Twitter, is it for your fans, or you?

[Fafnir]

(And also the other social places.)
I recently figured I should start following other webtoon creators on twitter, and get involved in the "community" I hear so much about. I don't really have online friends or anything so seemed like a good plan.
But then My twitter feed went from lots of cool art from artists I follow. To just tones of webtoon drama Apparently comic creators don't post much artwork, they just talk about the trials and tribulations of webcomics with each other. Which, is what I wanted? I think?

Anyway. Here's my dilemma I've been thinking about. I've always seen my social media accounts as like bonus content for people who want to follow me, like readers or people who like my art.
But the way creators are using it, it seems its more for them to interact and connect with other creators, So if your not a creator, I imagine their comments would be very uninteresting to you.

So I've sorta come to the opinion that your social media account is either for your fans, so they can see more cool stuff your doing, or news and updates on your comic.
OR its for you, so you can socialize with other creators and talk shop.

This is totally just my opinion and I could be wrong. Thoughts?

[BLTX]

I think for me it really does depend on which Twitter account. Cause I have one I use personally, and recently I created one exclusively for my comic. So my personal account is really for me where I mostly just post a bunch of random crap, mostly actually related to Nintendo stuff, as my I can just retweet the stuff from my comic account.

The Twitter account for my comic, I consider to be both for fans, and for me, depending on the tweet. Lately I've been posting updates on how production of the next episode is going, (pretty well, by the way) but I also post trivia about the comic there, and occasionally just random crap like showing off different panels and stuff.

So, there's my answer.

[IndigoShirtProd]

It's for neither because I have no fans and I don't use my twitter enough.

Okay, but in all seriousness, I think you bring up a fair point. I'll use my instagram as an example since again, I don't use my twitter a lot. I've curated my account to feature artists that I like to follow rather than mostly being my peers from the forums, though I do follow a few, because, while I think it's important to support each other, not all of my peers' art work is to my personal taste. I don't expect them to follow me out of obligation either, (only if they really want to) and I hope they feel the same. I do feel bad, though. I'll check out other people's accounts but in the end, I don't follow. At that point, it sounds like I should just have two accounts, one personal and one art, but that's too much of a hassle for me, honestly. I try to do balance on the same account, but it's mostly hit or miss.

[BreakingChalk]

Besides some joke about how indecisive I am to order a pizza on fridays, I tweet and comment only my drawings, WIPs, doodles, and updates on my comic and blog.

I rather not talk about my issues in my social media as Breaking Chalk (besides the blog), because it becomes a vicious cycle in which I want to vent more and feel more miserable, which makes me vent more, and so on, plus the algorithm will throw you more drama and issues to further bitter your day.

Still, depends on each person and the type of audience you are aiming for. Some may actually prefer when the creator often exposes their personal ideas.

[bulgariansumo]

Ooooh, yeah you really have to be careful about following people on Twitter if you're only interested in their art, because Twitter's algorithm is kind of designed to show you conflict.

Even if you only follow accounts that are strictly dedicated to posting art and updates, if that account follows someone else who shares their personal opinions, or likes posts that weigh in on a topic, Twitter will bombard you with every conflict related to it.

I'm even starting to suspect that Twitter recommends you things based on what your followers like or posts you happen to look at out of curiosity without actually interacting with them. If the artists I like weren't primarily active there, I wouldn't have my account.

To answer your question, even if a creator's Twitter is intended for professional/fan-related stuff, by the nature of how Twitter works, the creator has to cater it to their own tastes or else it'll be unbearable.

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

Apparently comic creators don't post much artwork, they just talk about the trials and tribulations of webcomics with each other.

I see that in some other creator circles. Their twitter accts are kinda like being behind the stage curtains.

[NickRowler]

I am not really sure how to use Twitter. I guess I just prefer using the site to lurk while on my break at work. I have tried posting my art there but it doesn't really do anything.

[MottotteShinji]

Twitter to me is a place to promote and a place for me to talk and discover art, I am more active on twitter nowadays XD

[smokesalty]

For me, after I got more involved in the twitter comic community, I've found it's much more about discussing comics than creating as well. I find that my text posts do better than my art, which is both good and bad I suppose, since typing something is faster than drawing it.

But yeah, there's drama, you just gotta be select with what tweets you respond with I guess

[VibrantFox]

at this point it feels like it's more for me to just browse and share things than posting or promoting my own stuff especially since i no longer know how to "work" the algorithm in my favor. i may hop into certain creator discussions and attempt to talk to folks about my own projects but you can't really say your engaging with others if your not getting engagements.

that's like i've got a priv but that exists soley for moments i need to rant into the void and delete later or to log my game screenshots since i'd feel kinda guilty bombarding my main with that :\

then there's my art only which exists purely for the folks who just want clean art feeds but i mean??? not everyone who says they prefer it wil follow so it's kind of whatever

i think that's why i'm primarily on tumblr when it comes to talking about my own projects and promoting my own work because it actually does fairly well even if i don't always get to have those back and forths with ppl who follow me or vice versa (but yo thank god for tags)

i definitely agree with this particular take

you really have to be careful about following people on Twitter if you're only interested in their art, because Twitter's algorithm is kind of designed to show you conflict.

and it's kind of sad because i don't mind seeing some topics covered but there's others that feel very stressful so it's like 50/50. like it took me a while to notice but honestly there's days where i'm just not active and it's better because of how often you'll have things put before you.

i think that's why on the side of who you follow or who follows you, you've just gotta use those tools given to you by the site even if there's whole mountains of discourse about that. but like block who you need to block, mute what you need to mute and as much as people have strong opinions on it turn off retweets if it's not your jam. i do my best to keep things limited but also "i see it i like it, i want it i got it" like i'm gonna retweet a thing especially if i wanna come back to it later or to give an idea my aesthetic or interests (hell if anything it's lucky there's a bookmark option otherwise folks would really feel pestered)

twitters just...idk it's kinda funky in how it operates so it's use is what you make of it

[DualDragons]

I don't use Twitter but can't you just make a dm or something if you want to discuss shit? Or is that not an option?

Personally I would not post heated discussions jn the open.

[ShidoDraws]

I use Twitter as a place to just occasionally Tweet what I think, or if I wanna create a really cool quote. I post art but mostly I use it to see what other artists are doing. Currently I use it to promote my comic and I do try to post more art than promotional tweets since I know my followers followed me because of fan arts. So it's a juggle for me if anything. haha!

But I like to make my life complicated.

[Fafnir]

Alot of good points here! Those of you who have two accounts, that makes sense. but thats way too much of a time sink for me. (especially for phones... :/)
The comment about twitter being designed to show you conflict is bang on. I mainly posted this cause yesterday my twitter feed was full of creators complaining about 1. using 3d models for ref, and 2. quitting you comic if not successful after 6 posts. These topics probably originated from somewhere, but they filled my feed with this drama, as everyone jumped in with their opinion. And I'm just so tired of this kind of artist drama, I just wanna make and share my comic.

I also have like, no followers lol. But my approach is to use social media as if you have lots of followers, so when people go check it out they see what your all about. And I want them to see me, talking and posting and being generally excited about my comic, (and sharing artwork somewhat related to it). I also really want to try and make sure I NEVER complain, about anything. Including my art, or comic, or how hard it is to hit a schedule. or anything. I feel like that is a mire artists can get in to. I too, feel the pull to complain about my art keenly, I must stay vigilant to maintain a positive attitude.

[ShidoDraws]

I understand your struggle. I didn't get any followers on Twitter for the longest time. I was one of those people who would follow for a follow but I ended up getting dead followers in the end. It is really difficult however I recommend finding an active community on other websites. It'd bring traffic to your Twitter or even better your comic. I mean... you're here on the Tapas forum which is a good start!

It took me 4 years to get over 1k followers... who knows you'll probably to reach that within 4 years. Haha!

[Fafnir]

At this rate. I'll take that haha. It is indeed a slow grindy process.

[Daisy]

i only make mine because i see other authors and comic creator have one but idk how to use it tbh. i guess it's one social media readers? (lol) can interact with me if they use mobile.

[Caro]

I started using it for general chit chat with my professional pals and mostly use it to post gag pages and art now. Its not my favorite place to communicate and god forbid its one of those days where everybody is posting about the same thing at the same time.

I still try to keep it kinda casual and don’t let myself be beholden to a schedule or anything and my growth has been good this year (from 2k to 25k!). I like the low stress of how I use twitter now. I don’t generally interact on there and its nice. I still get job offers over twitter DMs despite my kinda impersonal approach.

[Shanny8]

BOTH.

I can't do the separate accounts- falls into that whole field of "I'm devoting too much energy to too many things"; I just do a lot of posting, shitposting, and art posting; kind of a "accept me as I am" thing. I mainly chat around and joke with other fellow peer comic artists, webcomic creators, and some professional comic artists...I chat and joke with fellow football fans over topics and post Animal Crossing pics from my gameplay on Switch there as well.

god forbid its one of those days where everybody is posting about the same thing at the same time

Yeah...there are those type days on Twitter- when that happens I just mozy on along to another site until the discourse blows over. I use Twitter more than Instagram and Facebook(I def don't care for how Facebook is nowdays but I can still get some views on my comic stuffs so I keep it for the time being).

[KennethLopezJr921]

My twitter is kind of a mixed bag really. I will often make posts unrelated to comic and will occasionally shit post but in general, a lot of posts are focused on my comic and stuff like that. I cant really do much in terms of finding new fans since a lot of my followers were already subbed to my series. My instagram on the other hand is more geared towards me series since you can only post pics. Instagram stands out from all my other accounts tho since I had been posting my comic on that site for a while before tapas so a portion of the people who follow me there know my comic from posting there for so long. Deviantart is kind of a weird situation since a lot of the attention I get there is for my female characters. Initially I saw it as a bad thing since they were only interested in the girls rather than my series as a whole but recently there have been people who've gotten invested through my female characters so its not that bad XD

[system]

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