Autoethnography – the final word.

Background

My experience with immersing myself into the niche of Social Media Management (SMM) has allowed some valuable insights into how SMM’s operate within the realm of Instagram. SMM’s are in high demand and the space is growing at a rapid rate with a 1357% increase in social media positions listed on the platform (LinkedIn) since 2010 (Gotter, 2021). As explained in ‘niche, capishe?‘, this is one of the main reasons I wanted to delve into this niche along with it being an open platform to showcase my skills for a future career. Initially, I wanted to explore product photography along with SMM but I found they were mostly separate communities and thus, defeating the purpose of a niche study.

I then narrowed my focus to SMM and more specifically, how to develop a professional online persona to allow me to build my own persona within the niche through autoethnographic research which can be seen in the concept of mediatisation.

(Marshall, Barbour and Moore 2020 p2)

I explored how SMM’s demand authority and project expertise through their profiles’ personas through autoethnographic processes such as field notes. The purpose of the SMM niche is to gain authority as a leader in the space in order to attract clients that want to hire the services they offer. The use of Instagram over other platforms is a strategic choice for SMM’s as it allows potential clients and the community to have a quick overview of the personality of the persona behind a brand. This is through the design of the ‘feed’ and posts and the synergy they create which allows audience members to resonate with the professionalism projected and therefore allow you to be a leader in the field. The research I conducted about SMM within the community through participant observation allowed me to understand the innerworkings and strategies that exist ‘behind the scenes’ of creating a public persona. By using an autoethnographic approach to this niche, I was able to uncover some specific details about how SMM’s operate that I wouldn’t have uncovered if I hadn’t been an active participant within the niche over a period time. My Beta blog post shows more thoroughly the concept of persona and some of my interactions with the niche as an audience member.

Academic Research & Frameworks

By exploring my ideas around building professionalism through an online persona in my niche, both academic and popular sources have expanded my knowledge of autoethnography. It is important to acknowledge the frameworks that have shaped my understanding of autoethnography and that have informed the creation of content within my niche.

The persona is not the individual or collective but the negotiation between the two (Moore, 2021) where the dimensions interconnect to project a persona. The five dimensions of public persona are publicness, mediatisation, performativity, collectivity and value (Moore, 2021). The persona is neither entirely real or entirely fictional, it creates connections through an online space which results in a complex collective of networked connections within a niche that provides value (Moore, 2021). Different types of value can be taken from the persona however agency is the fundamental component which relates to the choices about how the online persona is presented (Moore, 2021).

Through the online persona I created through my Digital Artifact (DA), I used these dimensions to frame how I wanted the niche to perceive me as a SMM. The publicness dimension of my DA existed within the micro-public of SMM on Instagram where I used mediatisation through text, graphics, and curated content, to project my persona. The performativity dimension was used as I presented a persona that wasn’t entirely who I am behind the screen as I tried to portray myself more professionally, but still existed as myself in some ways. This was picked up by the collective through the algorithmic process and allowed for connections between my persona and others. In terms of value, my persona aims to inform others in the niche, particularly business owners who want to ‘level-up’ their social media skills. This boosts the prestige I am trying to create within the niche by having a reputation that is reliable and knowledgeable.

I used autoethnography to determine the field site to narrow my focus, gathered data using participant observation such as note taking and screenshots of my experience. I then identified a number of epiphanies that were most significant because epiphanies are important as it uses “personal experience to illustrate facets of cultural experience” (Ellis, et al. 2011) I then analysed this data by going outside the niche and exploring popular sources to find comparative analysis and arguments to my epiphanies.

This process was undertaken with ethical considerations such as the concept of reflexivity in mind which aims to uncover the researchers own bias’s when undergoing research. Another major contributing factor into my projection of persona was the concept of authenticity. “On social media, being authentic means getting personal and having personality; both of which come to signify ‘being real’ as opposed to putting up a façade or playing a (public) role”. Connecting with my audience regularly, showing my face on stories and the tone of voice I use in captions all creates a personality that the collective then picks up and interprets for themselves. However, I am curating this personality to be professional and personable through these practices on a weekly basis.

Reflection & Digital Artifact

Digital Artifact – @honeycreative_

wise-word commentary

This is the last blog post on peer reviewing beta blogs and videos. I actually secretly like giving feedback to my peers as it always sparks some great ideas for my own work but also allows me to think about how I can help someone else. This week I reviewed two betas by Jess and Zali.

“When it comes to positive constructive criticism, you want to make sure that you give the person you’re addressing some things to think about or work on, to help them feel like they still have room to grow and surpass expectations”

(Krakoff, unknown)

Photo by Burst on Pexels.com

Jess’s blog post about her media niche of skincare reviews.

Zali’s blog post about educating brands on how to market themselves with her first video being about activewear brands.

When I was searching for betas to comment on, I found it difficult to engage with media niches that I had no awareness about. I was struggling with listening to the videos and couldn’t engage fully with the text. I believe this is a critical insight into media niches as it truly demonstrates the concept of a media niche – that it is unique and specific. Whilst this is true, I decided that to be able to give constructive and insightful feedback to my peers, I needed to engage with betas which focused on media niches I had a better understanding about. This is mainly because in my pitch comments, I found that the feedback I gave was more general as I didn’t know much about those peers’ niches.

“Constructive feedback is supportive feedback given to individuals to help identify solutions to areas of weakness they may have. Therefore, it comes with positive intentions and is used as a supportive communication tool to address specific issues or concerns”

(CFI, unknown)

Reflecting

After providing feedback on both Jess and Zali’s beta blogs, I was able to reflect on my own progress and methods of participant observation within my media niche. Zali’s blog gave me some great ideas on how to utilise my content in different ways and Jess’s insight allowed me to reflect on how I could engage better with my media niche. Both blogs showed extensive field notes, which looking back, I could have utilised better in my research in order to reflect on my experiences with my media niche. Reflecting on my comments, I believe I gave quite a lot of reassuring comments by stating what the peers have done well and what I liked about their presentations. Next time when peer reviewing, I could elaborate more on the improvements and sources that I provide giving more detail rather than focusing so much on aspects I liked. This would balance out the feedback better and allow for more critical feedback for my peers.

Reflecting helps you to develop your skills and review their effectiveness, rather than just carry on doing things as you have always done them

(TOU, unknown)

My Beta Reflection:

References:

TOU, (unknown date), ‘Self-reflection’ The Open University & Unison in Partnership. Available at: <https://www.open.ac.uk/choose/unison/develop/my-skills/self-reflection&gt; (Viewed 15th October 2021)

CFI, (unknown date), ‘Constructive Feedback’ Corporate Finance Institute. Available at: <https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/careers/soft-skills/constructive-feedback/&gt; (Viewed 15th October 2021)

Krakoff, S. (unknown date), ‘How to Give Constructive Feedback in the Workplace Champlain College Online. Available at: <https://online.champlain.edu/blog/giving-constructive-feedback&gt; (Viewed 15th October, 2021).

this Beta is a mess… don’t watch

My engagement with the public audience has primarily been centred around forming relationships within the niche to develop my online persona.

By interacting through comments and messages, engaging in trends and tagging people in my interactive stories, I have formed some solid connections which have enabled effective engagement on my posts and theirs in return which has formed an identity of my public self on Instagram.

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Screenshots of messages, comments, stories (cheers, etc)

My research of forming content in this niche is outlined in the beta video which enables me to create insightful and innovative content that is beneficial to my audience and myself as a social media management “expert”.

I implemented feedback from the peer commentary by using scheduling tools, onboarding questions and spreadsheets that were suggested to me to save time with my own content and client content. (link) These were extremely helpful with staying on top of things, especially when uni and life got busy.

Updated schedule

For the remaining time, I will be creating more content for my Instagram page weekly (3 posts per week) by the process outlined in the beta video to put in the portfolio video and coming up with some creative ways to showcase this. After reflecting, I have dropped the weekly blog posts I outlined in this Blog due to feedback from mu tutor as I had spread my content too widely. This will enable me to focus on quality over quantity.

ignore my awkwardness, speaking to camera is out of my comfort zone lol

Analysing a new set of epiphanies

Whilst considering previous epiphanies and engaging in autoethnographic research on Social Media Management, I have developed a new set of epiphanies by being immersed in this media niche on Instagram.

“Field notes may record practical details, methodological issues, personal thoughts, preliminary analyses and working hypotheses” (Dawson, 2002, p. 108).

(video updated: 14th October 2021)

Epiphany 1: Graphic Design Services

The first epiphany is that since starting my business, I have been asked a number of times whether I do logo designs and graphic design services. This made me consider whether I should provide these services because the demand for it is obviously there but I don’t want to scope too far from my niche and risk confusion and less engagement from my audience.

When researching this further I found that especially because I’m in the very early stages of developing my online persona that I should “just go out and work with all types of people for a few months. Take notes on your experiences with them, and go from there… (because) going back-and-forth on a niche without testing it in the real world isn’t going to get you any clearer” (Brewer, 2020) which is what I have been doing by engaging in participant observation.

Epiphany 2: Cost & Charging

I have found some commentary from social media managers (SMM’s) explaining why they charge what they do for their services which is mostly based on the time it takes them to complete certain tasks. This has made me consider charging more for my services as I am charging more than half of what other SMM’s do but I also don’t want to lose clients because of this. After researching some pricing methods and how to price services, in particular, I found that “cost-based calculations and comparisons with competitor prices in deciding where to be positioned against alternatives” (Piercy, et al., 2010) was the most popular way to price. There is a compelling argument that the way prices are set not only influences demand, price also shapes how buyers use the product or service, and can have a lasting impact on customer relationships (Piercy, et al., 2010). Based on this, I will continue to charge my current prices until I gain more experience and expand my skillset as the relationships I have formed through my online persona with clients is still building.

Epiphany 3 – Personal Branding Shoots

Another epiphany I have experienced whilst being immersed in this media niche is that most SMM’s recently have been uploading photos of professional personal branding. I have seen SMM’s post photos of themselves before this however, these images are much more professional and shot at a location that seems to suit their branding styles. Imagery in branding serves to AMPLIFY your personal and brand values so that people can resonate with you immediately (Rossie, 2020). “Professional Branding Photography Gives Your Customer a First Impression” (Nesbitt, 2020) which directly relates to the concept of persona and forming relationships with clients.

This is where a personal branding shoot could help amplify this projection of persona within the niche. Although I don’t have the financial means to fund a personal branding shoot, I could come up with other ways to use quality images to project my persona.

Development of persona

A personal branding shoot will enable me to project my persona in the ‘professional/expert’ lens that I am hoping to achieve and will be a great tool to expand my content and make my brand more personable to the niche. By exploring other avenues of demand (graphic design) and pricing methods, I am able to project my persona as an expert by sticking to my pricing methods, as I know currently what my services are worth. By sticking to my niche but exploring other niches whilst I am still in the early stages of my business, I am able to work out where to spend my energy and thus, where to spend my time in terms of niches which will develop or change my persona accordingly.

References:

Brewer, A., (2020). ‘Niching Down as a Service-based Business Owner’. Available at: <https://bettermarketing.pub/niching-down-as-a-service-based-business-owner-97b6bb340a41>

Dawson, C., (2002). ‘Practical Research Methods: A user-friendly guide to mastering research’. Available at: <http://dlib.ptit.edu.vn/handle/HVCNBCVT/2369>

Nesbitt, M., (2020). ‘5 Reasons Why Personal Branding Photography is Important’. Available at: <https://medium.com/@morgannesbitt/5-reasons-why-personal-branding-photography-is-important-c3bb7d3a6d2>

Piercy, N.F., Cravens, D.W. and Lane, N. (2010), “Thinking strategically about pricing decisions”, Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 31 No. 5, pp. 38-48. Available at: <https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/02756661011076309/full/html>

Rossie, B., (2020). ‘Personal Branding Photography and Why It’s Important’. Available at: <https://brittneyrossie.com/library/personal-branding-photography-and-why-its-important>

Epiphanies & Field Notes

Autoethnographic Investigation Process

My autoethnographic research into Social Media Management so far has included observing content creators and managers in the niche on Instagram. So far I have taken notes on the content they share which is mostly tips on how to use social media for business.

The method I took was setting a small amount of time aside each week and writing down some of the content I encountered. I didn’t set a goal to write heaps but by doing this process, I found I kept writing things down that I could use for my own content as ideas flooded my brain. When looking back at these notes, I realise that the content I encountered was mainly inspiration and educating people on how to utilise Instagram better and more professionally. Also, it makes me feel inspired to immerse myself back in the niche and find ideas for content.

There have been multiple moments where I have encountered some epiphanies whilst undergoing autoethnographic research – here are the 3 most relevant!

I have tried to plan some content in advance like pictures and text graphics however, it takes a lot of time designing, editing and writing captions. I’ve also found it difficult to film Instagram reels in advance as you can end up being too late to a ‘trend’ or audio that is trending. This then doesn’t make your content as well received than if you posted the reel in that peak time. With this, doing client work also takes a lot of time so I have prioritised them over my own content.

To help me with time management, I have taken feedback from a peer comment suggesting this questionnaire for onboarding new clients which has helped me saving time in the long run as I don’t have to constantly contact clients, I can just refer to their answers when it suits.

I asked on Twitter what platforms people had used and some people suggested asking the clients to pay for the monthly subscription if they choose my scheduling package but I feel that is too much as they are already paying me a monthly fee. The suggestions were Planoly and Facebook’s Business Manager which have helped.

I also found this google sheets document for client planning that has been successful when I’m collaborating with clients and their content.

The packages I offer are Instagram design (colour palette, fonts, layout plan), Social Media Management (monthly posts, scheduling & captions) and Product Photography. So far the design packages have been the most popular and management is close behind. The lack of interest in Product Photography inspired me to offer a choice in my design packages from 4 product photos or 6 social media graphics but graphics have been chosen every time.

Applying my observations & Online Persona

Moving forward with my investigation, I am going to set a time to interact with others in the niche, instead of just commenting here and there to make it more meaningful. I have seen other creators in the niche give advice to set 30 mins aside each day to do this. This will help establish my online persona better within the niche which will also inspire me to ‘show up’ on my professional Instagram account through stories, reels and posts to establish trust with others in the niche.

For my DA content, I want to put together a short-video of all of my client work and photos so these observations will help me be more efficient with planning, interacting and utilising my time better. With the third epiphany I encountered whilst existing in this niche, I am deciding whether to solely focus on social media management or to keep promoting my product photography. So far I have been enjoying product photography and believe it will be valuable to keep doing it for my own experience.

Stay tuned! 🙂

mirror mirror: reflection

In terms of my pitch, I learnt that I could improve my field site map to show more of the interconnectedness of different elements within my niche. I learnt that there are so many different media niches out there and that no single person will have the same experience as an another will in the niche.

In terms of my own ethnographic research, I have learnt through this process to explore the audience experience in full and to really take in the mundane aspects of the niche. By reading about other niches that I don’t know anything about, I was able to understand how an audience member stumbling across my page would experience it.

https://caitlinweightman.wordpress.com/2021/08/20/an-autoethnographical-study-of-the-true-crime-niche-pitch/

https://phoebewellss.wordpress.com/2021/08/20/lets-pitch-it/

https://utteromnishambles.wordpress.com/2021/08/20/explorers-guide-to-critters-pitch/

Niche of Social Media Management & Autoethnography: An investigation

Social Media Management is quite a complex area of expertise which is why I am deciding to undertake autoethnographic research into this niche to better develop my understanding and expertise to take into the future.

I have discussed this in in further detail in previous blog posts.

Approach:

• I will be looking into this field of inquiry and “taking field notes of cultural happenings as well as their part in and others’ engagement with these” (Ellis, C., Adams, T., & Bochner, A., (2011).
• I will be taking notes of my experience as an audience member of social media management accounts by creating a series of blog posts of these notes each week for my own reflection.
• This will include different multi-media formats like video, audio and some content I have created that week. The purpose is to educate others who are interested in exploring or developing a career in social media management based on the expertise I will be developing through autoethnographic research.
• To narrow this further, the notes I will be taking will be on one 1 topic per week that I would like to learn more about to do with social media management by engaging with other creators and content on Instagram during that week and documenting key aspects of that topic.

Scope and Shape: the Digital Artefact

Through my reflective blog posts, I will then develop a Digital Artefact summarising all my work to attract a wider audience in the form of a short video essay where I will showcase my expertise in social media management.

The field site has been amended since the last blog post on field sites:

With content creation, I am hoping to post 2 or more times per week by batching my content in a day and spreading this throughout the process to save time with a busy uni and work schedule. For the blog creation, I will be posting one topic per week to do with social media management.

B: Blog topic

C: Content for Instagram

Stay tuned for the process!

Field site of social media management & product photography as a niche

As discussed in my previous blog post ‘niche, capishe?’ , I am discovering social media management and product photography as a niche to develop my experience in the industry and build a portfolio for the future. So to progress in this research, mapping the field site is necessary to gain an overlook of the relations of the niche. “The term field site refers to the spatial characteristics of a field-based research project, the stage on which the social processes under study take place.” (Burrell, 2009) or more simply put “identifying where the researcher should ideally be located as a participant observer.” (Burrell, 2009)

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

The audience of this niche is primarily businesses looking for tips on how to boost their social media presence, aesthetics and reach with their audience. Social media managers are also included in the audience as they connect with each other for inspiration, networking and community.

What isn’t known about this niche, from a personal perspective, is some of the processes that are involved in social media management such as recruiting clients, how to monetise effectively, scheduling, platforms, exact services that I can offer and if this is needed in my area. With product photography, it is photography shoots and equipment needed, whether this is demanded, processes in editing and monetising this effectively as well that isn’t known to me yet.

The major personas in this space are constantly showing their faces on their pages as well as their work. When showing their persona it is often in an authenticity frame which they amplify to their audience telling them to be ‘real’ on their socials. This is interesting as “the online social environment was largely considered as detached from the ‘real world’…” but “the digital landscape has become increasingly ‘real’, as well as complex and internally differentiated” (Airoldi, 2018).

The main personas’ social media presence is strong, mostly on Instagram.

By exploring social media management, I am hoping to inform business owners of the importance of social media for their business and help them by providing advice, tips and professional services. By exploring product photography, I will also be able to assist businesses with making their products stand out.

In discovering more about social media management and product photography, the following ethnographic research skills will be beneficial:

• perspective
• problematising
• contextualising
• narrowing
• exploring

Watch the video for a little more explanation on these and personas!

niche, capishe?

Choosing a niche

A niche is a specific group of people with similar interests that are usually very distinct to that group of people. I struggled with the thought of a niche when looking at one to study as part of research for a university subject (BCM241 Media Ethnographies). Product photography and social media management is the niche I have selected for this subject’s research component.

Product photography and social media management is an interest of mine as a keen media student. This in particular, is a career aspiration as I’m studying Communications and Media with a major in Marketing.

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  Photo by Mathilde Langevin on Pexels.com

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  Photo by Mathilde Langevin on

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  Photo by Mathilde Langevin on Pexels.com

Product photography is a skill I haven’t delved into yet but I believe it will be a useful skill moving forward in my career. I have some social media management skills however, I am hoping to expand my knowledge further of this. Product photography and social media go hand-in-hand and are valuable skills for my future therefore, through this research I am hoping to refine this as a specialisation.

Within social media management I am particularly interested in personas and they way people project a ‘voice’ and a personality that may be completely different to their everyday self. This relates to the concept of mediatisation.

Mediatisation is “…how the formation of the contemporary self is now constructed and displayed through technologies and forms of expression that resemble media forms. In other words, we communicate through printed text, through images, through video and audio and in a way that re-constructs our identity through these various signifying systems.” (Marshall, Barbour and Moore 2020 p2)

Ecology

Locations/platforms

In this digital age, product photography is valuable for businesses to set their brands apart and ensure they stand out, especially within the world of e-commerce as consumers can’t physically touch a product before they purchase.

“Quality photos that tell the right story will meet customer expectations” (Nesbitt, M. 2020).

I have found so far that the locations of this niche are predominantly on Instagram and Facebook with professionals displaying their work through their business pages. Facebook and Instagram have a ‘shop’ feature which is used by some to promote their services and products. They also use websites to display further information about their services to their potential clients. Some of these professionals use LinkedIn however, their presence here is moderate compared to Instagram and Facebook. I have also discovered that there are threads on reddit dedicated to showcasing users’ product photography and sharing tips with each other.

Presenters Personas

I would argue that product photography is almost a persona of the product itself. You are setting up what the product may look like in every day life or pairing the product with other objects that fit the ‘profile’ of where, when or what the customer can do with the product. You are projecting through a lens – pun unintended.

“…home in on what others take for granted in everyday situations, and approach what most overlook as commonplace with intrigue” (Hasbrouck, J, 2018). I believe product photography can relate to this quote about ethnographers as I found myself overlooking the detail of product photography as a consumer. It wasn’t until I started to look into it I could appreciate the process behind each shot. Consumers are unknowingly influenced by this process when they purchase a product that is carefully curated through the images. The same can be said for social media accounts, unless you start analysing them, you are unaware of the curation and preparation some people and businesses reach to achieve their persona which are very definitive of each creator in this space.

As for communicating my findings with a public audience, I haven’t completely nutted this out yet so stay tuned for more to come on social media management and product photography as a niche!!

Watch the video below to see more of my findings :))