What Street Artists Can Teach You about Standing Out on Social Media
How do you get noticed among the other scribbles on the walls (aka, feeds and streams)?
It’s a noisy marketplace out there on social media. When you post on Facebook or Twitter, it can seem like a leaf falling in a forest. Yours is just one among thousands of posts happening across the internet at any given moment. Everyone seems to be using the same richly-hued stock photographs. You’ve seen that girl holding a lit sparkler in front of her so many times, you can’t remember if she’s hawking business tips, life hacks, or advice for digital nomads.
Q: How do you stand out?
A: By looking at an industry in which there is an equal (if not greater!) amount of competition for people’s eyes — street art.
Street artists have a similar problem. Walking down the boulevards and alleys of any city, you can see that there are some who have obvious talent, but you have to scan past all the folks who just want to leave their scribbled mark somewhere. How do the talented ones manage to get noticed?
If you are looking to stand out on the crowded walls (aka, feeds and streams) of social media, here are three tips you can learn from the street artists who manage to make a name for themselves among the rest of the graffiti.
1. Don’t just look like everyone else
Have a distinct look to your graphics so that when someone sees your image, they automatically think of you. Choose your images wisely and avoid using the same photos that you have already seen everywhere. If possible, take your own photos to use with your blog and social media posts. Consistently use colors and fonts specific to you — even your unique logo — so that when someone glimpses an image (such as some golden arches or a swoosh) they automatically think of you.
2. Have a key message — and repeat it
You want your message to be as recognized as your image. Have a clear and concise key message and get it out there — everywhere. Repeat it until your potential customers can quote it by heart. In the 1980s, everyone in the Washington, D.C., area wanted to know the identity of Cool “Disco” Dan, a graffiti artist who left his tag all over the city and became inextricably linked with that time period. His mark was so much a part of the city, that it garnered mentions in books set in D.C., as well as in the sci-fi film Mars Attacks.
3. Consider unusual spaces
When everyone is posting in the same spaces at the same time, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd and have your message disappear beneath a multitude of posts that come after it. Sometimes you have to consider posting in unusual spaces — or at unusual times — so that you won’t get lost among the clutter.
Getting yourself known as a street artist is no mean feat; however, there are standouts, and they use the same exact resources as everyone else — paint and a wall. What makes them stand out is HOW they use those resources. The above tips should help you get noticed and help YOU stand out among all the others who are leaving their own marks.
