SOFA SUMMIT 2021 by Smartly.io Recap: The Art of Social Media – How to Boost Your Creativity

The Justia Team recaps some strategies shared by Peg Fitzpatrick, an accomplished author and social media strategist, to boost your creativity when tackling your online marketing strategy.

Approximate Read Time: 5 Minutes

Lawyers, Internet Marketing, and Creativity

In a society where nine in ten Americans regularly use the internet, it is no surprise that your legal marketing plan must strategically focus on developing an effective internet presence. One very important element to reaching more clients online is developing quality, creative content that will engage users. Whether you are an attorney handling your own marketing or a marketer working for a law firm, it can be difficult to find and manage your creativity.

What do you do when you just can’t seem to find that creative spark? Peg Fitzpatrick, author and social media strategist, shared her tips and insights for boosting your creativity during the 2021 Sofa Summit by Smartly.io.

Peg’s Tips for Boosting Your Creativity

Peg began her presentation by helping us understand the traits of highly creative people. When you are highly creative, you are a risk taker. You have to try new things and share your ideas with others: coworkers, bosses, and eventually everyone online. You are also curious. You continue to look, learn, and dig for new information. Finally, you are energetic. This energy is something that is important to conserve.

Capture Your Ideas

Make sure you have quick ways to capture your ideas. According to Peg, 72% of people have ideas in the shower! Because your creative inspirations may arrive at any time, keep a handy way to capture these ideas, whether by jotting them on a nearby legal pad or making voice memos on your phone.

Build the Vibe

Monet created his garden to boost his artistic work. He knew he enjoyed painting outside and painting flowers, so he created an environment that he liked and that inspired him. In order to boost your creativity, you need to create your own Monet’s Garden.

Fill your space with things that you like. For example, Peg has a shelf with candles that provide a pleasant aroma. Develop playlists that work for you by helping you get into the creative mood without distracting your focus. If you enjoy bright and open spaces, you can add light to your workspace. Give yourself whatever it is you need to develop your best creative work.

Give Yourself Space

Offline, out-of-office, and resting time are all important to enhancing your creative brain. Take breaks from your phone. Give yourself time to decompress and let your brain rest. It is also important to allow your brain to think without interruption or distraction.

Be Positive

While artists may be stereotypically moody, Peg says that positivity is really what enhances creativity. Happiness and motivation can bring out the best creative ideas, so you need to boost your positivity. For example, this may mean spending less time on the internet or ensuring the sites you visit are positive places.

Create Before You Consume

Make sure you are completing your creative work before consuming other content that will distract from your creative focus. For example, try to write your own content before you read other blogs or dive into emails. Also, you should aim to create and develop content in the window of time when you are most productive. For Peg, this window is in the morning. If needed, block off your best productivity window for uninterrupted creative work.

Fight Challenges to Your Focus

Turn off the notifications on your phone and computer. You can disable email and app sounds that pull your focus. Delete apps that are not bringing you joy or that just take up space in your life. Use other apps to aid your focus. For example, Peg likes F.lux to manage blue light from her computer throughout the day. When you are in the zone, you can use tools, such as voice commands, to capture ideas that pop into your mind.

Batch Process When in the Zone

When you are in the creative zone, you need to stay there. Move through the creative process in batches in order to maximize your time. For example, if you are scheduling one month of posts on social media, you should avoid developing individual posts and then stopping. Instead, you should develop groups of information first, such as getting photos for all of your posts at one time or developing all of your calls to action.

Brainstorming Is Not Always Best

Brainstorming with a team can be helpful sometimes, but it also can become a hindrance to the development of unique ideas. Peg finds that you cannot actually design or write by committee. Instead, she suggests that when it comes time to actually produce a creative work product, you work alone.

Leave Space to Daydream

You need to create space for yourself to daydream and think. Everyone is bombarded with ads, information, and updates, but your creative mind needs time to wander. Peg suggests that this time could be while drinking your coffee or during an afternoon tea break.

Double Down on Learning

Take online classes. Watch YouTube videos. Consider subscriptions to learning platforms, such as Skillshare. While you should not let learning become a procrastination tool, doubling down on learning helps build skills and overcome creative blocks.

Create a Vision Board

Peg suggests that you create inspirational vision boards of items to guide your focus. You can build them for both work and personal projects. Whether you create a digital board, through a platform like Pinterest, or develop a physical vision board, you should include pictures, quotes, ideas, and items to manifest or guide you towards your future goals.

Peg’s Tools and Resources

As an added bonus, Peg shared several tools and resources that may be helpful to you when developing creative content.

• Grammarly: Peg uses this app to check spelling and grammar. This helpful tool may be used for both shorter content, like social media posts, and longer content, like blog posts.
• Photoshop and Canva: Pick a design tool that works well for you. Dig in and learn it.
• Skillshare: Peg uses this to learn. Right now, she is taking plenty of Photoshop classes through Skillshare.
• Pinterest: This website may be used to channel creative inspiration and develop mood/vision boards. If needed, you can create secret boards for confidential projects.
• Trello: Like Pinterest, Trello provides a productive space for developing concepts. It also allows you to keep track of projects and organize them easily.
• E-Tablets/Legal Pads: Peg suggests keeping a way to physically write things out when you are working on a project. Studies have shown that good, old-fashioned handwriting can help you remember things better. It may also lead to better creative ideas.
• Podcasts: Peg isn’t an auditory learner, but if you are, podcasts offer a great resource.
• YouTube: YouTube features plenty of tools, tutorials, and tips to help you learn and develop your skills. This can also be a great place to get creative ideas or inspiration.

Why Listen to Peg’s Tips?

Peg is a highly qualified, accomplished creative and marketer. As described by the team at Smartly.io:

Peg Fitzpatrick is an author, social media strategist, and popular blogger. Peg has spearheaded successful social-media campaigns for Motorola, Audi and Google. She’s the author of: How to Boost Your Creativity and she co-authored The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users with Guy Kawasaki.

Peg even addressed why you should listen to her creativity tips. She has always been a creative person, and she started finding her creativity at a young age as a theater kid, through crafting, and by designing. She found that these experiences prepared her for her professional career as a creative. As Peg puts it, working with social media and marketing means you are creative. When engaged in marketing, you are a creative who is creating designs, writing blog posts, developing ads, and planning social media posts.

Final Thoughts

Developing creative, engaging content for your social media, website, or blog is crucial to getting the most from your digital marketing efforts. Peg’s tips and strategies will help you avoid the dreaded creative block and move toward achieving your digital marketing goals.

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