How to successfully digitally market yourself

I have a friend, and this friend loves photography! But he wants to turn his hobby into a career and launch himself into the world of the arts. This got me to thinking what is the best way to get yourself recognised in the far reaches of the globe using the internet? 

So this is somewhat of a how to guide which can be applied to more scenarios for the creative. 
To begin with there are the typical ways of gaining employment online through agencies for example or through the careers tab on websites. 

However there are more creative methods of getting employer or customer´s attentions, market yourself or your business using some principals of digital marketing (Mangold, 2009).

1. Tumblr is a free microblogging platform with the capability to customise your own blog. There are 189 million blogs already so make yours stand out where you can post text, photos, music and videos. 

Bide and Fecht is an example of a clothing brand using tumblr to their advantage by connecting with an appropriate audience using themed imagery, through a stylish medium.

Another example is that of the photographer Stuart Mitchel displaying his work and photos from his working day. This channel gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to show their individuality and connect with potential customers on a more intimate level.

2. Flickr hosts photos, illustrations and videos, and is widely used by the photography/blogging community with follow and share features.

3. Talenthouse hosts various design competitions as well as the ability to create a profile displaying your various artistic talents. It is a great way of establishing yourself and building a portfolio of experience. 

4. Etsy describes itself as a handmade market place where people sell a range of unique, folksy or vintage products. Great for an individual just establishing themselves.

5. Instagram is a social networking site whereby users can upload photos and videos, with editing features. It has been recently adopted by some as an advertising channel. With a maximum of 10 seconds, it seems that Instagram is in the running for becoming a successful communication tool for mass advertising. Here is an interesting article on two brands who have utilised Instagram. The hashtag movement enables effective and optimised long tail (Enders et al, 2008)

The primary criticism of these non conventional methods is the questionable protection over the upload of content on some of these sites. Over the past few years there have been various incidents where big name brands have used illustrations posted on the web on their own products, for example design piracy, Urban Outfitters and Rihanna vs. Topshop.

Enders, A. et al. (2008). The long tail of social networking. European management journal. Vol. 26 (Issue. 3), p199-211.
Kaplan, A. M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons . 53 (Issue. 1), p59-68.
Mangold, W. G. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business Horizons . 52 (Issue. 4), p357-365.