There is no doubt social media plays a crucial role in shaping our creative environment and networking between designers and artists with potential clients. But with so many platforms available, where should both parties focus their attention?
And while social media can be overwhelming for some, knowing how different platforms can serve you is the first step in being more successful in your business whether you're an artist or a client looking for a partner to work with.
Here are the top 5 social network media platforms that connect businesses and artists.
ArtStation
Launched in 2014, ArtStation may not have changed a great deal over the years. They didn’t have to. It remains the place to post your profile for professional 2D and 3D artists, especially those working in the games, film, media and entertainment industries ranging from concept arts to fine arts.
You have a variety of artists, styles and genres to be inspired from.
To the artists who want to get into the creative industry for gaming, filming, animation, modeling or creating concepts, Artstation is at the top of the list.
DeviantArt
Launched in 2000, DeviantArt had more of an amateur, hobbyist feel to it than ArtStation. And so while you're less likely to get commissions directly through it, it's a more suited platform for putting your art in front of your peers and getting feedback.
More of a ‘between the designers’ theme is going on here.
However, when they recently rebranded themselves and kept the straightforward style of theirs it’s one of the top places on the internet for artists to share what they are up to.
Behance
Behance is the closest thing on the internet to a pure portfolio platform, while still being highly social. Since the company was acquired by Adobe in 2012, its reach has become enormous.
The biggest bridge between a designer and a client!
There is no better place on the internet if you want to showcase your portfolio to any audience, and still have the benefits of communicating with potential clients and other designers.
No doubt, Behance is one of the best social media websites for designers. Though it can be intimidating at first as high-profile designers can make it difficult to get noticed but as long as you post your best work, you are most likely to grab a client’s interest.
My personal favorite place for sure, Behance offers you inspiration, collaboration and opportunity with engaging businesses by being one of the most professional mediums out there.
Instagram remains far and away the most popular visuals-based social media platform today, and for most creatives, a presence of some sort on the image sharing platform remains a must.
It is the spotify of graphic designers, illustrators and other creative artists!
It provides access to a much wider audience than any other platform and allows you to engage with literally anyone. Though it can be tough to deal with the nontrivial algorithms from time to time, It still is the most efficient platform for any creative to be out there and known for what they are doing.
It requires the most attention among the creative platforms but it’s almost a must to be present and active on Instagram since connecting with different and new audiences is the key part of your business.
Dribbble
Dribbble is not intended to be a straightforward portfolio site like Behance. It's about teasing out small glimpses of what you were working on and sharing small screenshots (shots) to the projects they are working on and getting opinions from others. But to be able to make those ‘shots’ you need to get drafted by active designers or in this case ‘players’.
Dribbble is the inner twitter of the art community. More social than the most.
There are two types of members at Dribbble, players, who can post shots and comments and are invited by current members, and spectators, who can follow and discover shots and people on Dribbble, but cannot post shots and comments.
With over 50.000 active designers, Dribbble is the perfect platform for you to connect to the design community.
Conclusion
As a designer you don’t have to be on every social creative platform but there are some you definitely need to be present if you want to grow both as an artist and business owner.
You need to choose them by which one is best suited for you! As an Illustrator and Graphic Designer I use Behance, Instagram and Dribbble the most.
For concept artists, 3D-2D Modelers, animation or movie-photography industry Artstation or Deviantart is more suited for example.
Maybe you need to have constant social interactions, then more social platforms such as Twitter, Instagram or even Facebook should be on your list.
Whatever your niche may be there is a social network platform that connects designers to designers and clients.
Just pick your poison!
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