Social media page

Hi readers, this week I've spent designing my social media page, and I am very happy with the outcome I think it reflect just like a real life social media page. 

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For the construction of my music video, I chose to foreground my own identity as the artist, aligning with Richard Dyer’s star theory which suggests that authenticity and relatability are crucial in building a strong connection with audiences. Given that the theme of my project revolves around nostalgia and recollections of friendships from my personal life, I intentionally used original archival images from significant moments, captured on my phone. This decision not only reinforced verisimilitude but also allowed my social media marketing to feel organic and sincere, as seen in my uploaded Instagram posts. During my research into the online personas of celebrities and musicians, I observed that many artists, such as Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift, frequently post personal memories and behind-the-scenes content to humanize their brand and foster parasocial relationships with their fans. I mirrored this strategy, showcasing authentic glimpses into my life and creative process to build emotional resonance and audience identification.

Additionally, when analysing industry practices, I noticed that it is common for musicians to stagger the release of their music and corresponding videos to maximise audience engagement and streaming revenue. Influenced by this distribution strategy, I timed my final Instagram post to coincide with the promotion of my music video. Drawing on Henry Jenkins’ concept of participatory culture, I aimed to involve my audience emotionally in the build-up to the video drop. Inspired by how mainstream artists generate excitement and gratitude through social media posts ahead of a release, I crafted a caption that expressed appreciation to my followers while simultaneously heightening anticipation. To strengthen the connection between my digital promotion and my actual media product, I chose a thumbnail image directly from the music video — an authentic moment of memory and emotion — thereby maintaining thematic and visual coherence across platforms.

In order to enhance audience engagement leading up to the release, I implemented a structured posting schedule reflecting contemporary promotional techniques. My second post showcased a behind-the-scenes moment of me editing the music video, directly referencing the post-production process. This aligns with David Gauntlett’s theory of the 'prosumer', where media users are simultaneously producers and consumers of content. By sharing this insider look, I aimed to demystify the production process and create a more personal, emotional connection with the audience. Moreover, I strategically employed hashtags — a common industry tactic — to encourage community interaction and virality, similar to how Billie Eilish’s Birds of a Feather sparked audience-led trends across platforms like TikTok. Hashtags in my campaign allowed audiences to participate, share their own nostalgic memories, and strengthen the collective experience around my project.

 Finally, to further extend the emotional reach and set the tone of my music video narrative, I announced the song choice, I’ll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy, ahead of the full video release. This use of intertextuality not only linked my project to existing media products and emotional themes but also invited audience pre-engagement. Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model suggests that audiences actively interpret media texts based on cultural contexts; by revealing the song and its connotations of loss and remembrance, I gave audiences early entry points for meaning-making. This approach generated anticipation, encouraged feedback through comments and shares, and built a stronger, more participatory relationship between my artist persona and my followers. Each carefully curated Instagram post — visible in the screenshots I provided — contributed to crafting a consistent, emotionally resonant media presence across my project.