Is Instagram DEAD? An Artist Weighs In
Every single month some new influencer comes out with a big pronouncement that "Instagram is dead." What’s funny is that I’ve been on Instagram for 10 years, and people have been saying it’s dead the whole time. Are they right? Is this giant platform old news, tired, and worthless to artists looking to grow their audience? Is it too saturated to make your mark?
I'm going to come right out and say NO. I'm on all the big social media channels, and as far as traffic to my website, sign-ups to my email list, and direct art sales, Instagram isstill king, and I’ve got three reasons why.
Reasons why Instagram is still pretty awesome!
Instagram’s stated purpose is to support creators
Instagram wants to help people who make original, one-of-a-kind content on their channel. They don't want to support channels that make endless loops of other people's content. They want to support personalities, influencers, bloggers, and creatives! Artists are obviously the OG creator, so that means Instagram is configuring the system and the algorithm tosupportyou and your original work. WOO-HOO!
The APP design is clean
Instagram is still heavily visual and well-constructed. Yes, Insta has changed, and yes, other platforms have other features that are cool for artists, but even though Instagram has shifted from a photo sharing app to a strong video focus, it's still simple to navigate and easy to showcase your stuff without a lot of clutter, unlike several other platforms. Yes, there are ads, but I find them less intrusive than on other platforms.
Instagram is older
Older isn’t necessarily better in the app game, but I will say this: the user base is a little bit older. It's not as old as Facebook users (Hi, grandma), but it turns out people in their midlife actually have money to buy art. I have two million followers on Tiktok, and as far as I can tell, I have never sold a piece of art to anyone on Tiktok… probably because they're seventeen. I love seventeen-year-olds, like, a lot, but they don't buy a lot of art. Instagram is where shoppers are, where people have money, and where they are actively looking for something cool and unusual to buy for their house.
I think artists should get paid! If you want to learn some of the tricks I used to get over one billion views on the internet, you should download my free report! How to Go Viral gives you ideas and coaching to help you make amazing art videos. You can take a look HERE, or by clicking the button below!
