Here is a short guide to using social media as a research tool.

  1. Set yourself a week or two to do your research.
  2. Remember to just listen and let go of your assumptions and your own narratives.
  3. Notice which channels are more popular in your creative field and make a note of it.
  4. Identify the one or two social media platforms where your mid-level doers are most active on and have the most followers then follow them there.
  5. After following them, loot at every social media update they share.
  6. Recognize the practices that work for those in your field.
  7. See who your mid-level doers follow and who they mention often in their social media feeds.
  8. See who follows these mid-level doers and who mentions them by searching their @name in the search field for each social network.

When applying what you learn, use a wide range of communication channels and methods as you can.

References

Blank, Dan. Be the Gateway: A Practical Guide to Sharing Your Creative Work and Engaging an Audience. WeGrowMedia, 2017.