#5 Tomisin: The Social Media Buff
I started with social media management in 2020 (during Covid-19)... had a free class where they taught participants social media management, brand management, and stuff like that...
Hi, Thank you for joining us this week. In today’s interview, we spoke with Tomisin, A final year student of Obafemi Awolowo University who is a Social Media Manager, Graphic Designer, and Animation Creator on how she handles being a finalist and a creative. Read and enjoy!!!
Can we meet you?
My name is Awoyemi Oluwatomisin, I'm an undergraduate of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Obafemi Awolowo University. I'm a social media manager, graphic designer (using canva), and animation creator.
Interesting!!! You are a Social Media Manager, Graphic Designer, and Animation Creator. How did you get started with all these?
I started with social media management in 2020 (during Covid-19). Whenever I thought of what kind of job I want, I knew I wanted a job where I would be able to have time for myself and by God's grace, my family. A job that would not take all of my time, so I knew I wanted to do digital marketing. During the lockdown, Echo Digital had a free class where they taught participants social media management, brand management, and stuff like that. That was where I picked up the interest. Also, I did an online course and afterward got going.
How do you manage to do all these with being a student?
Most times I schedule my time. I know when I want to work as a social media manager and this is usually on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday while Monday's to Thursday's are for classes and school. Anytime I am checking the page and I see something interesting and inspiring, I save or make a screenshot and come back to it later on, but most of my social media management works are done between Fridays and Sundays.
What are some of the challenges you face as a creative who is still in the four walls of the school?
As a social media manager, I have to interact with the audience on the pages I handle and I am mostly in school from morning till afternoon, so I rarely have time to interact as much as I want to. Therefore the biggest challenge for me is having the time to interact with the audience as much as I want to.
How have you been able to handle this so far?
To handle this, I divided each page I handle and dedicate like an hour each, for example, when I wake up I make sure the first I do is interact with my personal page then I choose one hour each in the afternoon for other pages I manage. In summary. I allocate different times for each page.
Tomisin's work
Is there a community for Social Media Content Creators and Managers in your school?
No, I've not heard of one. I've seen other social media managers that I know are from my school but I don't think there is any official community where we come together and talk. I've not heard of any.
What is your thought on having a creative community for Social Media Content Creators and Managers in your school?
I think it will be good because there will be an exchange of ideas and things like that. I know there are seminars that usually hold for content creators but there's no official community.
Tomisin's work
What is your creative process like when creating content?
Usually, at the beginning of the project, I schedule what I want to do and plan what I want the content to be about, whether I want it to be educative or entertaining. Afterward, I research the topics I want to create and then create the content. After creating the written content, the next step is to create the graphics and finally schedule the content for posting.
Basically; Plan > Research > Create Content > Design> Post
What are some of the tools you use in your creative work?
I use Canva for design, Google for research, Pinterest and AskTheQuestion for ideas and inspiration, and Facebook Business Suite for Scheduling.
For hardware, I use my Laptop, Phone, and a Book which I use to plan and jot down ideas.
You mentioned earlier that you started during the lockdown, How would you say Covid-19 impacted what you do now?
I would say Covid-19 was very good for me because I was able to take online classes and learn, which has been difficult since resumption back to school. I can remember that in the first semester I didn't feel like I was learning anything because, during the lockdown, I had time to take courses, learn from people on social media, check YouTube for tutorials, and since resuming back to school, I have not had time to do all these well.
Have you ever felt like quitting since you started?
[Laughs] Many Times
How have you been handling the feeling of quitting?
For one, I am a very outspoken person, I like to talk to people that are close to me and God has blessed me with a very sweet boss who I usually talk to. I talk to my friends anytime I am feeling down and they encourage me. Also, I believe in writing out what I feel and if I need to cry I do that. Most of the time after doing these, the feelings are over and I get going.
What are some of the projects you are most proud of working on?
The first project I started with because immediately I started working on the page it moved and now there is a difference between how it was when and I started and now. Anytime I see that page I am always happy.
Also, there are pages I have handled for my clients and they love the results and I was able to grow working on them.
I have a new page that I am in love with, I am learning with it and I've been able to make a difference.
In shuffling between schooling and creating, how do you stay creative? How do you keep the creative juice flowing?
Like I said earlier, one of the tools I use is Pinterest and I make sure to scroll through Pinterest before sleeping to see other people's work. Also when I'm on Instagram, I get ideas from there by seeing other people’s posts. Other times, ideas just drop when I'm thinking and I find a way to create content from it.
What do you do for fun?
I watch movies and hang out with friends. I love animations, Chinese, Korean and American movies.
Who are the creatives that inspire you?
Bolaji - SocialMediaOga, Tricia , Julia, Salem, Theprocessbox
Who is the one creative person you would love to work with or collaborate with on a project?
Do you have a brand you would love to work with?
On a final note, what advice do you have for anyone looking to get started?
I would say “Start” and when you do, you can start with a friend or family’s page which doesn't have to be big. After most people take a course, they would say they have not seen a page they can manage, so I always tell people to take maybe a friends page to start with and practice because when you want to get a job, you will be asked to present a portfolio. There is nothing wrong with starting and not getting paid. The free one can be used as a reference to get a paid job. Also, ensure to start with quality i.e the free one you're doing is producing quality results. Put in your best so when anyone sees it they would know there's potential.
Who would you like us to interview next?
That would be Gbemisola
How can people reach you?
You can reach me on Instagram and LinkedIn
Thank you for sharing with us!!!
You can check out Tomisin’s ”40 Days Content Ideas to Grow Your Visibility and Engagement”
Takeaway Nugget: Start now and ensure to do quality work even if you are doing it for free
Thank you for reading and don’t forget to share the story
See you next week😎!!!
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