Social Media for Artists: Best Platforms for 2025

The Digital Canvas of 2025: Social Media for Artists Evolves

Being an artist in 2025 means so much more than talent and technique. It means visibility. And in a world where attention is currency, understanding social media for artists is just as vital as understanding your paint strokes or animation software.

Everything’s changed in the way we share, discover, and sell art on the internet in the last few years. Platforms come and go. What worked several years ago may barely register now. However, the ever-changing landscape has opened up a world of possibilities. Whether you’re a digital illustrator, a sculptor, or a painter documenting your process in time-lapse videos, the right artist social media strategy can be your launchpad to a global audience.

Throughout this article, we’ll explore the best social media platforms for artists. Keep reading, and you’ll get a breakdown of the most relevant platforms right now, practical insights into how artists are thriving online, and a spotlight on tools that can help you take control of your digital brand.

What Makes the Best Social Media for Artists in 2025?

If you’re an artist looking to make an impact online, you may be feeling overwhelmed by the numerous platforms available to you. So, what exactly makes a platform the best social media for artists in 2025?

It’s Not Just About Going Viral

Of course, everyone loves a viral reel or a post that sucks up likes. However, for artists, real success on social media is more than just exposure. It’s about building real connection, building real community, and ultimately conversion. You want to turn your followers into fans and your fans into paying supporters.

This is why platforms with deeper interaction—through messaging, live streams, or potentially monetization—can often be more appealing than platforms that only provide exposure.

Your Art Deserves the Right Stage

The best platform for artists depends on the kind of work you create and how you want to share it. Visual-first platforms like Instagram and ArtStation still hold value, but new platforms are emerging that give you more control over how your work is presented, discovered, and sold.

Certain platforms are ideally suited for developing a close-knit community around you and your work, while others focus on sales, requests for commission-based work, or subscription content. And of course, there’s nothing wrong with using more than one. Many successful artists today have a multi-platform presence, where their accounts on those platforms are each a distinct piece of the overall ecosystem.

The Rise of Artist-First Tools

We’re also seeing a lot of artist social media managed services for creative people. Not platforms focused on likes and follows—these services manage pre-orders, exhibition schedules, and sell merch. This shift forward is much more of a change from just being “seen” to feeling “supported.”

In summary, the best social media for artists today is not all about following trends—it is all about finding the platform that helps you grow your brand, helps you grow and sustain income, and provides more time and energy for what you love to create.

The Best Social Media Platforms for Artists: A 2025 Roundup

When researching the best social media platforms for artists in 2025, you need to know that each platform has its own strengths. Everything depends on your goals. Are you trying to build a following? Sell digital prints? Private commissions or courses? There is a platform for that.

Here’s a curated list of where artists are thriving right now:

Instagram—The Visual Powerhouse

It is still a powerhouse and remains a mainstay for most creators. After all, Instagram is a visual-first feed. It lets you share your process, finished pieces, and even have shop features for selling merch with Stories, Reels, and integrations.

Best for: Promoting your visual portfolio and building a wide audience.

TikTok—Short-Form Storytelling

It isn’t just a place to watch people dance anymore. Artists are now using it to showcase their time-lapse creations, behind-the-scenes studio life, and tutorials, among other content. The discovery algorithm is simple but powerful, and one post can lead to you being in the spotlight overnight.

Best for: Going viral, storytelling, and connecting with a younger audience.

Behance—For the Professional Portfolio

It is also owned by Adobe and continues to be a leading platform for presenting work of a professional quality. Behence is especially appropriate if you work in the fields of design, illustration, or motion graphics. It is more of a professional and polished offering but still sees a lot of traffic compared to a social platform.

Best for: Serious portfolios and gaining traction with new clients or collaborators.

Patreon—Monetize Your True Supporters

It is less about the virality of something and more about the community and those who financially support artists. An artist can offer exclusive content, tutorials, BTS posts, or even a physical benefit to paying fans. Patreon is where supporters are patrons of your art.

Best for: Earning a steady income from true fans.

Discord—Build a Community

While Discord isn’t quite a traditional “social media” platform, it is important. Its servers let artists build either private or public spaces to share their work, chat with fans, or collaborate with others.

Best for: Building your own community as well as hosting live feedback or workshop sessions.

Reddit—Participate in the Art Community Subculture

This platform is alive with art-related subreddits. If you wanted, you could post your most current sketch in r/Art or participate in discussion threads in more niche communities. It’s a great way to get feedback on your work and connect with fans that care about art, not algorithms.

Best for: Organic feedback, discussions, and trend-watching.

Tailoring Your Strategy: Best Social Media Platforms for Different Types of Artists

Not all artists are the same, and your social media strategy should reflect that. Whether you’re a digital artist, photographer, painter, or sculptor, your artist social media game plan should be as unique as your craft.

Digital Artists: Showcase, Sell, Repeat

For digital artists and creators, Instagram and Behance are eye-catchers. These all allow you to show your work to and be part of a community of creators and potential buyers.

• Instagram. Visual-first, Instagram is still the choice of digital artists and creators, especially those that create illustrations, concept art, or digital designs. You can use Stories to see work-in-progress and Reels to share your short tutorials or time-lapses.
• Behance. A more professional network, it is best for showcasing great work and finding opportunities with larger brands or agencies.

Photographers: Perfecting the Visual Narrative

Are you a photographer? If so, your livelihood relies on storytelling, creating a visual narrative. Social platforms such as Instagram and 500px are good places to distribute your work and grow a following.

• Instagram. The best platform to build an aesthetic portfolio for your work and showcase your name among people in your niche (landscapes, fashion, street photography).
• 500px. A good platform for serious photographers to showcase their work to a community similar to their professional aspirations. It is also a place you can sell prints.

Painters & Traditional Artists: Bringing Your Art to Life

There is a little difference between these in principle. By digitalizing some of your own works, you’ll be able to share more than just the finished works, but also your process as well. In addition to digitalizing your art, there are so many platforms available to share your art process with potential fans, such as Instagram and YouTube.

• Instagram: The ultimate visual sharing platform Instagram is a leading choice to showcase finished artwork/paintings and your art process in progress shots. You can also be more active with art fans through the use of hashtags such as #artprocess.
• YouTube: Depending upon time constraints, you can post more in-depth tutorials on different techniques and processes, behind-the-scenes of your artistic process, art critiques, and so much more. It also provides some really exciting monetization through memberships, advertising, and sponsorships.

Sculptors: A 3D Journey to Visibility

For sculptors it is fundamentally important to convey the physicality of your work. So, TikTok and Instagram have the potential to be great platforms to show time-lapse sculptures, behind-the-scenes processes, and finished sculptures.

• TikTok: This is a fantastic opportunity to show your art, so I want you to think outside the box— or at least consider using it for fast time-lapse videos or witty educational snippets.
• Instagram: It is a great format for an online sculptor portfolio. You can showcase your sculptures from a variety of angles; use it to develop themed series that will demonstrate your range of ability.

Optimizing Your Content: Maximizing Engagement on Social Media for Artists

The best social media platforms for artists offer great tools to help you create more engaging content. Optimization is key to standing out in a crowded digital space.

Leverage Visual Content to Its Full Potential

As an artist, visual content is your trade. But the act of building visual content goes beyond just posting nice pictures. It’s about including the whole picture and the story behind your art so your followers can see what connects them to that art.

• Consistent aesthetic: For Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok, consistency is important. You want to think about developing your visual style on your profile so that your images are aligned to your art and your brand. Consistent images will make your feed recognizable from other artists and serve to develop your brand and identity as an artist.
• Stories & Reels: Short-form content is super popular! So, this can also act as a great way to play with different content formats and keep your audience engaged while simultaneously showing your audience your process.

Understand Your Audience’s Behavior

Not all platforms are created equal. What works great on one platform won’t always translate to a different platform.
Knowing about your audience is important. You need to know what content resonates with your audiences—that is how you can make the best posts possible.

• Instagram Insights: With Instagram Insights, you can see when your audience is most active, which content has the highest engagement, or which audience of the demographic engaged with your content most. This can help you take action to enhance your current content or arrange your content when it has the best visibility.
• Facebook & YouTube Analytics: The analytics insights on Facebook and YouTube will provide you with enhanced insight into which videos, posts, or ads are the most successful. It will offer you insights to amend your strategy on the fly.

Use Hashtags & Keywords Strategically

Hashtags can really be considered best friends regarding visibility. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have so much artist visibility because they thrive off of targeted hashtags that allow artists to reach out to new followers. While you want to throw in the popular hashtags to grab a wider audience, make sure everything isn’t just spammed, and be sure to find specific hashtags.

• Niche hashtags. Stick to niche hashtags when you are using hashtags. Instead of hashtags like #art, use hashtags that are niche-related to your style of art and the audience you are trying to narrow down. Example: #DigitalArt #AbstractPainting #ModernSculpture. The more specific you are, the more likely you will get to the right audience.
• Branded hashtags. Make use of branded hashtags. You can craft and produce your own branded hashtag to help build a community. Encourage your followers to use your branded hashtag when they share your work or interact with your content.

Collaborate With Other Creators

Collaborations are a very powerful way to gain exposure across artist platforms. When collaborating with other artists on new projects, live streams, or cross-promotion shoutouts, you can share the artist’s audience and gain new potential followers for your art.

• Instagram collabs. A collab feature allows you to post with another artist. You can select up to 3 artists to co-post and share reach across both/all artist platforms.
• Live streams. Almost every platform has a way for you to go live, and it is unique and provides an interactive way to connect with your audience. Whether you are doing a live painting tutorial or just answering art-related questions for your audience, live interaction has a unique way of bringing you closer to your followers.

Beyond the Likes: Artist Platforms and Art Communities That Go Deeper

While likes and follows and short bursts of attention are nice to have, if you want to actually build a career, you need more than just exposure. You need platforms that want to enable you to be you—not just show you off, aka promote you. So, enter art platforms for artists and creator-first communities. In these spaces, you are supported, and your growth and development are being considered at every level.

Why Artist Platforms Are Gaining Momentum?

The big shake-up in 2025? Ownership. Owning their brand, owning the way they monetize. God forbid, a platform that actually works for the creator and not just the next clickbait scroll.

Unlike a general-purpose social platform, artist platforms almost always deliver features explicitly built to help creators do what they do. Built-in storefronts, direct messaging with fans, event calendars, and security for your content—all while not battling some algorithm for attention.

All these features give a foundation to build lasting relationships with your fans that isn’t just one post in their feed. Your art can live in a branded, interactive space that actually works for you.

Scrile Connect: An All-in-One Artist Platform

Let’s be real—most artist platforms ask you to adapt to them. Scrile Connect flips that script. Instead of trying to hack your way around a general-purpose platform, this tool is built to put creators—especially visual artists—in full control.

Whether you paint, sketch, sculpt, design merch, or do all of the above, Scrile Connect gives you a space that’s actually yours. Think of it as your digital home base, with everything you need to not just show your work but build a business around it.

Why Scrile Connect Works for Artists?

With Scrile Connect being a white-labeled platform, it means you will get a custom website and community space branded to you and your product. Fans and collectors don’t follow you on someone else’s app; they follow you.

This is a perfect platform for artists, independent arts collectives, and even art teachers or educators wanting a branded space to engage, sell, and grow.

If you’re ready to move beyond basic artist platforms and take your creative business seriously, Scrile Connect might just be the next step.

👉 Learn more about Scrile Connect right now!

FAQ: Social Media for Artists

What is the best social media for artists?

In 2025, deciding the best social media for artists comes down to what works for your style, goals, and how you want to engage. However, here are the top recommendations according to what social media platform has been successful for artists so far.

• Instagram. It is the best visual platform that is still the best social media you can use and continues to have solid reach.
• Facebook. It has a huge, diverse user base and an easy-to-use format for community building (groups and events). Facebook can be useful for artists who want to reach both buyers and fans.
• Behance. As a partner of Adobe, it is a professional social space for an artist. It is a perfect go-to for showcasing the intentions of an artist’s portfolio, as well as creating opportunities to network with like-minded creative professionals.
• Pinterest. It is an amazing platform for finding visual stimuli, as well as building an audience through others’ pins and curated boards.
• DeviantArt. It is one of the oldest artist social media packs. DeviantArt has everything an artist could ask for, having built a huge community for an artist to showcase both traditional and digital works of art.
• YouTube. It is the only place to create videos to showcase your work, generating tutorials or “behind the scenes” materials of your creative practices.
• TikTok. It is the new and fastest-growing and developing platform, which makes it the most appealing place for creatives.

Is there an alternative to Instagram for artists?

Indeed, there are dozens of other artist platforms that make excellent alternatives to Instagram. Here are a few of the most desirable ones as we head towards 2025:

• Cara—This new social platform builds community and provides a space for both professionals and hobbyists to share their work in a creative and unique way.
• Mastodon (Art Community)—A no-cost, open-source social media platform where artists can develop their own community without any corporate interference.
• Artfol—It’s for visual artists only and has recently become popular as a place for artists to use as a portfolio and communicate with other creatives.
• Discord—Although this started as a gaming app, it has become a community platform where artists can build their communities. You can create a server where you can share your work. Creators can do live Q&As and share with followers and other creators.
• Pixiv—This is the most popular in Japan. It is an extremely popular art platform for artists; it is the biggest area to share digital and manga art on the web.

These are some of the amazing and essential alternatives to Instagram. Each offers data-heavy sites with all the features you will require to connect with your audience in more niche and specific spaces.

Where do most artists post?

Artists notoriously gravitate to platforms that fit their style and purpose, but the most popular platforms for art in 2025 are where you want to show your work and connect with other artists. Some of the best platforms for art in 2025 include Cara, ArtStation, Instagram, Behance, and Pixiv.

These are some of the best social media platforms for artists, where the majority of creative professionals and hobbyists share their work, find inspiration, and build a following.

Final Thoughts: The Best Social Media for Artists in 2025

Through the discussions above, we’ve seen how fast social media for artists is moving. To be successful in 2025, artists will need to get ahead of the game, not only with the best social media platforms for artists but also with powerful tools and platforms to help integrate and simplify your creative business. There are so many options to automate social media posts, create or enhance fan engagement and sales, and so many other possibilities to positively enhance your art and sales online.

Social media for artists no longer relies on just the promotion of your work. Now, it’s about brand management, business management, and relationship management. When you utilize the best social media platforms for artists with tools and platforms that help you manage your business, you can stay ahead of the game in regard to competition and in expanding your artistic brand and your income.

If you are ready to develop and grow a sustainable art business, consider platforms like Scrile Connect. It offers an all-in-one platform that allows you to sell your art, be in touch with fans, and track your business growth—everything you need to turn your art into a viable business.

Are you ready for the next step? Take your time to check out Scrile Connect today and see how you can effectively manage and develop your online art business.