Artist Social Media Strategy: Strategies That Work

As an artist, you may wonder why you need a social media strategy to promote your artwork online.

After all, isn’t the point of art to be seen and enjoyed by as many people as possible?

While that is undoubtedly true, the reality is that the Internet has drastically changed how art is consumed. These days, potential buyers are more likely to find your work online than in a brick-and-mortar gallery. As such, it’s essential to have a plan for promoting your work online.

Social media is one of the most effective ways to promote your artwork online.

You can easily reach many people by creating accounts on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Furthermore, social media allows you to interact with potential customers directly. You can answer their questions, provide additional information about your work, and build relationships that may lead to sales.

Of course, promoting your artwork on social media takes more than just setting up accounts and posting pictures. You also need to put some thought into your overall strategy.

Who is your target audience?

What kind of content will appeal to them?

How often should you be posting?

Answering these questions will help you to develop an artist’s social media strategy that will increase your following and online art sales.

Artist Social Media Strategy

By the end of this post, you will know…

• The impact of social media
• The benefits of marketing your art business on social media
• The best social media accounts for artists
• How many networks should you be using
• How to market your art business on social media
• Understanding your objectives
• How to learn what the best strategies are for you

Social Media Impact On Art

Social media has changed how artists sell their artwork online and offline.

Website owners concentrate on SEO and keywords to generate traffic to their sites and landing pages.

SEO is still essential for any size online business, but a company can also flourish with a social media marketing strategy.

Combining a content marketing plan, social media plan, and email marketing plan is imperative for online businesses. 

Social media allows artists to reach out to interested art buyers on a platform where they are already spending their time.

Connecting with your following in real-time keeps your art business in front of your collector’s minds.

Social media also helps drive traffic to websites where collectors can view an online gallery and purchase artwork.

Social Media Benefits For Artists Overview:

• Connect with your audience in reel time – A great way to increase sales is by showcasing your new work or work in progress in real-time. Many artists sell their paintings before they are completed by sharing work in progress on their Instagram accounts and other social channels.
• Build relationships with your followers – People become loyal art collectors when they feel personally connected with their favorite artists. Social media sites are the best way to connect with your fans.
• Artists do not have to rely on art galleries – The internet has made it possible for a visual artist to build a following online without gallery representation.
• Build a following from people worldwide – Artists can easily share their work of art with people worldwide. This means an artist does not have to create popular art in the area. They can promote their online portfolio on social media to people who reside in different areas.
• Network with other artists – It is good to network with fellow artists to help build your business. Social media allows independent artists to build relationships no matter where they reside.

Best Social Media Platform To Sell Art

A few years back, you might have heard artists say that you must be on Facebook if you want to sell your art online.

Today you might hear that Instagram is the social network of choice.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a “best” social media network for all artists.

The most beneficial social network for you will be the platform that your target audience hangs out on.

If your target audience is on Twitter, then Twitter will be the best network for you.

If your fans are on Facebook, then Facebook will be the best network for you to promote your art.

Many artists fail on social media because they waste so much time distracted by popular platforms that produce no gains.

They read a new social media strategy and do not have time to focus on what is already working for them.

Sometimes they get lucky, but they would have been better off tweaking what they were already doing in most cases.

Instead of creating accounts on every social media platform, spend some time discovering where your audience hangs out.

Building an audience on Twitter will be impossible if your audience does not have a Twitter account.

Wouldn’t your time be more productive posting your artwork on your audience’s platform?

Below are some of the most popular social media networks to look into:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• DeviantArt
• Behance
• CGSociety
• LinkedIn
• WhatsApp
• Tumblr
• Reddit
• Snapchat
• Medium

As you can see, a wide variety of social media platforms are available.

Unless you have a marketing budget that will allow you to outsource social media posts, you will not be able to market your art on all platforms.

Get the most out of your time and research where your audience is before you develop an artist’s social marketing strategy. An effective social media strategy focuses on a target audience.

For more information on picking a social media platform for your art business, visit Choose One Social Media Platform to Focus On.

How Artists Can Use Social Media

If done correctly, social media can be a marketing tool to build brand awareness and grow an audience.

However, artists we are in contact with are becoming frustrated with social media because of the changes that are occurring on social media.

For example, you might have noticed a decline in people who see your posts on Facebook.

Facebook has clarified that business accounts will not be their top priority. The only way a business account can make a large social presence on Facebook is if they are willing to purchase advertisements and boost posts.

Related Posts: 

How Many People See Your Facebook Posts

How Facebook’s New Goals Affect Artists

How To Keep Up With Facebook’s Changes

Other social media networks are also starting to follow Facebook’s algorithm changes.

Is it worth spending time on social media if you can not reach all of your fans?

Although social media has made it more challenging to market their products and services, it is still an essential tool for businesses.

Artists who succeed on social media use social media for what it has been invented for: socializing.

Most artists are becoming frustrated with social media because they do not see direct sales from social media. They do not see traffic pouring into their online store after posting an image of their art.

You might not see a direct sale when you promote a new piece of art you just created, but you are building brand awareness.

The more people see and talk about your art, the more sales you will land.

So how can you use social media to build your art business?

Nia Gyant explains how small businesses can use social media to build their business in a post she wrote for ThriveHive.

• Produce Diversified Content Types
• Provide Education
• Do More Storytelling and Less Promotion
• Try Influencer Marketing
• Leverage The Enthusiasm Of Loyal Customers

To read more, visit The 10 Best Social Media Marketing Strategies For Small Businesses.

We want to talk about what Nia is saying about doing more storytelling and less promoting.

Providing more storytelling and less promoting is critical.

People go on social media to socialize, not to purchase goods.

It is vital to showcase your art on social media but in between those posts, provide information about the message behind your creations, what you will be working on next, and some helpful tips that will help them solve a problem like how to care for your painting.

It was once said that you should apply the 80/20 rule when marketing on social media.

The 80/20 rule means to post informative information 80% of the time and only promote products 20% of the time.

Tanya Hall explains that this rule might not be as effective in a post she wrote for Inc.

She said, ” Each brand and each company has a different voice, message, goals, and an overall different approach to strategy. It’s essential to discover YOUR brand’s voice, test the ratio, and see what best represents your goals and fits your brand.”

You can read more by visiting The New 80/20 Rule Of Social Media Marketing.

Social Media Plan For Artists

Before starting a social media marketing strategy, you need to know your objectives.

Decide on what you would like to achieve on social media.

Would you like:

• To build a more extensive fan base
• Grow your email list
• Drive more traffic to your artist’s website
• Increase commissioned work
• Let people know about upcoming events and shows

What is a social media strategy or plan?

Think of a social media strategy as a business plan.

You want to develop strategies that will help you to achieve your goals.

At first, you will try to figure out what content your followers will engage with and the best time for publishing posts.

Because every artist is unique, no one strategy fits all.

After discovering what is working for you, keep at it and put all your energy into that strategy.

Do not try to reinvent the wheel.

Discard any plan that is not working for you.

Why waste time on a strategy that is not giving you the results you are hoping for?

Social Media Plan Outline:

• Define your artist’s social media marketing strategy for the next 3 – 6 months
• Audit your previous 3 – 6 months’ social media performance
• Identify your target audience
• Identify key times to post
• Watch your competitors

When To Use Social Media To Promote Art

As we have said earlier, social media is a free tool to help you build brand awareness online.

Social media should be used more than promoting your artwork.

Think of social media as a tool to learn more about your audience and a way to connect with them in real time.

Social media will help you to build relationships with your followers and turn them into your tribe.

By this point, you have decided what your goals are, what network you will use, and how to discover what strategies work best for your art business.

From this point on, you will want to continue to learn about marketing on the network you are working with.

Schedule monthly time to learn about any changes that might affect your business.

The artists who succeed in social media are the ones who are willing to change.

Don’t get stuck in a plan that no longer works for you.

Be willing to change with the times.

Use the 80/20 rule and analyze what works best for your art business.

Define Social Media Success

Some artists feel that follower counts, comments, and shares are a measure of success, and comments can become a source of validation.

But if artists view these numbers as a sign of success or failure, they may be headed on a self-destructive path.

Unless your only goal for marketing your art on social media is to increase your following, it is essential not to use those numbers to indicate success.

A large following count does not equate to more sales or traffic to your artist’s website.

The best social media strategies focus on developing a more reliable connection with their fans.

Those people you connect with daily or weekly are the people you will visit your website and purchase your artwork.

How can you increase the engagement of your posts?

First, you will want to publish content your fans enjoy reading or seeing.

Remember the 80/20 rule.

80% of your posts should be entertaining and educational.

The next step is to respond to every comment with a real response, not just a “thanks.”

Other people will be inspired to leave comments when they see that you are responding to the comments.

Final Thoughts On An Artist Media Marketing Strategy

As long as you are operating an online art business, you will be learning how to promote your art online.

Think about developing a social strategy for social platforms that your audience hangs out on.

If your audience hangs out on Facebook, develop a page, and create a plan to engage your audience with your posts.

You will stumble on Pinterest vs. Instagram for artists’ posts.

There will also be when your peers tell you which social media channel is right for your art business.

Instead of changing strategies weekly, analyze what works for you and what is not and improve your artist social media strategy.

The last thing you will want to do is waste time on a plan that does not produce positive results.

Once you have a good idea of how to create engaging content for your social pages, you can try different social media tips to reach a broader audience.

Social media is as important as optimizing your website, so make sure you dedicate time for both.

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