Putting Your Artwork on Social Media

Putting your artwork on social media can be terrifying. (Photo Credit: 123RF.com Image ID: 45863185 Copyright: Dean Drobot)

Putting your artwork on social media can be absolutely terrifying for some artists. Let’s face it, people suck. Not all. But the few whose goal is to just scroll through social media searching for places where they can leave their particular brand of hate and nastiness are sometimes enough to keep even the more experienced artists in hiding. There are tons of haters and trolls out there. Eventually, you may run into a few.

1. Expect them.
   

   Don’t live in fear of the ‘what if’ some troll leaves nasty comments on your post. Expect it. Take the power back and expect it. If and when you do come across your very own troll, you won’t be surprised. They’re out there with nothing better to do than to try and bring as many people down to their level of misery as possible.

2. Don’t engage them.

   Any response at all on your part is exactly what they’re looking for. Your response will add fuel to their fire. In other words, just completely ignore them. Let your other followers shoot them down. They usually do. And I must admit that it’s entertaining to see the troll just drop out of sight.

3. Keep posting.

   The more you do it, the less nerve wracking it becomes. You’ll be surprised at the fan base you start building. Many of them can’t draw to save their lives (or so they think) so anything you do is absolutely amazing to them. For others, your consistent hard work is an inspiration. A lot of them are in the same boat as you are.

4. Look for social media groups that are for art beginners.

   This is a lot less intimidating as these groups usually have stricter guidelines and admins who will kick out those who don’t follow the rules and guidelines of the page. Members are free to post their work (even works in progress) and ask for guidance or critiques. From what I’ve seen, the critiques are always uplifting and constructive, with solid tips on how to improve your work.

Putting your artwork on social media takes guts. And yes, you will come across the occasional troll, but you have the ultimate control. Always remember that. By not engaging with them, you give them nothing to work with. And if they keep showing up, and the platform you’re on has a block feature…use it! Problem solved.

Social media is a powerful tool, not just to get your work out there, but to also grow and learn from others. It’s important to take notice of how many more positive comments you get than negative. Trolls will never be able to take that away from you.

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