By: Linda Riesenberg Fisler
Remembering when Facebook and Twitter hit the internet scene, it feels like the good they provided disappeared. Today our newsfeeds are crammed with ads, political propaganda, fewer facts, and even less content from family and friends. The algorithms that determine what you are looking at on the web trigger the ads that display to you. Advertisements seem to rule the internet. We have no control over how many or how often they run. I developed quite a skill at hitting the mute button lately.
When social media changed, I couldn’t pinpoint it. It seemed like a creeping vine. But I know that the terms of service changed over the years, and trolls turned out in the masses. In the last few months, a few blogs talked about losing control of your artwork by placing them on your social media accounts for all to see. I want to go one step further now.
I want to ask, is the amount of time and effort you put into selling your work on social media worth it? Yes, you are reaching people who, if you are looking for gratification, will love it and compliment your talent. However, the price for that is losing control of your images to overseas sweatshops. They have the means to create your work in the hundreds and sell it cheaply. Unless you have a friend who is an international lawyer and give you a great rate per hour, you can’t afford to go after them. I remember one artist who did manage to get a website selling his work offline. He approached the hosting company, provided evidence, and the hosting company removed the domain and website. Unfortunately, the illegal website appeared within hours under a different hosting site. It was a hard lesson to learn for that artist.
Like other artists, I have sold some work using social media. However, if I look at how many pieces I have sold versus the amount of time spent on social media trying to sell, time would be better spent updating my website, managing my inventory, arranging online public and private exhibitions, writing newsletters, and painting.
How does someone shift from social media advertising? I get it. Social media is addictive. We might even become defensive over how much time we spend on it. But I’m ready to ween down and maybe even off Facebook and Twitter. I have some resources that will help you do the same. One will help you understand where you are spending time, and it’s free.
The free resource is a book I wrote to help people: “Take Back Your Time.” You can read it below or download your free pdf copy.
The other resource is the Social Center, available to members of Artistic Harmonies. It is the new social media for creatives. In a future blog, I will demonstrate how our Social Center works and provide a free trial. So, stay tuned!
Linda, I agree with you, social media has indeed become a monster. However, artists, as you pointed out aren’t making money easily enough to purchase memberships. The free trials are a trap to invest time and energy and start paying fees before you get to sell enough to justify expenses. With all due respect, this is why social centers like artistic harmonies don’t succeed. You simply can’t compete with the freedom offered by social media even if it is the monster it’s become. Free is still free even it one must sacrifice their idea of free. Having invested in supplies to create work.. Social media does provider the FREE exposure of it and the artist, even if it means some of your work would be stolen. You get a return in free world wide exposure! Frankly, work still stands a chance of theft after a sale, your clients post the work they’re proud to own and think they are helping the artist. Charging artists for a reduced controlled audience simply doesn’t make financial sense for artists. Personally, I simply couldn’t afford that and would rather deal with ads than spending more.
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