The internet is enormous so it's going to be hard to get noticed. Small or novel platforms, however good they are will struggle to get enough traffic to be relevant.
Facebook is numerically the biggest site (comScore 2018) and although it has many detractors it is easy to use and can be a fairly private platform or a way of reaching out to others. To get noticed on Facebook you need to do more than just put some pictures up and wait, but within the Facebook machine there are many sub groups so there are ways to connect to like minded people. I use groups like OCA Visual Coms and Urbansketchers to link up with other artists, see what they are doing and meet up for events. Many people have a public and a private persona, and from the web of people that I know I am introduced to other peoples work either directly or through articles that they are mentioned in. Sally Muir used Facebook to generate interest in her dog drawings by creating A Dog a Day. If you have a product that inspires people they will share it with their friends and even if they just like something that you post this may be seen by one of their wider network of friends. Facebook usage is apparently in decline in younger people but it's currently still a potential way to see and be seen.
The problem with the internet is that it is a terrible time waster and you can spend hours following links, but this is also it's strength because it can lead to undiscovered treasure in the form of ideas and inspiration. I get more inspiration from Instagram than Facebook because I follow artists who interest or inspire me. Instagram is less personal than Facebook so you can follow someone that you don't know without feeling like you are stalking them. By using an appropriate hashtag in your post you can reach out to other people who have an interest in your subject. Without trying very hard I am followed by a small number of people who I have never met who appear to share my interests and appreciate the art that I post. I don't post very often because I'm trying to concentrate on OCA coursework and I keep that for this blog. I'm not sure that is the right decision but at the moment I don't think that I can manage the work involved in building my brand and being a student alongside my full time job but watch this space.
Snapchat is another big player so I googled Snapchat advertising. Maybe I'm being unadventurous but it looks incredibly complicated and probably more suitable for big organisations although it looks like a good way to keep in touch with an existing client base.
I've flirted with Pinterest to save images for inspiration but I didn't realise that it could be used for self promotion . Lots of the people that I work with use Pinterest for things like wedding planning. Most of them aren't directly interested in art so it would be a good resource to attract a wider audience. I use it when I want an unchallenging stream of visual relaxation so it has the potential to access the subconscious.
When it comes to discussion forums by nature I'm a lurker rather than a poster. I do try to comment on the OCA Discuss forum but not as often as I probably should. It would be easy to spend all my time talking about art rather than making it so I think that its important to keep things to a manageable number of outlets that I find useful or inspiring. I am very fond of Colossal but sometimes I find the high quality of the artwork featured stifles my own creativity.
A blog about job opportunities here
People per hour is a site where people post their job requirements and freelancers can bid for them. I don't know how good it is but the reviewers seem reasonably happy with it.
Behance sounds relevant, it has space to add portfolios and job opportunities, I probably ought to join it.
Slightly off the research point but a discussion of finding work here (with some kitschy illustrations)
I've also signed up for the Illustration Friday newsletter. They have an online community of artists and post a weekly illustration challenge.
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