The big dilemma of today’s artist: social media

A look back at my social media journey as an illustrator last year, and some unanswered questions.

This week’s newsletter was supposed to be about the essentials for a portfolio website, kind of wrapping up what I started last week. But I decided to take a break and talk about social media instead. Two reasons for that:

1. It gives me more time to put together a better newsletter next time.

2. I’ve been thinking a lot about my relationship with social media, and maybe some of my doubts are the same as other artists.

Before we dive into the main content, let me throw a question out there:

if you’re an artist active on social media, do you consider yourself a content creator?

I ask because I’ve been reflecting on this lately.

I’m an artist (still learning to say that out loud, but that’s a topic for another day), and last year, I made a bunch of reels and posted my illustrations on Instagram. At the time, I thought, “Yeah, I guess I am a content creator.”.

But while I was writing this newsletter, I think I’ve come to a better conclusion:

If I’m just posting to put my work out into the world (without teaching, informing, or entertaining), then I’m not really a content creator. In that case, I was only a content creator for a few of the reels I made.

Does that make sense? And now, with this newsletter.. am I creating content, or just expressing myself as an artist?

How have I been using social media so far?

Over the past year, while transitioning to an illustration career, Instagram was my main platform. I also tried Cara (remember that one?) when it blew up because of the whole AI-training-on-user-content problem. I tried TikTok too, just reposting my Instagram reels, and toward the end of the year, I started using Threads.

Beyond that, I used some platforms that aren’t really social media, like YouTube, for both long and short videos. I made 12 long-form videos specifically for YouTube, and for Shorts, I just reposted my Instagram reels.

I also posted some illustrations on Pinterest and even tried setting up an auto-repost from Instagram to Pinterest... which turned out to be a bad idea😅.

Out of all these, Instagram and YouTube were where I was most active.

How consistent was I? And what took me way too long to figure out?

Speaking specifically about Instagram, I tried to be consistent… but honestly, I don’t think I was.

Some months, I’d post three times a week (reels or images). Other months, I wouldn’t post at all, just showing up in Stories. I experimented with different formats: simpler videos, using the time-lapse recordings from Procreate, and more elaborate ones where I recorded myself talking about my process.

And here comes my biggest mistake:

At first, I thought I needed to create one post per illustration. Meaning, if I wanted to post three times a week, I’d have to create three different illustrations.

Can you imagine that?!

Luckily, I eventually realized that illustrators usually create multiple pieces of content from a single illustration. Like:

• one video for the sketch;

• another for the lineart;

• a third for the painting;

• a fourth showing the full process;

• a static image post of the final piece;

• and even short clips for other types of reels.

So I started applying that strategy, creating more than one post per illustration. But then, consistency became an issue again. Some months I was super active, others I barely posted. This usually happened when I started questioning:

• Why am I spending so much time on social media instead of working on my portfolio?

• Why am I making a reel instead of drawing?

• Why am I not growing, even though I’m putting in all this effort?

Just by analyzing these questions, I can see that one of the things that made me not have consistency was the fact that I didn't have a clear reason why I was posting reels and illustrations, and because I didn't like the requirement of creating more than one piece of content per week (because of course, It's not enough to just be consistent, you need to post almost every day).

Lately, I’ve seen a lot of people complaining that Instagram’s algorithm isn’t showing posts to as many people. So, I feel a little less guilty about completely missing my goal of hitting 1K followers last year.

On top of that, there was all the movement of artists leaving Instagram for Cara, or Twitter for Bsky. That made me feel so unmotivated.. like I had to start from scratch again.

Okay, not completely from scratch, since some people will follow you across platforms. But still.

Was my content the problem?

So far, I’ve talked about how often I posted, but not what I was posting.

Last year, I joined in some Instagram art challenges. I read somewhere that they help you connect with new illustrators and grow your audience. Plus, they gave me prompts to draw, which kept me creating.

But over time, I noticed that people weren’t really sharing or commenting on my posts much. I had one reel that “went viral” (compared to my usual views), but I think that was just luck, I think it happened because I used a trending song.

Speaking of which, I also tried using trending music to boost my reach. But honestly, I don’t think it made a difference.

Toward the end of the year, I had a realization:

My content wasn’t shareable.

Sure, people like seeing a cute art video, but for them to engage (like, save, comment, and share) it needs something extra.

Also, I wasn’t teaching anything (except for one video about my illustrated map process). Btw, I also made a long-format video about it and posted it on my YT channel:

Looking at other illustrators, I saw that some made funny videos about everyday artist struggles. Others shared tips on tools or art fundamentals.

But here’s the thing:

• I didn’t want to record myself acting because I don’t think I’m funny.

• I always forgot to film my drawing process.

• And even when I remembered, I didn’t plan ahead, so I’d only get a partial recording, just enough for one reel.

So yeah, maybe my content was the problem. Maybe I should have experimented more, tried different reel formats, created more posts per illustration, and made more shareable content. Who knows!?🤷‍♀️

What’s working on Instagram now? And why did I quit other platforms?

To get straight to the point: right now, Instagram favors reels and carousels. Long gone are the days when a single image post was enough. Now you can even upload up to 20 images in a carousel.

As for why I quit some platforms:

• TikTok → Took me forever to start using it, and I just don’t see the point. Plus, I don’t even like to make short videos (finally accepted that).

• Cara → After the initial hype, I just forgot about it. But while writing this, I logged in, dusted off my profile, and decided to give it another shot—just posting my past and future illustrations to keep it active.

• YouTube Shorts → I deleted them all. Instagram reels weren’t working for me, so why did I think they’d work on YouTube? No idea. And since I don’t like making short videos, I’m done with them.

Honestly, I’ve never really enjoyed creating short-form content. And I feel so relieved that I finally let that go.

So… what now?

I’m still figuring out how I want to use Instagram professionally this year. Right now, I’m kinda tired of it, but I’m also not sure if completely stepping away is a good idea. What do you think?

For now, I’m happy with my content choices. I’ve been consistent with this newsletter (except that one week I was super sick), and I love it, it lets me fully express my thoughts.

I’m also posting regularly on Threads and cross-posting on Bsky and the Notes section of this newsletter. I even organized my Pinterest and have been more active there. And soon, I’ll get back to posting on YouTube.

As for Instagram.. maybe I’ll just post my illustrations to keep my profile alive. Maybe add some short animations? Not sure yet.

How’s your relationship with social media as an illustrator? Have you dropped any platforms or started using new ones? Hope it’s all going well for you! 😊

If you've made it this far, thank you very much. 💚
Charlene ⭐