At its inception, nobody could’ve predicted what social media would mean for artists today. Before, you had to rely on galleries, spreading event flyers, and purchasing ads on TV. Now, your art can reach people worldwide simply by uploading it to your social channels - often at zero cost.
That said, knowing how to present your talent and having global exposure through the right platforms is crucial for the growth of any artist.
You can achieve this by aligning your goals with the benefits of each outlet. Some are more suitable for music, some are better for visual arts, but most are compatible with various styles.
Benefits of social media for artists
Social media has become the #1 digital marketing tool for any art form. Even if your goal is just to give your creations to the world, foster intercultural communication through your art, bring people closer together, and build a global community through your profiles and work.
Being an artist goes hand in hand with having proper social media exposure. Some of the benefits you can reap are:
- Reaching a broader audience
- Drawing inspiration from others
- Building community across platforms
- Developing a loyal base of follower
- Marketing and selling your art directly to clients
- Driving down the cost of marketing
Trends change, and the ever-increasing monetization opportunities are a strong drive. However, many choose artist platforms that focus on something other than numbers and traffic. So, it’s important to find what suits you best.
Which is the best social media for artists?
There isn’t one best social media for artists, one to rule them all. Usually, a combination of accounts across various platforms is the way to go.
Which ones to choose depends on various things, like the type of art you create, your goals, how much time you are willing to invest, the algorithms, and more.
That’s why it’s a good idea to create a decision tree to help you navigate those choices and build a concrete plan.
Let’s look at some of the most prominent outlets and what they offer in terms of digital marketing for artists.
Instagram for Artists
Instagram is most suitable for visual content and brand-building. Your Instagram feed is essentially a gallery resembling a portfolio.
Street artist Banksy is one of the most recognized artists on Instagram.
Banksy’s art is featured prominently on his Instagram account. It serves as a portfolio and an online gallery that millions worldwide can experience digitally.
When it comes to video content – you can upload Reels (Instagram’s video feature) that are up to 60 seconds long. So, aim to create short and engaging video content.
Instagram is also a great place to call your audience to action or to intrigue them with a short insight into your everyday life and projects.
It’s also perfect if you want to build your professional network and interact with your fans.
TikTok for Artists
TikTok is one of the best platforms for video artists because you can reach a lot of people in a short amount of time. The platform’s algorithm uses multiple variables to determine if your post gets pushed to someone’s “For you” feed. Thus, TikTok does not rely on sponsorships entirely.
Another important factor is TikTok’s audience – the average user age is barely over 20, meaning this social media is most popular among Gen Z.
To get discovered faster, you have to navigate the algorithm. Shorter videos are usually more engaging and favored by the platform.
One great example comes from Harut Danielyan Art, an oil painter boasting over 217K followers on TikTok alone.
The artist documents his painting process and engages his audience with captivating compositions, while their paintings vary greatly between subjects, topics, and focal points.
Facebook for Artists
Facebook is a great social media network for artists who want to publish in different formats.
It’s perhaps the most versatile outlet according to the type of content and posts you can create. Most other platforms have one primary method they became known for, while Facebook is a hybrid with text, photo, and long and short-form video posts.
It’s the best option if you target people around and over 30 years old – Millennials and Gen X.
Facebook is also one of the best platforms for creating social media backlinks and increasing your rankings simply because of the versatility of the posts you can make and include links in.
Pinterest for Artists
Pinterest is a visual-focused media mainly dedicated to artists, although small businesses from diverse industries also publish on it. It’s a social media where you can build a steady, faithful following, get acquainted with the work of other artists, and market and sell your own.
The main advantage Pinterest has is that it’s a good place for selling art. It doesn't depend on traffic like other art-sharing sites, so there's a more authentic and exclusive experience.
The flip side is that slow trendy traffic means viral spikes in popularity do not happen here as they might on other outlets.
YouTube for Artists
YouTube offers the most monetization options compared to any other platform, which is why it attracts so many people, not just artists.
With over 90% of the videos on the platform being music videos, it's a great platform if you want to share your music with the world.
The length of your content doesn’t matter here as much as on TikTok or Instagram, and YouTube is convenient for longer videos. For instance, some musicians used YouTube to hold online concerts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The platform enabled them to earn their livelihood while lockdowns limited live events.
Live streaming is another format that’s gaining popularity on YouTube. It’s one of the 2024 online video trends that connect artists with their audience in real time.
DeviantArt for Artists
DeviantArt is one of the best platforms to establish yourself as a new name in the art world. It's better than most others on this list because it has no ads or sponsored content (they use banners).
You do your own advertising. Artists reach recognition through interacting with people and events, joining communities, and promoting quality content.
The platform has always had an underground feel, although it’s mainstream, and has remained a great social media for creatives. It’s best suited for urban art styles, like digital painting, design, and graffiti, but all art forms are welcome.
Behance for Artists
Behance is a popular social media for artists of all types, although visual art dominates here. It has around 24 million users, but the best thing about it is that it can give your showcases a professional feel.
Behance encompasses a wide range of artistic scopes, from graphic design to game design and even fine arts:
Owned by Adobe, it's compatible with their other work tools, so many people from the business world use it. In fact, to find work as a designer on a project, there’s a high probability you’d need a Behance profile, so it’s a good idea to have an established portfolio there.
Discord for Artists
The best advantage Discord offers to artists is that it allows you to share your content without limitations. The platform functions as a community forum and live chat. You can talk with people in groups or individually and promote and discuss your art on relevant servers.
However, you will need your art uploaded to other social media art platforms to share the content and links on Discord. You can also send files directly, but using a VPN or a VPN browser extension is important to ensure your safety and protect your intellectual property from nefarious activity and people trying to use your art without your consent.
A VPN is also a good idea when you want to bypass internet restrictions in different regions of the world and promote your art or brand without being censored.
Aside from promoting and discussing your art, Discord is great for organizing work and utilizing multiple platforms, so you should have it regardless of other outlets.
Top tips on social media for artists
Here are three top tips for artists who want to promote their work on and beyond social media successfully.
Schedule your posts in advance
Scheduling your posts allows you to sync your postings with peak traffic times on each social media. It also removes the need to be active at specific times every day because you can prepare your content weeks in advance.
Businesses of all sizes typically use social media management platforms, like Hootsuite, to keep track of various posting schedules. That said, as an artist, you can also look at the best Hootsuite alternatives to find tools that are better suited to your needs, both in terms of scope and budget.
Pair social media with email marketing
Pairing social media and email marketing allows artists to maximize results. Social media is effective for reaching new audiences, while email marketing can be a direct line of communication with your most engaged followers.
That is why there is no clear winner when it comes to social media vs. email marketing - you need both to build your reach and engagement. While you have to entertain people to reach them on social media, email allows you to be more to the point and direct.
Another key benefit of email marketing is cost – it’s one of the most cost-effective channels. Plus, you can target specific groups of subscribers for a more personalized approach.
Hold an event
Holding an event on social media is an excellent way to engage your audience. It can give your fans a sense of community and help you promote your art.
To hold a successful social media event, you need to:
- Set clear goals and establish what success looks like
- Decide on the topic and contents of the event
- Prepare the logistics of the event, such as platform and timing
- Create an event promotion strategy
- Follow-up with attendees post-event to turn them into engaged followers and buyers
Key takeaways
Social media gives an array of growth opportunities to creatives from all industries. Whether you’re a painter, fashion designer, musician, or actor, there’s a social channel that can help you connect with your audience.
In this article, we’ve outlined some of the specifics of different social media platforms for artists. You can combine different channels and repurpose or reformat your content to match the style of every social media.