Social Network Overload and the Artist: How Much is Too Much?
Managing Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ and a slew of other social networks can be
daunting to anyone – particularly the artist. But is it really necessary? And if so, how can you get the most out of them without feeling burnt out in the process?
I’ll answer the first question by saying “Yes” – social networks can play a crucial role in helping people discover you and your work. But with any social network, your mileage may vary.
My approach to social networks in general is that, when used with intent, they can be powerful tools to both network and share your work. Let me explain by using myself as an example.
Twitter: I use my main Twitter account as a platform for communicating with other cartoonists and readers. But, more importantly, I like to use my main account to share links to articles on comics, geek culture, and tech that I personally find to be interesting or noteworthy. I prefer to think of Twitter as my personally curated RSS feed / microblog. On the days I publish my comics, I’ll post a tweet announcing that a new strip is up. Occasionally I’ll share some of my process work. I have a separate Twitter account that I use ONLY for tweeting or retweeting design related links to my students (or anyone who shares a similar interest.)
Facebook: In my view, it’s important to maintain two Facebook pages: one which is a personal account to keep up with friends and family, while the other account is for folks interested in following my work. Occasionally, there’s some overlap, but I try to keep the streams from crossing. If I don’t know someone, I generally refer them to my “Art of” page instead of my personal account.
Instagram: My main goal with Instagram is to use it to capture and share my current works in progress. On rare occasion, I’ll post a few personal photos. With proper tagging, Instagram has helped bring more exposure to my work. For me, the biggest advantage of Instagram is the ability to follow my favorite artists – many of whom also use Instagram to share their process work, too.
Google+: I’m not as active on this service, but if I write an article or create a comic, I post links to them on the service. Honestly, if I had to drop one network altogether, this would be it.
Tumblr: Like Facebook, I maintain two separate Tumblr accounts. On my main Tumblr blog, I’ll post samples of my work as well as reblog other interesting articles or posts. On this account, I’ll also follow other Tumblr artists and friends. My secondary Tumblr blog is used exclusively for finished portfolio pieces only. All images are set to a specific size (1000 x 1000px) and tagged accordingly.
Social networks can have many benefits. It’ll be less of a chore if you can clearly define how you plan to make use of each service. How do you use social networks to promote and share your work? I’m curious to know what you think. Sound off in the comments below.
-Krishna
Andrew Jones
March 4, 2014 at 2:31 pmI totally agree about Google+. I still just don’t “get it”. Right now, my big two are Instagram and Twitter. I still only have about 200 followers on Instagram, but they seem to be way more engaged than on any other platform. Plus, I’ve been able to connect with many more fellow artists there.
I do keep a Tumblr around, but it’s mostly filled with repurposed Instagram content. I can’t remember the last time I actually logged into it. Facebook is the big question mark for me. I’ve had a fan page for a while and still only have 74 fans. And due to the way Facebook throttles exposure, every post gets seen by *maybe* 10% of my followers. It’s nuts. If I drop anything, it’ll be Facebook.
Another question mark is DeviantArt. I had a paid account there for years, but recently went back to a free account. I’m failing to see the value of that platform anymore as well.
Krishna M. Sadasivam
March 4, 2014 at 3:36 pmGood points, Andrew. With Facebook, the main reason I’ve set up a separate page at all is because I’m tired of fielding “friend” requests to my personal account from people I don’t know. Deviantart is generally something I avoid – because it’s essentially flooded with other artists. A descriptive About.me page would do wonders over a DeviantArt account, in terms of exposing one’s work to a wider audience.
Elciled
April 6, 2014 at 7:00 amdeviantart is a site FOR artists though, so of course it would be flooded with other artists hahah. They share category with artician, wysp, pixiv, behance etc. A lot of people were “discovered” there, and it’s a good site to actually interact with the art community, specially if other artists are your clients (I took commissions there), although to get good critiques you have to seek them out. But it won’t get you to the more general public of course. You won’t get critiques on twitter though!
I think it’s important to keep in mind what your intended audience is. I left tumblr because I don’t want to have anything to do with the more vocal people there, they can make even 4chan look welcoming.
And a lot of comissions I got were on niche sites like livejournal communities and Gaia Online!
I don’t trust facebook enough to post my images there and I dislike it. Was gonna ditch it for google+, but since youtube accounts merged with it, it has become a mess to use.
Jason Pickthall
March 6, 2014 at 9:53 amRecently I got caught up with the sudden explosion of drawcrowd and duly set up an account It felt like one too many for me. I felt almost ashamed to be another cog in the “look at me” community. People seem to want to do great work in order show it off rather than to develop their skills. Look at the sudden emergence of ‘spitpainting’ people seem to want to crank out quantity over quality. Then there is other angle. There is just so much great art it can almost be discouraging and certainly, to me at least, upsets my focus on what I do and what I want to achieve. Im trying to reign it all in. It’s hard as every artist wants some validation or encouragement but I just cant be doing with all the other baggage that comes with.
Shawn Kirsch
March 6, 2014 at 12:44 pmI’d like to hear your thoughts on cross posting.
Krishna M. Sadasivam
March 6, 2014 at 12:56 pmIn my own experience, cross posting frequently tends to create more ‘noise’ than signal if it’s done for each and every update. I’ve been guilty on that one, for sure. Less is more.
Mandy Milliron
March 6, 2014 at 1:24 pmI had social media burnout a few days ago trying to figure out to use it as an artist and graphic designer. I was never big on social media with having bad experiences with it in my past. Though, this post and the comments are a bit help for me. I will be keeping Facebook with only a personal account with knowing what’s going on with Facebook’s business model. However, I will add Twitter and Instagram to making list along with Pinterest. Though, I am now thinking of dropping my DeviantArt account with what I read and seen there. It is indeed flooded with artists, but also now becoming crowded with other things that is not art like memes(the art ones are fine, but I am referring to non-art ones)and demotional posters. Even the My Little Pony art is getting a bit annoying and I have no problems with the series.