Instagram promotes artists 'who post the same thing'

The Instagram algorithm can be a huge bane for artists on instagram. If you have posted on Instagram as an artist for any time now, you know that it can get you more like and more followers. Often times we complain about this but I am here to tell you how to understand the Instagram Algorithm. The algorithm's goal is to promote the content that will cause the most engagement overall. The artists who treat instagram like a job, and cater to their followers desire, will always rise above the rest. Yeah it sucks for those of us who want more likes and followers on Instagram, but it's just the way people are. People like to know what to expect, they like consistency, they like regularity, and they like quality - all at the same time.

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[ergojosh]

The critique livestream happened! You don't need to comment your handles anymore lol. Thanks to everyone that participated.

[tunekas]

I hate the fact that those pages that post art from other artists gets more visibility than the artists themselves, and they don't even do anything, some even put their @'s at the very end of a long description...then they even make money "promoting" less viewed artists

[augustmindcs]

consistent posting of the same style is hard when you're still trying to find your style and things you like to create. Also it can make art not fun anymore when you're always thinking about how your art will be received by others

[e_jj]

Ive stopped posting on my art account for the past 3 or four weeks, and it’s crazy how much has changed. My understanding of anatomy has improved ten fold, i’ve been studying expressions, other artists styles and much more. Without the pressure of the toxic instagram algorithm dictating what i do, when i do it and how i do it, I have been doing so much better. Even with a following of less than 500 I felt the pressure of the algorithms, and its so crazy how much subconscious pressure you put on yourself as a result of the pressure already present.
This video was super informative, I can tell you so many people agree.
Thank you :)

[AdrianAntonio]

As a small content creator it’s frustrating to try to find the time to create something because of a very busy lifestyle and when I do have the time to create something and post it and it doesn’t get noticed sucks But those god damn picture frames of motivational quotes telling you to hustle and keep practicing is playing devils advocate! So the way I see it, do what u can when u can just as long as “you” enjoy what your doing in that moment!

[danielc]

I'm not sure having more likes and followers on social media directly relates to more sales for independent artists either, since each social media platform has different click-through rates. I feel like building a dedicated group of supporters might be more lucrative than a large audience of followers.

[scribblingjoe]

Jazza does different things now, but beforehand he used to focus on animation tutorials. Before that he spent time developing relationships with Flash game creators and other artists on Newgrounds. Even now he is still sticking to the same niche, which is variety. He just sells it well because he spent so much time building his audience. Personally, I think he is brilliant at marketing himself.

[MM-uwtt]

My solution was to completely give up posting to save my own sanity...

[yuzuiro]

naamoreng

What you're saying is true and I definetly understand why algorithms work this way. At the same time I'm getting ostracized by algorithms on all social media platforms. Even if I draw every day there are only very few drawings I feel are good enough to finish and post online so I usually end up posting only one or at best two drawings a month. I have somewhat come to accept it. In 2019 I really drew a lot of stuff that was more targeted towards my few followers but in the end it made me hate art so I already know I can only keep going mentally if I draw the things I want to draw for myself. I didn't want to look at my old drawing anymore and scrapped most of them... haven't made followers since then.
But hey I'm still kind of a beginner so maybe things will get better when I have the skills to show off.

[wanderingthoughts]

In all honestly, this has to be the best advice for artists I have ever heard. As nice as it is, sometimes the Art community just tends to look at everything with rose-tinted glasses. Sometimes you just have to make hard decisions and commit to a narrow path to achieve success.

[enniusdrusus]

Thinking about it, it is often better to do the same thing consistently to effectively avoid choice paralysis and an art block. But it could be a trap if one isn't careful either. So to choose the best of both worlds, I could post something consistent for the week and then something unique at the weekend.
Like consistently drawing pretty girls for the whole week then mechas and badass bros at the weekend. Man your insight is what I needed this part of my journey. Thanks!

[tiaraanderson]

people that give their time are doing it bc you give some kind of value to them. yea that makes sense this video was really clear cut / concise and insightful.

[annachronistic]

I do both art and photography but I rarely post on instagram. I totally understand the consistency thing, it’s why I separate the art, photography and writing with different names. I would also separate like types of things.

[Chlogami]

As an artist who posts comics for only one fandom every single day, I can confirm that all of this is true.
A few years ago I basically just posted whatever I wanted, most of the time fanart for various Japanese pop culture. Then I created a random fanpage for Miraculous Ladybug where I only posted poorly drawn sketches and comics and yet, it blew up and got over 100k subs.

Some rules I'd follow if you really want to get into the Instagram game. (If you just like posting whatever you want then please don't follow these rules)
1. Mainly post fanart for one single fandom OR fanart for fandoms that are part of the same "group" (Example: Amphibia + The owl house or Steven Universe + OK KO)
2. Add comic bubbles. Even if it's just a single one, This will double the engagement.
3. Post something that people will comment on. Ask a short question in your caption or share an unpopular opinion for example.
4. Post every day. It might seem hard at first but you'll get used to it. As I said eralier, the quality of the art is not that important. You can also "reuse" your own assets in your art to make your work flow faster.
5. Let people repost your work. Just make sure to have a distiguishable style and a watermark.

Note:
I don't make any money with it. I'm just a random high school student who draws for fun but maybe this was helpful to someone.

[wtv]

pineappiefriend ;

this video was so helpful actually. youre totally right about how people invest in time in something they want to see regularly and arent ready to just have to see whatever different style ur trying that day. im guilty of feeling bad about having art thats totally inconsistent but i also cant stand not exploring different ways of drawing and painting and all... i feel like its limiting to be consistent all the time unless you`ve really reached that pro level

[tylerjohnson]

mister_hipster_designs

I've been a graphic designer for years, and finally started drawing more and more in my free time a few years ago. Found an art style I really resonate with and stuck to it. IG may not seem to give me many likes on many of the things I post, but the people that do see it really appreciate it, I sell work in person and I get lots of positive feedback, including from other artists. I post every day but don't kill myself doing it.

I found that if I spend less time on IG and more on art, I actually improve at something that I care about instead of worrying about whatever the algorithm likes that day.

Thanks for being a voice of reason, Josh. Maybe I'll see you at an art show around ATL sometime.

[dead_minty]

we shouldn't just be okay with the algorithm, that's not how the world works. we cant accept anything they throw at us. if we had that attitude towards everything we would be miserable. Instagram needs us artists and creators in general. Without us they wouldn't exist.

[StarlightAkari]

Awesome video! It's really nice to hear from somebody who gets the business side of things "You don't get paid as much as the boss, because the boss has a job that is more critical to the success of the platform." So many people don't get this! I see people thinking they should only have to do the bare minimum to get anywhere, so I really appreciated that point!

[searchingsyndrome]

Time for a therapy, ergojosh's voice therapy.

[mkjester]

jackysurelyyouwouldntdraw

This video was comforting in a way because I always had that image of more likes = better artwork and I would get super down on myself because my posts weren't performing well.

At the same time its so hard to grow organically on IG and when I tried to post more consistently my quality went down and I would be get burned out quickly which is counter intuitive when you think about it. It's a constant struggle to remind myself that just because I barely get any likes on a post that it's not always my fault. All I can control is the quality of my art and so I should make it to the best of my ability. I appreciate the video! <3

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