@BreannaB We always hear that social media is really important to find work. Everyone tell you "You want to get work? Build really kick-ass social media profiles and clients will start reaching out to you!" I really dislike this strategy because it's so passive! No one would ever suggest that in any other industry. Just create a profile on LinkedIn with your resume and offices looking for administrative assistants will just start hitting you up? NO!
I've now been freelancing full-time for 2 years and have built up my instagram to 1400 followers. The amount of contracts that came directly from Instagram? Zero. I had a few people reach out to me, but they all turned out to be self-published authors who wanted me to illustrate their book for ridiculously low budgets, so it never amounted to anything. If I'd been waiting for clients to come to ME, I wouldn't have been working full-time the last 2 years. Every contract I ever got was either one I found and applied for myself, or sent to me by my agent (who I reached out to and sent a submission myself).
That being said, how many of those clients, before making the final decision to give me the contract, have looked me up online, checked out my website and social media? I can't know for sure, but I'd say probably several of them (maybe all, who knows). So I do think having a presence on Instragram is important. To take that same administrative assistant on LinkedIn example, it's ludicrous to think that just making a profile and sitting back will result in work, BUT if the person send in an application and the employer looks them up on LinkedIn only to find out they aren't there at all, it might work against them. They may wonder if the applicant is even serious about taking a job, and if they're taking a smart approach. An agent will definitely want to see that you're there. It won't hurt you if you only have a small following, but if you boast a large following it might have a point in your favor in the agent's mind.
Having an Instragram account is important I think, but I wouldn't worry too much about your level of success there. Focus on having a nice curated feed of your best work (no rejected sketches!) and keep posting consistently, maybe once every week or every other week. Being there is important for when people look you up, and in time it may even lead to a job. However you're absolutely right that it shouldn't be the only strategy you have to find work.
Also keep in mind that even an agent won't send you enough work to keep you occupied at first, and in some cases maybe not ever. Even with an agent it,s very important to be able to find your own work to fill in the gaps of your schedule, or have other streams of income. I used to do about 2/3 of contracts that I find myself and 1/3 from my agent. Now it's about 1/3 of agent work and the rest of my time I spend on my Etsy shop. Either way, I can't rely on my agent (no matter how wonderful they are!) for 100% of my income.
