Hi everyone! Lara here.

Big news for The Social Media Artist. I’m happy to announce our transition from solo-preneur to team-based social media agency! 

From solo-brand to creative social media agency!

Now, some of you might be confused. “I thought The Social Media Artist was your pseudonym”, “Isn’t this a personal brand”, “I never knew you did social media management – I thought you were only an instructor”. Yup. My brand has been in transition for a while. In any company, your branding grows and changes over the years. Though I’m sure my branding will change again in time, this is the first time I feel REALLY good about it.

After doing some research and evaluation of my time, energy and skills – I figured out what was missing. I needed a team to help me with the goals and plans I have for my company. I’m happy to say that I now have my #smartist dream team: Meredith and Carla!

Meredith and I met performing in a musical a few years ago and we hit it off right away. She is a scenic artist, illustrator and performer who creates sets, props, and costumes for theatre companies across Toronto, and she recently illustrated her first children’s book, “The Adventures of Ludwig and Imogen” which will be released this winter! Our values and the way Meredith and I see art are very much aligned, which is how I knew she would be the perfect fit for the team. Meredith’s speciality is in creating dazzling graphics for social media. Check out her website and Instagram. She is the Queen of Instagram Stories!

 

I met Carla through GenM, an apprenticeship matching service. I was looking for a blog writer and someone to help me with my own brand. Since this year has been so busy, I was guilty of putting my own brand on the back burner and really needed some help. Carla is an English girl living in France, where she teaches English and spends her time painting, learning languages and writing for her travel blog, Cosmic Traveller.  I had such a good feeling about her during the interview that I offered her the position on the spot!

Why this change?

When you’re an entrepreneur who has flexibility during your day, you get in tune with your personal flow. There are times when you feel more productive and creative, and there are moments when you’re not. After a while you tend to notice patterns; do you get the majority of your work done in the evenings? Are you better meeting with clients in the morning/afternoon? What energizes you and makes you feel excited about your work? For me, working with a team really helps. Most of my students would argue and say that they hate group work, but the trick is to have a team that compliments each other. When you have the right team, it feels like you are all puzzle pieces fitting together perfectly! And these two ladies are the missing puzzle pieces I was looking for: both creative, strategic, and genuinely want to help other artists and creatives succeed. They are so aligned with my brand and messaging it makes perfect sense that we are all working together!

How we work

When we work with clients, instead of having one person manage one client, we are all involved. From creating a social media calendar and designing content to analyzing results, we all are on the same page. Taking this approach, I have a lot of ‘aha’ moments and it makes me genuinely love what I do every day.

Working remotely is the way of the future. I’m a huge believer of alternatives to the 9 to 5. Our team has weekly meetings and training sessions where we go over our tasks and discuss what we need to prioritize and where we may need support. Since social media is always changing, we also have weekly training that we can take back to our clients and apply to our own brand. I always look forward to our weekly meetings because I know they will be productive and we will be learning something from each other!

You will be seeing some changes on our social media and website to better serve our audience – artists and creative entrepreneurs! *cue makeover song*