Stop being invisible: Social media guide for creatives

Do you feel like you are invisible as a visual artist? In the digital era, it is pretty easy to get noticed, but staying almost transparent for others is even easier. As an SAE student you develop your skills to become original, unique and successful in whatever you choose to do, right? Help others to notice yourself, so that they get a chance to appreciate you professional skills. How to do it? Promote yourself online!

Text and picture by Joanna Wroblewska

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? You simply go online and make your works available in social media. Then you wait until somebody notices them and makes you a millionaire! Well, the digital world is big enough, and there are many people dreaming about becoming successful out there, so to increase your chances you should do a bit more than just wishful thinking. It is all about making the right choices and finding a perfect online spot for yourself.

Share the news
Would you like to share any interesting news about your achievements, prizes, talks or organized events? Share with others on social networking services like Facebook or Twitter! Make the message short and clear, but personal in the same time. If possible, ask a question. People love to give feedback, inform you about their opinion or express the appreciation. Do not forget about illustrating the post with an image, since it is “worth a thousand words”. Provide a link, if possible. There is a big chance that folks will like it or even share (or repost) your message. The more people pass the information, the better for you.

Tell (visual) stories
Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr are digital platforms, where you can easily share images. Pinterest, a social media service based on sharing inspiring pictures, is pretty popular among women in their thirties and forties, so consider using it, if this is your target group. On Pinterest, you can support each picture with a short story. Folks can repin your posts to their boards and promote your work at the same time. Just make sure that the images have a good quality and are attractive enough. You want them to stand out, right?

Instagram is a photo-sharing and video-sharing social networking service that will work perfectly with your cell phone. If you like to take pictures, it will be a good match. Many people upload pictures of whatever they like, do or see while others treat Instagram as a great advertising space for their products like food, gadgets or fashion accessories.

Tumblr, an accessible microblogging platform is easy to use and will work excellently for those, who make illustrations, drawings or take pics. Commenting is not possible, but following, reblogging and liking images works tremendously well. It is a service for those, who do not like to write, but enjoy sharing interesting pictures on a daily basis.

Present a portfolio
Online you can find many professional services connecting visual artists, like carbonmade.com or behance.net. You can simply sign up, customize a portfolio layout and upload new works anytime. A fabulous option for lazy ones, isn’t it? This kind of service creates a space for artists to connect with others and appreciate their artworks. Linking and commenting is extremely easy, so there is a high chance of being noticed as well.

If you do not have a website, maybe it is time to consider creating one! There are many blogging platforms that provide free services for beginning and advanced bloggers and other creatives. You can check the most popular once like blogger.com, weebly.com or wordpress.com or go for a more professional solution like using wordpress.org with you own server spot and domain name.

Entering the digital world of endless possibilities might be both exciting and eye-opening. We want all the SAE students to be self-confident, forward-thinking and proud of whatever they do, so do not wait for a miracle and share your work now!

Learn more:
Getting Started with Social Media
A 3-Step Beginner’s Guide to Social-Media Marketing
5 Great Online Portfolio Hosting Websites