc etc into one handy spot like a Linktree. It's free and it's easy to change and update as new links become relevant to your work or art.

Below is mine 👇🏼

Social media tips for entrepreneurs, small-business owners & creative folks

05/31/2024

*a sad state of affairs*

03/12/2024

Why YES season is underway here in the District. These are , one of the first varietals to bloom.

is a useful concept when it comes to managing your social media usage. Sakura not only refers to the blossoms and their brief window of peak bloom, but to the fleetingness of life itself.

In a matter of weeks, all this pink fluff will literally be gone with the wind.

So my advice is: put the phone away and savor the non-digital aspects of your work, your community, your family.

For better or worse, social media isn’t going anywhere, but beauty such as this has an expiration date. Go get you some! 🌸

02/13/2024

“Is there one with my name on it?”

02/01/2024

When I started working with entrepreneurs, authors, small business owners and others to lower their stress around social media, I kept seeing reasons why magazines and newspapers should write about them and their work or art.

So I started pitching my clients here and there, and getting some nice hits: The Washington Post magazine, for example, and Virginia Living, and a few alumni magazines.

Over the years, I've drawn on my experience as a journalist for 30 years to sort of become a de facto pr person for my clients. Which is a logical extension of promoting them via social media, if you think about it.

I am starting to gather some of my best tips and tricks for getting publicity into new content I've love to share with you. If you send me your best email address, I'll happily add you to my (10x/year) newsletter and email you a list of very do-able things to get your art or business noticed by the media, including podcasters.

I promise: editors need you as much as you need them.

(And: how warm and funny and raw is poet Andrea Gibson? I have to credit Glennon Doyle for making me aware of them.)

01/11/2024

AI Amy says “hey” from the slopes ❄️

Making this in the PhotoLab app was a weird but fun exercise. Some thoughts:

• I like the hairstyle the app gave me
• I like that my eye crinkles were preserved
• It’s fun to try on a color I wouldn’t normally wear
• My teeth do *not* look this good IRL

Sure, artificial intelligence is changing our world irrevocably in ways we can’t begin to fathom, many of them, well, pretty bad. In making myself into a fuschia-sportin’ ski bunny, am I contributing to the problem? Is using AI better, worse or equivalent to using a filter on a photo you post on social? Should there be a value judgment applied in the first place?It’s still me, just a more … um, enhanced version of me.

12/19/2023

Why yes sometimes you CAN convert a social media friendship to a real-life one, complete with phone calls and dinner dates

12/09/2023

Christie and I are going Live next week! We’ll discuss how and why social media is so useful for disseminating rich, in-depth content as well as the fluffier stuff. for all the particulars

10/05/2023

Have you ever followed an account on Instagram or Tik-Tok for a while - and been thoroughly entertained and charmed by the person who creates and shares their unique voice, style and content? So much so you can’t wait to see what they post next?

Have you ever thought, “Dang I’d like have dinner (or go on a hike, or play pickle ball, or just chat on the phone) with so-and-so!”

Social media gives us a unique vantage point from which to learn about others’ interests, personalities and lives before we ever say one word to them.

If we’re on social for any length of time, we’re bound to encounter people we think we’d like to get to know as friends or creative partners.

How do we make the leap from being social media followers/followees to actual friends?

I have thoughts!

09/20/2023

An editor friend told me about Emoji Kitchen yesterday and now I’m a tad obsessed

09/18/2023

A lovely student of mine and I had a great conversation the other day about some of the pros and cons of social media.

She pointed out - and I know lots of us can relate - that it feels draining to show up on social consistently.

Yet, it also feels to her like a terrific creative outlet.

I feel that same tension, and expect a lot of other people do, too.

How do we conserve our energy when using social media to market or to consume others’ feeds? What safeguards make sense to you?

Voiceovers (rather than selfies), carousels, app time limits and regular breaks from all social platforms are a few ways we can protect our own energy stores while continuing to enjoy the creative and connective benefits of social.

Got others? Please chime in.

08/21/2023

Social media as a crime-fighting tool? This Italian TikTok user captures and shames pickpockets on her feed 👜

275.9K likes, 3495 comments. “ ”

07/18/2023

Hey authors (and aspiring authors): come hang out with me and my guest, Sandra Beckwith of on 7/27.

Sandy has a lot of great advice to share about using social media and other tools in your book-marketing efforts.

You can DM us questions in advance; see the post for details

06/29/2023

I am loving this behind-the-scenes clip from Axiology

What process in your work can you bring to life on social?

* editing a resume
* weaving a rug
* baking a wedding cake
* directing a photo shoot
* carving a banister
* slicing a turkey
* staging a house
* painting a room

It doesn’t have to be a TikTok either! Instagram Reels, a series of Facebook posts, a video you upload to LinkedIn, etc.

BTS making one of our award winning zero waste balmies in Champagne 🥂

06/27/2023

A very special four-pack of tip sheets - straight from my feverish, social media-lovin' brain to yours - is on offer when you sign up for my (sort of) monthly email list

These freebies are *packed* with ideas about finding your voice on social, getting unstuck when you have no idea what to post next, and much more!

Sign up below and they'll pop up in your inbox STAT 🚨

(dog portrait attached in a bid to jimmy the Facebook algorithm)

06/14/2023

CAPTION THIS. Don't overlook this important aspect of social media posting, friends 📌

05/28/2023

The people that make a small business tick are a key element of any account, which you’ll know if you’ve followed me for a while. And when one small business supports another, that synergy is worth capturing and celebrating.

Dakota here is manager , our host yesterday for ’s adoption event. RDR is lucky to have partners like City-State, partners that provide the physical space and other amenities to pull off an event with a singular mission: to place dogs with permanent, loving families. Dakota, we’re much obliged.

05/18/2023

I’m saying this nicely as I possibly can, my darlings 🎠

05/09/2023

Here's your Tuesday brain break 🧠

Do you find classic art a bit hard to relate to? So do we, but that could easily change with a find like the one these guys stumbled upon when they uncovered their identical doppelgangers in old paintings!

04/24/2023

Props to the Indiana chapter of the ACLU for its use of social media to convey clearly what’s wrong with banning books 📚

04/14/2023

I almost spit out my coffee 😂

04/02/2023

It’s not about how many followers you have.

It’s about the relationships you cultivate with your followers.

My digital course encapsulates my low-key approach to social media as the amazing free marketing tool it is. Enroll in the comments!

03/28/2023

I absolutely do this 👋🏼