THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Italina Kirknis:
When you’re going through that healing process, it’s all kind of depressing. But then once you get out of it and you’ve got the upside, and you learn the lesson, now if you share, you can share that positive aspect of it, how you came around, how you came over that hill. Right? You can inspire us with that uplifting message in the end.
Speaker 2:
It’s The Inspiration Place Podcast with artist, Miriam Schulman. Welcome to The Inspiration Place Podcast, an art world insider podcast for artists, by an artists, where each week, we go behind the scenes to uncover the perspiration and inspiration behind the arts. And now your host, Miriam Schulman.
Miriam Schulman:
Well, hello passion maker. This is Miriam Schulman, your curator of inspiration. And you’re listening to episode 182 of The Inspiration Place Podcast. I am so grateful that you’re here. Today we’re talking all about social media. In this episode, you’ll discover what to share other than your art so that your followers will buy it, how to set boundaries and distinguish between what to share and what you really should keep personal, and how to take advantage of some of the free tools that social media has to offer.
By the way, before I bring on today’s guest, I just want to let you know that if you’re a big fan of what we talk about on the podcast every single week, then you absolutely can’t miss my free guide called The Artist Profit Plan. I talk about the five things you must do to sell more art, plus some of the things that really are time wasters. I’m giving this guide to you for the very, very, very low price of absolutely free, so head on over to schulmanart.com/profit. And there, you can download this awesome resource. Now on with the show.
As an online presence expert and speaker, today’s guest helps you upgrade your presence online through LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Her team of social media managers help you gain more visibility online, driving a steady stream of clients to your business. Although she’s a recovering attorney, like many others, she’s left law behind to practice her passion, online branding and marketing. And our guest has experience on the courts as well as the courtroom. Since 2012, though, her business has been the vehicle for her personal and spiritual growth while she creates value for each of her clients. Please welcome to The Inspiration Place, Italina Kirknis. Hey, welcome to the show.
Italina Kirknis:
Hi.
Miriam Schulman:
Or I should say, “Welcome back.”
Italina Kirknis:
Yes, it’s that time.
Miriam Schulman:
Well, you were such a popular guest. I got such great feedback from the show, and it actually turned out to be one of my favorite episodes of 2021.
Italina Kirknis:
Oh, my gosh.
Miriam Schulman:
Which is why you are part of that best of for last year.
Italina Kirknis:
Yes, that was awesome.
Miriam Schulman:
Really excited to have you back. And just so our listeners know, I asked Italina, “Hey, I’d love to have you back. What else can we talk about?” And she says, “Oh, I’ve got mountains of ideas.” Right?
Italina Kirknis:
That’s right.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. So these were all great suggestions, and hopefully we’ll be able to squeeze all of them into the episode. But the first thing I want to talk about is what to share other than art.
Italina Kirknis:
Absolutely. Yeah. So my philosophy around marketing is that it has to be personable. And here it is right here, share more than your art, so people will buy your art. And I think of it like this, even if you have the most amazing chicken dish that you can make, you make this incredible chicken dish, no one wants to eat it every night for dinner. Right? So we have to cook other things, so that now that they’re craving chicken, hey, you’re the go to person. They’re like, “Let’s go over to her house. Let’s go over to his house for this amazing chicken dish.”
So sharing more than our art, so people buy our art. What does that look like? What I like to do is, I even like to look at my calendar for the next day and see. What have I got going on, to see what can I take a photograph of? What can I do a quick video, a quick IG story, a quick Facebook story? Where can I lean my phone up against to take a quick snapshot? Or who’s going to be with me who can take a quick snapshot of that? Right? And that can look like anything. You think about all the things you do in the day, especially if you’re really busy, you’ve got a lot to do. These are things you can share that other people can definitely relate to.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. So my husband was questioning some of those things that I share, by the way. And then sometimes I won’t even be sharing something on social media, I’ll be talking to my mother in the next room. And he’d be like, “You’re not sharing that on Instagram are you?” I was like, “No, I’m talking to my mother,” recently. So we’ve got a lot going on in my house. We’re selling my house and we’re moving. So we’re selling the house in the suburbs. We’re moving to the city. And I have a million things to do, so of course, I’m procrastinating in all kinds of ways. And one of the things I’ve decided to do as part of my procrastination was of course I needed to repaint my furniture.
So I was sharing that on Instagram, the process, and meanwhile, my real estate agent, I forgot she’s following me on social media. And she was horrified. Why are you doing this now? Don’t get paint on the floor. And thank God we’re already in contract. And my husband’s questioning it too. He’s like, “Why do people even care about this?” But Italina, can I tell you that those stories that I shared about my furniture painting got me the most engagement I think in a long time?
Italina Kirknis:
There you go. It obviously relates to art.
Miriam Schulman:
Well, it did. But also, it gave me a lot of ideas what to put on the podcast because people were like, “Oh, and we would also like to learn how you organize your studio, or how you … ” It gave me ideas because I was engaging my audience in a conversation about things that were happening.
Italina Kirknis:
There you go.
Miriam Schulman:
So one thing I wanted to ask you, which is really our next point is: Where do you draw the line though between what you’re sharing and then what really things that should be kept personal? Do you have rules around that?
Italina Kirknis:
Absolutely. It’s really simple. You’re going to distinguish between personal and private, personal and private. Personal just means it’s not necessarily related to business. It’s not necessarily related to your work. It’s personal, so meaning the other things you’re doing in your day, your hobbies. You’re walking the dog. You’re going to work out or do yoga. Right? The other things that you do outside of your work, that’s what personal means. That’s all personal is, and that means you don’t mind people knowing about it. You don’t mind people knowing you walk your dog, or that you go to yoga.
Private, on the other hand, are those things that are behind closed doors. They are private, things you’re sharing only with your mother, the private things that we’re not going to disclose. Those are things that we’re not going to share on social media.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. The way I like to talk about it too is, well, there’s two things I like to share with my clients. One thing is: Is it your story? Or is it somebody else’s story? So for example, I have a son and he just moved to Israel, so that’s part of my story, that he moved to Israel. His dating life, on the other hand, is not fodder for the podcast or social media. That is like you said, that’s private.
Italina Kirknis:
For sure. The beautiful encapsulation of that is: Does it help your audience get to know you?
Miriam Schulman:
Right.
Italina Kirknis:
Right? You talking about your son’s dating doesn’t help them get to know you. It helps them get to know your son.
Miriam Schulman:
Right. But the fact that I have a son that now doesn’t live here anymore, that is very much part of my story. Don’t you think?
Italina Kirknis:
Absolutely. Yes.
Miriam Schulman:
As a woman who’s an empty nester. Actually, I have two kids, but we’re kicking the other one out. So one of them left and the other one was like, “Time to go. Let’s go.”
Italina Kirknis:
Yeah. So people can relate to that. It’s your story. You’re an empty nester. You’re working on it. You’ve got a kid who’s going away and a kid who’s tethered to the house, looking to leave. Those are things that people can relate to, and it definitely helps them resonate and get to know you and connect with you.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. The other thing I like to tell the clients that I work with, and sometimes I’ll look at their emails before they send it out, and I’ll tell them, “Hey, this is not something that’s ready to be shared right now,” and that is the difference. I like to call it the difference between something that is a scab and a scar. So when you fall down and you scrape your elbow or your knee and it looks gross, and it’s all bloody, and remember it’s maybe a while since you’ve had one. But I remember when I was a kid, I was a very accident prone kid. I was not an athlete like you. Italina, by the way, played with Serena Williams. You’ll have to tell us a little bit more about that.
Italina Kirknis:
Sure.
Miriam Schulman:
But I was a very klutzy kid, so I always had skinned knees and really gross scabs. So nobody wants to look at that or even talk about it, apparently. But after, but if you go through something and everything’s healed, and now it’s a scar, it’s something you can talk about. So when you’re still struggling with something and you’re in the middle of it, I feel that’s not something that’s ready to be shared. Do you have opinions about that? Or do you feel it’s all [inaudible]?
Italina Kirknis:
Absolutely. So what I like to say is, because when you’re going through that healing process, it’s all kind of depressing. But then once you get out of it and you’ve got the upside, and you learned the lesson, now if you share, you can share that positive aspect of it, how you came around, how you came over that hill. Right? You can inspire us with that uplifting message in the end.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. And there is a difference between, by the way, always presenting fake positivity. We know the last few years have been rough on everybody. Would you agree with that?
Italina Kirknis:
Sure.
Miriam Schulman:
I mean, it’s kind of sucky. So we’re not going to pretend everything’s all rainbows and daisies. But that doesn’t mean that every day, you go on social media telling everyone how depressed you are, so there’s definitely a difference between pretending everything’s fine and everything’s great, and going to other extreme where you’re using social media kind of as your therapy couch.
Italina Kirknis:
For sure. And so if you notice, I even share, sharing how you came over it, so meaning you’re sharing the obstacle and the lessons you learned. Right? And that’s the inspiring and the uplifting piece.
Miriam Schulman:
That’s beautiful. Okay. So I want to hear about some of these free tools.
Italina Kirknis:
Absolutely. So what’s so great is that you have social media, these free sites. You have these free social media sites. You might as well use them for your work. So looking at, for example, LinkedIn. I actually did a search just before our recording today, and saw that hey, if you go on LinkedIn in the search box, just like you can type in someone’s name, so for example, you can type in my name, connect with me. Let me know you saw me here with Miriam. You can type in someone’s name, for sure. But then you can also type in a job title or a job, so something like art collector. I did a search for art collector, the LinkedIn search box. And what’ll happen is people will come up, people who have that in their profile, the art collector. Also, groups, there are groups that come up, networks. In fact, a handful came up. A handful, that’s a lot. And one of them was called The Art Collectors’ Network. And there were over 30,000 people in this group.
Miriam Schulman:
Holy cow. Wait, record scratch moment because this is … I want everyone to hear this and do exactly what Italina just said. Go to LinkedIn and type in art collector. So they should join these groups. Is that right?
Italina Kirknis:
Yeah. So what happens is you join these groups, just like when you first go to a party, you’re going to observe, look around and see what’s going on. Go through, look in the feed. What’s being posted? What’s being shared? See if there’s anything that you can like and comment on. What does this do? This is mingling? This is visibility. Posting is not the only thing you can do for visibility. Going around and liking and commenting is something else you can do for visibility, and it’s a great way to network.
So what’ll happen is you like, now your name is there for people to see. And then they can go further and go to your profile and see what’s there. So that begs the question: Is your profile in order? Is your LinkedIn profile something that’s credible and shows the artist that you are, the work that you’re doing?
Miriam Schulman:
That’s great. Okay, so that is one tool that you can use. What would be another tool?
Italina Kirknis:
Yeah. So I would definitely say using the LinkedIn profile as your online storefront, same thing with your Facebook business page, using it as a storefront, your Instagram bio, a storefront. That is a free piece of property, online property that you have been given to show people. Why you? What sets you apart? We do not want a LinkedIn profile looking like a stagnant resume. We want it looking like a marketing page, as something you’d have on your website. Right? So that’s a free thing, and actually, that is our number one most popular way we’ve been helping people, is getting their profiles in order because I know sometimes it can be hard to talk about yourself.
Miriam Schulman:
100%. And it’s also confusing about how to edit the profiles differently. I think we had that same conversation the last time and I still haven’t changed it. I have the same profile on Instagram as I do on LinkedIn. And I know it’s no bueno. I know I’m supposed to … Because Instagram is kind of like the bar, and LinkedIn is more like the water cooler at the office. Right? It’s a little … It’s a different … How would you describe it? How would you describe the culture?
Italina Kirknis:
Yeah. I think that’s definitely a fun way to describe it for sure. You’re going to have that more professional audience on LinkedIn, the art collectors, et cetera. And on Instagram, we have art collectors, but also individual consumers, the housewife, the people at home. So we definitely want to speak to our audiences differently. And I love what you said, Miriam, because I actually had a woman who said, “Italina, I heard you speak six months ago. I still haven’t done anything with my bios.” And she’s like, “I’m just going to hire you to do it.” So know that is definitely a way we can help. Another free tool, should I share another free tool?
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. One more free tool, and then I definitely want to hear more about some of these done for you services or coaching, so we’ll get into that too because I know there’s a lot of people listening who are like, “Yeah. I also listen to her. I listened to that episode in 2021 and my whatever is still janky.”
Italina Kirknis:
Good. So this can actually be done on all of the sites. So for example, when people like your posts, when people like your story, anything that you share, and you keep seeing the same kind of person or people consistently, these are your fans. And I also like to see even people who may be window shopping, and it takes a little bit of a nudge for them to get to maybe the consultation space. So what I like to do is, I’ll actually go on, if I keep seeing the same consistent people, I go onto their page, I like something of theirs, comment, and send them a private message, a DM, a direct message. And this starts the conversation.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. I’m so glad you said that because one of the things I preach, and sometimes people misunderstand me, is that I say you’re not using social media right. It’s for connection, especially Instagram. It’s for connection. It’s not your sales catalog. I mean, I know they have features to do that. I know people do shop there. But its primary, it’s social media, so you need to be social on social media. All right, Italina, tell us about … No, you know what, before you tell us about the work you do for people, we have to talk about your tennis background. I mean, come on. Serena Williams, that’s just crazy.
Italina Kirknis:
Yeah. So we actually played multiple times together. The first time, we were just kids. We were 12, and basically, she came to town. They wanted the best tennis player in the city to play and-
Miriam Schulman:
That was you.
Italina Kirknis:
That was me. And the whole, everybody came out. There were all these people at the tennis courts, and we played. We just hit the ball back and forth and it was an awesome experience. Her and her sister, Venus, super goofy, just a lot of fun. We got to play together again at the San Jose Arena. We were all 16 now, and now they’re more known. They’re just hitting the big scene. People are starting to know who they are. And we were hitting. We were at the San Jose Arena. It was an intermission, or think of it as during football, there’s halftime show, so it was something like that. We played. The mascot was running around. Bill Cosby was making jokes and things. It was a really fun situation. We were hitting balls behind our back and just doing a lot of fun things. And afterwards, I got to sign autographs. It was really great.
Miriam Schulman:
That’s beautiful. So how has tennis contributed to your success now? Can you contribute anything you learned there to what you do today?
Italina Kirknis:
Oh, my goodness. So I competed all my from I was a little girl, and competed in tournaments all over the world. I actually represented the US in a tournament in Europe, so I’ve gotten to represent my country in tournaments. I was always ranked in the top 10. That was my career. Right? I went on to play tennis in college on tennis scholarship. And what that did for my business is, well, you can imagine committing to one sport. I didn’t get to run track during track season and do this during that season, and I say get to, I didn’t want to. I was so in love with tennis and wanting so much to just get better and better and better. Right? So that drive really was honed, and that helps me in my business because it’s like a dog on a bone. Once I get hooked on something, I want to just keep going, so that natural drive and discipline, that definitely has been developed thanks to my tennis career.
Miriam Schulman:
That’s beautiful. I love hearing about that. I also use tennis as an analogy a lot because I’m not so good at it. But I like to talk about people who either they want to become a better artist, or they want to learn marketing, I tell them nobody … So the analogy I always use is nobody woke up learning how to play tennis. They’re all skills that you have to learn. And the same thing is true with your art technique. And the same thing is true with learning social media marketing. So Italina, why don’t you tell us a little more about your two services, both done for you, for people who are like, “I just can’t even,” and then also coaching for people who maybe they want to learn the skills themselves?
Italina Kirknis:
For sure. So I shared the most popular way we’re helping people is rewriting their bios for them. So we have a beautiful process where we actually get to know you as a human right because we definitely want that personality to shine online. We get to know you, and that’s what allows us, my team and I, we do our own research. We brainstorm, and that’s what allow us to rewrite your LinkedIn bio to look more like a marketing page. Your Facebook business page, 100% of the Facebook business pages I see are not set up correctly. And then same thing with the Instagram bio. And then for those who are like, “Hey, I love my bios. My online storefront looks great now. Now I need ongoing weekly posts to share outside of my art, outside of what I’m always sharing,” so they may have us create posts to supplement what they’re doing online and post for them on their social sites.
Miriam Schulman:
That’s perfect. Okay. And where can they go to get that?
Italina Kirknis:
Sure. So again, you can definitely connect with me on Instagram. Message me, let me know you saw me here on the show with Miriam. You can message me on LinkedIn. By the way, on Instagram it’s Italina K, Italina K. And LinkedIn, you can spell my name out and find me there on LinkedIn. Just message me and let me know you saw me here on the show.
Miriam Schulman:
All right. And we’re also going to include links to all of these places in the show notes at schulmanart.com/182. And don’t forget, if you liked this episode, you have to check out my free guide, The Artist Profit Plan. If you’re ready to finally make a living as a sustainable artist, or you already are and just want to improve those skills, go to schulmanart.com/profit. All righty, Italina, do you have any last words for my listeners before we call this podcast complete?
Italina Kirknis:
Absolutely. Of course, I practice what I preach, so I actually shared a tennis post just today that you can see on Instagram. It’s actually really cool. I’m doing something really cool with my tennis racquet, and I’m dressed in something that you would never imagine a tennis player to wear, so it’s super cool, and example of sharing more than your work so people buy your work.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. So just so my listeners know, so this’ll be airing in the beginning of March. And we recorded this on February 2nd, so you might have to scroll down a few screens to get there, but she’ll have it there. She definitely has those buff tennis arms. I’m certainly jealous about that. All righty, my friend, thank you so much for-
Italina Kirknis:
I just want to say-
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, yeah.
Italina Kirknis:
This is super easy. I actually have in my highlights, which say, the highlights, I have one called tennis love, so you can also find it there. I’ve already added it to the highlights at Italina K. on Instagram. Show me some love. Connect with the page. Follow the page. I show a lot of free resources. Show me some love. Follow, follow and connect with the page.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. And by the way, those highlight reels or whatever they’re … What are they called? Are they called highlight reels? Because then they confuse it with reels.
Italina Kirknis:
They’re just highlights.
Miriam Schulman:
Just highlights. Okay.
Italina Kirknis:
Highlights and reels are different.
Miriam Schulman:
So the highlights are super important. I neglected them for a long time, and I have to tell you, once I added them, everything got better over on my Instagram land. All righty, my friend, I hope you learned one, two, or more things today. Like we said, reach out to Italina and let her know how much you enjoyed hearing her on The Inspiration Place. She can’t wait to hear from you. All right, my friend, thanks so much for being with me here today. I’ll see the same time, same place next week. Stay inspired.
Speaker 2:
Thank you for listening to The Inspiration Place Podcast. Connect with us on Facebook at Facebook.com/schulmanart, on Instagram @schulmanart, and of course, on schulmanart.com.
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