Social media is huge, but it should never replace your own artist website. Why? Because your website belongs solely to you and gives you full control over what, when and how you post it.
When uploading your art to social media, you are at the odds of the network. They tell you what you may post and what not, they can change their community rules and algorithms at any time, restricting your account or significantly crippling your reach.
It already happened. Just remember when Facebook changed their algorithm many artists saw their hard efforts to build an audience being squashed overnight.
That’s why social media should never replace your own artist website – but rather complement it.
Nevertheless, social media is one of the major tools to get publicity as an artist these days. Especially visual-driven networks are ideal to get your artwork seen. If you get your art out there on Instagram, for instance, it has the potential to go viral and attract a lot of viewers.
People spend a good part of their days browsing on their smartphones, including gallery owners, curators, and art collectors. So you shouldn’t miss out on this opportunity to drive traffic to your website. Make sure to link back to your artist website (either in the post or in your bio depending on the network).