I always wonder if it's worth my time and effort to keep my social media updated. I must admit I am not a big fan of social media. Even though I have used facebook for a very long time, I have been tempted to delete it many times. The only reason I continue to use it is because I have my art page (managed by my personal profile). Recently I started using twitter and instagram (eventhough I opened the accounts a long time ago, they remained inactive for a very long time) so I have very few followers there.
I read everywhere that in order to run a business succesfully, one must constantly keep uploading new content on social media. BUT, does it lead to sales? In my personal experience, I would say no. I can recall only one sale that came out of social media and it was a friend of mine that already knew about my art. It seems that people on social media just want "likes" and they may like your posts so that they can get "likes" back. Social media is an egocentric world in one hand and on the other hand is a place where people want free stuff, which I don't blame them. I like free stuff too and I am gratefull for all the free information available on the internet.
I keep getting advice from random people that as an artist I should make youtube videos on how to paint. They also tell me that I should do tutorials on my blog on how to do this and that. While that may lead to clicks, and maybe new followers, will that actually lead to a sale? I don't think so. Before you may start thinking of me as a selfish person for not wanting to share free information, I actually teach and I don't mind helping people with their art. What I am mostly concerned with is managing my time wisely in order to be a sucessful artist. Producing art is my main priority. Making a sale means to me that there are people that truly appreciate my art and are willing to pay what it's worth. Constantly uploading content on social media seems to get on the way of my goal. It's simply a waste of time. How will I make a sale? you may wonder. Well, I have been very fortunate that people have actually found me through a google search (you found this blog, right? lol) and that has lead to sales. My newsletters have also lead to sales. I have also sold through online galleries and I am super grateful to be part of them:
Saatchi Art
Art Finder
Zatista
Singulart
They take care of all the marketing, or I should say social media, and they get their comission when they make sales. So again, does social media work? Was social media the one that made potential buyers click and find those websites? The times that I have seen their advertisings on social media they feature artists whose style is completely different from mine, but I guess it has made people click and somehow people have found my art. I think I have only been featured two times: one time through ArtinRes (not listed up there because I have not made any sales there yet) and another time through Art Finder. The other websites have never featured me but I have made sales!
I think I will do less social media. Yes even less! lol. As if I don't already have very few followers and people tell me I should work on getting more followers, lol. My time is precious. Some people are really good at social media, I am not. I have seen random stuff such as people posting a photo of their car and getting over 100 likes!! lol, besides the psychological gratification what else does this lead to? Is social media worth it? What do you think? Have you actually bought something after seeing it in social media?
In case you are curious, these are my social media pages (no, you don't have to become a fan, I don't mind having very few followers but if you do, I will greatly appreciate it)
https://www.facebook.com/ARTbyMarleneLlanes
https://www.instagram.com/marlenellanes/
https://twitter.com/marlenellanes
