I've spent three years building a following as a digital artist on social media, and I want to share what actually worked as opposed to what I spent time on that didn't.

What worked: posting consistently in a recognizable style on a predictable schedule. The algorithm rewards consistency and so does the human audience. People follow you because they want more of something specific.

What didn't work: posting in multiple styles trying to reach different audiences. Every time I posted something outside my main aesthetic, it underperformed and confused the pattern my audience had learned to expect.

What worked: engaging seriously with comments and other artists' work. The relationships built from genuine interaction are more durable than any viral post.

What didn't work: optimizing for virality. The posts I made specifically trying to go viral almost never did. The posts I made because I cared about them sometimes did.

The conclusion: build an audience by consistently making work you actually care about and being a genuine participant in the community. The algorithm optimization advice is mostly noise.