If you are reading this blog, you probably already know what problems social media cause to artists and why it is important to solve them. But if not, make sure to read – Instagram and social media in general are not good for artists.
We discussed this topic with Jason Yap on his podcast: The Background Dancer.
While designing Artunio, we took a deeper look at why the environment is not suited for art and artists and how it could be fixed.
1.Instagram is not meant for artistic content
The environment on social media is just ridiculous. It offers us competitive environment, flexing behaviour of influencers, the way we compare ourselves to others or the never ending feed that shows us a mixture of content that will keep us wasting time on the platform.
The process of searching on these platforms is very similar to switching channels on your TV. You waste time by looking for entertainment on different content styles creating this loop called “scrolling”.
It is not a coincidence. Instagram is designed to be exactly this way so you would not even remember what you have seen a few minutes ago.
Uploading deep and valuable artistic content on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok is similar to going to a local pub or a disco and trying to persuade people to listen to Mozart or looking at Edward Hopper paintings. Such content just does not belong to pubs and discos.
‘Ok,’ you might say, ‘but what can we do? Where can we post our work or content where the environment is more suitable?’
Your personal and professional life on social media
Let‘s take a look at this from a totally different perspective. Ever heard of LinkedIn for example?
I know a lot of entrepreneurs who do not share almost nothing on their Instagram account (if they have Instagram accounts in the first place) but they are very active on LinkedIn. They use LinkedIn because of the relevant content and they go there to meet and network.
They share work related stuff on LinkedIn and the personal stuff on Instagram. You might find a CEO of a big company who has 100 followers on Instagram with twenty photos of his family, dog and vacations. On the other hand, if you check his LinkedIn, you will find his whole career in his bio with posts focused only on his professional life.
They do not mix their personal life with business. Why should you?
How do artists promote themselves
The problem is simple. Artists do not have such a digital place to go to so they are stuck with the options that are available. Some artists use their accounts as their portfolio and that is a very bad decision in the end because they are left with very little space to show their work.
Others create their own websites, sometimes really expensive, just to realize that without active promotion of the website, almost nobody visits it. That is because you do not have any SEO and other marketing activities set up properly, so when someone googles your topic, your webpage does not show as the first page of the search results.
I know many artists that do not even have Instagram accounts because they feel like they have to be someone else to be successful on the platform or they mix their personal and work life in one account leaving audience or potential clients visiting the account, confused.
2.Users perceive your art with the surrounding context
If you create art and post it on Instagram, realize how it looks on the grid. There are so many other photos and videos trying to capture the attention of the users with topics ranging from fashion, food, travel, fitness, business to even more bizarre “content” like ASMR, hard soap cutting, weird cosplay, or even worse.
The users perceive your art with the surrounding context! Every time I think about it, it makes me laugh.
Users see various content in one place
Just imagine being in a theatre or a gallery and someone twerking next to you, on the left is an influencer with a new-born baby, on the right news about the political situation in your country and to make it more confusing let’s top it off with Salt Bae sprinkling salt on steaks, for example, starting the salivation process in your mouth making you remember to order lunch.
Oh, and of course, let’s not forget that in a while someone comes to you from behind, pats you on your shoulder and asks you if you would be interested in a loan or insurance, because you visited a bank before going to the theatre. Does it sound familiar?
This is the real picture of the surroundings and what the users on Instagram and other platforms find and interact with.
3. Instagram is a procrastination tool.
To explain this statement, we have to go a bit deeper to the human mind, I know you have other things to do, but please, be patient and stay with me.
Everything people have ever created in the history of humankind is a direct response to human wants and needs, even when it does not look like that at the first glance.
When you take a look at every single want or need that humans have today, from: “I need to go to the toilet, eat and breathe“ to “I need this cinnamon gluten free latte in my pink eco-friendly cup.” they have the same core of needs that humans had in caves in the early prehistoric age.
Here is a short list of the most crucial needs:
Your daily needs, like eating pizza, having a conversation, sleeping in your bed are basically those core needs but in different variations. We all have them, and we use everything around us to fulfil them.
If you are working on something right now (sorry, should be working :D) you are most likely fulfilling the need of safety and survival because you need numbers on your bank account to pay your expenses.
The question therefore is: What needs do social media fulfill?
You would probably say you use Instagram to get inspired, share photos, connect with your friends and family. And it is partially true.
If you use Instagram for building an audience and by that you generate income, you are also in the safety and survival mode.
But the reality is that people that only consume content on social media, most of the time open the app for two reasons. They are stressed from work, school or other life situation, look for a quick relief and procrastination or they are bored and look for a quick source of entertainment.
Here is one great video summarizing this topic by a graphic designer and illustrator Toniko Pantoja:
Procrastination is an escape from reality
You have been there before, you know you have to finish something for school or work but you end up on Instagram, YouTube or other entertainment platforms.
To realize this, just think of what was happening just a few seconds before you took your phone and started using Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. Not always, but many times people try to lower their stress, frustration, or boredom – these are the problems they are trying to solve.
Many users, therefore, land up on your content to get those needs fulfilled. If your content does not deliver solutions to the needs, they go check other profiles where it does. Sorry, but a sweet puppy, beautiful beach landscape, or models in bikinis may get the work done better.
The solution comes in a new social network
Imagine that Instagram would pivot to be a place for art and artists only and decided that content that is not relevant, will not be displayed on feeds or search for other users. Millions of people would stop using the platform and leave.
But many would come to the platform because that is exactly what they were looking for and what they need. A fresh and clean platform with content relevant only to art, artists, our audiences and professionals working in this field.
A platform where human behaviour is not exploited but instead treated in a way that the artistic content makes them think more, become better humans, artists and enjoy life more.
That is what we are working on. That is what Artunio is about.
What can we do about it?
Now that you know why people visit popular social media, you are starting to understand the cycle of needs, procrastination periods, mindless scrolling and why artistic content is not the number one viewed on Instagram.
After talking about all those issues we addressed in this blog, it seems like they do not have a solution. When taken with the right intention and every single one of them step by step, we can make a difference.
We cannot expect social media to change. We need to build a new one that is designed for art and artists with rules and boundaries that are beneficial for the whole artistic community. Honestly, it cannot be bypassed. It is far better to build your own house (which is harder) than to live under restrictions in someone else’s
Artunio is created for artists, audiences and everyone working in the cultural and creative industry. The platform serves anyone ranging from performers, creators, managers to even patrons either as individuals or organizations.
Social media (mostly Instagram, Facebook and Tik-Tok) are oriented to fast content. In a way, it is very similar to fast food. It is cheap, fast to produce, easy to get, addicting, and provides satisfaction instantly – dopamine.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” (Albert Einstein)
Same as: “If you judge artists by their ability to beat the algorithm and by the numbers of their followers, they will live their whole life believing they are worthless.” (me)
Pin your event on the Artunio map and let people in the vicinity of that location be notified that there is an event they might be interested in and directly buy tickets. Reach people interested in this type of events from greater distances.
While galleries are still one of the best options, their vulnerability was shown during the pandemic with artists looking for alternative ways to show their art to collectors. Artunio Gallery is meant to connect artists, galleries, and collectors around the world.
Stop using your social media account as your main portfolio. It makes your work look cheaper, unprofessional, it does not show your real qualities and your follower count may even discourage others to work with you.
