What other social media platforms do you use?

[Laura_Hepworth]

I’m currently working on building my off-Patreon following to give me my best change of gaining patrons, and am wondering what platforms everyone (especially visual artists) has found to work well for gaining an audience. Right now, I’m on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, DeviantArt, and ArtStation. DeviantArt used to be a great site for getting seen and gaining followers, but the community there seems to be dying. When I first joined, I’d get tons of engagement on my pieces very quickly, but now I’m lucky if they even get a dozen views, let alone a comment or favorite. With both Facebook and Instagram, the battle against their algorithm is frustrating and, while my following on Instagram is growing, it’s doing so at a snail’s pace. And Twitter, I just plain hate so have largely given up on.

I don’t create video content, so those platforms are out for me, but I’d love some new ideas of, active, platforms to try! Thanks for any advice or suggestions that you can give!

[sambeawesome]

Deviantart’s definitely been on the decline, and the recent layout change seems to have done a huge number on them too. Perhaps they’re revitalize in a few years, but right now, ??? Not as much worth the time for me, honestly.

I’ve effectively given up on FB. Apart from my disagreements with the company/CEO, and that you have to pay to get people to see your posts, I just never really got any return from posting there. I know everyone and their mom raves about FB groups, but I haven’t gotten anything from those either.

Instagram doesn’t work for me, though that’s likely more so to do with the fact that what I post isn’t consistent, and IG only likes consistent content. I’ve found it /can/ help on various socials to ask questions to help bring up engagement. And I know IG likes it when you use Stories. Some advice I saw recently from a larger IG artist was to get rid of posts that don’t fit your theme or were unsuccessful. I hope this doesn’t come across as rude, but as an example on your page, something like this, while cute and perhaps relatable, doesn’t fit with the rest of your posts. I’d test out avoiding stuff like that for a while and see if there’s any improvement. This artist really stressed the important of mood/consistency/quality.

I’ve actually been having a little more success with Twitter (it’s been super slow growing lol), and I think a lot of it comes down to presentation. If an image is too tall, add two others to group it together to see the main image better. (Example) Can also be an excuse to show off different angles or close ups. (Example) The important part is just making sure the visuals can be clearly seen, and not hidden behind Twitter’s trash cropping. (IG is similar in that regard.) Having clean text in a post is helpful too. People hate reading, especially on Twitter, so I’ve found less text to work decently, depending on the context. Hashtags have recently become more irrelevant, as Twitter searches the whole post now instead, so that’s another thing to consider. I feel like we’re all used to hashtags, so having them in isn’t necessarily a deterrent, but I do like to keep them separate from my text to keep stuff clean.

I think you could still do some kind of video content though. Having some sparkly shots of your jewelry, or make a GIF of that, etc. Even some behind the scenes shots/time lapse of you working on something.

Kind of just me blabbering, but hope at least something was useful out of it x’D Good luck!

[Laura_Hepworth]

Thanks for the tips! No worries on the critique of that one post, I know it doesn’t really fit well with my page. It was partly an experiment as I’ve seen others using meme like posts on their pages quite successfully and was curious to see what sort of engagement I’d get with it. I’m not planning on making any other posts like that though as I do think they can bring a page down. I also have that issue with posting consistently. IG likes it if you can post at least once a day, but I just can’t make my pieces that quickly and, unless I’m doing a themed collection of pieces, I don’t want to keep revisiting old work.

The more I try to get my FB page to grow, the more I hate it. It used to do fairly well, but now it’s basically a ghost town and, no way, am I paying to boost my posts. I’ve gotten some results from groups, but not a whole lot. The patron I have gotten so far came from a FB group.

I’ll try what you suggested for Twitter and see if it helps any! Still unsure about how I’d do video, but I’ll give it some more thought.

Thanks again!

[sambeawesome]

You’re welcome! Social media is a pain, and keeping on top of everything can be a full time job in and of itself. So I try to share tips if I ever have them.

@Laura_Hepworth

I just can’t make my pieces that quickly and, unless I’m doing a themed collection of pieces, I don’t want to keep revisiting old work.

As much as the idea might not be a fond one, I’ve certainly seen it be successful for some people. I’ve started testing it out myself on Twitter. It definitely helps fill in the gaps between new works, and if you still have the old pieces hanging around, you could take the opportunity to take new photos. Maybe test out new ways to do shoots, update product photos, or if the old photos don’t match your current IG ‘look/feel’, also a nice way to get some shots for that too.

Twitter lets you retweet your stuff too. So you don’t even have to post anything new that way. If you want to bump up an old tweet, all you have to do is retweet it. Don’t want it near the top of your timeline anymore? Just undo the retweet. (Just make sure you don’t delete the post by accident! I know someone who did that, she lots a lot of likes/retweets from that x’D)

Just could be worth experimenting with that too

@Laura_Hepworth

IG likes it if you can post at least once a day, but I just can’t make my pieces that quickly

I don’t think you /need/ to post daily though. What I meant by consistency was more about what your page looks like rather than how often you post. I think that matters more for people who come across your work.

Commenting also makes an impact too. I recently did a run of comments on a couple IG accounts, just sharing some love, and ended up getting a couple followers out of it.

@Laura_Hepworth

I’ve gotten some results from groups, but not a whole lot.

Advice I’ve heard from another artist is to target non-art related groups. All the art groups are people just advertising themselves to a room full of other people doing the same thing. Finding groups somewhat related to what you do, but not specifically what you do, might be better. (If you don’t do this already.) An example the artist in question mentioned was joining a group themed around her dog breed, and posting photos of her dogs next to portraits she drew of them.

<3

[Laura_Hepworth]

@sambeawesome

Social media is a pain, and keeping on top of everything can be a full time job in and of itself.

It absolutely is! It’s the one thing I’ve always had a hard time wrapping my head around.

@sambeawesome

As much as the idea might not be a fond one, I’ve certainly seen it be successful for some people. I’ve started testing it out myself on Twitter. It definitely helps fill in the gaps between new works, and if you still have the old pieces hanging around, you could take the opportunity to take new photos. Maybe test out new ways to do shoots, update product photos, or if the old photos don’t match your current IG ‘look/feel’, also a nice way to get some shots for that too.

Suppose it’s worth a shot!

@sambeawesome

Commenting also makes an impact too. I recently did a run of comments on a couple IG accounts, just sharing some love, and ended up getting a couple followers out of it.

I do that as well and, particularly, try to find accounts with a similar aesthetic to my work, but in a completely different field.

@sambeawesome

Advice I’ve heard from another artist is to target non-art related groups. All the art groups are people just advertising themselves to a room full of other people doing the same thing.

This is very true, they are. I’ll try and do some more research into what other types of non-art groups that my work might still fit with.

[dekilah]

I wanted to chime in about the IG posting once a day… I know everyone says that, but I find my engagement is much better posting 3 times a week and then maybe a Story or 3 most days whether I post or not.

And if I take a break for a week, I can expect to come back to a nice boost of engagement on that first post back.

Stories can be really useful because they keep you on people’s radar. You could post snaps of current work or share old posts. You can also do polls and stuff. But it doesn’t even have to be related or your stuff. I’m a lingerie model so my Stories are a mix of sharing old posts, sharing images, behind the scenes, but then also shares of designs from brands I like and photos of my cats and tea and stuff. My terrible cats are like the ultimate treat for my fans! Seriously, there I am in cute lingerie or less, but my cat walks through the video and OMG 10x better! Cute picture of my cat sleeping? Great! And it doesn’t have to be a cat, could be a dog, plants, bird, etc. That’s why Stories are fun. You can share more of your life that doesn’t have to fit your curated feed.

If you’re up for videos, you could do short clips showing the shimmer of certain stones in the sun or fiddling with an earring or something. No face or even talking needed!

I think Twitter can be great too. It’s a bit of a learning curve, but it also turns over pretty quick so if something doesn’t work you can just try again.

I did want to touch on the interaction (commenting on/liking others’ posts)… @sambeawesome mentioned others groups and that’s a great idea. Try models who shoot with stuff similar to yours (because a lot of us love sharing stuff we like in our Stories) or other creators who make a product that would compliment or go with yours. I like to set a goal of a certain number of comments a day. It can be small, like 5. And a couple sentences (like 3+ lines) of a genuine comment are usually the most useful to me because they are more likely to noticed by other commenters (which is the goal). Ask a question or compliment specific things, for example.

And you are not alone in the promotions/marketing frustration. I think it’s the most difficult, time consuming, challenging part of what I do, too.

[Laura_Hepworth]

@dekilah Thanks so much for the tips! I’m really glad to hear that posting less than daily will still keep good engagement! Three times a week sounds much more doable.

@dekilah

Stories can be really useful because they keep you on people’s radar. You could post snaps of current work or share old posts. You can also do polls and stuff. But it doesn’t even have to be related or your stuff.

Thank you! I’ll try that. I’ve always been a little uncertain how best to use stories, but I’ve wanted to make use of them more.

@dekilah

If you’re up for videos, you could do short clips showing the shimmer of certain stones in the sun or fiddling with an earring or something. No face or even talking needed!

That’s good to know. I’ve struggled with a lisp all my life so I’m rather self-conscious of videoing myself as, while it’s largely under control, anytime I get nervous or flustered it wants to come back.

@dekilah

Try models who shoot with stuff similar to yours (because a lot of us love sharing stuff we like in our Stories) or other creators who make a product that would compliment or go with yours. I like to set a goal of a certain number of comments a day. It can be small, like 5. And a couple sentences (like 3+ lines) of a genuine comment are usually the most useful to me because they are more likely to noticed by other commenters (which is the goal). Ask a question or compliment specific things, for example.

Thank you! That actually helps a lot! I started doing that some with fantasy portrait photographers, but I’ll try interacting with the models as well.

@dekilah

And you are not alone in the promotions/marketing frustration. I think it’s the most difficult, time consuming, challenging part of what I do, too.

It most certainly is! Thank you for all your advice, I really appreciate it!

[francesca]

I work in social media/SEO and it’s so hard to know what to focus on. I always advise that if you hate the platform (user experience-wise or because you loathe its cultural impact), don’t use it. I have FB, which my family and friends engage with, Twitter (some friends/some strangers), Insta (same), Deviantart (it’s dying), Wattpad (terrible for engagement), Tumblr (can be quite good but you have to get lucky) and a newsletter. Weirdly I think the newsletter is growing most - I only post once a month, but I go into more detail on there, and it’s a bit more friendly.

[Laura_Hepworth]

@francesca Thank you for your thoughts on this! I agree, it’s so hard to know where to focus. I’ve tried Wattpad (for my writing) and Tumblr (for my jewellery) as well and neither has worked out well. Wattpad is probably one of the worst places I’ve ever tried and I’ve, more or less, given up on it. No sense throwing tons of energy into a failed platform. Tumblr did better, but I found I just didn’t like that platform or the content I was finding on it so left. I’ve heard good things about using newsletters from others, but I’ve not tried it myself yet. I honestly haven’t the first clue how to run a newsletter. I may give it a try eventually, but I’d like to know better what I’m doing with it before I do. Last thing I want to do is turn people off by using a platform poorly.

I’ve been looking around at other peoples social media, trying to get ideas how to use mine more effectively, as well as, what types of content might work well with my page and keep visibility/engagement up while I’m between projects so we’ll see if any of that helps. I’m also trying to engage with others more, something I find much easier to do on Instagram, but really struggle with on FB and Twitter.

Thanks again! I really appreciate all the help I can get! This kind of stuff gives me headache, I’d much, much rather be creating or writing .

[sambeawesome]

While I don’t have much experience sharing my writing on social media, have you looked into Tapas or AO3? I’ve heard Wattpad is over-saturated now and difficult to get noticed.

I’ve actually been debating testing out Tapas recently, since I already use it for my comic.

@Laura_Hepworth

I honestly haven’t the first clue how to run a newsletter.

I’ve tried out Mail Chimp before, and it was decently user friendly. They have a cap on the free account for how many people you can have on your list, but it is a place to start. If you’re not sure what to put in in terms of content, you could subscribe to other peoples’ newsletters and see how they do it?

[Laura_Hepworth]

@sambeawesome Thanks for the information! No, I’ve never looked into either of those. I’m vaguely familiar with AO3, but I’ve never heard of Tapas before. I’ll take a look at both though and see if they might work. Yes, Wattpad is almost impossible to get seen on. I’ve had the first 5 chapters of my book up there as a teaser sample (that’s the most that Amazon will allow me to post outside of there Kindle Select Program), but it’s been up there for a couple years now with no views beyond my own for editing purposes.

That’s good to hear about Mail Chimp! I will definitely need something user friendly if I decide to give newsletters a try. I am subscribed to a few. I’ll try to pay better attention to the types of content they include.

Thank you!

[francesca]

I’m on AO3, it’s pretty good although you probably do better with fanfiction. I use Mailchimp as well, it’s quite user friendly and the limit for free emails is (relatively) high.

[Laura_Hepworth]

@francesca Thanks for the feedback on both! That’s good to hear. Do you think it would be worth it to try putting up the 5 chapter teaser sample of my book up on AO3? Also, do you find their formatting better than at Wattpad? When I put my writing up on there, I always found I had to go back in and edit it after because they kept messing up my paragraphs. It was really rather annoying.

[francesca]

With AO3, I have to check the formatting is right in Preview and then edit, I think it’s because you can add two different formats? But yeah I’d recommend it, I’ve had not-bad feedback/views. What’s your username on there, I’ll look you up?

[Laura_Hepworth]

Thank you! I’ve not joined AO3 yet, just been kind of lurking on and off for the last year or so. I did give Wattpad a try (which was a major crash and burn) and just used my name as I have it on my book for my username: LauraRHepworth. Not sure whether to do the same on AO3, or use something else for my username besides my actual name (there is a benefit to that, and, yet, it’s also a lot easier to find/follow an author on another platform if they just use their name ).

[francesca]

I just checked and I’m on there under Francesca’s Words, which is my general moniker for my writing, stationery, etc. If it’s your ‘regular’ handle, go for it.

[Laura_Hepworth]

That’s probably what I’ll do then so that things stay consistent between platforms. Thank you! I’ve just tried looking up your AO3 page, think I’ve found it.

I’ll likely join it later this week and and start getting my sample chapters uploaded and see how it goes. It doubt it can do much worse than Wattpad. If you’re interested in looking for the sample chapters when I get them posted, my book’s name is Miss Gemquist and the Pearl of Peking. It’s a Regency era Steampunk story.

Thanks again for all the advice and information!

[francesca]

Good luck with it! I don’t know how people look each other up on AO3 because I’m terrible at using it as a reader, but I’ll try to find you.

You’re welcome.

[Laura_Hepworth]

Oh crumb. Just went to sign up on AO3 and it looks like they may not allow book samples . Some rule about no ‘spam or promotional’ content or links to Amazon author pages. Well, I guess there goes that idea. Maybe posting each of those sample chapters as a public post on my Patreon page would be a better idea. Not as wide a reach, unfortunately, but better than nothing.

[francesca]

You can promo, you just have to be careful. They told me off when I mentioned Patreon in chapter notes of my book (an older draft is on AO3) but I was fine to leave a link to my website in my profile. You can say ‘if you’d like to learn more please message me’ I think.