Creativity is a passion business, not a catering business. Yet somehow, the world seems to think that if we creatives fail to deliver a piping hot platter of ideas on their schedule, we’re failing at life. Unfortunately for them, creativity doesn’t work that way. You can’t summon it like an Uber driver to whisk you away to “Influencer Avenue” because someone decided you should post about your niche at 2 PM every Tuesday. No, creativity is more like that elusive cat you try to photograph for your Instagram; by the time you’re ready, it’s already left the room, leaving only a mocking flick of its tail.
Social media has turned into a noise machine, and not the calming white noise kind. It’s a loud, clanging mess where everyone’s pinging out signals, hoping to find enemy U-boats in a sea of hashtags and TikTok trends.Basically, social media marketing is like a scene right out of Das Boot. But seriously, when did the numbers game become the top priority? Who decided that becoming a niche influencer was the Holy Grail of modern existence?
“Finding your niche” works great for businesses, but you can’t reduce human beings by pigeonholing them into niches.That’s like saying you should only eat one type of food for the rest of your life, like a perpetual diet of scrambled eggs. But to be a proper functioning adult, you must have at least a cursory understanding of many fields. We’re complex creatures, not one-trick ponies performing highly specialized algorithms.
So, let’s break down this ridiculous notion that there’s a one-size-fits-all recipe for creativity. Typically, what often passes for creativity is stealing pieces of someone else’s intellectual property pie and calling it your own.It’s one thing to be inspired, but it’s another to take a fork to someone else’s creation and benefit from it.
Sure, imitation was once considered flattery; now it’s the corporate recipe for siphoning off the lifeblood of independent creators. Everything references other things in order to fool people into thinking it’s good because they recognize elements from things they already like. In the twenty-first century, creativity is now a commodity: homogenized, packaged, and sold to the masses like a tasteless, pre-made sandwich.
When we try and seek out wisdom, we’re bombarded with messages about “finding your inner potential” and “fueling your passion.” Sadly, the reality is more like force-feeding your passion through a homogenization machine so the Lowest Common Denominator will give you a thumbs-up. Maybe, if you’re lucky, some of them will hit follow. And don’t get me started about the “secret” of becoming a caricature of yourself to please the “target audience.”
It seems that authenticity has become a relic of a bygone era, replaced by a parade of carefully curated personas. Yet, most of the successful people I know are exactly how they would be if you met them on the street. They have no filters or false airs; they’re just genuine humans. So, why is there such an insistence on becoming a “social media influencer” to be successful? It’s utter nonsense.
Myself, I had a decade-long career in social media marketing and search engine optimization, most of it as a freelancer. I’ve danced with the devil known as social media, and it’s a fickle partner. For years, it drove a huge chunk of organic traffic to my content and my clients’ websites. Then, during the Pandemic, the algorithms changed. Poof! 99 percent of that traffic evaporated like a mirage in the desert. Forty hours a week on social media were gone, like dust in the wind.So, I pivoted, out of necessity, to hunting down niche keyword phrases and focused on delivering the best possible content for what people were actually searching. While my traffic didn’t return to its all-time highs, it did slowly accumulate from direct visits and good old Google search.
Yes, marketing can be a catering business. But it’s not the eighty percent of creativity today’s “experts” treat it like. Yet today, people are spending only twenty percent of their time producing and eighty percent of their time on social media, slinging hashtags and hoping to hit the jackpot. Social media is a tool, and it’s a remarkable one for networking and promotion.But to be effective with it, you must wield it like a scalpel, with precision and purpose.
The kicker here is I didn’t go to school for marketing. Instead, I taught myself from the countless articles churned out by industry “experts.” Then, one day, I stopped reading them because they all started to sound the same. It all became surface-level drivel designed to keep the corporate machine grinding away while the rest of us slog through the muck. Also, everything became about push notifications, viral video, and whatever AI tool is paying for sponsorships this month.
But here’s a secret: creativity isn’t some magical gift bestowed upon the chosen few. Sure, some people may have a natural flair for certain modes of expression; but it’s a skill, like any other, that can be honed and developed. The problem is there’s no surefire way to be creative. It’s not like ordering takeout where you can just dial it up when you’re feeling peckish. Rather, creativity requires an environment that encourages and nurtures it. You need time and space to explore new ideas, take risks, and most importantly, make mistakes.Promoting creativity effectively involves surrounding yourself with interesting people and things that challenge you to think in new ways. Also, you must keep an open mind. Even when you’re fiercely independent, other perspectives and ideas are crucial. Nothing great ever emerged from a vacuum.
While we’re at it, let’s dispel one of the biggest myths about creativity: it doesn’t only strike when you’re feeling inspired. Inspiration isn’t some divine lightning bolt that zaps you into action; in fact, it’s often the result of hard work. Cultivating creativity means building up a well of resources to draw from on a regular basis. Engage yourself in activities that spark your imagination and regularly expose yourself to new and interesting things. Fill your creativity well, and you’ll be far more likely to come up with brilliant ideas when you need them.
So, always be open to new ideas and ways of thinking. Be persistent in your pursuit of creativity, but also be patient with the process. Practice brainstorming and problem-solving techniques, take time to relax and recharge, and always keep a journal or sketchbook handy for capturing those fleeting ideas. Finally, surround yourself with creative people and things. In the end, creativity isn’t something you can order up on demand. It’s a living, breathing part of who you are, and it deserves to be treated with the care and respect it deserves.
~ Amelia Desertsong
