Need artist facebook page help/suggestions
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I recently started a Facebook page and wanted to know if anyone else around here has one of these, and if so, what sort of success you've seen with youra. Or what you've seen other artists do that has been successful. I'm sort of stumbling around trying to figure out social media so any advice would be great.
For starters, I made a few albums with various examples of my work, but I'm not sure how open to be on Facebook with my process. I mean, would posting lots of sketches make me look unprofessional?
I am also going to be running a promotional giveaway for the month of December in return for shares, do you think that would work? Or should I just do it for likes? I really want people to share the page though so that it has more reach...just not sure if people will do it. The idea is that I will randomly select three people to receive a free digital sketch with a subject of their choice (i.e. draw me a picture of Batman).
I would love any critiques you all have if you have a second or two to spare:
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I gave it a like! I personally have not had much success with my page (then again i am not very active on it). The way facebook works page posts do not always reach everyone like a normal personal post would. So what I have done is post from the page and then share that post from my personal account. Best of luck! FYI Most of my work comes from word of mouth.
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@Chip-Valecek Oh hey, thanks for the like! I didn't know that about it not showing up in feeds, hmm. That's frustrating. Have you tried using the events tool at all? I wonder if that would change the algorithm.
Most of my work comes through word of mouth right now too, I'm just trying whatever I can to broaden my potential market. I've heard from a few people that having a facebook page is a great way to network, but I guess it's like you said and you just have to use it a lot.
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Hope these links help...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-melber/how-artists-can-use-faceb_b_669762.html
http://www.artbusiness.com/facebook-tips-help-protocol-etiquette-and-instructions-for-artists.html
You might also think about joining other sites like Deviant Art, I heard one of the best ways to get exposure is to enter drawing contests... Deviant Art has a winter one going on, I'm not sure what type of work you're trying to promote, subject, genre or medium, but all those usually have sites related that hold annual concerts.
Good luck!
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Thanks @Bobby-Aquitania for the links! Very helpful.
I actually do have a deviantart, it's just an account that I've had since high school and is kind of awful if you go too far back, haha. I also hesitate to link people outside of the art world to deviantart because if they wander around the site at all there are many less than savory images floating around. Since I used to be an elementary school art teacher I don't want some of my former colleagues to think less of me I suppose. But I do try to post there every once in a while, I should probably clean my gallery up and get more involved.
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You're very welcome @Kasey-Snow, I too am a former art teacher... my personal FB page is probably not something I would share with the free world, and I only use it for friends and family, and not their acquaintances.
I made a separate page for work, and just edited out a lot of the racy stuff I used to draw. But it's not the portfolio I am trying to work on this year, for that I will probably make a new page again. I used to have most of my art on DA, but I was offered a job that fell through, and required me not to have unlicensed work on other sites, so I deleted like 99% of my DA account.
I guess the rule of thumb is, don't create work you wouldn't show your mother, your 10 year old or day job boss. A nude is a nude is a nude, some people can't handle them, you have to decide if you wanna work for those people.
As to friends and family or coworkers, unless the work discloses something embarrassing about yourself, I wouldn't sweat it. Either they know you well enough to accept you, or the real you and the artist you are somehow two different people.
You can change your name on DA now, and clean it out to be more professional, watch who you watch or friend there as their images will link to your page. But the site is used by many many industry professionals, from comics, concept art and more... if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for your former colleagues.
Or was this a Catholic school, then yeah, you might have to do a lot of editing. lol...
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@Bobby-Aquitania Haha, no no, not a Catholic school. Just a low income public school.
And it's really not my work on Deviantart that's the problem. I mean, my old high school stuff is embarrassing because it's very anime and ridiculous, haha. But I can hide that easily or move it to scraps.
No, the stuff I worry about is the stuff on the REST of the Deviantart site. Like if they wander over to the main page or click something that takes them to a random gallery and they associate me with whatever they see there.
You're right though, there are plenty of professionals that use it. In fact, those industry pros are the main reason I'm still on deviantart to be honest, haha. So maybe one day I'll just suck it up and link to that gallery from my other social media sites.
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The best advice I've gotten on being a better artist and it seems to be the consensus on art advice articles, is that find an artist who's work you love that inspires you IN the industry you want to be a part of, and your work should be " as good or better " than theirs... cause that is what they're doing.
Look at any of those industry pros on DA, and look at who they watch, I guarantee it will be filled with art as good or better than them. Anyway that's the kind of work I want to include in my portfolio as a professional, right now I am just a freelancer working on the outskirts. But my goal is to do work I'd be proud to show a pro... and eventually become one.
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@Kasey-Snow Just a couple of my thoughts on what I've observed...
Consistency over a long period of time will probably be your greatest asset. After several months/years of being consistent at putting out quality work, you'll have gained a certain level of trust in the social media world that will make it easy for people to decide to follow you.
Having your own website with your own domain name along with whichever social media outlets you decide to use will give you another level of credibility. I try to make my own website the most information heavy while using social media (I currently only use FB and instagram...and am planning on utilizing Pinterest) as outlets to lead people back to my website.
If your page gains a reputation of putting out some combination of valuable information and entertaining/quality work, eventually people will tend to share your stuff organically. And they'll do so with pride and confidence knowing that they are leading people to a quality page that already has a ton of stuff to check out and will continue to share quality stuff.
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@shinjifujioka Thank you for the advice. I am currently looking into getting a website, who did you use for yours? I've been considering using Wix because it seems to have the best quality for a decent yearly price. But I know that I really need to get one if I want to seem professional at all.
Can you describe what you mean by "valuable information?" I try to keep my social media updated with frequent images of things I'm working on, but I don't know what you mean as far as info. Like, things in the art world I'm interested in? A blog on my site?
