Productivity as a Coping Mechanism
People have dealt with this year in a lot of different ways. Some took a much needed break, spent time with their families, some discovered the joys (and drawbacks) of working from home for the first time.
However, many have lost their jobs, livelihoods, and hobbies. The impact of 2020 on mental health has been horrific.
As well as general production work being overwhelmingly halted, the majority of my work as a wedding video editor was (and still is) being hit the hardest. For someone who builds too much of their self worth and esteem around their job, this did not have the best effect on my mental health (or income, for that matter).
However, the self discovery has truly been something else indeed. I discovered that my coping mechanism, for better or worse, appears to be…social media marketing.
Oh yes, when your industry goes to pot, what else is there to do? I didn’t quite know how to use this stretch of ‘free’ time ahead of me, having watched my year of work effectively disappear in the space of a week.
So, I did some research. What resulted was an overhaul of my website (thank you Jay), updated branding (courtesy of Becky), starting this very blog, learning about visibility (cheers Maddy), SEO, how to rank well on Google (shoutout to Donna for this one) and a diploma in feline behaviour and psychology.
Don’t ask.
This is not at all meant to sound like ‘oh look at how productive I was this year’ it really isn’t. All of this came from a place of sheer panic, desperation and utter fear.
Fight or Flight? I think I’m a bit of both.
Near the end of my social media marketing based breakdown, I took part in yet another free challenge, as has been the theme of this year, which then led to me taking part in a six week course (run by the lovely Micaela) all about Facebook Ads. I didn’t have a clue about running ads at all, and I felt a bit like they were a scam designed to waste your money for very little reward.
In some ways, they can waste money, but only if you don’t know how to correctly target them to people who want your services. This is where the No Fluff Facebook and Instagram Ads Course came in. It was an eye-opening masterclass in how to run effective ads on social media. I ran my very first ad across Facebook and Instagram, and somehow got results! People engaged with my ad and then turned into paying clients after I used the techniques I had been taught on the course.
This, and a few of my existing clients being absolutely incredible in sending me anything they did manage to film throughout the year, pulled us through to this point. I can't thank my wonderful clients enough for their consistency and consideration for my business and wellbeing whilst they were struggling in a similar way themselves.
And so we find ourselves on the eve of December, and the last few weeks of what has been, hands down, the worst year of my life.
However, if I got anything valuable at all out of this year, it is a toolkit of techniques to boost my visibility in front of the correct people. I feel more in control than I did at the start of the year, knowing that I can drag myself, kicking and screaming, to a point where I can be one of those Fearless Marketing People whenever I need to be. This is largely to do with the support and guidance from everyone I have mentioned, and the fantastic resources I was able to make use of. (I absolutely don’t condone Extreme Productivity and Business-ing as healthy coping mechanisms, by the way. If you find yourself suffering from 2020, I recommend therapy instead).
Thank you for reading.
If you too are having a small crisis in not knowing how to get found on social media and would like to try running some ads, please consider taking part in the course first. You genuinely won’t regret it. If you sign up here using this link, I get a few quid, but don’t let that put you off!