Social Media in the Art World
As an artist living in this modern age, social media has become an important component to getting my art out in the world and running my small buisness.
Social media platforms like Instagram, Tik Tok, and Youtube have really been great tools for artists in this age of technology to not only share our artwork but also sell it! Social media had really helped the “starving artist” story that many of us heard growing up not become our reality. I thankfully have always had supportive people around me, and it was myself who thought art couldn’t be my career. I felt it would take more work than it would be worth, and at the end of it all, I’d still not be some big name successful artist. I didn’t think it would be realistic. But, with today’s artists, you don’t have to be a big name to be successful. Social media allows for me to share not only my artwork but to sell it too! But like with anything, social media for artists brings high and cons.
For me, the biggest pro to social media as an artist has been having the ability to show my art to others . When I was younger, well before I ever had social media, I loved, and still do love showing my art creations to my family and friends. Whenever I finished a drawing or painting, I’d go around my house showing everyone, usually very unsolicited. But now I post all my creations on my Instagram account! And so now, not only do I still show my family my creations, I share it online for many others who are interested can see!
With sharing my art online, people have become interested in buying it. This really kicked off after I made a lantern for my mom with my Cricut for her to support my brother while he was at his army basic training. Funny enough, it wasn’t me who shared the creation online that got my big wave of interest in selling my work. But since then, I have created and sold other creations and whenever I make anything for my shop, posting it online ghas been a great help in letting others know about it!
Not only do I get to just showcase my work and sell that work on social media, but I can also connect with other artists! I not only can I share my work with them, but I get to experience their work too! It can be very inspiring to see all the different artists online, not only with their incredible work, but also connect with them as people as well! Though this is an upside of social media, it can also be a downside as well. Sometimes when I’m struggling with my creativity, seeing all this fantastic art and the artists who made it thrive, can be discouraging in those times. A lot of the times it can lead to imposter syndrome. But something I’ve found for myself to combat this, is spending less time actually browsing social media feeds.
Before I started not spending much time scrolling on platforms like Instagram, I could end up spending hours on the app just scrolling. This led to not only to that pesky imposter syndrome but could also lead to a lack of productivity. Instead of spending those hours creating my own art, I was spending hours seeing the amazing work and great artists that made them. I was seeing these highlights, of other artists and questioning my whole art journey. Not only is this not healthy, it’s not productive. Now I try not to spend more than an hour a day, collectively, not in one sitting, on Instagram and Pinterest. This can keep me more active on my own art but also allows me the benefits of still getting my work out there and connecting with not only my audience but also my peers.
Alongside imposter syndrome sometimes making an appearance, there can be other pressures that come with being an artist online. Artists online double as artists and content creators. To be seen on these platforms, you have to be consistently posting. That way the algorithm will hopefully push your art to more eyes. But that’s not always a guarantee as algorithms shift and change. Sometimes what works one day, doesn’t work the next. For me, I think I haven’t figured out how to perceive these changes, if that is even possible. But something that helps me is just creating my own schedule for posting that is consistent enough that seems to appease the algorithm enough to continue pushing out my content.
Though I rely a lot on social media to help promote my art to the world, it isn’t the only way I get my work out. I recently started vendoring at markets! This not only helps me sell my work, but also can help me get some exposure, not only with people walking by, but with other artists who are also selling their work alongside me. I also get to talk with them and connect. Usually I spend all day at these markets, like 10, 11 hours, and that allows plenty of time to get seen by people walking by, but also plenty of time to go chat with fellow vendors.
I also use things online that may or may not classify as social media to share my art. This blog is something I started recently to less promote my art, but more connect with other artists. But through different topics I have been able to share some of my art. I feel I always have much to say or write about more rather related to art. I love talking about art, whether my current favorite mediums, or some art history. But this blog is something that can be evergreen. I don’t worry about a platform showing someone my blog post and then letting it get lost in a sea of other things. And because of that I’ve felt way more motivated to create and share on this blog. And I have a lot lined up to continue posting here and sharing topics about creativity!
At the end of the day, being an artist in this modern age is very different than in the past. Even the last decade differs than the decades prior. But something that hasn’t changed is that we are still passionate and want others to see the art that comes from that passion. The great things is now we can find the people who vibe with our work far easier than before. No matter if you use social media or not to share your art, I hope you found this post interesting. And always remember we are always artists well before we are anything else, a content creator, or a buisness person.
