Discussions about 2020 are taking place everywhere. Recent conversations about this new year were had with many who are already putting pressure on themselves to achieve “certain things.” Admittedly, I am one of them. I have been looking over 2019 and preparing for 2020 just a bit too much. I am always stuck between being nervous and excited when going into a new year. It’s a battle and I know I am not alone. I have a list. It’s a beautiful incomplete mess but I can filter through it. One of the points I listed was ‘Remaining Relevant Through The Noise.’
That’s a big one right? As someone tasked with adding value to other people’s lives, this point is important. As I continued giving energy to the idea of ‘remaining relevant’ the fact that this point requires addressing nagged me for a bit. Trust me, this is not my first attempt at writing this post *laughs*.
Your Season
Recently my client Skinny Banton made a statement. Although it was not my first time hearing it, he said, “Every Fruit Has A Season.” Maybe I needed to hear those words, they really resonated with me. Someone needs to hear this so I am sharing it!
These are my thoughts and words of encouragement… Your Season Is Coming!!! Be mindful though because there are a few things that are necessary for your fruits to be enjoyable. Are you listening to me?? To make sense of what I am saying let me give an example. Let’s assume you are the owner of a mango tree (my favourite fruit) and you depend on the fruit to earn a living, what would you do to ensure the tree gives you the best at all times? Let me answer; maybe you may need to trim the branches, secure the tree and treat the tree for any diseases, among others.
Preparation Is Key
The idea of preparation is important for your impending season. Geez Adanna, why are you speaking to yourself for everyone else to hear? *laughs.* I am bringing this all back to the entertainment industry simply because of the neverending conversations about relevance and consistency. For the life of me, I cannot fathom the desire to succeed without having a clear idea of the requirements to make it.
I am going to attempt to share some pertinent thoughts that can assist you with remaining relevant through the noise.
Engagement
- Depending on the niche you’re focusing on, it’s imperative to remain relevant. Ultimately, your goal should be to engage with your audience in a natural and frequent way. Do you know why? Truthfully, you never know who is following you or is already a fan; a manager, booking agent, brand or employer.
Content
- One of the best ways to remain relevant through the noise is to focus on specific channels. Voicing your opinions or distributing your content aids in growing your audience and community on specific channels.
Social Media
- Activity on social media should be somewhat intentional and the channels used should be relevant for the content being shared. There is some content that requires posting on your Instagram feed VS Instagram stories or snapchat. Just as some content does better on Facebook VS Twitter or vice versa. Getting a proper handle on Social media is still a work in progress for me but it’s a bit of trial and error.
Recently my family over at Di Soca Analyst shared a blog titled ‘Why Every Soca Artist Should Be On Twitter’ and I definitely had a few takeaways. I’ve also written about social media previously; ‘Social Media Assists PR.’
Competition
- Pay attention to what your competitors are doing. There is someone out there who is going to tell me that music is not a competition, right? That’s a really naive comment because everyone is out there trying to be the best. I am not saying to copy anyone but I am encouraging you to pay attention to what is assisting with their successes.
Tools
- What are the tools that you require to perfect your craft? What tools are your dependant on? Once you can answer these questions you would agree with me that perfecting those tools is important in assisting with your relevance.
Audience
- It is imperative that you understand the changing needs of your audience. They sometimes require us to meet them where they are. So paying attention to the changes in their behaviour is extremely important.
Pay Attention
- Read industry news. If it is relevant to your craft/business/career then you should be reading it. The entertainment industry is changing and being aware of what is happening in your region and the world is important as it can assist with your relevance.
Specialize
- Are you familiar with the phrase “Jack of all trades, master of none’? What are you great at? Focus on that. You will become distracted trying to be or do a million things.
Team
- Your team does not need to be huge but it should be useful. Include people in your career who can assist with your relevance and add overall value to your brand.
Attitude
- Overly sensitive creatives will suffer the most when trying to gain relevance. You must be willing to accept feedback which will be both positive and negative.
Feel free to read one of my past blog posts. ‘Consistency: Work On Getting It Right’
Image
- Knowing how you want to be seen is extremely important. I’ve touched on this before. Be certain about who you are and how you want to be seen by your audience. This helps with them being able to understand you a bit more. Be extremely mindful about the way you present yourself it can either positively assist you with remaining relevant through the noise or derail you.
In my mind, relevance carries tremendous value, it is what I would call your career currency. Ultimately, as creatives, you do need to ensure that any bit of content that is shared publicly is relevant and useful. Your audience will make the final decision as to whether or not what you share is of interest to them.
I am not attempting to imply that remaining relevant through to noise is going to be easy. It’s going to take work, lots of it but you can make it work!
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