Social media as a creative outlet: A deep-dive into digital artistry

There’s no denying that social media is a potent tool for self-improvement and self-discovery. By tailoring social media algorithms to cater to our personal interests, we can use these platforms to deepen our exposure to subjects that interest us.

This is what makes social media such a game-changing piece of technology for digital artists in particular. With just a tap of a hashtag, digital artists can find hundreds if not thousands of examples or tutorials on using creative techniques or producing work in particular styles.

But how do digital artists of today use social media as its own creative medium?

We’ll explore the answer to this question right now by diving deep into the many facets of social media as a creative outlet. Read on to find out how you can leverage your social media platforms to spark your own creative mind.

Honing creative and technological skills

The benefit of producing creative content for a particular platform is that you can find new and innovative ways to use the capabilities of that platform.

For instance, you could make your Instagram Reels pop in a major way by using an avatar maker to add an enigmatic animation to that video content. Adding that little extra something to your Reels can help effortlessly set your work apart from all the other video content on that platform.

Thinking outside the box like this and expanding on the perceived features of your social media platforms can not only help your work feel dynamic and different, it can help you develop new creative and tech-savvy skill sets too.

So play around with photo editing, video editing, and graphic design software to see how you can elevate your social media creations.

Building your blogging career

Social media can be a bit of a blank canvas, in that you can personalise your feeds (and your profiles) in a variety of different ways.

If you want to turn your Instagram feed into an endless library of fashion and style resources, this can be as easy as using the ‘Explore’ feature in the app to browse through fashion bloggers and have a scroll through event hashtags (e.g. #nyfw or #parisfashionweek).

Speaking of bloggers, you may even decide to make your own contributions to the subjects or categories that interest you the most, namely by establishing your own social media profiles. With a little curated content, you can create social media profiles that amass incredible interest from other social media users.

And if you play your cards right, you may even be able to expand your curated social media profile into a blog that could even be monetised. Imagine being able to make a living by writing about all the things you love.

Getting creative with your personal branding

If you’re able to build your social media presence to the point where you can actually generate a little salary for yourself, then now is the perfect time to consider how you can develop a digital presence that seriously impresses. This can be achieved through personal branding.

Building your personal brand isn’t too dissimilar to dabbling in business branding. In both cases, you can expect to create a dynamic colour palette to accompany your media materials, as well as create a catchy handle or brand name that’s sure to leave a lasting impression.

Developing a strong personal brand can also help boost your web visibility and establish you as an authority in your creative niche. It’s all about positioning yourself to be the best content creator or digital artist in your community, and building an organic following based both on the work you produce, and your image as a creative.

Explorations and experimentations

Of course, nobody starts out knowing exactly who they are when dabbling with creative technologies like social media.

In fact, your first few posts themselves are likely to be experiments all on their own. And you should let yourself do just that. It’s through explorations and experimentation that you find your individual style, or maybe even the subjects or mediums that appeal to you or align with your creative abilities the most.

For example, if you’re handy with a pencil and sketch pad, you may find that your drawing skills don’t translate as easily to digital drawing tablets or sketch software. This is because these technologies usually require artists to learn new techniques (and technical commands).

With a little trial and error, however, you can find the best methods for using digital drawing and other digital artistry tools – including photo and video editing software.

And if you find great ways to use these tools that may not be widely known, you can share these tips on social media, effectively documenting your experiments. This is a great way to position yourself as a resource for other artists, organically equipping you with a platform for sharing your own work as it continues to evolve.

From internet artist to industry talent

Finally, social media has become a tool for businesses just as much as it has become an asset to digital artists. Because of this, proficiency with social media marketing tools has become a highly marketable skill. That’s right – you could feasibly turn your social media skills into a career.

Simply do a little research to find the social media skills that are most marketable, be it photo editing, video editing, or even creative strategy. From there, learn by doing and build up a working understanding of how you can showcase your creative efforts to a larger audience.

And speaking of creative strategy, knowing what kinds of content to build for types of social media campaigns is also beneficial. It’s all about being able to tailor messages to the crowds of viewers you’re looking to attract.

In other words, it’s what takes you from being a social media artist to a bona fide marketer. And knowing how to sell yourself is vital for any creative professional today.

TELL US: To what extent have you used social media for your own digital artistry? And do you think these pro tips will help you elevate your career in the arts from hobby creator to self-made maker? Let us know in the comments section below.