Is Social Media That Important In The Industry?

What I find interesting in the creative industry is how social media can have a huge affect. What I gathered from the blog and lecture about social media in the industry is how it expands your horizons; meaning, that it helps you grow and branch out, as well as you can gain a lot out of social media as an artist. What we discussed in class about the blog was how setting goals can help you narrow down what platform you use. It is also determined by what you do for a living, for example, a filmmaker would probably go towards YouTube and Vimeo whereas an animator would use YouTube and Deviant Art. Narrowing down what platform you use is also based on your target audience.
For me as an animator, I would drift towards Deviant Art, Instagram, Blogspot, Twitter, Vimeo, and YouTube. In class we discussed whether we would be making these accounts to get recognized as freelancers or individuals, or making the accounts to benefit the project that we're trying to promote. Social media has a large influence within every industry.
I now understand why so many television series and feature films have twitter and YouTube accounts. They use them to gain a larger audience, to promote.
I can definitely say that this lecture has benefited me a lot and will definitely benefit me in the near future. I would make several social media accounts and I would promote myself as a freelancer till I find a well and steady job that I enjoy.