Does it really worth trying to use TikTok for promoting your art or webtoon?
As a webcomic artist, I’ve always had to struggle with the constant change of social media. Have you ever feel like me? one day you feel that you finally find your audience to show up your work and suddenly you become a ghost because the algorithm has just changed.
buuuuuuuhhh 🙁
this is so frustrating. Every day social media demands us to post more and more in terms of quantify than quality, and we as digital creators who have more activities and it takes us hours to finish a piece of art or a page from our webcomic it’s impossible to fill all these requirements every single day that social media demand on us.
This is the main reason why most of digital artists that don’t have a big audience just give up on social media to show their work.
If social media is a battle for artists then… why try TikTok!?
I know, most people don’t like TikTok because “it is a social media for kids that are doing dumb dancing videos the whole day” and honestly I was one of them that use to think like that, until I decided to give it a chance. Once I got on TikTok I realized that as a young social media that TikTok is, the algorithm is very helpful for reach a huge audience if you learn how to use it to promote your work.
Table of Contents
Some benefits for artists to use TikTok as a marketing tool to promote artwork or webcomics:
Some benefits for artists to use TikTok as a marketing tool to promote art:
With TikTok, you’re not…
- …fighting some type of SEO beast (like with your blog or YouTube)
- …waiting around forever to see if something is working (like with Pinterest)
- …hoping that the algorithm gives you a chance (like with Instagram)
- …have to post new content every time (yes, you can post old content too)
So here are some tips that you should keep in mind if you wanna give TikTok a chance (and believe me, you don’t need to have a big audience, I have less than 500 followers and it worked for me to promote my webtoon :), you just need to know how to post content
1. Use Hashtags to Your Advantage
Many users believe that using popular hashtags (such as #fyp) will be enough for them to go viral. That isn’t entirely true. While there is a slight chance those hashtags will give you thousands of views, they will highly unlikely help you reach your target audience. So I recommend you define who do you wanna reach before use hashtags.
Using hashtags such as #artiktok, #drawing #webtoon, or anything relating to your niche will be much more effective.
2. Don’t just promote your art
Believe me when I say this—nobody wants to hear you blatantly promote your artwork 24/7. A promotional post once in a while is fine, but your followers will get bored if everything on your page is just you talking about you. Keep your content related to art or webcomics, but switch it up.
Here are some tips for TikTok content. Those are amazing choices for videos because they give you credibility. Not to mention, if you help someone with their artwork, they’ll want to repay you in any way they can—like buying your merch, getting a commission, reading your webtoon, etc.
- Drawing Time-lapse
- Share what tools and supplies you use in your everyday routine
- Behind the Scene (show how you do what you do or your daily routine)
- Share where you get your supplies as a recommendation for beginners
- Share how you use certain tools as a small tutorial
- Share your favorite product and why it’s your favorite
- Share your workstation/setup
3. Always try to tell a story
Remember, TikTok users are on the platform because they wanna be entertained or educated, always try to find a way to tell a story or teach something with your content, this will help you to engage more with your brand and your content.
As a storyteller don’t forget to always have in your content:
- A hook
- A conflict and a solution from that conflict
- a reflection or a question to your viewers
(wow, this is just like if you’ve writting a chapter from your webtoon LoL).
4. Let them know who’s the person behind the work
People feel more confident when they watch a real person behind the screen, they engage more when they know that they’re watching a real person.
Don’t be afraid to show your face, showing who you are gives you credibility as creator and helps you to engage more with your audience. I know is hard at the beginning, not a lot of people feels comfortable to show their face on the screen.
but start small, imagine that you’re talking with your best friend and you will feel more comfortable.
The first step is always intimidating, but once you give it becomes way more easier to talk on the camera than you think.
5. get a conversation with your viewers
Communication in social media must go on both sides, don’t be afraid to ask your audience questions or to involve them in a conversation with you. if they’re comfortable with you, they will follow you on any social media that you’re in because you won their trust.
EXTRA TIP:
I encourage you to focus now on TikTok as a marketing tool rather than Instagram to promote your artwork or webcomic.
TikTok is growing, and there’s no doubt that short video content is gonna stay for a while.
And if you aren’t conviced yet, TikTok algorithm is more friendly with new creators than Instagram because tiktok is a new social media and his main focus now is to attract new users platform.
fun fact: tiktok has its owns tutorials for help creators to create better content on his personal blog
In the creator portal you can find tons of tutorials that will help you out to start on tik tok!
Who better to teach you how to use Tiktok than Tiktok it self!?
Click here to go to Tiktok’s creator portal
Also Tiktok’s forum is very usefull too! don’t miss the chance to check it out!
I encourage you to give Tiktok a chance, I know video format is hard in the beggining (tiktok double hard for me because I want to do my videos on english and spanish is m main language TuT). But nothing that you can not do with practice!
So what do you think?
- Have you used TikTok as an artist or webtoon / webcomic creator before?
- Can you share with me your experience with social media as a tool to promote your artwork?
If that’s the case, let me know! 😀 I’ve love to read all your opinions!
and please… if you see a grammar issue here in this post don’t be afraid to let me know, English is not my main language so I use to have very awful mistakes often. I’ll appreciate it if you help me to get this content better for everyone.
See you! 😀