Social Media?

If you spend a lot of time on-line, you've probably seen/heard/read a lot about the recent changes to Facebook fan pages which has been resulting in much lower page views as FB apparently is trying to push fan pages to pay for advertising instead of getting it for free.

Normally I ignore the panic around these sorts of announcements because usually people scream "the sky is falling" but nothing really changes. However, I admin several FB pages and I have definitely noticed a steep decrease in views on posts, even when people are liking and commenting on them. It reached the point where it wasn't even worth posting jewelry listings on my jewelry page, because they were getting less than 20 views each.

I can't even entirely blame FB, as there are a lot of businesses using it as a platform for free advertising, taking advantage of the system to run contests where likes, shares and comments give you a chance to win a prize. But on the other hand, not all fan pages are to promote a business. For instance, I'm not dancing professionally yet, so there's no point in paying for an ad for my Sophia Ravenna fan page, but I'd still like my friends and fans to be able to see my blog posts, performance photos and such. And Fire & Gold is an amateur troupe with no advertising budget, but it would be nice for people to know when we're performing or see that we're hosting Open Stage.

So I guess the time has come for me to look into different avenues for promotion next year. I'm just not sure what to do. Instagram? I see a lot of dancers using it so maybe I should too. Tumblr? I have to admit, I don't even understand Tumblr, it makes me feel old. Should I be promoting myself more on Pinterest? Should I give in and join G+? Is there some other untapped market I'm forgetting about?

Intoducing Sophia Ravenna...

Oh, it's me! Yes, I've officially decided on a dance name -- Sophia Ravenna. As it turns out, as nice as Sophia Hariti sounds, Hariti not only means "green" in Sanskrit, it's also the name of a goddess of childbirth, motherhood, and protecting babies. All very good roles for a goddess to have, but that certainly doesn't fit my childfree lifestyle. So remember, everyone... when you're picking out a stage name or pen name, make sure you do some research instead of just picking something that sounds nice on a baby name page.

Speaking of pages, I made this post to let you know that I just set up the Sophia Ravenna Fan Page on Facebook. You can stroke my ego by clicking the Like button, and then you will get a couple of dance-related posts a day and updates on where I'll be studying or performing. Also, there will be pretty pictures! And who knows what else!