Hey guys! This is part two of my Branding as a Cosplayer series~ in this Blog post we are going to focus on the platforms and apps that I use to build my Cosplay Brand!
Platforms: Instagram: I absolutely love Instagram! It took me awhile to actually learn how to use it, but after I got the hang of it, I found myself constantly posting to it daily. With Instagram, you want to make sure you aren’t spamming your followers. It’s one of those tricky platforms where, if you use it too much then you may end up losing more followers than actually gaining any. I typically post about 3-4 times a day at spaced out designated times, so I won’t be annoying everyone with notifications. A big feature to Instagram, is the use of Hashtags! At first when you get into Hash tagging you may want to hashtag the mess out of anything that comes to mind. Doing so may get you a few followers here and there, but you will not be getting noticed by your target audience that you should be targeting . My targeted audience is others that love cosplay and are in the anime/geek fandom, so I tend to include Hashtags that are targeted toward them. A fancy thing that Instagram has is that it shows you how many people have already used that Hashtag on the side, as you’re writing it out. Typically I choose the hashtag with the most post number because it shows that, at that moment the hashtag is popular and you’re more likely to be seen by a large group of people rather than a small group. Facebook: I don’t really use Facebook as much as I used to because of the new updates, but I think it’s a really great starter for newer Cosplayers to document their work! A handy thing about Facebook is that it now shows you analytics of who visits your page and notifies you of recent followers. The down-side of Facebook is that your engagements and reach to others will be low unless you A: Have a large following already or B: Pay for Facebook to promote your page. Payments can vary from $1 and up~ However, I have yet to try the feature (Gotta save that moolah for more Cosplays) so I can’t be too bias toward it. A feature that I love about Facebook is that you can easily promote yourself in different groups! As well as make it easy for others to share your page and work with a simple click of the share button! When promoting on Facebook, I do recommend not doing the Follow for Follow that many tend to do. This is because it’s very likely that once they follow you, they may not look at your page ever again. You want genuine followers here! Typically when I promote groups I say something like “Hey guys! Please check out my page here! If you like what you see then give it a like! Also if you would like post your pages below also! I would love to check out other cosplayers pages! If I see something I like I’ll do the same! Cheers!” Now, I don’t say it exactly like that but you get the gist. I think Facebook is a great platform to connect and share your work with the community! Cosplay Amino: Cosplay Amino is one of my favorite platform apps for Cosplayers! It came out over a year ago, and has developed into such an amazing and supportive community for cosplayer. On this app Cosplayers are able to communicate, share, blog, write tutorials, feature their cosplays and help each other with projects! This was actually the app that started it all when I first started writing tutorials. The app is very easy to use and you can post a blog in just a few clicks! The app isn’t really there to promote. However, it is one that is great when it comes to connecting to other Cosplayers and also sharing each other ideas! I used to post on Cosplay Amino every single day, but with the recent changes I’ve slowed down. Most of the time I go on if I’m looking for a tutorial that someone may have made for a cosplay, or just to chat with other cosplayers! *You may have noticed that I haven’t mentioned twitter >.< Well I suck at Twitter…for now. I’m still getting used to the app, but once I get the hang of it I will update this blog! I did mention that I would write what platforms you can use, but what about the different apps that can help you promote yourself on social media? Below I have included just those! Editing Apps : Line Camera: I typically use this App for color correcting and adding cute little details in the picture. It’s great for quick edits and also adding dramatic affects to the photos! I also love the filters which I play around with a lot! They also have a build in Collage maker that I tend to use a lot when I want to show WIP’s as well as my line ups! The line Camera App is great when it comes to quick edits for photos that you can post in seconds! Photoshop: I love Photoshop! It can be seen as something that is a bit tedious to beginners, but when I have pictures of very high quality and I would like more than a quick edit. I tend to use this~ I also use it for banners too that you can see on my Facebook, Twitter and on my webpage! The only thing about Photoshop is that it does cost money. However, if you don’t mind paying for it I recommend it! PicMonkey: PicMonkey is a great desktop website you can use if you don’t want to use the Line Camera, and it can be seen as an alternative to Photoshop. I typically use PicMonkey for the premade overlays that it has! They do have different packages that you can buy, but I always stay with the free package. Plus anything that I can’t do I switch over to Photoshop for. Qtiie.JP: I mainly use this app for borders and the stickers it has when I’m going for a specific feel of an image! After a while, I switched from this one to Line Camera, but I tend to come back to it because the stickers are so darn cute! I also love the filters, but sometimes it over exposes the pictures! Beauty Cam: Beauty Cam is one of my favorite editing apps at the moment. If you look at my Instagram I tend to post a lot of photos that I use Beauty cam with (I promise you, I will dwell away from it soon and actually post normal photos of myself) But, I think Beauty Cam is great when it comes to grabbing your followers attention and playing around with different cosplays you may be doing at the moment. Well guys we’ve come to the end of this blog! Part 3 of Branding Yourself as a Cosplayer will be focusing on Sponsorships! Please check back for even more Blogs! Also Remember as always, Stay Happy, Stay Healthy, and Stay Creative.
0 Comments
Heylo CocoBears, and welcome back to another blog! Today we are going to talk about Branding and how to brand yourself as a Cosplayer (This Blog is a part of a series that will help you grow as a Cosplayer on your Social Media Platforms). As many of you may know I am a Cosplayer and that is a big part of my brand. I’ve been on social media as a cosplayer for about a year now, and so far I have grown significantly on my social media platforms. This past few year I’ve actually learned a lot from research on "How to Brand yourself the right way" and also what platforms work for best for cosplayers. What is a Brand? A brand is what others use to identify you. It’s what makes you, you. This can come from a specific color scheme you use, your logo, the way you are generally in your post/videos. Like I said before it’s what makes you unique and stand out from others. It's best to atleast think about a Brand when you first start out becuase it will help a lot in the future.If you don’t have one, however, you can always build this over time, which is what most people generally do. How would you do this? Well as time passes you’ll notice what type of style you have with your photos, and what you’re going for. As well as what kind of post you make throughout your platforms. The best thing to do when you see the different styles that you’ve made is to choose a consistent one that will reflect across via your platforms. Once this is done it’s time to start establishing yourself more professionally. This can include making a professional website for yourself, or Facebook Page. I have a website Blog (Which you’re reading right now. Weeeee~) and also a Facebook Page that I direct many to! If you don’t want to have a website at the time then a Facebook page is a good start! What happens after building your page/website? Do you boo! Be yourself, because that is what’s going to get you noticed the most. Don’t think that spamming people will help you, or signing up for those follower scams. What’s going to catch your follower’s eyes the most is that you’re original and different than everyone around you. Don’t force people to notice you, but don’t be lenient when it comes to showcasing your work~ This is because the followers you have are there to see your content! They find you exciting, thrilling, entertaining, and the best thing you can do is take grasp of the talent you have and push yourself to grow from it. What is networking? Another thing you can’t ignore is NETWORKING! Get to know other Cosplayers! Do collabs, Meet Up, Help each other grow! Rather than being a lone wolf, make some friends in the community~ Cosplaying isn’t meant to be a lonely hobby, rather it’s meant for you to be a hobby where you connect with others and enjoy doing what you love. Well I’ve done everything? Where’s my followers? Funny thing is that in the beginning you won’t have a lot of people instantly following you. It takes time and you won’t blow up overnight (Though it is possible and has happened to a few people xD). Just focus on yourself and your craft! Before you know it you’ll be hitting your first 1k! It will just take time and patience! Also as a note~ if you lose some followers over time, dont sweat it! Some of those followers may be spam bots, or others that do the follow for follow and then unfollow you (I experienced that a lot when I first started)! Just keep being yourself and you'll earn genuine followers! This blog was a bit short, and quick but I hope you can check out my follow up blog that will focus on what apps that you can use to actually build your brand! Have any questions for me? Send me a message or ask me on any of my Social Media’s! Remember guys, Stay Happy, Stay Healthy, and Stay Creative. |
Author"Creativity is only limited when you let it be" ArchivesCategories |