Polymer Clay with Jamie
- Digital and Social Media
I made tutorials out of polymer clay and posted them on TikTok and Instagram. I also used social media marketing tools to help market my items.
For my senior project, I made a social media brand called “Polymer Clay with Jamie.” I made videos of myself making polymer clay magnets and posted tutorials on TikTok and Instagram.
I originally found how to make polymer clay items on social media and thought it would be a good way to challenge myself to do something creative, but also implement the social media marketing tactics I have learned in my digital and social media classes.
My goal with this project was to learn how to effectively make videos and use the marketing tools I have learned about to gain views, comments, likes, and shares as I posted these videos on TikTok and Instagram. I wanted to make sure my videos added value to my viewers as well.
The original goal I had for my videos was to make them be related to mental health, and how doing something creative can benefit you. Creating videos that added value to my viewers was hard at first. I created a couple different types of videos where I unboxed the polymer clay items and tools I bought. I thought that although the videos of me unboxing things may not add value, the voiceovers related to mental health would.
But as I made videos, I realized that the most effective way for me to add value to my viewers would be to make step-by-step tutorials on how to create the pieces that I made.
I learned a lot about how to make videos from the professors I met with. A professor told me early on that when I edit videos I need to remember to “not arrive too early and don’t leave too late.” This meant that I needed to show myself doing an action, not starting or finishing it. This has helped me make my videos be fast paced.
I have also learned a lot about lighting and framing. When I originally started making videos, I used the light in my bedroom, and the clay pieces I filmed on my camera weren’t filmed up close, either. As I have implemented feedback from my professor, I have changed where I film my pieces so that the lighting is better. I have also changed the angle of how I film, and make sure that what I film is in the center of the frame. This has made my pieces clearer and more focused and has help improved the quality of my videos, too.
The first two photos are before implementing feedback. The pieces I was making weren’t shot at a close angle and the lighting wasn’t very good. The second two pictures are after implementing feedback. I changed the angle of my camera to be more center and used more lighting. The videos are also up close and center.
Before
After
The quality of my videos have also improved as I have improved my voiceovers. I have made sure that what I am saying in my voiceover is in line with what I am doing in my videos.
Another piece of feedback I have implemented is to create good thumbnails for my videos. My original thumbnails came off as distracting – they showed multiple polymer clay pieces together in one photo and weren’t well-lit. My thumbnails are now titled with what they are that I am making (on TikTok) and are in a well-lit area.
Below are two examples of the type of thumbnails I had for my videos before receiving feedback. Once I received feedback, I deleted and reposted my videos with better thumbnails. The new thumbnails from my Instagram and TikTok page are more clear.
I have made 18 videos that demonstrate how to make different things out of polymer clay, but I have redone a lot of them. I have also remade a few videos, too. I did this because as time went on, and as I became more comfortable using polymer clay, I wanted my pieces and the quality of them to improve. Some of my original pieces broke, too. The pieces to the left are the original pieces I did. The pieces on the right are the final pieces.
As I have made these polymer clay pieces, I have been able to market these pieces on social media through what I have learned in other digital and social media classes. I used Google Trends to look at where the term “polymer clay” was searched for the most, which was Australia, which I ended up using as my location on TikTok and Instagram. I used SocialSearcher to help me know what hashtags I should use. Through TikTok, I also learned that using popular hashtags can help boost your video and help you have more views. I also followed people who made polymer clay videos and replied to positive comments.
Through the feedback I have received from professors, I have been successful at making tutorial videos. Being successful in making videos that added value to my viewers, as well as implementing marketing tools that I have learned, was the goal I originally had. I am grateful I have been able to see the quality of my videos improve. Creating my polymer clay brand has been a valuable experience for me because I have gotten more familiar with using the business side of TikTok and Instagram. I also feel more confident in my abilities to make tutorial videos and in using marketing efforts related to social media.