Managing social media
-
Okay, I have a question. I've recently gotten an Instagram and Twitter account but haven't done much with them yet. I hope to have a better system in place for posting over the summer. My question is: when you share to your social media, do you share the same information on all platforms at the same time? Because it seems to me like that would be annoying to people if they get three separate notifications from me and it's all the same information. However, if I tailor information to each site, I'm concerned with how much time that will take away from my creating time. Any thoughts on how best to manage this going forward?
www.rhirschillustration.com
https://www.facebook.com/rhirschillus
Instagram: rhirschillus -
I had this same problem when I had all the SM accounts. I ended up posting the same thing everywhere which is not the best if you want to engage with the specific audiences that frequent those specific sites. For the time being I just focus my art to Instagram because it fits me more and what I can manage. Some artists simply post the same thing to all sites and while it's common, I think the ones who post different things specific to each site are more successful. You have to look at what your demographics for each site are.
Some people post only finished work to FB and sketches and process to IG or vice versa. Some people do exclusive things on Patreon like hi-res images, requests, and rewards. Twitter is more of a conversational space to engage with your audience instead of a portfolio to post art. Twitter and IG naturally lend themselves to different content as do all these sites if you look closely. Also if you post to Twitter from IG it has you picture as a link back to IG so you have to post straight to Twitter. It seems to me like Twitter is more casual and for people to see your personality and engage.
Look at the artists you admire and how they use their different accounts. There is usually overlap, but some diversity. Look at famous non-artists as well. They have the system pretty much gamed with their PR & Marketing people. And think about your own experience as a consumer. If your audience can get something one place, then there is no reason for them to go elsewhere. But if you have slightly different stuff everywhere then they are more likely to follow on different media. Unless they are mega fans. Mega fans will just follow you everywhere no matter what
-
I have a half-and-half approach. I post the same illustrations on all channels but not at the same time. Instagram is normally first, followed by Twitter at least 1-2 weeks later and FB last (5-6 weeks later). Also, I only post finished work on Instagram and I only post (currently) twice a month, while I post more often on twitter, including WIPs, sketches, random thoughts, quotes, status updates and stuff related to writing. I use my private FB page for anything that is not art, while I post art only on my business FB page, with a more conversational tone (and very late and rarely - it's a bit neglected...).
If you want to do social media for marketing, I strongly suggest you get a social media manager like Hootsuite. I normally schedule all posts 1-2 weeks in advance and I do it all at once on a pre-defined day (Wednesdays normally). This way I can manage the time better - I know Wednesday morning is for social media marketing and I don't begrudge the time it takes (which is a lot!). -
Great insight here. I have Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts and I started with just posting the same stuff across all platforms but have noticed they each have their own nuances, and this is my plan going forward:
Facebook - honestly, I don't see a lot of engagement here, it's mostly Facebook friends I asked to like it. It doesn't seems as great of a place to promote yourself as the other options, but I will post finished work here as needed.
Instagram - This audience seems to like the WIP sketches as well as finished pieces. You can get more mileage out of one piece by posting a progress shot or two and the final art. I try to post once or twice a week.
Twitter - I post finished work but also take a few minutes a couple times a week to browse my feed and retweet other work I really like with a comment on why I think it's cool. That provides some additional value. I will also start posting some text thoughts. It's more about your personality and casual engagement.
I really like Buffer for scheduling posts ahead of time!
Carrie Copa
https://carriecopadraws.com/ -
@Teju-Abiola @smceccarelli @carriecopa Thanks for all of your insights! I only recently started this and find it is a lot more baffling than i expected!! Very helpful.
-
@teju-abiola Excellent points, I appreciate the response.
-
@smceccarelli I will check out Hootsuite, thanks for your help.
-
@carriecopa I will check out Buffer as well. Looks like Instagram is the way to go right now, and that is the one I'm leaning toward as I know it to be image oriented. Thanks for the help.
