Social media gives artists an unprecedented opportunity to be seen and heard. No longer are galleries, clubs, and journals the sole gatekeepers of the artistic world. You can reach the entire world directly… in theory. But how can an individual artist stand out in the crowded online landscape? And what’s the best use of an artist’s limited time for self-promotion?
The first thing to figure out is what you hope to get from a social media presence. For a visual artist, it might be selling work online or getting commissions or gallery shows. For a musician, perhaps selling albums, booking gigs, or increasing plays on streaming platforms. For a writer, it is often selling books or getting accepted for publication. Once you know your goal, you’ll have a better idea of which social media channels to target and which of your works to share.
Next, create a home base online. If you want to sell your work or have people contact you, you must have a place to direct them. This could be an Etsy shop if you want to sell your own work, or a simple free Wix or WordPress website with contact information. You can even pick one social media platform to be your home base – many artists use DeviantArt to sell prints of their work; photographers can license their images on 500px; and musicians can both share and sell their songs from SoundCloud.
Once you have a landing place for direct fans and patrons, it’s time to venture out into the wider world of social media and make your presence known. But which platforms are best for artists, and how many do you need to join to be successful? My answer to both those questions is, “It depends.” How many profiles you create is dictated by how much time you want to put into maintaining your social media presence. I’d recommend having at least one profile where you’re engaged in posting, commenting, and replying. Having a profile on a social media platform can help people find your work, but engaging with others is how you build a fan base and find fellow artists to collaborate with.
In deciding where to create your social media profiles, start with Google. Search for other artists like yourself and see where they’re having success. You should also search for communities where fans of your type of art are active. What you find may surprise you. For example, Reddit has communities dedicated to very specific sub-genres of visual art and music. Instagram, best known as a platform for sharing photos, has a thriving poetry community. And YouTube, a video site, is a great promotional tool for writers.
It’s a good idea to have a profile on the major social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. These will help you show up in searches if someone is looking for your type of art or when a fan is looking for you specifically. That might even be enough – there are many artist communities on those platforms, and you can find them by searching for hashtags related to your art.
If you want to go beyond the basics, here are a few other social media platforms to try:
- For visual artists: DeviantArt, Behance, Pinterest
- For writers: Medium, YouTube, Tumblr
- For musicians: TikTok, YouTube, SoundCloud
Susanna King is the Co-owner of Flourish Media, a social media marketing company here in Aiken. She has a degree in multimedia design and has worked in the online media industry for over two decades.
