Digital Wellness Tips for Musicians
by Taylor Rossi. Published, October 18th, 2022.
Having an online presence is something that’s assumed all musicians and creatives need to have today, often without sufficient information on how to actually have an online presence that serves an intentional purpose. What often comes along with that absence of knowledge is overwhelm, avoidance, and contempt for it. Use this article as a guide to learn how to incorporate mindfulness into your social media and website strategies to save yourself time and overwhelm!
1. Understand the Way You Work
When we know how we work best, we’re allowing ourselves to tap further into our creativity, make faster decisions, and complete our work in a more efficient manner vs when we feel sluggish, unfocused, and uninspired.
If you’re unsure of how you work best, consider these two factors:
1). Time of day
2). Doing it in one sitting vs. broken apart
I have found in my own work that certain tasks require different working styles. If I’m working on something I feel incredibly confident and experienced in, I’m more likely able to do it all in one sitting first thing in the morning; if it’s something that needs more attention, I’ll schedule it over the course of a few days in small chunks of time which allows more time for revisions.
When it comes to working on your website or creating a social media marketing plan, ask yourself what you anticipate the best way will be for working on it – doing it all in one sitting or spacing it out. Know that your answer may change over time or vary depending on how you feel that day – changing how you work to reflect your state of being means honoring yourself and knowing what’s best for you!
2. Schedule Website Updates Multiple Times A Year
The benefit of keeping your website updated throughout the year is twofold: the first is that Google rewards websites that are kept updated as it shows the information is more current and therefore more trustworthy, and secondly when people see that you update your website with new information regularly, they’re more likely to revisit your site which increases the chance that they’ll work with you/purchase one of your offers.
As we already have a multitude of tasks to remember both in our businesses and personal lives, automating as much as possible is a an easy way to reduce the overwhelm of updating your website. Beyond writing blog posts or updating timely information for events and performances, I recommend scheduling quarterly website updates into your calendar as repeating events.
Use this list as a guide when updating your site so you know what to look for and save yourself time!
Website Updating Checklist:
Check all of your buttons and links to make sure they all go to the proper destination/that they aren’t broken. This includes social media links, PDF downloads, and any blog posts that link to a referring site.
Make sure all of your contact information is the same so that there’s no issues for visitors to get in touch with you.
Add in new blog posts (bonus points if you’re able to schedule out multiple posts!)
Checking Google Search Console to see what keywords are being used to find your site and organically infusing them into your page copy and descriptions.
Update any photos on your site to provide a more enhanced visual experience for website visitors.
Add any links to podcast interviews or guest articles you may have done to help build up your backlinks (which helps increase your Google ranking!)
3. Get Intentional With Your Social Media Presence
For many, social media is a double-edged sword – you know it’s great for getting new students/clients/opportunities, but the act of showing up online can be overwhelming. When we approach our online presence strategically and intentionally, the more we’re able to reduce the time spent mindlessly scrolling or caught in paralysis of what to post.
Take a step back and zoom out of your social media strategy to ask yourself a few reflective questions:
What the specific goals are for your page – is it clear to first time visitors what you do and what you generally offer as a service or product?
How do you want to show up on social media and what does authenticity look like to you?
When Instagram Reels took off, there were tons of videos of people dancing to songs or using very animated gestures – for many people, that’s not their style but because of the popularity of these videos, it can be hard not to feel like you should be doing that, too. Know that when you’re true to you, that will resonate so much more because it’s in line with who you are and people will notice that.Who are your ideal clients?
Understanding this is ESSENTIAL as after we’ve identified who they are, we can engage with them on social media and build a community that shares our values, vision, and is hopeuflly benefited by your services!
Now that you have a better understanding of what to post and look for online, the next step is to set boundaries. Here’s a couple ways you can do that:
If you find yourself mindlessly scrolling, put your phone across the room or in a different room entirely – out of sight and out of mind
Set time limits on your apps (this can be found in your phone settings)
Turn off app notifications – if you’re already going to check your app anyway, lessen possible distractions by turning off notifications
Put hobbies or other tasks in place of scrolling time; this can be reading a book, tidying your home, journaling, or anything else you enjoy
If you’re ever feeling overwhelmed by your website, social media, or having an online presence, take a step back, focus on your breath, and ask yourself some basic questions – what is my goal for showing up here? What am I trying to relay? Are there any aspects of this that I do enjoy and how can I lean into this more?
A parting affirmation: You are worthy of showing up online and have so much to offer!
BIO
Taylor Rossi is a flutist, web designer and portrait photographer for Nicole Riccardo Media. She helps classical musicians bring their visions to life and grow their online presence. When she’s not sitting behind her computer, she can be found performing with various orchestras throughout Boston. www.nicolericcardomedia.com