For the last couple of decades, the creative profession has been broadly kind to us introverts. Many of us who enjoy spending a good part of the day alone, quietly working, have found that working as an artist, illustrator, designer, animator, musician, or writer provides plenty of opportunities to do so. And those of us who shrink from the notion of pressing the flesh and networking in public have found that we can achieve similar results on social media behind the safety of our own keyboards.
We did, at least, when social media was primarily text-based. In the last couple of years, though, that’s all changed.
The rise of TikTok has meant that other social media platforms, including Instagram and Facebook, have rushed to become TikTok clones. That means they’ve been heavily promoting anyone who posts videos to their feed. Many people who haven’t followed suit have seen their follower and engagement numbers plummet.
One response might be, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em”. Yet making your first video can be daunting for any creative, especially for introverts who feel overwhelmed by the idea of putting themselves out there.
Pivot? Or exit?
The first thing to note is that you don’t, of course, need to do this. As art director Craig Sanderson points out: “There is no requirement to be out there on video. You don’t have to make content. Think, are you trying to build a personal brand or a career? Or both? Plenty of people are doing great work and building strong relationships without a TikTok following.”
We’d heartily agree: that’s why we published this article on How to promote and build your creative business without using social media. However, at the same time, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make video for social media.
After all, you don’t have to be a professional TikToker or YouTuber to make video content. In fact, you don’t need to post on TikTok or YouTube at all. In truth, there’s a much lower quality bar for posting videos on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, where you can be much more relaxed and casual about it. And the potential rewards are great.
Working with your introversion
Creative entrepreneur Reesa offers a good example. “I’m an introvert and built my career as an illustrator and creator of things on social media,” she says. “I felt video was very annoying when it was first being pushed. But now I’m all for it. I look at it as another creative outlet.”
Indeed, rather than working against her introversion, she says it’s actually worked with it. “As a more introverted person, sometimes it’s hard to express what I really want to in person or social situations,” she explains. “But behind the lens of my phone, I can do take after take and make sure I’m saying what I mean. The most important switch for me was when I decided to make it fun,