I see my personal social media as a shop window for the business
I’ve seen the incredible power of being able to use my personal profiles on social media to give my business a boost.
It’s a shop window for me to demonstrate my technical abilities, my personality and even my awareness of filming and social media trends, which is important for many clients.
Any business deal is people investing in people and it’s natural that rather than seeing ‘Inspire Films’ it opens more doors when I can be myself in front of the camera.
Whether it’s on LinkedIn, Instagram or TikTok, creating content as myself is one of the best ways I can market the business.
I’d estimate that Inspire has grown about 20% from winning work off the back of people seeing content I’ve posted on my personal accounts.
Being younger than many business owners, I’m 22, is a point of difference for me in my industry and one I absolutely use to my advantage.
However, it also means I am sometimes not immediately seen as trusted by some people, so having strong social profiles as ‘Jake’ is a shortcut to gaining that trust and demonstrating my credentials.
I like to post a range of content – sometimes vlog style documenting a job I’m on, other times showing my hobbies such as hill walking and even behind the scenes and blooper content to give people a laugh too.
I’m comfortable showing all sides of myself and blurring those lines between private and professional. It might not work for everyone, but it does for me.
Clients will regularly reference that they’ve seen me on social media when we meet for the first time.
Maybe that’s the algorithm or maybe they’ve taken the time to look me up. Either way, I’m aware of my footprint and know how hard it works to win more work for the business.
That’s why I like to mix up my content too. If someone is landing on my feed to check me out, they’ll see a real mix and a demonstration that they’re in good hands with me as a professional.
My days are always busy and shooting schedules can be unpredictable, so creating content – either for Inspire or my own profiles – isn't something I plan.
It’s all ad hoc and I just fit it in when I get a moment, even though it’s something so important that I know I should prioritise it more.
As my business grows and I gain even more experience creating different types of content for my clients, I’d like to progress into writing too.
Thought leadership articles, long-form writing about the industry, is where I’d like to push myself next.
I’m definitely stronger at filmed content than written, so this will be a big challenge for me, but it will be just as important as I have big ambitions to keep growing Inspire Films to be the best it can be.