Pro artist here: you have to view instagram as a portfolio now. Don't expect likes or engagements ('cause you're going to be disappointed), disengage emotionally from the chase of popularity and focus on your work. Accept that your followers are going to drop (I used to be 215K, now 198K) (lol) And yeah, focus on the work, always. It's good for you and your career.
I keep the gallery entries for the social interactive aspects, but use the Highlights section as more of a portfolio (macrophotography). It would be great if Highlights could have a grid layout too, though.
That makes so much sense. I'm just starting out trying to get pieces photographed and posted and that in itself is a project taking away from creating. While I like that process, I think the portfolio idea is sound because you can just tell people to go there or bring it up on your phone to get a look at your work. They are genuinely interested in what you're doing. Thanks!
IMPORTANT note from an Artist to an Artist: I felt the social media burnout, my Art life was 5% art and 95% "business" (doing social media, scheduling, making content). I posted on my blog/reddit that I will be taking a break for a few months because I NEED to create stress free without deadlines or the pressure of always doing things on camera and always posting... I even said to my followers "listen, it is impossible to continue in real time, I will take 6 months off, make stuff, schedule them so you have content for 6 months while Im offline creating"... I was expecting to lose half my engagement. WRONG! The amount of people who were HAPPY and said stuff along the line "Finally we see someone taking care of their mental health and being an artist without being a social media persona" and they continued with comments along the lines of "We'd rather miss you for a while and know that more of your work will come back than have you burnt out and lose your work forever". Overall, people DO prefer a mentally healthy artist who puts out art once in a while rather than a content-pumping anxious mess xD Normalise doing art while none is watching. Normalise for artists to be artists and not marketing agencies.
Yes!! It really worries me watching people churning out endless content and wondering how exhausted they must be. It's fantastic that you had the wisdom to take care of yourself and it became a milestone of success in your career. Happy artists create their best art!✊🏼🪄🎨
I am happy to hear that ! It’s easy to be a hard boss to yourself . However I’ve only been marking Art in the privacy of my studio with nobody watching and find the social media aspect of it quite hard
I feel that im mostly a collage artist so it takes me awhile to finish big pieces and then i expect it to get like 100 likes but the reality is I’ll probly get 50 VIEWS if that even and i dont mean to toot my own horn but im pretty good
This is sooo right on. I only have 485 followers on Insta, BUT my work sells regularly and I get to spend all my time in the studio. I rarely post more than twice a week. I have seen your work Brooke and it's brilliant. You don't have to advertise at all. The collectors will find you. Regards.
That’s amazing! I just looked up your Instagram . Beautiful work by the way😊 are you getting sales from saatchi? Or just your website or gallery representation?
I'm so glad you did a video about this! IG has changed drastically and it's not going back. After spending a few years as a corporate publicist, I just hate social media altogether and I'm trying so hard to change my relationship with it now that I'm focusing solely on art. But really, there is only so much that we can control on social platforms. The algorithms are updated on a near weekly basis, and it's always meant to keep you sucked in and scrolling. I'm thinking of planning a content calendar so that I don't have to actually spend too much time on the platform because it really hypnotizes you within seconds. I'm so glad you decided to put some more effort into YT because I enjoy learning more about you, your processes, and your thoughts on art business and such. Keep it up Brooke, you're killing it!
Thanks for your comment Amanda! You're totally right about the hypnotizing powers, and it's really smart to have a content calendar, especially when it gives you control over how much time you want to spend on the app. I'm happy to hear you're finding my videos helpful, definitely makes this shift worth it for me! All the best with your art! 😚
Hi and hello I love doing art l am planning to do a art studio in my house. Yes you are lovely good looking 😊 but you are a lovely good looking art person and your work must be armazing. 👍 For me as a guy my art comes from my heart. I was going get my on Instagram then l was watching your u tube now lam not.😊 Thank for watching your u tube
Thank you sooo much for these conciliatory words! I was starting with IG for about one year, because I only wanted to show my work. But it seems to me, you have to be more an Entertainer than an artist. It's so frustrating and not really helpful for mental health.
Instagram… and all social media outlets… will not make your art career. They’re entertainment outlets with fickle fans. All of your energy and time will be spent on getting people to follow you that you will never ever have an authentic connection with through your work. You will neglect making real relationships in the real world. You will. I deleted all of my social media accounts and decided to live in the real world instead. My precious time on Earth is more valuable to me than the empty void of social media.
I've been at 130 follows for most two years now, and honest I'm not bothered by it. What bothers me the most is how to carry out all the ideas in my mind for people to actually relate too. This video was honestly helpful. I feel so encouraged.😊
Just do whatever way you want to, not all but the right people will follow. It's easier said than done, but that's the only way that has worked for me.
Everything you said in this video is absolutely true and thank you for specifically calling out the fact that numbers don’t equal money if it’s not the right people. I think a lot of us get caught up in the number not realizing it doesn’t really mean anything from an income perspective if those people aren’t passionate enough to buy your artwork. I’ve been a fan of your work for a while but continuing to stay for the candid content 🙂
Well said! Some people think that if you have a bunch of followers you're automatically rich or something... not true!! Thanks for watching Barb, I appreciate the support 🤗
Hey Brooke, what a much needed video for a lot of us, fellow artists. I just reached 400 followers on my insta art page, and I'm so proud of myself. Last year, I wouldn't have felt that way. Like you, I was devoting every waking moment into trying to create content and post at least every day. I got burnt out and stopped painting for several months because I was exhausted, discouraged, and had a major artist block. I got back on instagram this year and decided that I didn't care about the numbers anymore, but I was going to use the art page as a sort of diary to chronical my growth as an artist. I'm actually looking into becoming an art vendor this fall as I like personal interaction over social media. You should be so proud of your accomplishments, and I love your new jewelry line.
Thanks for sharing this Katie! I can totally relate to the burnout and artist block, it sucks. I'm glad you were able to get back into your groove, forget about the numbers and focus on your art! Wishing you the best of luck with your work, I hope you have a great experience as an art vendor this fall, the personal interaction makes a huge difference! 🤗
Very relatable story. I had a video go viral on instagram last year, and got over 50k new followers from it, which was neat, but at the end of the day, changed nothing. Unless your reels are monetized, instagram growth doesn't mean much anymore other than as a way to point people to where you can actually get monetary support from them if they truly want to support your art. The platform requires so much effort for so little payout if the goal is to supplement income. Most brands on there don't mesh well with what an artist is trying to do, and most artists don't want to take their focus away from their art to figure out how to incorporate a brand deal. Instagram has really let its artist community fall through the cracks in these ways, and turning to youtube is a good alternative where you *do* actually get paid for your efforts. Wishing you the best of luck on here!
This was so well said! I am especially resonating with what you said about incorporating brand deals, it's just not as easy for artists. Thank you for watching and for your support 🙏
50k follower from one post? You are not the Hawk Tuah girl, are you!? :-) I had the honor to have my work "reshared" by Tony Hawk and X-Games lately. For the work I am creating I think I can't go more viral than that and it's brought me ~2.000 and ~400 new followers.(My account is small, so it made quite a difference percentage wise) I am surprised numbers like yours are possible for artists even though this video and your comment suggest that it has become a worthless pursuit.
@@fredarthur-art I wouldn't consider it a worthless pursuit, just not one that can support me financially on its own, even with over 100k followers. The community building has been the valuable piece for me.
This video just made my day. I have been so down about instagram and trying to do alllll the things and keep thinking none of it is worth it!! It’s making me depressed!! I’m so happy I found you, thank you for this!!
Look here young lady, in my day we didn't have anything like instagram. You are young, beautiful, and a talented artist. Follow your heart and nuture your soul, that's what a artist needs to do. Just be kind and easy on yourself, your just getting started, give yourself all the credit and don't think what you have done is wrong, you are learning and growing, focus on that. Learn, grow, and do your art, the money will come. Go into yourself and tap your inner wisdom and be blessed, and it will all come to you.!!!!!
I'm so thankful you came out with this video. I've been in this depressive funk for the past month because I went from 100k followers to 97k just in a few months and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing wrong. Not only that, I've made 0 sales this week and it's honestly taken a toll on my mental health and making me rethink what I'm doing with my life lol. Thank you for coming out with this video because now I know I'm not alone and I don't need to be posting 4 times a week and make a buttload of reels.
most likely the removal of spam accounts on Instagram side. Everyone once in a while they do a massive purge or inactive or bot accounts. So most likely that's what going on if you had a loss.
@@slimeforest Do not worry. It's normal that people are constantly unfollowing accounts. The reason doesn't have to come from you. You already achieved great results with your page and it will be always yours :)
I relate a lot to this video. I have no more sales from instagram when I had 3k followers than I do now with 30k. I’ve also had a bunch of follower bumps from silly reels that have nothing to do with my art, therefore bringing in a bunch of followers that aren’t there for my work. Reels have been great for my following, but have also made that following pretty shallow.
YES TO THIS! I actually wished that some reels didn't go viral, I wish the organic growth instead. Those who followed me for the funny content have poofed!
@@art4anj totally! Same here! I’ve stopped posting the short silly reels and tried to focus on just the artwork. I saw a dip of a few hundred followers because of it. Some of those may have been unfollows, but I think a lot of them were instagram cleaning up old or fake accounts. I’m still trying to find the best way to get an engaging audience. Reels really changed the game, and depending on how you use them kind of determines the type of audience you get. There are artists that I highly respect and admire that have half the following I do, but their posts get 2-3 times the engagement that mine do, all because they stuck with the quality and didn’t fall for the silly reels traps.
This is such an important video! I genuinely stuck at the whole being social thing. I truly couldn't care less about creating "content". However, over the lonely years, I've admitted the need to share my art with others. I decided to start posting not to grow numbers or gain popularity, but just to share and document my work. I am also fascinated with process. So that's what i share. Whatever step I'm on, finished or not. When I'm on a project, it keeps me gently motivated to not abandon halfway through. To at least finish one step. I don't feel too rushed, because i am not curating a visual museum of finished products. It's more of a "look what i made, ma!" approach 😊 In the end, even if I'm not a "artist of instagram", or only get 4 likes on a post, i have a kind of portfolio that makes itself.
I'm a brand new artist and really have no idea yet how the algorithm works on any social media platform, but I have noticed a change in Insta since even Oct last year. My posts reach maybe 50% of what they once did. We need another platform, perhaps one that is made for artisans and artists. Keep all the garbage content on insta so it's not drowning us out. Thank you for the very informative video! Glad UA-cam is doing its job properly and recommended you to me 😊
I hate social media, it demands way, way too much from us and wastes everyone’s time or distracts them from sleep, issues, etc. I used to enjoy it, but now it’s like this corporate washed up thing and I’m over it. Plus, it’s like what’s the point of the effort when it could all go under tomorrow? I mean look at the craziness of Twitter right now lol. I’ve been trying on UA-cam and it’s been good, at least I can be found again for it. I appreciate this video and I’m sorry you spent so so so long to build that audience.
I feel this so much. I struggle to get ahead on instagram and it almost feels like the platform is working against me. It's refreshing to see a video like this and also read the comments. Although it can be a great tool, it also seems like people are starting to wake up to social media and the damage it can cause.
This video is a gift... I've been struggling for so long to 'be better at social media' and growing a following all so I can achieve my dream of financial freedom and to hear that that isn't even the truth? That all this focus and attention and strees doesn't even equal income? It's like I've just been shown the earth isn't flat 😂 the relief.... maybe I need to refocus back to what matters. The art and the revenue streams. Instagram just isn't it.... its sucking my soul and its time to accept its never going to be what it was x
Ack, yes. Super small artist here, never was able to get over 250 followers reliably. I'm done with Instagram. I'll keep posting but I don't want to spend any more energy than necessary on it. I'll focus on my channel (it's in Spanish so the potential isn't as big but I'm more comfortable with my native language).
Absolutly agree that IG has changed. I opened my account during 2015 and got engaged from organic audience more frequently and like "honestly" than now. Thank you for your efforts Brooke.
I needed this! I feel so bad when I just don't post constantly on instagram but I just can't find the time so it's not in my top priorities but my page just seems like it never grows so it's frustrating. Sooo true though. Who cares if I don't gain followers who will never even see my posts haha I have clients booked so I need to stop caring if I have a certain number. Thank youuuuu, algorithms are soooo annoying🙄 you are such a huge inspiration to me! And I'm a fellow Canadian, (but living in Australia) so of course I love you haha
Awe thank you Elan, I appreciate it! Definitely don't feel bad about not posting, your time and energy are better spent elsewhere! Good luck with your art and thank you so much for your support! 🤗
As an artist looking to build a following on Instagram, it's crucial to avoid the common mistake of solely focusing on promoting your work without engaging with your audience. While showcasing your art is important, it's equally important to foster connections with your followers by responding to comments, asking for feedback, participating in challenges, and collaborating with other artists. By doing so, you'll not only grow your community but also gain valuable insights into what resonates with your audience, ultimately leading to more opportunities and recognition for your art.
Thank you so much for being open about this whole theme. This encourages a lot to keep back on track with the thing that really matters: Putting our hearts into our art, not in the number of followers. Thanks a bunch!
Thank you for this! It popped up as recommended to me today and I needed to hear it. I’m in the process of starting a small art shop on Etsy and preparing social media for the journey. And I kind of hate social media sometimes because it is exhausting. So thank you for the reminder that I don’t need to post all day every day and create a bajillion reels to build an audience
Yeah, same here! Starting an Etsy and Ko-Fi shop as well, and still hesitant to touch anything social media-centered even if I get enough inventory to sell things. So far, just having the shops not having heavy traffic is enough for me while I'm getting started (and while the prospect of using social media still intimates me)… 0_0
I'm only 3 minutes in, but already this is exactly what I needed to hear! I am currently in the process of designing, and getting a "business" going, but since I draw all my designs by hand, then colour them digitally - not to mention the time spent thinking up designs, finding the perfect layout, and that I only discovered my art "talent" a year ago, so I am still learning - it takes me a very long time to create. I have seen advice online about having to post everyday to get noticed and build your "business", and I must admit, that has caused me many hours of doubt because I cannot create art/designs/content that quickly, to the standard I want to. I don't want to post artwork/designs that are not my best work (unless, its for learning purposes). I have too much integrity to be false. What you have said makes a lot of sense, especially since I want my followers to follow me because they like what I am doing, will engage with me a bit and hopefully will buy some of my products. Quality over quantity in followers sounds good. I will try and remember this, as I know I will have moments where I wish I had more, or I'll compare myself to other profiles and feel bad, like my posts and art isn't good enough. I already struggle with this last bit, on some days. Other days, I feel like I can make a real go, and hopefully a career out of this. Anyway, this has ended up being a very long post - sorry about that! XD I will now watch the rest of the video! Good day/night to you! And thank you! :) ❤
I'm a learning 3D artist, 'have been learning it for about 3+ years and I'm starting to take my artwork seriously. I made my instagram account back in 2022, and at the time I didn't make it for the intentions of getting likes, or followers (my first few posts had very few likes), but I know that I wanted to make it to promote my artwork. And that's what I've been doing. Obviously, I only post on it when I finish an artwork, and posting everyday would just be a monumental task. However, since I'm going to be taking my artwork more seriously, and am about to promote my Instagram to my YT audience, I know that I needed to educate myself to further maintaining a professional Instagram Art account for the future. So, I want to thank you for making this video and for educating, not only me but for many artists who are keen to share their work over social media. And you are right about Quality over Quantity. That is key advice that I'll keep in mind for many years to come. Thank you 🙂
This was such a smart video to post! It is so easy for artists to forget why they are painting, and get caught up in the number of followers, etc. Ha. I go in daily and DELETE followers who look like creezy guys or wannabe hackers. I don't know who they heck they are, but I don't want them in my life! I rather have the people who really admire my work. You are a truly talented artist, Brooke, and I look forward to seeing how your work evolves over time... which means I should buy something from you now before you become too expensive for me!!!
Those numbers don’t matter. So many bots and ppl who STILL follow hoping for follow backs. You’re 100% right and I agreed with most of what you said. Thank you for sharing this with us! Wishing you lots of joy and success!
True. Whatever u said is not just for artists but for all the content creators out there. It's really hard to make your presence even while putting a hell lot of effort.
I've enjoyed my connections with other artists on Insta. I can't seem to get over 100 followers and I'm a full time Canadian artist. I think intention is important. I was using in it to get comfortable sharing art, especially since I believe everything I make is bad. The positive input and discussions helped. Great video.
Thanks for this video! I really gotta stop obsessing over the numbers and remember why I do art and how much I love it. The followers will come if I continue to put out quality work ☺
I can't tell you how much I needed to hear this! I lose my focus between social media and my art. I need to keep reminding myself of Quality over Quantity. Thank you!
Great video and reminder. It can get really easy to worry about social media numbers or even just sitting and watching videos all day, rather than working on your art to gain that experience and use the tips found on UA-cam. Something I have to keep watch in my artist journey. I found your channel earlier today and you’ve gain another subscriber. Thanks for posting and wishing you continued success all the way from Texas.
Well said Brooke! 👍🏻👏🏻 I couldn’t agree more. For me, trying to juggle a full time job, painting and drawing on my downtime and managing social media has just become too much. I am also going to focus more on my art and will post when I feel like it and I’m not going to be concerned with the amount of likes or followers I have anymore.
Your reflection was deep and intelligently you come to a conclusion. Social networks are a tool, but not the axis of success. A bias is created from the fact that many people, without great artistic qualities, have a large number of followers, that does not mean that it is because of the quality of the content, but because of their physical appearance or because they venture to make a fool of themselves. The reality is that art is more transcendental than any new trend.
Holy crap, this is amazing! I dedicated 2021 to social media and it was so demoralizing. Did all the "right" things and posted ridiculous amounts of posts and stories. It was all for naughty. And after reading rainy lune's blog post about the meta conference she attended for small businesses, organic social media is dead. They all want you to pay for exposure. So I've turned away from social media as a large outlet for my work, just do the bare minimum and am focusing on in person connections. Awesome video!
"Don't make this mistake . . ." Excellent candid overview and pep-talk, and a first-class video with fine production values, lighting, editing. Can't argue with 171K views, so I won't!
Getting followers is not a problem...it's the right followers that count as you have shared in this video. I'm constantly weeding my follower count of the spammers and bots who seem to find me. This was a lovely video and you are a lovely young lady with a lot of talent. I'm glad this 70 year old artist has found your channel. You inspire me.
Thank you for saying what is probably on so many other artists’ minds. I know it’s on mine.😮💨 I took a 10 month break from Instagram after my original account was hacked. In that time, I produced without pressure and had so many artistic break-throughs. Since starting up a new Instagram account, I have 1/10th of the followers I used to have … but your message makes sense … and there’s merit to growing organically. Thanks for sharing your insight, Brooke! 😊
Thanks for watching Amy! So glad to hear your break from social media lead to some artistic break-throughs, that's really awesome! All the best with your work, I hope there's many more break-throughs to come!!
Having less followers but the right followers is the secret to instagram. Having followers that don't care about the artwork actually hurts and defeats the purpose
I'm glad you're choosing to rearrange your time and focus. Looking forward to see how your art will evolve. And don't forget to listen to your own wisdom haha. You got this
Omg I literally went from 110k to 106k gradually over the past few months on Instagram. You’re so right about quality over quantity. I was so burnt out constantly producing reels. I’d love to focus on UA-cam but long form content is so much work lol
What you are saying is spot on! If you sell your art, likes and follows do not necessarily equal sales. I have made a few connections on IG with people that commission drawings regularly, but for the most part I still get business from mostly my email list and gallery partners. I divide my time between Freelancing my work and teaching K-12 art so my time is limited and I am learning that focusing on the work is so important so your skill level increases. I try to worry more about the work than being popular on social media and I am so much happier. Great video!
I lost around few hundred followers, It's still around 3k, but I do remember feeling so sad about it.. But after a bit of work on myself I realised these numbers mean absolutely nothing to me and it felt SO freeing. Working on the quality of my art instead of meeting weird trend deadlines made me so much more happier. And looking for people who actually want to work with me has been so so much more fulfilling in every way
I just started my art UA-cam channel few months ago … and you are right about Instagram … it doesn’t actually pays off for how demanding it is …. I found your channel recently and trust me I’m loving it.. new subscriber ❤😍
Wow! You are so right! For me it’s UA-cam but it’s the same drain on my life and creative journey. I’m in the process of changing my social media interaction so that it suits me instead of zapping me ❤
Very insightful and needed video. I agree with your priorities now and I myself will be focused more on quality more than quantity. Thank you for discussing this topic. Great Art and Video :)
Thanks Brooke! It was perfect timing to watch this video :) TODAY I really hated instagram and decided to stop putting so much effort into it because I realized that it was degrading the quality of the old reels I posted. We spend our most valuable asset, our time, on instagram, editing videos, trying to figure out how its algorithm works... and then it easily and disrespectfully destroys those efforts without even notifying the users. It's really not worth doing all this and feeling stressed about the numbers. I love your artwork and thank you for voicing this concern!
Congrats on getting monetized! am so with you and have fallen in love with long form content creation on UA-cam. I feel like I can actually get a message out and the people watching are more connected. ❤
Aw, your art and humor and bubbly spirit have me checking your IG even when your posts don’t naturally show up in my feed. (Admittedly, I do follow quite a few accounts!) Though, I initially found you through a Facebook ad suggestion for your page and your website. I saw your mini paintings in 2021 that sold out. Your relatable content about full-time artist experiences HAS been helpful for understanding and validating the feelings I get since pursuing a full-time artist journey in 2021. For what it is worth - I still am, and probably many others are, grateful for all that content you posted last year. 👩🏻🎨🎨❤️ Will be watching your YT videos now too!
Thanks so much Mei! Congrats on pursuing art full time, thats huge! Wishing you all the best, and hope you continue to find my videos helpful for your own journey 🥰
Brooke, this is incredible. Thank you for sharing with all of us! Super helpful. I promise to take your advice to heart and learn from your experience:) Happy creating!!
You are so right ! Encouraging someone is we’re it is at ! I like that on my artwork and try to encourage others as well . Encouragement goes a long way !
I love your videos, insights and expressions! I feel YT shows personality if you can get confident on the camera. I've been in and out on my channel for a while for over 8 years. To me it's more about connecting with real people than the numbers. UA-cam is so fun and creating videos has also become an creative outlet for me too!
Thanks so much! I also took a UA-cam hiatus for a while, but it's nice to be back and I agree, it's more about the connections than the numbers. Thanks for watching! :)
Excellent advice delivered in an entertaining manner. I love your artwork and have been following you on Instagram for a few years. I've actually started going through my followers and am removing those that aren't there for my art. Pretty soon my only followers will be my Mom and my grade 3 art teacher but I'll be guaranteed a couple of likes each time I post 😁 Keep up the great work.
I had a reel go viral and gained about 15k followers and ever since then, a year ago, I’ve lost about 4k of them! Woo! Most of them were not in my target demographic anyway so I’m changing my mentality about losing them. It’s so easy to get caught up in the numbers, but I can attest too- followers does not equal sales! I’ve been re-thinking my wholeee business model and I’m even starting a newsletter to talk about art business/motivation/inspiration, because it really feels lonely out there when you think everyone is more successful than you! But everyone is struggling in their own ways. Thanks for the video and you’ve got a new subscriber!
IT is INSANE, how relatable you are. I'm so speechless, how you are. I am sure now. You're a shard of my soul, ripped apart at birth. HAH. No, but seriously- i really hope this chill, transparent and goofy behavior knocks on my door aswell soon. When i'm on the media i play a role for whatever reason and i'm so sick of it. I don't know why i'm doing that. Gosh.. i am so grateful i came across your video. It feels so damn good to be heard and understand after a long time. I hope all your plans work out. From the bottom of my heart (and i just saw you for 10minutes) I'm wishing you the best and most success. Thank you for fighting so much in the past to become this person you are today. You're inspiring. This sounds a bit odd, but i want to say, i am continue living bcs of people like you. Sometimes i find myself in a spiral and don't get the feeling of being human. Not at all. Because i'm just not the norm. And.. this video showed me once more that you just have to find the right people AND that they do exist. xD
Thank you for creating this! It’s so true. Social media has our priorities messed up and it’s killing creativity. Art is more than just content to be scrolled and forgotten. Thank you for speaking on this
I'm happy that I've found this video. I have been thinking for the last few weeks about starting a new Instagram account from scratch since my current one has been pretty dead for the past months, I haven't gained any new followers, my likes have been pretty bellow average. So I thought a fresh start would be a good idea, seeing if new people would find me. But now, seeing your video, I think I'll stick with my current account and just focus on improving my art. Thanks for making this video! ❤
Great video!! IG really helped my art biz take off in 2015/16, then things really changed for me and literally ALL of the artists I know and work with (and there’s a lot of them). I have thought of creating another platform just for artists that’s more like how IG originally was (still photos, chronological feed) but I have no idea how to create an app! 🤪 Thanks again for the video, just subscribed!
This is actually a great piece of advice for a change. Social media has become as toxic as ever due to promoting - no, PUSHING - quantity over quality. So thank you very much for coming forward with such a refreshing perspective. I hope your UA-cam journey brings you nothing but joy and artistic growth. Be safe and stay creative!
I am happy to hear you will be making more UA-cam content, as I much prefer it to instagram. Hopefully one day I will be in a position to buy one of your original artworks, until then I will enjoy seeing the process. Keep up the great work, and I hope to see more.
Re: beauty. EXACTLY! It's not a compliment. I did zero towards today's face arrangement or size of features but I DID spend twelve hours composing this piece that I'm super proud of . . ! I have just found you and I'm subscribing! Your art is stunning 😍
Hi Brooke, I enjoyed this video, and appreciate your time and energy into creating it. I’m so glad this video popped up in my home feed! I think my biggest frustration with Instagram (and I am NOT a professional artist by any stretch of the imagination) are the account hacking attempts and the follows I get by shadow and scam accounts. I probably block at least 3 “followers” a day, and the artists I follow who are trying to make a living frequently get their work stolen and their accounts hijacked. Why does Instagram allow this?? It’s ridiculous. Anyway, thanks for the video, and I look forward to seeing more of your content on Instagram as well as here on UA-cam. ❤
I just started painting 3 years back. learning now. Completed a few that i am proud of. And i just started following you few days back here in youtube when i was searching for "How to print my art". and then started watching all your videos. Such detailed information in your videos. Really appreciate it. have a path to follow now or may be a direction i can look at to start with. The first step is always difficult and some times gives an amazing experience. I shared this video with many of my friends who are mad with IG followers, likes, comments, and views. couldn't have explained it better than you did. Your paintings are brilliant.
Thanks a lot Tamil! I appreciate your words, thanks for sharing and good luck with your painting journey! 🤗 Your art is what fulfills you, not your IG followers!
This was exactly what I needed, today! I’ve been spending less and less time on Instagram in order to get my mind right - thinking so much about how to get followers/AI “art” disappointments/etc. were draining me of my artistic creativity. Gonna spend more time focusing on finding joy in my art again and creating quality pieces I love. ❤️
yes I agree. If you're just posting art as a hobby, then obviously you can do whatever you want. But if you're trying to make it professionally, then putting all your effort into social media can feel like a loosing battle, especially with all of these algorithm changes that are focused on getting you to pay for your content to be seen. A lot of people on social media want free stuff anyway, so I would rather put my focus on getting my art to the people who are actually going to be customers and not just click the follow button and forget about me. I will still market my products on social media, but I am also looking around at retail spaces that host local artists and galleries as well as conventions. Those spaces are more likely to have people who want to see your work and buy it too. Networking is also a big thing I'm getting more into. The more connections you have, the more opportunities. I also agree with the age-old "quality over quantity". While lots of people like seeing the roughs and the process, in general people prefer seeing something you actually put effort into and not just a quickie that you slapped together to post daily because of the almighty algorithm demands it. So I'm focusing on making product I'm going to sell and also artwork I'm proud of posting.
Thank you so much for this video. I think I will start focusing more on starting my UA-cam channel than obsessing over an IG strategy when there aren't even any monetizing options and it's more difficult to find the right followers. I've actually noticed that the artists I follow closely on IG are the ones I first found on YT and got obsessed with their content. It's such a better place to build a connection and then people who are interested will find the rest!
The most annoying thing for me about posting on Instagram is getting a bunch of comments telling me to send it to other related Instagram pages, and all the NFT scams of course.
This was a breath of fresh air Brooke, thank you! I've been spending far too much time trying to grow my Instagram. The only people who actively follow me there are fellow artists. I've found it's a great place for growing an artist community, but not for actually finding any clients! I've had much more success on Facebook and I have far fewer followers there! UA-cam is my absolute favourite place on social media though, as it really allows for creative expression. I love making my UA-cam videos as much as I love painting...almost! Ps- I'm hesitating over your 'people watching' painting...I love it!
Thanks for watching Jane! You definitely have a point there, Instagram is great for finding a community of artists and I personally have been able to connect with some really inspiring people because of it! It's interesting to hear that you have more success on Facebook, someone else mentioned that too - maybe that's where I should be directing more of my efforts! That's awesome that you can combine your love of painting with video making, that's like hitting the jackpot when it comes to UA-cam! I think once I become faster at editing videos I'll enjoy it more too haha. The People Watching painting is still looking for a good home! I would be honoured if it went to a fellow artist 😉thanks so much for your interest!
I've been going down the growing-my-social-media rabbit hole a bit much for my liking recently. I've been so caught up trying to get more attention drawn to my art that I haven't been giving my art the attention in deserves. Thank you for posting this, it helped clarify my direction going forward. #qualityoverquantity
I'm a creator and photographer. I don't post content for followers or likes. But I stream on other platforms, but my main focus still needs isn't making income out of it. If you really want people to follow and know you: you need to be active on other platforms to grow your audience. I'm both a user and a creator, so seeing how drastically a platform changes over the years is annoying in user experience. I've always preferred using social media; I only created my accounts to keep in touch with my loved ones and people I know, and it is also a good tool for others to network. *A good reminder:* posting content on social media is quite similar to TikTok, where content is short, quick, and always available. Also, the followers you get mind not be actual people (instead, they're bots). And showing your face online only sometimes goes as you expect to some extent. Figure it out in your own peace!
Thanks for your insights! 🙏I think we're all just trying to figure it out haha; sounds like you've got a healthy relationship with social media, good for you! Thanks for watching and for your support 🤗
I’m so glad your video found me! I had just decided to give instagram another try and just posted my first successful reel and immediately felt the pressure to deliver again fast. But I’ll take your advice and focus on getting my next painting done before worrying to share content on the gram. Thank you, this was calming. Also instant subscribers of yours on both platforms now! :)
I tried to ignore this video so many times it came up but I am glad i clicked ! The right audience is very important,having people count does nothing! And am happy that am not just putting garbage on my page and making high quality art that attracts the right people who are really interested in my artstyle or what I create!
I am so agreeing with you!! I came across this video and it is fun and so true about what you are saying. As an Dutch artist I use Instagram. But social media is soooo focussed on numbers and to achieve mountains of followers that doens't do anything for you as an artist. Only frustration and thinking about quitting. But the few who are really interested give you encouriging feedback. Time to go back to quality!!!
Omg this is me!! I have been struggling so bad mentally this year after going from 1000 followers to 25k in a month. I thought my life was gonna change. Wrong! I work a full time night job and I had a sponsorship where I had to make 4 reels a month (all different ideas/projects showcasing the product) for the resin company I worked with and eventually I got soooo burnt out!! I feel so empty and aimless right now. I owe on a business credit card (hoping I was going to make plenty of sales which never happened) and now I’m freaking out which is also affecting my creativity. Resin is soooo expensive and I’m honestly loosing the passion I had. Thank you for this video. I feel validated.
I feel you!! I am sick of posting on Instagram and not getting anywhere, and I don’t like how it affects my life, my approach to instagram is changing and im glad
Well said. Personally, glad you discovered you in the middle of social media purgatory. Glad you have a life and it's art related instead of personality driven
Thank you for this video. I’m an artist too and Instagram is just….deeply frustrating. I stay at 2900 followers since….months…and I don’t have ANY grow on the 90 past days. I hate this feeling not doing enough good art to grow but….I have my community. And this is the most important. You reminded me that, thank you !
Love your sense of humour, Brooke. This content is exactly what I needed to see and hear. Thank you! I'm now off to draw for myself and post when I'M ready. Got my sub. ❤
Thank you for sharing this. I am an artist who likes to make drawings of different kinds of subjects and styles. In the past I only made a few artworks that I enjoy creating. And sure, I would love to grow as artist, making it part of my living. I thought that having a lot of followers on IG would help me get me there. But because of the algorithm of the socials I had to make more content, which isn't my strong suit. I've been drawing more, but it never felt rewarding like you said. And so I lost sight in what i really mattered: making art should be an enjoyable process, not an exhausting one. Thank you for reminding me that.
Thank you so much for making this video! I recently got some advice that encouraged me to make reels everyday and have just been prepping them all week, but while I'm doing it, I'm thinking to myself is this really sustainable? Short answer is no, obviously. I've also noticed myself pushing out content just for the sake of it which doesn't feel great. My goal is to grow my artistic abilities while growing my UA-cam channel, but than I think to myself, I need to grow on Instagram and Tiktok in order to do that, instead of just enjoying the process and growing at a sustainable pace. It really helps to get these reminders every once in a while, so I really appreciate it! 😊 Also, found you from Kelsey Rodriguez, really enjoyed this video and excited to see more!
Finally someone has said it! Excellent and true. Appreciate the video explaining truths about social media and some of the art community. "Quality or Quantity" so true.
I’m not artist but your video can be a motivational rebirth in anything you do online. Thanks for sharing your truth thats relatable to everyone that would to grow naturally instead of bots 🤖 like.
Great video! I've often gotten lost in that mentality of thinking followers = art business success. You're very expressive and fun to watch, and your art is awesome!
What a wonderful, honest, no filter account of your experience. Thanks for this. You are really funny too! From one Canadian painter/UA-camr to another, Happy Painting!
Pro artist here: you have to view instagram as a portfolio now.
Don't expect likes or engagements ('cause you're going to be disappointed), disengage emotionally from the chase of popularity and focus on your work.
Accept that your followers are going to drop (I used to be 215K, now 198K) (lol)
And yeah, focus on the work, always. It's good for you and your career.
true, mine droping as well, but its fine, at the end all you need is 1000 loyal fans
I keep the gallery entries for the social interactive aspects, but use the Highlights section as more of a portfolio (macrophotography). It would be great if Highlights could have a grid layout too, though.
That makes so much sense. I'm just starting out trying to get pieces photographed and posted and that in itself is a project taking away from creating. While I like that process, I think the portfolio idea is sound because you can just tell people to go there or bring it up on your phone to get a look at your work. They are genuinely interested in what you're doing. Thanks!
Nailed it
Thanks for the comment Stephanie. At what point just focusing on your work started to take effect on career and sales in your journey?
IMPORTANT note from an Artist to an Artist:
I felt the social media burnout, my Art life was 5% art and 95% "business" (doing social media, scheduling, making content).
I posted on my blog/reddit that I will be taking a break for a few months because I NEED to create stress free without deadlines or the pressure of always doing things on camera and always posting... I even said to my followers "listen, it is impossible to continue in real time, I will take 6 months off, make stuff, schedule them so you have content for 6 months while Im offline creating"... I was expecting to lose half my engagement.
WRONG!
The amount of people who were HAPPY and said stuff along the line "Finally we see someone taking care of their mental health and being an artist without being a social media persona" and they continued with comments along the lines of "We'd rather miss you for a while and know that more of your work will come back than have you burnt out and lose your work forever".
Overall, people DO prefer a mentally healthy artist who puts out art once in a while rather than a content-pumping anxious mess xD
Normalise doing art while none is watching.
Normalise for artists to be artists and not marketing agencies.
Yes!! It really worries me watching people churning out endless content and wondering how exhausted they must be. It's fantastic that you had the wisdom to take care of yourself and it became a milestone of success in your career.
Happy artists create their best art!✊🏼🪄🎨
impossible to say better
I am happy to hear that ! It’s easy to be a hard boss to yourself . However I’ve only been marking Art in the privacy of my studio with nobody watching and find the social media aspect of it quite hard
Much respect this comment alone was all I needed tbh
I’m looking for the thin line between super professional but starting everything with originality
This is very important! Thanks for your comment ❤
😅Casually stating: "posting four times a day" and here I am like: "It takes me four days to even finish a single piece for one post." 💀
I feel that im mostly a collage artist so it takes me awhile to finish big pieces and then i expect it to get like 100 likes but the reality is I’ll probly get 50 VIEWS if that even and i dont mean to toot my own horn but im pretty good
It takes me like, ummm 4 days to leave a comment.... sum times 😂
kinda late but post progress pics !!
It’s takes me like 5 days to even sketch, ink and even finish a piece 😢
They mean posting not just content /posts and reels/ but stories too.
Like you can do a couple of reposts. A couple of your own stories etc
This is sooo right on. I only have 485 followers on Insta, BUT my work sells regularly and I get to spend all my time in the studio. I rarely post more than twice a week. I have seen your work Brooke and it's brilliant. You don't have to advertise at all. The collectors will find you. Regards.
That’s inspiring❤
What website did you set up on?
lemme support
That’s amazing! I just looked up your Instagram . Beautiful work by the way😊 are you getting sales from saatchi? Or just your website or gallery representation?
Saatchi, and Partial Gallery. And Thank-you 😁@@chazzlycurrie333
I'm so glad you did a video about this! IG has changed drastically and it's not going back. After spending a few years as a corporate publicist, I just hate social media altogether and I'm trying so hard to change my relationship with it now that I'm focusing solely on art. But really, there is only so much that we can control on social platforms. The algorithms are updated on a near weekly basis, and it's always meant to keep you sucked in and scrolling. I'm thinking of planning a content calendar so that I don't have to actually spend too much time on the platform because it really hypnotizes you within seconds. I'm so glad you decided to put some more effort into YT because I enjoy learning more about you, your processes, and your thoughts on art business and such. Keep it up Brooke, you're killing it!
Thanks for your comment Amanda! You're totally right about the hypnotizing powers, and it's really smart to have a content calendar, especially when it gives you control over how much time you want to spend on the app. I'm happy to hear you're finding my videos helpful, definitely makes this shift worth it for me! All the best with your art! 😚
So true. Instagram is a hypnotizing monster. Keeping people strolling down a rabbit hole of nowhere.
Hi and hello
I love doing art l am planning to do a art studio in my house. Yes you are lovely good looking 😊 but you are a lovely good looking art person and your work must be armazing. 👍
For me as a guy my art comes from my heart. I was going get my on Instagram then l was watching your u tube now lam not.😊
Thank for watching your u tube
Thank you Brooke 😊, I like to learn from you.
Thank you sooo much for these conciliatory words! I was starting with IG for about one year, because I only wanted to show my work. But it seems to me, you have to be more an Entertainer than an artist. It's so frustrating and not really helpful for mental health.
Instagram… and all social media outlets… will not make your art career. They’re entertainment outlets with fickle fans. All of your energy and time will be spent on getting people to follow you that you will never ever have an authentic connection with through your work. You will neglect making real relationships in the real world. You will. I deleted all of my social media accounts and decided to live in the real world instead. My precious time on Earth is more valuable to me than the empty void of social media.
honestly a lot of artist accounts that I support and make me hyped when they post something, don't even post as frequently and I love their art a lot.
I've been at 130 follows for most two years now, and honest I'm not bothered by it. What bothers me the most is how to carry out all the ideas in my mind for people to actually relate too.
This video was honestly helpful. I feel so encouraged.😊
Glad you found it helpful Samuel! Good luck with your work 😊
Just do whatever way you want to, not all but the right people will follow. It's easier said than done, but that's the only way that has worked for me.
@@AM-op2hh What?! Do not worry about people relating.
Everything you said in this video is absolutely true and thank you for specifically calling out the fact that numbers don’t equal money if it’s not the right people. I think a lot of us get caught up in the number not realizing it doesn’t really mean anything from an income perspective if those people aren’t passionate enough to buy your artwork. I’ve been a fan of your work for a while but continuing to stay for the candid content 🙂
Well said! Some people think that if you have a bunch of followers you're automatically rich or something... not true!! Thanks for watching Barb, I appreciate the support 🤗
Hey Brooke, what a much needed video for a lot of us, fellow artists. I just reached 400 followers on my insta art page, and I'm so proud of myself. Last year, I wouldn't have felt that way. Like you, I was devoting every waking moment into trying to create content and post at least every day. I got burnt out and stopped painting for several months because I was exhausted, discouraged, and had a major artist block. I got back on instagram this year and decided that I didn't care about the numbers anymore, but I was going to use the art page as a sort of diary to chronical my growth as an artist. I'm actually looking into becoming an art vendor this fall as I like personal interaction over social media. You should be so proud of your accomplishments, and I love your new jewelry line.
Thanks for sharing this Katie! I can totally relate to the burnout and artist block, it sucks. I'm glad you were able to get back into your groove, forget about the numbers and focus on your art! Wishing you the best of luck with your work, I hope you have a great experience as an art vendor this fall, the personal interaction makes a huge difference! 🤗
Very relatable story. I had a video go viral on instagram last year, and got over 50k new followers from it, which was neat, but at the end of the day, changed nothing. Unless your reels are monetized, instagram growth doesn't mean much anymore other than as a way to point people to where you can actually get monetary support from them if they truly want to support your art. The platform requires so much effort for so little payout if the goal is to supplement income. Most brands on there don't mesh well with what an artist is trying to do, and most artists don't want to take their focus away from their art to figure out how to incorporate a brand deal. Instagram has really let its artist community fall through the cracks in these ways, and turning to youtube is a good alternative where you *do* actually get paid for your efforts. Wishing you the best of luck on here!
This was so well said! I am especially resonating with what you said about incorporating brand deals, it's just not as easy for artists. Thank you for watching and for your support 🙏
50k follower from one post? You are not the Hawk Tuah girl, are you!? :-) I had the honor to have my work "reshared" by Tony Hawk and X-Games lately. For the work I am creating I think I can't go more viral than that and it's brought me ~2.000 and ~400 new followers.(My account is small, so it made quite a difference percentage wise) I am surprised numbers like yours are possible for artists even though this video and your comment suggest that it has become a worthless pursuit.
@@fredarthur-art I wouldn't consider it a worthless pursuit, just not one that can support me financially on its own, even with over 100k followers. The community building has been the valuable piece for me.
@@snowelle7 in case I was misunderstood - didn´t mean creating and sharing art is worthless, but chasing follower numbers is. Thanks for the reply.
This video just made my day. I have been so down about instagram and trying to do alllll the things and keep thinking none of it is worth it!! It’s making me depressed!! I’m so happy I found you, thank you for this!!
Look here young lady, in my day we didn't have anything like instagram. You are young, beautiful, and a talented artist. Follow your heart and nuture your soul, that's what a artist needs to do. Just be kind and easy on yourself, your just getting started, give yourself all the credit and don't think what you have done is wrong, you are learning and growing, focus on that. Learn, grow, and do your art, the money will come. Go into yourself and tap your inner wisdom and be blessed, and it will all come to you.!!!!!
This comment was actually meant for me ❤
This is so sweet!❤
I'm so thankful you came out with this video. I've been in this depressive funk for the past month because I went from 100k followers to 97k just in a few months and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing wrong. Not only that, I've made 0 sales this week and it's honestly taken a toll on my mental health and making me rethink what I'm doing with my life lol. Thank you for coming out with this video because now I know I'm not alone and I don't need to be posting 4 times a week and make a buttload of reels.
most likely the removal of spam accounts on Instagram side. Everyone once in a while they do a massive purge or inactive or bot accounts. So most likely that's what going on if you had a loss.
Thanks for letting me know that! That makes me feel a little better. I'm still on a rapid decline but I'm hoping it will slow down soon @@slimeforest
@@slimeforest Do not worry. It's normal that people are constantly unfollowing accounts. The reason doesn't have to come from you. You already achieved great results with your page and it will be always yours :)
I relate a lot to this video. I have no more sales from instagram when I had 3k followers than I do now with 30k. I’ve also had a bunch of follower bumps from silly reels that have nothing to do with my art, therefore bringing in a bunch of followers that aren’t there for my work. Reels have been great for my following, but have also made that following pretty shallow.
Totally! I'm glad I'm not the only one, it really is quality over quantity in our line of work!
That’s comforting to hear! I’ve ben posting GOOD work for 7 years, and I get a couple of sales per month
YES TO THIS! I actually wished that some reels didn't go viral, I wish the organic growth instead. Those who followed me for the funny content have poofed!
@@art4anj totally! Same here! I’ve stopped posting the short silly reels and tried to focus on just the artwork. I saw a dip of a few hundred followers because of it. Some of those may have been unfollows, but I think a lot of them were instagram cleaning up old or fake accounts. I’m still trying to find the best way to get an engaging audience. Reels really changed the game, and depending on how you use them kind of determines the type of audience you get. There are artists that I highly respect and admire that have half the following I do, but their posts get 2-3 times the engagement that mine do, all because they stuck with the quality and didn’t fall for the silly reels traps.
This is such an important video!
I genuinely stuck at the whole being social thing. I truly couldn't care less about creating "content". However, over the lonely years, I've admitted the need to share my art with others.
I decided to start posting not to grow numbers or gain popularity, but just to share and document my work. I am also fascinated with process. So that's what i share. Whatever step I'm on, finished or not.
When I'm on a project, it keeps me gently motivated to not abandon halfway through. To at least finish one step. I don't feel too rushed, because i am not curating a visual museum of finished products. It's more of a "look what i made, ma!" approach 😊
In the end, even if I'm not a "artist of instagram", or only get 4 likes on a post, i have a kind of portfolio that makes itself.
I'm a brand new artist and really have no idea yet how the algorithm works on any social media platform, but I have noticed a change in Insta since even Oct last year. My posts reach maybe 50% of what they once did. We need another platform, perhaps one that is made for artisans and artists. Keep all the garbage content on insta so it's not drowning us out. Thank you for the very informative video! Glad UA-cam is doing its job properly and recommended you to me 😊
I hate social media, it demands way, way too much from us and wastes everyone’s time or distracts them from sleep, issues, etc. I used to enjoy it, but now it’s like this corporate washed up thing and I’m over it. Plus, it’s like what’s the point of the effort when it could all go under tomorrow? I mean look at the craziness of Twitter right now lol. I’ve been trying on UA-cam and it’s been good, at least I can be found again for it. I appreciate this video and I’m sorry you spent so so so long to build that audience.
I feel this so much. I struggle to get ahead on instagram and it almost feels like the platform is working against me. It's refreshing to see a video like this and also read the comments. Although it can be a great tool, it also seems like people are starting to wake up to social media and the damage it can cause.
This video is a gift... I've been struggling for so long to 'be better at social media' and growing a following all so I can achieve my dream of financial freedom and to hear that that isn't even the truth? That all this focus and attention and strees doesn't even equal income? It's like I've just been shown the earth isn't flat 😂 the relief.... maybe I need to refocus back to what matters. The art and the revenue streams. Instagram just isn't it.... its sucking my soul and its time to accept its never going to be what it was x
Ack, yes. Super small artist here, never was able to get over 250 followers reliably. I'm done with Instagram. I'll keep posting but I don't want to spend any more energy than necessary on it. I'll focus on my channel (it's in Spanish so the potential isn't as big but I'm more comfortable with my native language).
Do what's best for you! I wish you all the best with your channel and hope it brings a lot of joy! 🤗
Absolutly agree that IG has changed. I opened my account during 2015 and got engaged from organic audience more frequently and like "honestly" than now. Thank you for your efforts Brooke.
I think everyone can relate to that! Thanks for watching :)
I needed this! I feel so bad when I just don't post constantly on instagram but I just can't find the time so it's not in my top priorities but my page just seems like it never grows so it's frustrating. Sooo true though. Who cares if I don't gain followers who will never even see my posts haha I have clients booked so I need to stop caring if I have a certain number. Thank youuuuu, algorithms are soooo annoying🙄 you are such a huge inspiration to me! And I'm a fellow Canadian, (but living in Australia) so of course I love you haha
Awe thank you Elan, I appreciate it! Definitely don't feel bad about not posting, your time and energy are better spent elsewhere! Good luck with your art and thank you so much for your support! 🤗
I feel the same way. I’m taking a break from it myself.
As an artist looking to build a following on Instagram, it's crucial to avoid the common mistake of solely focusing on promoting your work without engaging with your audience. While showcasing your art is important, it's equally important to foster connections with your followers by responding to comments, asking for feedback, participating in challenges, and collaborating with other artists. By doing so, you'll not only grow your community but also gain valuable insights into what resonates with your audience, ultimately leading to more opportunities and recognition for your art.
Thank you so much for being open about this whole theme. This encourages a lot to keep back on track with the thing that really matters: Putting our hearts into our art, not in the number of followers. Thanks a bunch!
Thanks for watching! 💛
This is the most genuine advise i found on whole youtube ❤
Thank you for this! It popped up as recommended to me today and I needed to hear it. I’m in the process of starting a small art shop on Etsy and preparing social media for the journey. And I kind of hate social media sometimes because it is exhausting. So thank you for the reminder that I don’t need to post all day every day and create a bajillion reels to build an audience
Thank you for watching! And all the best with your art shop 💛
Yeah, same here! Starting an Etsy and Ko-Fi shop as well, and still hesitant to touch anything social media-centered even if I get enough inventory to sell things. So far, just having the shops not having heavy traffic is enough for me while I'm getting started (and while the prospect of using social media still intimates me)… 0_0
I'm only 3 minutes in, but already this is exactly what I needed to hear! I am currently in the process of designing, and getting a "business" going, but since I draw all my designs by hand, then colour them digitally - not to mention the time spent thinking up designs, finding the perfect layout, and that I only discovered my art "talent" a year ago, so I am still learning - it takes me a very long time to create. I have seen advice online about having to post everyday to get noticed and build your "business", and I must admit, that has caused me many hours of doubt because I cannot create art/designs/content that quickly, to the standard I want to. I don't want to post artwork/designs that are not my best work (unless, its for learning purposes). I have too much integrity to be false. What you have said makes a lot of sense, especially since I want my followers to follow me because they like what I am doing, will engage with me a bit and hopefully will buy some of my products. Quality over quantity in followers sounds good. I will try and remember this, as I know I will have moments where I wish I had more, or I'll compare myself to other profiles and feel bad, like my posts and art isn't good enough. I already struggle with this last bit, on some days. Other days, I feel like I can make a real go, and hopefully a career out of this. Anyway, this has ended up being a very long post - sorry about that! XD I will now watch the rest of the video! Good day/night to you! And thank you! :) ❤
I am so glad you realized this conclusion! You remind me of myself when I was starting out.
I'm a learning 3D artist, 'have been learning it for about 3+ years and I'm starting to take my artwork seriously. I made my instagram account back in 2022, and at the time I didn't make it for the intentions of getting likes, or followers (my first few posts had very few likes), but I know that I wanted to make it to promote my artwork. And that's what I've been doing.
Obviously, I only post on it when I finish an artwork, and posting everyday would just be a monumental task. However, since I'm going to be taking my artwork more seriously, and am about to promote my Instagram to my YT audience, I know that I needed to educate myself to further maintaining a professional Instagram Art account for the future. So, I want to thank you for making this video and for educating, not only me but for many artists who are keen to share their work over social media. And you are right about Quality over Quantity. That is key advice that I'll keep in mind for many years to come. Thank you 🙂
This was such a smart video to post! It is so easy for artists to forget why they are painting, and get caught up in the number of followers, etc. Ha. I go in daily and DELETE followers who look like creezy guys or wannabe hackers. I don't know who they heck they are, but I don't want them in my life! I rather have the people who really admire my work. You are a truly talented artist, Brooke, and I look forward to seeing how your work evolves over time... which means I should buy something from you now before you become too expensive for me!!!
Those numbers don’t matter. So many bots and ppl who STILL follow hoping for follow backs. You’re 100% right and I agreed with most of what you said. Thank you for sharing this with us! Wishing you lots of joy and success!
This is so true!! I had an epiphany about how I have barely finished any art that I'm proud of despite gaining lots of followers ahhh perspective
Definitely focus on the art that makes you happy and fills you with pride! Perspective indeed. Thanks for watching! 🤗
True. Whatever u said is not just for artists but for all the content creators out there. It's really hard to make your presence even while putting a hell lot of effort.
I've enjoyed my connections with other artists on Insta. I can't seem to get over 100 followers and I'm a full time Canadian artist. I think intention is important. I was using in it to get comfortable sharing art, especially since I believe everything I make is bad. The positive input and discussions helped. Great video.
Thanks for this video! I really gotta stop obsessing over the numbers and remember why I do art and how much I love it. The followers will come if I continue to put out quality work ☺
I can't tell you how much I needed to hear this! I lose my focus between social media and my art. I need to keep reminding myself of Quality over Quantity. Thank you!
Happy to help! 🤗 Keep focusing on what matters!
Great video and reminder. It can get really easy to worry about social media numbers or even just sitting and watching videos all day, rather than working on your art to gain that experience and use the tips found on UA-cam. Something I have to keep watch in my artist journey.
I found your channel earlier today and you’ve gain another subscriber. Thanks for posting and wishing you continued success all the way from Texas.
Well said Brooke! 👍🏻👏🏻 I couldn’t agree more. For me, trying to juggle a full time job, painting and drawing on my downtime and managing social media has just become too much. I am also going to focus more on my art and will post when I feel like it and I’m not going to be concerned with the amount of likes or followers I have anymore.
Good thinking Ron! I think you'll be very happy with that mindset shift 😊 Thank you for watching!
Your reflection was deep and intelligently you come to a conclusion. Social networks are a tool, but not the axis of success.
A bias is created from the fact that many people, without great artistic qualities, have a large number of followers, that does not mean that it is because of the quality of the content, but because of their physical appearance or because they venture to make a fool of themselves.
The reality is that art is more transcendental than any new trend.
Thanks for your comment Mauricio! I totally agree.
Holy crap, this is amazing! I dedicated 2021 to social media and it was so demoralizing. Did all the "right" things and posted ridiculous amounts of posts and stories. It was all for naughty. And after reading rainy lune's blog post about the meta conference she attended for small businesses, organic social media is dead. They all want you to pay for exposure. So I've turned away from social media as a large outlet for my work, just do the bare minimum and am focusing on in person connections. Awesome video!
Glad to hear you've redirected your efforts and thanks for watching! 🙏
@@b.cormier thanks for the reply! Your personality is infectious and awesome, you've got an extra subscriber!
"Don't make this mistake . . ." Excellent candid overview and pep-talk, and a first-class video with fine production values, lighting, editing. Can't argue with 171K views, so I won't!
Such a good reminder 🙏🏼 IG has been driving me crazy lately
You are not alone!! Thanks for watching Lauren 🤗
Getting followers is not a problem...it's the right followers that count as you have shared in this video. I'm constantly weeding my follower count of the spammers and bots who seem to find me. This was a lovely video and you are a lovely young lady with a lot of talent. I'm glad this 70 year old artist has found your channel. You inspire me.
Thank you for saying what is probably on so many other artists’ minds. I know it’s on mine.😮💨 I took a 10 month break from Instagram after my original account was hacked. In that time, I produced without pressure and had so many artistic break-throughs. Since starting up a new Instagram account, I have 1/10th of the followers I used to have … but your message makes sense … and there’s merit to growing organically. Thanks for sharing your insight, Brooke! 😊
Thanks for watching Amy! So glad to hear your break from social media lead to some artistic break-throughs, that's really awesome! All the best with your work, I hope there's many more break-throughs to come!!
Best of luck. My account got hacked last year. Hope the new one works out well.
Having less followers but the right followers is the secret to instagram. Having followers that don't care about the artwork actually hurts and defeats the purpose
I'm glad you're choosing to rearrange your time and focus. Looking forward to see how your art will evolve. And don't forget to listen to your own wisdom haha. You got this
Haha thanks a lot Cas, will do!! 😊
This was what I had suspected and needed to hear. Thank you for taking the time and honesty to create this video. 🙏
Omg I literally went from 110k to 106k gradually over the past few months on Instagram. You’re so right about quality over quantity. I was so burnt out constantly producing reels. I’d love to focus on UA-cam but long form content is so much work lol
What you are saying is spot on! If you sell your art, likes and follows do not necessarily equal sales. I have made a few connections on IG with people that commission drawings regularly, but for the most part I still get business from mostly my email list and gallery partners. I divide my time between Freelancing my work and teaching K-12 art so my time is limited and I am learning that focusing on the work is so important so your skill level increases. I try to worry more about the work than being popular on social media and I am so much happier. Great video!
You are one of the most inspiring artist in the art world today and I hope UA-cam is super super good to you you totally deserve it 🙌
This really made me smile! Thanks so much Christina 🥰
I lost around few hundred followers, It's still around 3k, but I do remember feeling so sad about it.. But after a bit of work on myself I realised these numbers mean absolutely nothing to me and it felt SO freeing.
Working on the quality of my art instead of meeting weird trend deadlines made me so much more happier. And looking for people who actually want to work with me has been so so much more fulfilling in every way
I just started my art UA-cam channel few months ago … and you are right about Instagram … it doesn’t actually pays off for how demanding it is …. I found your channel recently and trust me I’m loving it.. new subscriber ❤😍
Thank you Evangelin! I appreciate the support 🤗 good luck with your channel!!
your videos are great ! I checked out of curiosity and waaaw so cosyyy !
@@luluthecat4529 thank you soo much 🥲🥰
Wow! You are so right! For me it’s UA-cam but it’s the same drain on my life and creative journey. I’m in the process of changing my social media interaction so that it suits me instead of zapping me ❤
Very insightful and needed video. I agree with your priorities now and I myself will be focused more on quality more than quantity. Thank you for discussing this topic. Great Art and Video :)
Thanks Brooke! It was perfect timing to watch this video :) TODAY I really hated instagram and decided to stop putting so much effort into it because I realized that it was degrading the quality of the old reels I posted. We spend our most valuable asset, our time, on instagram, editing videos, trying to figure out how its algorithm works... and then it easily and disrespectfully destroys those efforts without even notifying the users. It's really not worth doing all this and feeling stressed about the numbers. I love your artwork and thank you for voicing this concern!
UA-cam is kinda similar.
Congrats on getting monetized! am so with you and have fallen in love with long form content creation on UA-cam. I feel like I can actually get a message out and the people watching are more connected. ❤
Thank you!! And totally, it's nice to feel like it's actually a conversation 🙌
Aw, your art and humor and bubbly spirit have me checking your IG even when your posts don’t naturally show up in my feed. (Admittedly, I do follow quite a few accounts!) Though, I initially found you through a Facebook ad suggestion for your page and your website. I saw your mini paintings in 2021 that sold out. Your relatable content about full-time artist experiences HAS been helpful for understanding and validating the feelings I get since pursuing a full-time artist journey in 2021. For what it is worth - I still am, and probably many others are, grateful for all that content you posted last year. 👩🏻🎨🎨❤️ Will be watching your YT videos now too!
Thanks so much Mei! Congrats on pursuing art full time, thats huge! Wishing you all the best, and hope you continue to find my videos helpful for your own journey 🥰
Brooke, this is incredible. Thank you for sharing with all of us! Super helpful. I promise to take your advice to heart and learn from your experience:) Happy creating!!
Thank you so much Joanne, happy creating to you too! 🤗
You are so right ! Encouraging someone is we’re it is at ! I like that on my artwork and try to encourage others as well . Encouragement goes a long way !
I love your videos, insights and expressions! I feel YT shows personality if you can get confident on the camera. I've been in and out on my channel for a while for over 8 years. To me it's more about connecting with real people than the numbers. UA-cam is so fun and creating videos has also become an creative outlet for me too!
Thanks so much! I also took a UA-cam hiatus for a while, but it's nice to be back and I agree, it's more about the connections than the numbers. Thanks for watching! :)
just wanted to say I agree with you!!
@@SezCreate 🙌
Excellent advice delivered in an entertaining manner. I love your artwork and have been following you on Instagram for a few years. I've actually started going through my followers and am removing those that aren't there for my art. Pretty soon my only followers will be my Mom and my grade 3 art teacher but I'll be guaranteed a couple of likes each time I post 😁 Keep up the great work.
Thanks Marsha! Haha good on you 👏 all the best with your art!
I had a reel go viral and gained about 15k followers and ever since then, a year ago, I’ve lost about 4k of them! Woo! Most of them were not in my target demographic anyway so I’m changing my mentality about losing them. It’s so easy to get caught up in the numbers, but I can attest too- followers does not equal sales! I’ve been re-thinking my wholeee business model and I’m even starting a newsletter to talk about art business/motivation/inspiration, because it really feels lonely out there when you think everyone is more successful than you! But everyone is struggling in their own ways. Thanks for the video and you’ve got a new subscriber!
IT is INSANE, how relatable you are. I'm so speechless, how you are. I am sure now. You're a shard of my soul, ripped apart at birth. HAH. No, but seriously- i really hope this chill, transparent and goofy behavior knocks on my door aswell soon. When i'm on the media i play a role for whatever reason and i'm so sick of it. I don't know why i'm doing that. Gosh.. i am so grateful i came across your video. It feels so damn good to be heard and understand after a long time. I hope all your plans work out. From the bottom of my heart (and i just saw you for 10minutes) I'm wishing you the best and most success. Thank you for fighting so much in the past to become this person you are today. You're inspiring. This sounds a bit odd, but i want to say, i am continue living bcs of people like you. Sometimes i find myself in a spiral and don't get the feeling of being human. Not at all. Because i'm just not the norm. And.. this video showed me once more that you just have to find the right people AND that they do exist. xD
Thank you for creating this! It’s so true. Social media has our priorities messed up and it’s killing creativity. Art is more than just content to be scrolled and forgotten. Thank you for speaking on this
Thanks for watching Sonja! I'm so glad you agree 🙌
do what you do, who cares how many followers you got. theyll rack up anyway. ur great. great artist, actress. do you fam.
Thank you Vladimir!!
I'm happy that I've found this video. I have been thinking for the last few weeks about starting a new Instagram account from scratch since my current one has been pretty dead for the past months, I haven't gained any new followers, my likes have been pretty bellow average. So I thought a fresh start would be a good idea, seeing if new people would find me.
But now, seeing your video, I think I'll stick with my current account and just focus on improving my art.
Thanks for making this video! ❤
I almost did the same thing I think I will just spend less time there overall
Great video!! IG really helped my art biz take off in 2015/16, then things really changed for me and literally ALL of the artists I know and work with (and there’s a lot of them). I have thought of creating another platform just for artists that’s more like how IG originally was (still photos, chronological feed) but I have no idea how to create an app! 🤪 Thanks again for the video, just subscribed!
This is actually a great piece of advice for a change. Social media has become as toxic as ever due to promoting - no, PUSHING - quantity over quality. So thank you very much for coming forward with such a refreshing perspective.
I hope your UA-cam journey brings you nothing but joy and artistic growth.
Be safe and stay creative!
Thanks a lot Danilo, I appreciate it! 💛
I am happy to hear you will be making more UA-cam content, as I much prefer it to instagram. Hopefully one day I will be in a position to buy one of your original artworks, until then I will enjoy seeing the process. Keep up the great work, and I hope to see more.
I'm happy to hear this! 🤗 Making these videos is also a lot of work but so much more rewarding, thanks for your interest!
I feel like I REALLY needed to hear this! Instagram is so inconsistent and I think I had become fixated on the numbers... back to my art I go!
Re: beauty. EXACTLY! It's not a compliment.
I did zero towards today's face arrangement or size of features but I DID spend twelve hours composing this piece that I'm super proud of . . !
I have just found you and I'm subscribing! Your art is stunning 😍
Hi Brooke, I enjoyed this video, and appreciate your time and energy into creating it. I’m so glad this video popped up in my home feed! I think my biggest frustration with Instagram (and I am NOT a professional artist by any stretch of the imagination) are the account hacking attempts and the follows I get by shadow and scam accounts. I probably block at least 3 “followers” a day, and the artists I follow who are trying to make a living frequently get their work stolen and their accounts hijacked. Why does Instagram allow this?? It’s ridiculous. Anyway, thanks for the video, and I look forward to seeing more of your content on Instagram as well as here on UA-cam. ❤
I just started painting 3 years back. learning now. Completed a few that i am proud of. And i just started following you few days back here in youtube when i was searching for "How to print my art". and then started watching all your videos. Such detailed information in your videos. Really appreciate it. have a path to follow now or may be a direction i can look at to start with. The first step is always difficult and some times gives an amazing experience.
I shared this video with many of my friends who are mad with IG followers, likes, comments, and views. couldn't have explained it better than you did. Your paintings are brilliant.
Thanks a lot Tamil! I appreciate your words, thanks for sharing and good luck with your painting journey! 🤗 Your art is what fulfills you, not your IG followers!
This was exactly what I needed, today! I’ve been spending less and less time on Instagram in order to get my mind right - thinking so much about how to get followers/AI “art” disappointments/etc. were draining me of my artistic creativity. Gonna spend more time focusing on finding joy in my art again and creating quality pieces I love. ❤️
yes I agree. If you're just posting art as a hobby, then obviously you can do whatever you want. But if you're trying to make it professionally, then putting all your effort into social media can feel like a loosing battle, especially with all of these algorithm changes that are focused on getting you to pay for your content to be seen.
A lot of people on social media want free stuff anyway, so I would rather put my focus on getting my art to the people who are actually going to be customers and not just click the follow button and forget about me. I will still market my products on social media, but I am also looking around at retail spaces that host local artists and galleries as well as conventions. Those spaces are more likely to have people who want to see your work and buy it too. Networking is also a big thing I'm getting more into. The more connections you have, the more opportunities.
I also agree with the age-old "quality over quantity". While lots of people like seeing the roughs and the process, in general people prefer seeing something you actually put effort into and not just a quickie that you slapped together to post daily because of the almighty algorithm demands it. So I'm focusing on making product I'm going to sell and also artwork I'm proud of posting.
Thank you so much for this honest, smart video. I couldn't agree more. More followers means absolutely nothing.
Thank you so much for this video. I think I will start focusing more on starting my UA-cam channel than obsessing over an IG strategy when there aren't even any monetizing options and it's more difficult to find the right followers.
I've actually noticed that the artists I follow closely on IG are the ones I first found on YT and got obsessed with their content. It's such a better place to build a connection and then people who are interested will find the rest!
Amen! Thanks for watching and I wish you all the best on your own journey! 💛
The most annoying thing for me about posting on Instagram is getting a bunch of comments telling me to send it to other related Instagram pages, and all the NFT scams of course.
This was a breath of fresh air Brooke, thank you! I've been spending far too much time trying to grow my Instagram. The only people who actively follow me there are fellow artists. I've found it's a great place for growing an artist community, but not for actually finding any clients! I've had much more success on Facebook and I have far fewer followers there! UA-cam is my absolute favourite place on social media though, as it really allows for creative expression. I love making my UA-cam videos as much as I love painting...almost! Ps- I'm hesitating over your 'people watching' painting...I love it!
Thanks for watching Jane! You definitely have a point there, Instagram is great for finding a community of artists and I personally have been able to connect with some really inspiring people because of it! It's interesting to hear that you have more success on Facebook, someone else mentioned that too - maybe that's where I should be directing more of my efforts! That's awesome that you can combine your love of painting with video making, that's like hitting the jackpot when it comes to UA-cam! I think once I become faster at editing videos I'll enjoy it more too haha. The People Watching painting is still looking for a good home! I would be honoured if it went to a fellow artist 😉thanks so much for your interest!
I've been going down the growing-my-social-media rabbit hole a bit much for my liking recently. I've been so caught up trying to get more attention drawn to my art that I haven't been giving my art the attention in deserves. Thank you for posting this, it helped clarify my direction going forward. #qualityoverquantity
"Popularity doesn't pay the bills" .......Great reminder
I'm a creator and photographer. I don't post content for followers or likes. But I stream on other platforms, but my main focus still needs isn't making income out of it. If you really want people to follow and know you: you need to be active on other platforms to grow your audience.
I'm both a user and a creator, so seeing how drastically a platform changes over the years is annoying in user experience. I've always preferred using social media; I only created my accounts to keep in touch with my loved ones and people I know, and it is also a good tool for others to network.
*A good reminder:* posting content on social media is quite similar to TikTok, where content is short, quick, and always available. Also, the followers you get mind not be actual people (instead, they're bots). And showing your face online only sometimes goes as you expect to some extent.
Figure it out in your own peace!
Thanks for your insights! 🙏I think we're all just trying to figure it out haha; sounds like you've got a healthy relationship with social media, good for you! Thanks for watching and for your support 🤗
I’m so glad your video found me! I had just decided to give instagram another try and just posted my first successful reel and immediately felt the pressure to deliver again fast. But I’ll take your advice and focus on getting my next painting done before worrying to share content on the gram. Thank you, this was calming. Also instant subscribers of yours on both platforms now! :)
I feel the exact same way!
I tried to ignore this video so many times it came up but I am glad i clicked ! The right audience is very important,having people count does nothing! And am happy that am not just putting garbage on my page and making high quality art that attracts the right people who are really interested in my artstyle or what I create!
I love learning and meeting new people on youtube. Just do what pleases you and keeps you sane. Happy painting.😊
I am so agreeing with you!!
I came across this video and it is fun and so true about what you are saying.
As an Dutch artist I use Instagram. But social media is soooo focussed on numbers and to achieve mountains of followers that doens't do anything for you as an artist. Only frustration and thinking about quitting.
But the few who are really interested give you encouriging feedback.
Time to go back to quality!!!
Very well said and I believe these key points you mentioned apply to all social media platforms. Quality over Quantity is the key to success.
Omg this is me!! I have been struggling so bad mentally this year after going from 1000 followers to 25k in a month. I thought my life was gonna change. Wrong! I work a full time night job and I had a sponsorship where I had to make 4 reels a month (all different ideas/projects showcasing the product) for the resin company I worked with and eventually I got soooo burnt out!!
I feel so empty and aimless right now. I owe on a business credit card (hoping I was going to make plenty of sales which never happened) and now I’m freaking out which is also affecting my creativity. Resin is soooo expensive and I’m honestly loosing the passion I had. Thank you for this video. I feel validated.
I feel you!! I am sick of posting on Instagram and not getting anywhere, and I don’t like how it affects my life, my approach to instagram is changing and im glad
Happy to hear your approach is changing! Make sure it's serving YOU!
Well said. Personally, glad you discovered you in the middle of social media purgatory. Glad you have a life and it's art related instead of personality driven
You have no idea how much I needed this video and I’m seeing it just at the right time
Thank you for this video. I’m an artist too and Instagram is just….deeply frustrating. I stay at 2900 followers since….months…and I don’t have ANY grow on the 90 past days. I hate this feeling not doing enough good art to grow but….I have my community. And this is the most important. You reminded me that, thank you !
Love your sense of humour, Brooke. This content is exactly what I needed to see and hear. Thank you! I'm now off to draw for myself and post when I'M ready. Got my sub. ❤
Thank you for sharing this.
I am an artist who likes to make drawings of different kinds of subjects and styles.
In the past I only made a few artworks that I enjoy creating.
And sure, I would love to grow as artist, making it part of my living.
I thought that having a lot of followers on IG would help me get me there.
But because of the algorithm of the socials I had to make more content, which isn't my strong suit.
I've been drawing more, but it never felt rewarding like you said.
And so I lost sight in what i really mattered: making art should be an enjoyable process, not an exhausting one.
Thank you for reminding me that.
Thank you so much for making this video! I recently got some advice that encouraged me to make reels everyday and have just been prepping them all week, but while I'm doing it, I'm thinking to myself is this really sustainable? Short answer is no, obviously. I've also noticed myself pushing out content just for the sake of it which doesn't feel great. My goal is to grow my artistic abilities while growing my UA-cam channel, but than I think to myself, I need to grow on Instagram and Tiktok in order to do that, instead of just enjoying the process and growing at a sustainable pace. It really helps to get these reminders every once in a while, so I really appreciate it! 😊
Also, found you from Kelsey Rodriguez, really enjoyed this video and excited to see more!
Finally someone has said it! Excellent and true. Appreciate the video explaining truths about social media and some of the art community.
"Quality or Quantity" so true.
Thank you for watching! Very comforting to see how many people can relate to this 🙏
I’m not artist but your video can be a motivational rebirth in anything you do online. Thanks for sharing your truth thats relatable to everyone that would to grow naturally instead of bots 🤖 like.
Great video! I've often gotten lost in that mentality of thinking followers = art business success. You're very expressive and fun to watch, and your art is awesome!
What a wonderful, honest, no filter account of your experience. Thanks for this. You are really funny too! From one Canadian painter/UA-camr to another, Happy Painting!
Thank you for this great reminder, I've grown a few businesses on social media and reached the same conclusions. Love to see you walking the walk!