
Welcome to this quick and easy course created for complete beginners, busy people, and those with no budget to build a more effective online presence through social media. I'll share what you will learn in this course and how I can help.
In this lesson I'll tell you my social media story and how I went from 0 followers to 5000+ engaged followers who also sometimes become clients and customers. My tips are simple yet effective, especially when you add in persistence and time!
Here are some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of this course.
In this lesson, we will look at an easy and often overlooked way to get new followers to like your Facebook Business Page.
This is a free social media planner I made with love that you can use while going through this course and beyond.
In this lesson I'll explain what the difference is between a website, social media pages, and a mailing list and give you tips on how you might use the three in harmony with each other moving forward.
The idea is that you will use all three platforms to connect and engage with your ideal target audience. Using social media effectively along with your website and mailing list will help you build a relationship with your fans, win you new online friends, and eventually also new clients and customers as well.
(*And if you don't have a website or mailing list yet, don't worry! We can start right where we are.)
In this lesson I'll talk a bit about how you can craft a LinkedIn bio sentence that better clarifies who you are, what you do, and why people should care. You can then use different versions of this statement in your website bio and on all your social media pages to better attract your ideal target audience.
In this lesson we'll go over who your ideal follower/fan is and think a bit more about who they are, what they do, and how we might be able to help them.
Understanding Your Why, What, How & Who for Personal Branding & Online Presence (for Artists & Idealists)
In this lesson I'll talk a bit about how you can achieve glorious social media goals with the right mindset and a long-term plan of taking small daily actions that add up to big and beautiful things over time.
My Own Instagram Audit: What the Numbers Really Show
In this lesson we will go over a few easy ways to slowly add more high-quality followers to your Instagram page over time.
In this lesson I'll talk a bit about how you can tweak your Instagram account to better reflect who you are and what you do as well as attract your ideal followers.
In this lesson I'll talk a bit about how you can make your Facebook page more attractive to your ideal followers, fans, and customers.
In this lesson I'll have you pause a moment to implement some of or all the tips discussed in this section.
In this lesson I'll talk a bit about how you can find more high-quality followers engaging with Facebook Groups.
In this lesson I'll show you a quick, easy, and fun way to gain new, high-quality followers. It's simple and something you can start doing today.
What do you do if you find a social media growth tool that seems almost too good to be true? Research! Let me help you get started on how to do that in this lesson. Cheers! :-)
In this lesson I'll give you lots of ideas as to what sorts of content you can post that will help you build a stronger connection between you and your audience.
This is an easy one. Please say hello. Tell us who you are and where you are from and maybe a fun fact about yourself. Please also leave your social media links so we may follow you. Don't forget to follow others who have posted links here so we can cheer each other on.
In this lesson I'll explain how using original images that you took or made is always best. Second best would be using royalty-free images or ones you have permission to use. *Never ever use Google search images or anyone else's copyrighted images!
In this lesson I'll give you a brief rundown on what a call to action statement is and how to use them in your social media posts.
In this lesson I'll show you how you can make one post work on multiple platforms, how to repurpose content, and how to tap into earlier content on those days when you are just too busy for social media.
In this video (shot on my phone), I'll show you a simple and straightforward way to make an easy, "no-talking" Instagram reel. You don't even need to show your face!
We'll use the basic editor inside Instagram (for better or worse!) and add some short video clips into the timeline, add sound, add text, adjust the timing... and we are ready to save as a draft or publish.
If you've been having trouble getting started making reels on Instagram, this lesson will walk you through what you most need to know, step by step.
In this lesson, I'll show you some easy ways to use Chat GPT as a tool and assistant to make your social media posting life and other tasks easier.
In this lesson we'll talk about how often to post and how that might be different for different social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn
In this lesson we will go over some of the better days and times to post on the various social media platforms.
In this lesson I'll share some great tips from one of my own mentors over the past 1.5 years, John Lechner who works with artists making their businesses more effective. See the lesson resources to get more of his free tips.
In this lesson I'll show you how I use my post planning tool Buffer, and explain how to use tools like these in general to plan posts across multiple social media channels, each with their own schedules.
In this lesson I'll show you how to set up a post in a Post Planner, how to make that post work for different social media channels, and how to set up your social media calendar.
In this lesson I'll give you an easy suggestion for gaining dozens of new followers to your Facebook page just from one simple post from your personal profile to your Facebook friends.
In this lesson I'll talk about the best way to deal with both positive and negative feedback and how to easily boost your post's visibility without paying for ads.
In this lesson I'll show you a tool I started experimenting with called RafflePress. You might also have a look at similar tools that do not need a WordPress hosted website to run such as UpViral and Rafflecopter.
In this case study lesson, I'll show you how a giveaway tool works and what options and features you might consider using when using yours.
Here is a great website you can check out that might pay you to make social media posts that align with your values.
This lecture comes from an earlier incarnation of this course, "Easy WordPress Challenge: How to Boost Your Site's Reach." We live in an age where we are bombarded with a ton of information coming at us from multiple channels. The average web visitor only spends 7 seconds browsing any given web page. This is why it's SO important that you choose the right words that will help grab attention and get people interested in your blog posts, articles, books, courses, videos, and anything else you might have on offer. Enter my good friends, the headline analyzer tools! Make sure to check out the links in the resources area of this lecture.
Welcome to the world of AI-powered creativity and productivity. As artists and entrepreneurs, harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence can open up exciting new horizons for your work.
You did it! Congratulations on completing the course. In this lesson I'll talk a little bit about what I hope you got out of the course and some ideas for next steps.
In this extra lesson, I'll give you some ideas on how we can stay connected and possibly continue working together beyond this course.
Feel overwhelmed or invisible on social media?
You’re not alone — and you don’t have to stay stuck.
If you’re an artist, creative, educator, coach, author, or changemaker who wants to connect with your audience authentically, this course was made for you. No gimmicks. No growth hacks. Just simple, ethical strategies that actually work — and feel good to use.
In just a few hours, you'll shift from social media dread to showing up confidently, consistently, and in a way that aligns with your creative voice.
What Current Students Are Saying:
"I am not even finished with the course, and am already seeing results from implementing what I have learned thus far!"
— Nikki R.
"The confidence that I now have around using social media for my business has increased ten fold. As a direct result of using the tools I learned from Kristen the engagement on my social media platforms has noticeably increased."
— Margot S.
"I got a lot out of the course, and saw immediate results with numbers and engagement on both Instagram and Facebook."
— Al-Lisa
You’ll Learn How To:
Simplify your content strategy so you’re never stuck staring at a blank post again
Choose the right platforms for your brand and use them with confidence
Schedule posts easily with a free downloadable planner (included in the course!)
Build a community, not just a follower count
Use ethical, organic strategies that convert fans into clients or customers
Save time and spark ideas using Generative AI tools (optional, beginner-friendly)
Destroy your fears around showing up online — even if you're tech-shy
This course is ideal for beginners, tech-shy creatives, or anyone looking to amplify their voice online with purpose and ease.
About Your Instructor:
Hi! I’m Kristen Palana — an American/Portuguese artist, designer, and educator currently based in Rome. Since 2000, I’ve taught at universities on four continents and have helped over 90,000 online students in 191+ countries through Udemy.
I specialize in helping people who “don’t do tech” feel confident using creative tools to reach their goals. My superpower is taking complex ideas and making them warm, simple, and instantly usable.
What Makes This Course Unique:
Supportive community — ask questions, get direct answers
Fresh, updated lessons — no stale content here
Done-for-you resources — planner templates, social media prompts, and more
Aligned with your values — no cringe, no spammy tactics, just authentic growth
Take the Next Step:
Stop letting overwhelm keep you from showing up online.
With Udemy’s 30-day money-back guarantee, there's zero risk — and everything to gain.
Enroll now and learn how to market your creative work with confidence, clarity, and heart.