It’s strange. I love social media so much, but have always found it so hard to be active on my own personal page.
I wasn’t always a social media manager. It’s something I kind of just fell into, which I am very grateful that I did. But my journey first started with my own Etsy shop that I had created during COVID. I was listening to a ton of music, consuming all different kinds of art forms from books to movies. I was also bored, so I started designing art prints of the things that hit me deeply so that I can decorate my room. One random day, I decided to list my first art print on Etsy, and my shop gained traction pretty quickly. It was so fun for me to find graphic inspo and sit in my bed creating them all on my phone for hours on end. It was SO fun. The more art prints I uploaded, the faster my shop grew. I found a little community who related to me, was interested in the things I was interested in. I loved knowing that other people are enjoying both my art and my interests just as much as I was. It was so lovely reading all the reviews that would come in of those that were excited about my prints. And those that would buy them as gifts for others. My Etsy shop is the catalyst for who I am now and I don’t think I will ever let it go.
I truly believe that that time in my life is what awoken my passion, and my career goals. I was always so lost career wise. I changed my major in college about 4 (or maybe 5?) times. I had no idea what I wanted to do. Growing up, especially in an immigrant household, you feel like there are limited possibilities to what you could become. It’s not really what you want to do, but what people perceive are the best paths.
My Etsy shop lit the flame. I realized I loved being able to find a community to relate to. And I love providing value to that community. I loved seeing other people happy and satisfied with my work. And I loved the challenge of growing my shop. I knew I wanted to use my career to make a difference, to provide value and bring people together.
So you would think after all of that that I would actually be active on my personal socials, trying to make them grow. But I am not. I always have an urge to start new accounts to see how fast I can make them grow. Accounts that are completely separate from my own. Maybe it’s because my personal socials don’t actually “feel” personal. Yes, I post updates on my life and keep in touch with others. But is that really me? I know the community I have on my personals, and it feels like they know me, but they don’t know the hobbies that make me me. They don’t know the music and books that make me me. They don’t know the thoughts that make me me.
As a social media manager, I handle and create for so many different socials. Yet, I am always left with a pull to create my own content. To create my own pages. I think social media is such a beautiful creative outlet when you don’t care who is looking at your content. The right people will find you and enjoy it with you. Finding a genuine community on social media is one of the most important things you can do to actually grow.
That being said, I have a Bookstagram (shameless plug). And oftentimes, I feel like I let myself down when I am inconsistent or let it go quiet for long periods of time. I feel that I am not being true to myself and sharing what I want to share. How can I be so consistent for accounts that are not mine but not for the one that are personal to me? But I give myself grace, it’s hard when your hobby and your career are the same thing. The biggest thing to remember is that once I make my Bookstagram feel like part of the job, then it does just become a job rather than a creative outlet.
Every time I think of what I do, I honestly always think of my Etsy shop. It helps me to keep me grounded and reminds me why I do what I do in the first place. My Bookstagram will grow because I am genuinely passionate about it. I’m not curating content to impress people or sell, I’m curating content to connect. And sometimes, that’s the one thing you actually need to see a difference in your socials, whether it’s a personal or a business account.