Social media has changed how businesses conduct business, and shoppers discover new products. So whether you are selling art online or at local craft fairs, social media is a great way to reach a broader audience and get new followers.
Study the tips below on becoming a successful artist using Instagram, particularly if you have zero followers.
Here is an excellent list of things you can do to increase followers on Instagram.
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Why Is It Important For An Artists To Promote Art On Instagram
While there are many other social media platforms for artists to share their work, Instagram is one of the most popular and effective.
By promoting their art on Instagram, artists can reach art fans worldwide with little effort.
Instagram allows artists to share their work in various ways, including photos, videos, and stories. This gives viewers a well-rounded look at the artist’s work and helps them to connect with the artist on a personal level.
Additionally, Instagram allows artists to sell their work directly to fans.
Why Do Some Artists Find It Challenging To Get A Following On Instagram
With over one billion monthly active users, Instagram is one of the world’s most popular social media platforms. Not surprisingly, it has also become a major marketing tool for artists, who can use it to reach a broad audience with minimal effort. However, gaining a following on Instagram is not always easy and can be a challenge for most artists.
One challenge is that Instagram is highly visual. To succeed, you need to produce eye-catching images that will likely stop scrollers in their tracks.
Another challenge is that Instagram is a very competitive platform. There are millions of artists all vying for attention, so it can be difficult to get noticed.
It is important to remember that success on Instagram takes time and consistency. Posting high-quality, engaging content regularly is essential to get more followers.
However, patience and perseverance make it possible to build an art career and succeed on this popular platform.
Here are some strategies that have worked well for many artists.
Write Your Business Objectives
Selling art online is a numbers game. The more people see your artwork, the better your chances of selling an original painting or print. Artists who make a decent income selling their artwork online will tell you that they spend 80% of the time marketing their products and services and 20% creating artwork.
If you’re planning on using Instagram for business purposes, it’s essential to clearly understand your objectives before creating an account.
By clearly defining your goals, you’ll be able to develop a more targeted and effective social media strategy. For example, if you’re looking to use Instagram to build brand awareness, you’ll need to focus on creating high-quality content that is shareable and visually appealing. On the other hand, if you’re trying to drive traffic to your website so you can sell more art, you’ll need to make sure that your posts include links back to your site.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to using Instagram for business purposes, so it’s essential to tailor your strategy to fit your specific goals. By defining your objectives upfront, you’ll be in a much better position to achieve success with your Instagram marketing efforts.
Do you want:
- To have a large Instagram following
- Meet new fellow artists
- To have more engagement on your posts
- To sell art on Instagram
- To sell prints
- To increase your website’s traffic
- To have more people visit you at local craft shows
- To increase the number of potential buyers you have online.
A clear picture of what you want to accomplish on Instagram will help you develop a strategy that will produce positive results. If you want to become a successful artist on Instagram, it is a good idea to keep your goals somewhere you see them every day.
Create A Business Account
The first step you will want to take for growing your Instagram following after you have written your art business goals is to convert your personal Instagram account into a business account.
The Instagram business art account will provide tools that will allow you to track how well your Instagram posts are doing. But, of course, the best feature is that it will show you the best times to publish your posts.
Study the analytics weekly or monthly to create a more effective marketing plan.
How To Create An Instagram Business Account
- Open your Instagram app
- Click on your profile
- Tap the upper right corner of your profile page
- Tap on settings
- Tap on account
- Tap the switch to the professional account link
- Tap the continue link
- Select a category
- Confirm by tapping ok
- Tap the business link
To see your Instagram Insights:
- Go to your profile page
- Tap the three lines in the upper right corner
- Tap Insights
Instagram Bio
Entrepreneurs know how important it is for first impressions, and your Instagram profile is where you can make an excellent first impression.
The first step is to create a good Instagram name. The name you use is searchable and should include searchable keywords like art, fine art, wildlife artist, etc.
For example, my name is Dave Nevue Art. Therefore, whenever someone searches for “art,” my page will be listed in the search.
The next step is to write a good Instagram bio. Highlight the style of art you create and the services you provide. The Bio is where you can make an excellent first impression and turn a potential art buyer into a loyal fan.
Keywords are not searchable in the Bio section like your user name; however, use words that describe your niche, and people who enjoy what you have to offer will start following you. Adding a hashtag in your Bio could also help you reach a broader audience and drive engagement.
The last step is to add your contact information and a link to where you would like people to visit, like your artist website, online portfolio, or online art gallery.
Follow Instagram Artists
After setting up your business account and Bio, take a few minutes to find some Instagram accounts that feature artists and start following them.
The people and businesses you follow might not follow you back, but you can increase the chance of them noticing you and featuring your artwork on their page.
By following artists, you will be able to see their work and get new ideas. In addition, following them allows you to keep up with what is popular in the art world and see what techniques are being used.
Many artists use Instagram as a way to sell their work, so by following them, you will be able to see how they create Instagram content that inspires people to buy art products.
In addition to seeing artists market their art business on Instagram following artists allows you to build a network of fellow creatives with that you can interact and learn.
Popular Instagram Art Pages:
- BrwnPaperBag
- Illustrated Doris
- Illustrationhowl
- The Sense of Creativity
- Artistic Moods
Top Selling Artists On Instagram
While you are trying different images, videos, and trying popular hashtags to see what strategy works best for your target audience, take some time to start following other artists on Instagram so you can see what they are doing to increase engagement on their posts.
If you see something that might help you grow your Instagram following, give it a try. Artists who have hundreds of thousands of followers are real people just like you. They started just like you did, with zero followers. They have spent many hours learning how to market on their social media accounts to reach potential customers. They continued to try new things until they discovered what worked best for their business goals. A great place to start learning how to promote art and build an Instagram presence is by studying what is working for other visual artists.
Research to see if they take advantage of Instagram shopping, story features, and how they create engaging content that inspires their fans to like and comment on their posts.
The more information you can gather on how they promote their art in their posts, the better equipped you will be to create your own marketing strategy that will work for your particular business goals.
Develop An Instagram Marketing Strategy
Write up a marketing strategy for your Instagram account and stick to it. The plan you write will help you to stay focused on your goals and prevent you from derailing.
Take your list of goals and develop an action plan.
- How many times a week will you post on Instagram?
- What are the best hashtags for your description?
- What time of the day will you post?
- What types of pictures will you post?
- When will you upload Instagram Stories?
- When will you search and follow other artists?
- When will you upload videos?
A good strategy is to devote time every week or month, to research how well your marketing plan works with Instagram Insights. The information you gather will show you if your marketing plan is on target or if you must adjust some things. For example, you would be able to research your fan demographics if they discovered you through hashtags when they are on Instagram, age, gender, and more. The easiest way to see if a plan is working is to visit your insights before publishing your latest post.
Related Post – Tips For ARtists Looking To Sell Their Art On Instagram
Network With The Right People
Networking with other artists or other accounts connected with your target audience is a good way to grow your Instagram followers quicker. For example, search for galleries, artists who create the same art you do, artists who use the same medium, art consultants, art organizations, etc.
The first step is to start following them. The next step is to take some time to engage with their posts regularly. The goal is to be social so they start to notice you. In time they will follow you back and start engaging with your posts.
The more engagement you get on your posts, the more people will see your posts in their news feeds and search. Like Facebook, the Instagram algorithm is set up to put posts with the highest engagement on the top of people’s feeds and Instagram’s search.
To build a significant online presence, the best way to get started is to network with new people in your niche.
Why Is It Important To Network With Other People In Your Field
Networking is essential for artists for several reasons.
First, it can help to build relationships with other professionals in the field. These relationships can be helpful in many ways, including exchanging ideas, collaborating on projects, and even finding new opportunities.
Second, networking can help to raise awareness of an artist’s work. By connecting with other people in the industry, artists can get their work in front of a larger audience and potentially reach new customers.
Finally, networking can also help to build a sense of community among artists. This sense of community can provide support and encouragement and also be a source of inspiration.
Post Regularly
Regularly posting images of your work will help you to develop a following of interested viewers who can appreciate and support your work. Additionally, by tagging your posts with relevant hashtags, you can reach even more people searching for specific kinds of art.
For best results, it is recommended to post at least once a day. Artists who post 1-2 times daily see more engagement and increased followers. One thing to remember is that high-quality images will produce better results than quantity.
You will have better results if you post high-quality images once a day than if you post with poor-quality images several times throughout the day. Posting more posts throughout the day will produce a large following. Publishing images relating to your art business with your unique personal touch will get people interested in your artwork.
Schedule Instagram Posts
Marketing art online takes time. Posting artwork and art blogs on major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Linkedin takes time, so using a scheduling tool like Tailwind will save you time marketing and growing your art business on Instagram.
Here are three benefits of using a social media scheduler for your art business:
1. You can schedule posts in advance, so you don’t have to worry about posting every day.
2. Social media schedulers allow you to track your engagement to see what kind of content is resonating with your audience.
3. Automating your posts frees up time you can use for other aspects of your business, like creating new art or promoting your work offline.
Using a scheduler is a great solution if you’re looking for a way to simplify your social media marketing. By taking advantage of these tools’ features, you can save time and effort while still reaching your target audience.
Instagram Story Highlights
There are millions of people taking advantage of marketing their business on Instagram Stories. As a result, stories provide an excellent opportunity for marketers to reach a larger audience on the fast-growing social media platform.
What are Stories?
Stories allow you to share photos and videos throughout the day. Instagram Stories are deleted twenty-four hours after publishing and will not be shown on your feed.
How to add a story?
Tap on the “+” link on the top-right of the screen and tap “story” on the bottom-right of the screen.
Tap the button on the bottom to take a picture or hold the button to take a video.
You can use use the Boomerang in the toolbar to take burst photos that loop.
Add effects like text, doodle, or sticker icons if you choose.
Many artists are doing well, publishing art in-progress stories. People who have a passion for art enjoy watching art come to life. Daily in-progress photos of your artwork will have your Instagram followers check in on you daily.
Instagram Filters
Instagram Stories offer many cool effects you might not be aware of. Try some of these tips to see if they help you get more engagement on your Instagram stories.
Solid Background – Go to stories and take a picture of what you want to highlight for the day. Tap on the “pencil” and select what color you want. The background will be in one color, making your story stand out.
To select even more colors, hold your finger down on the color you wish to use, and a palette of colors will appear for you to pick from.
Zoom – To zoom in on a video, press the record button and slide your finger up the screen.
Pick A Font – There are five fonts to choose from in stories, Modern, Classic, Strong, Neon, and Typewriter.
Turn The Screen – To turn the screen while taking a video, quickly tap the screen twice.
Use Videos
Videos are becoming more popular on Instagram. Try scheduling a day during the week that you will upload a video. Being consistent with your scheduling will inspire people who like to watch videos to visit you on Instagram on a particular day.
Try different video themes like painting in progress, a tour in the studio, or opening new art supplies.
3 Reasons posting videos on Instagram can help you grow your business online:
- You can reach many people who might not otherwise see your work.
- Can help you to build a following and connect with other artists.
- Can be a great way to generate income through sponsorships and advertisements.
If you’re looking for ways to promote your art, posting videos on Instagram is a great option.
Use Hashtags
Hashtags are as crucial for Instagram as they are for Twitter and Pinterest. The importance of choosing the right keywords could have your post appearing at the top of the feed or lost at the bottom, never to be seen.
Generic hashtags like “art” or “painting will make it difficult because there will be too much competition. If you are new to Instagram, you will want to focus on narrowing down your niche like “elephantfineartpaintings” or Elephantpaintings .”
Before you start adding hashtags to your post that will not produce the results you are hoping for, take some time to do a hashtag search to see what the right hashtags are for your post. Then, look at the number of likes on the hashtag’s top-performing posts. If your content matches up, then that hashtag will produce better results. Taking a few minutes to research hashtags will help you reach more people.
The number of hashtags you use is also essential. Instagram allows each post to have 30 hashtags. But do you need thirty? A post with one sentence describing the image and thirty hashtags make the post look “spammy” and unprofessional.
Over 90% of marketers use seven or fewer hashtags per post. Therefore, it is possible to reach your target audience with fewer hashtags, which make it easier for the reader to read the description.
As an artist trying to build an art business, you know how challenging it is to get all of the jobs required to fulfill orders and create a more significant following. Researching multiple hashtags might not fit in your calendar even though you know the importance of researching.
The good news is that tools like Tailwind will do the job for you, and they will even schedule your Instagram posts at the best time so you will receive even more engagement.
Tailwind is a Pinterest and Instagram scheduling tool that offers much more than scheduling social media posts. You will have access to valuable insights, image creators, hashtag generators, and so much more. So if you are strapped for time, you must grow your Instagram and Pinterest following and give Tailwind a try. They offer a free trial, so there is nothing to lose if you feel it is not the best solution for your art marketing plan.
Diverse Range Of Images
Nothing will lose the attention of your following than posting the same type of image every day. Add a variety of pictures and videos to increase your post engagement. The more people who like and comment on your post, the more people will discover you on Instagram. Remember if you are sharing a photo of your art make sure the image is high quality. Use natural light if possible or stage lighting. If the lighting is not good on a particular day it would be best to wait to photograph your art on a different day.
Great Photo Editing Apps
Emerging artists hoping to start selling art on Instagram need to focus on publishing great photos.
Luckily for new artists, many apps can help you to edit your photos before publishing.
1. Adobe Lightroom: This app is great for making quick, minor photo adjustments. It’s also very user-friendly, so it’s perfect for beginners.
2. VSCO: This app is my go-to for more advanced editing. It has a wide range of filters and tools that you can use to create unique looks for your photos.
3. Snapseed: This app is perfect for those who want to add a bit of creative flair to their photos. You can do everything from adding filters and effects to manipulating the photo itself.
No matter your skill level or what you’re looking to achieve with your photos, there’s an app out there that can help you get the desired results. So don’t be afraid to experiment and find the ones that work best for you!
Engage With Your Fans
Social media is all about socializing with others. If you expect everyone to take the time to comment on your posts, you better start scheduling time to engage on other posts.
It does not take long to scroll down your Instagram feed and like a post and write a sentence or two. Then, all you have to do is schedule 5 minutes two or three times a day, and you will start to see your engagement increase. Instagram growth starts with being social.
Instagram Ads For Artists
Sometimes you might want to advertise a special sale you are holding, an Instagram contest, or even a new painting you have for sale. Instagram ads are an excellent way for you to reach more people on Instagram but be careful. You do not want to spend more money than you will generate for the ad.
Before you start an ad, write down the objectives for the ad so you can develop an ad marketing strategy that will show positive results.
Final Thoughts On Instagram Tips For Artists
Instagram is a great platform to use to reach a broader audience online. However, there is a lot of competition, so you will want to develop a marketing plan that will separate you from the rest.
Unfortunately, not all of the tips highlighted above will show you the same results as other artists receive. Use them as a guide and tweak them until they work for you.
There is no such thing as instant success on Instagram, so be patent and keep adjusting your strategy until you find what works best for you.
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