Why every illustrator should use LinkedIn

If I ask you: what's your favorite social media platform? I'm guessing the answer is going to be Instagram. And that's indeed a very important place to show your work as an illustrator. But in this blog I'm going to tell you why it's worth to put some real effort into LinkedIn.

Lack of competition

First of all, LinkedIn isn't used widely amongst illustrators yet. While on Instagram... well, we all know how hard it kan be to stick out I think. Of course there's a reason for this. LinkedIn is seen as very 'corporate'. I won't lie: at first I felt uncomfortable sharing my artwork on LinkedIn. I thought it was too fun and feminine to show in such a serious business-minded place. But in fact, the opposite is true. LinkedIn has become more casual, more like other social media platforms. But since not much art is shown there yet, your illustration work will stand out and people do really like to see art in general. Wether they work in a creative business or not. So you'll probably get some likes and some pleasant reactions from the LinkedIn crowd. AND you will stand out, something that's harder on Instagram at the moment.

The algoritm has a positive side here

LinkedIn doesn't have the same algorithm that Instagram and Facebook have. This algorithm still works in a more old-fashioned way. When someone from your network likes your post, his or her connections will see that they liked your post. So it's quite easy to reach people outside of your own network. Your posts can still spread out quickly!

Connecting and following

It can feel a bit awkward to connect to people you don't know in real life, although it has become much more common. But LinkedIn also has a follow option. If you follow people that are interesting for you from a business perspective, they will get a notification and might check out your profile.

Not everyone is on Instagram

Give this a thought: not everyone is actually on Instagram. Sometimes it might feel like they are, but there are people out there that don't do Instagram. And some of these will use LinkedIn, actively. I'm talking creative directors, PR people, journalists, event managers etc. The people that might hire you.

My own experience

I've gotten two commissions so far directly via LinkedIn. One of them was quite big: several months of work and it paid well. The other one was smaller but a lot of fun. And this all just because I showed my illustration work on LinkedIn, someone from my network commented on it or shared it, and someone in their network saw it. One of my posts about a live illustration event went viral: it got over 200.000 views! That grew my network enormously. So if you ask me: is it worth to put time into LinkedIn as an illustrator? Yes it is!

Some tips and tricks

LinkedIn still is a professional platform, not like Instagram. So Make sure your tone of voice fits the environment. You don't have to post every day. In my opinion once a week is fine. Don't post on the weekends, poeple are more likely to be on LinkedIn during work hours.

If you'd like to connect with me on LinkedIn, you can do so here.

Are you an illustrator wanting to find the right clients?

Check my e-book on personal branding! It's especially tailored for illustrators.