So a few weeks ago I began a blog series to share information with military spouses who are also creative entrepreneurs.  How do we live this nomadic life and still run a rockin’ business that fulfills our creative drives and helps pay the bills?  I of course intended to post weekly….but living this CrAzY LiFe, we know that the military often throws us curveballs…and we must give ourselves some grace.  So with Kevin working out of the country for a few weeks and then spring break and then a conference for me…my schedule got a little off.  But I’m so glad to finally be back to our normal routine.

I shared in my last post , some of the challenges military spouse creatives face.  How do we create, maintain, and succeed in business when we truly pull up stakes every 2-3 years and totally recreate our lives?

My first tip was to network.  You can read about networking here.

My next suggestion would be to utilize Social Media.  Yes, we all use it to keep up with our friends and families, but it can also be an amazing tool for our businesses if we use it properly.

Three ways to allow Social Media to help your business thrive:

1- to market and increase your brand awareness

2- to share your life…your clients and potential clients want to know who you are

3- to use this opportunity to encourage and lift up other creatives

So let’s unpack this a little:

Instagram is made for photographs…and lots of us are photographers!!  Yay!!!  There are beautiful images everywhere you look, how do you get into your market and make your images stand out?  I can absolutely tell you that there is NO ONE else like you…you were made so uniquely, so beautifully, and there is ONLY ONE of you!!  No one has your perspective, your challenges, your blessings, or your story.  BE YOU!!!!  Your story is your brand.  Weave that tapestry together to show who you are in the world of social media and what you have to offer that is unique.  Yes, you may be competing with a big studio in a small town, or be lost as a small studio in a large town….but as you share your story authentically, you will begin to attract clients that connect with you on some level.  As creatives, we are often selling ourselves as much as we are selling our services or products.  Someone once asked, how do I compete with competitors that underprice me…it’s simple, your clients are buying the experience you give them.  Serve them well, take great care of them, love them, and they will be loyal.  If not, then they weren’t your ideal client to begin with.

This leads me into the next important part of social media…share your life.  I once was told that I needed a personal instagram and a business instagram…that was the “rule” at one point…but we’ve learned that clients want to connect with us.  Just like when you are selling your home, realtors will tell you to take everything that is personal and pack it up.  With three small kids and a move to Hawaii coming up…there was no way we could afford to store our personal belongings and the kids were already having a hard time saying goodbye.  I left it all up….do you know why the buyer chose our house? I had a Japanese lantern and several other things from our tour in Japan throughout our home and the buyers had just left Japan…I also had a painted sign up with our girls’ names on them, she gasped when she saw that we also had a Madelyn.  She told the realtor that our home just spoke to her and that was where they belonged.  We were simply sharing our story in our home.  (Our dog Molly made it onto my feed this week since it was her 10th birthday…we sang happy birthday to her and gave her the cupcakes Maddie made for her.  Do you know that my personal posts almost always get more likes than my business ones.)

The instagram “trend” is for your feed to all be cohesive and beautiful…well I have news for you, mine IS NOT…so what, life isn’t always cohesive and beautifully styled either.  My social media is real, authentically what my life often looks like.  It is sometimes bright and cheery, sometimes a little moody, sometimes a little grainy and rough, sometimes crystal clear, sometimes it will bring a tear, and sometimes there is music ringing out.  It’s all there!!  Instead of allowing the “comparison monster” to creep in and tell me that mine is not as good as someone else’s or why does she have this many likes or why can’t I get my pictures to look like that….we should use social media as our outlet to let our light shine and not be dulled by what others are doing in their own world.  You have no idea what darkness may be hiding behind their pretty peonies.  Pray for them, encourage them with kind words, love on their work, acknowledge their efforts, celebrate success.

As military spouses, we are called to be strong, supportive, and brave for our loved ones that are fighting wars in foreign lands and at home.  We also have the capability to be strong, supportive, and brave in our businesses too.  Allow social media to be a tool in cultivating and growing your business….we always say, bloom where you’re planted.