We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Macey LeVahn. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Macey below.
Macey, appreciate you joining us today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?
I manage my own social media, but it sure is a lot of work. My largest follower base is on Instagram, so that’s where I spend the most of my time. Instagram, however, has a lot of expectations. From consistent photos in stories to feed posts with photos, videos, and Reels, there’s a lot to keep up with. I’m at the point where my goal is to “do what I can, when I can.” I don’t stress if I miss a day or two of posting, but if I’m feeling especially inspired, I’ll go all out and make a fancy video with fun music and transitions. I believe that social media is about quality over quantity when it comes to posting, so I would rather wait until I can give 100% into quality posts than wear myself out with consistent but mediocre posts. That being said, somewhere down the road I would absolutely love to hire another person to manage my social media so I can put more time into creating my artwork.
Macey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Growing up I never thought I would be a full time artist and entrepreneur, but looking back, the signs are pretty obvious. At the age of 12, my best friend and I made a week long kids art camp, complete with our own website, brochures, and engaging art projects to do with kids ages 6-10. I always loved doing DIY projects to decorate my bedroom, and that’s where my love of macrame began. I made a few plant hangers to help add some space for my ever growing plant collection, and I immediately fell in love with macrame. I started my business in June of 2020, and I am so happy with where I am today. Doing countless art fairs and events throughout the year brings me so much joy as I get to connect with so many people over our shared love of art, and I get to connect with my regional and international followers in a fantastic (and growing) Instagram community. I’m also so proud to see how far I have come both as an artist and as a business owner. I’ve learned how to refine my process and find new techniques to make products both more efficiently and at a better quality, and time and practice has taught me how to be confident in myself when standing up for my business to get my name out in the world. My favorite word to describe the overall feeling of my business is “happy”. My products are full of color (often rainbows), fun shapes, and whimsical designs. I create what makes me happy, and my goal is to always push that feeling into the end result of my work.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn how to be a people-pleaser when it comes to my products. At the start of my business career, people would ask me to make obscure products that I had never done before and I always said yes. I would have to learn completely new techniques and buy random supplies to complete the project, yet I never charged extra for the hassle. I used to be so hungry for orders that I would do whatever it took for a sale, but that lead to me feeling burnt out and not enjoying a lot of the projects I was doing. Over time, I had to remind myself that I am literally my own boss and can make my own decisions. I started rejecting some custom orders, whether they were too complex, obscure and out of my product line, or simply because I wasn’t in the mood to take on something new. It is so important to stay true to yourself in a business, whether it’s art oriented or not. This past summer I made the decision to cut multiple product lines out of my shop because I no longer enjoyed making them (even though they sold decently) and doing so allowed me more time to develop new products as well as work on my bigger, time consuming pieces. I’m finally at the point where I can better balance being an artist as well as a business owner.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Within two years of owning my business, I was able to grow a community of over 12.6K followers on Instagram. Here’s my best advice. First off, find your inspiration. When you find accounts with content you enjoy, take note. What do you like that they do? How is their photo quality? Do they use any sort of color scheme to engage their audience? If they post video content, what type do you enjoy viewing the most? As you notice things about other people’s accounts, start to ask yourself the same questions. Your account doesn’t need to be perfect in any way, but having some constants about your account helps retain an audience. The key details on my account are my bright colors, relatable video content, and the fact that I show my face as a part of the business on a regular basis. People love to know the person behind a brand, and it also helps me connect with people because they get to see more about my life and behind the scenes details. Now, the real key to growing a social media account right now is video content. I have had multiple videos go semi viral on Instagram, causing me to gain thousands of followers over the course of a week. Video content can be a pain to produce at points, but once you find what hits well with your audience (it’ll take a while of testing things out but keep it up), you can find a roll and really boost engagement. Social media takes a LOT of time and energy, but if you don’t let yourself get burnt out, it really is worth it for growing a business.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thetwistery.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/thetwistery
- Facebook: facebook.com/thetwistery
Image Credits
Becky Ankrum Photography