In Part 2 of this series, we’ll talk about the best ways to start social media marketing for digital artists. Read Part 1 – Marketing Digital Art Online – here.
Keep in mind the two basic questions of marketing:
- Who is my audience?
- What is the most effective way to reach them?
It’s become increasingly difficult to get your work seen online as the number of web pages and social media accounts skyrocket. There are a few ways you can make yourself stand out in the crowd, but first you need to do a little bit of writing. We address some of this in Part 1. Now that you have your online portfolio and social media accounts set up, you need to focus on your posts.
5 Tips on Successful Social Media Marketing for Digital Artists
1. Post Regularly
Social media changes in the blink of an eye. That’s why you have to post consistent content on a regular basis. Make sure your posts look similar to each other, so when people are scrolling through Facebook or Instagram on their phone, they can pick out your posts right away.
A good method for social media marketing for digital artists is to place your artwork in a room mockup, so people can envision what your art would look like in different environments. You can search on free stock photography sites like Pixabay, or find better quality images on a paid site, such as Shutterstock.
It’s extremely important to add content to your social media channels every day. Because there are so many accounts posting 24/7, you need fresh content to stay relevant. Facebook business pages also show how many people have viewed a post. With this tool, you can play with the timing of your posts, to see which day and/or time of day has the most impact.
If you’re in a creative slump and have no new content to post, you can repost the work of others (with their permission), or relevant news or blog articles. For example, we often post content from Fstoppers, because it’s relevant to our clients who are photographers. Finally, make sure your posts are able to be shared by others.
2. Choose Your Tags Carefully
Hashtags are a great way to label your work on social media. For those of you who don’t know, hashtags (also known as the number sign – #) can be used as a search keyword on sites such as Twitter and Instagram. For this reason, it’s important to provide specific and diverse hashtags to your work. Here’s an example from an ArtisanHD Instagram post:
We know you most likely aren’t creating new artwork every day, so use hashtags to recycle old work (#ThrowbackThursday and #FlashbackFriday are a few good ones).
It’s also important to make sure you’re using the correct tags when mentioning specific people or companies. Many of our customers tag Artisan Colour (our commercial printing site), when they should really be tagging ArtisanHD.
3. Connect your Accounts
People these days need instant gratification. If they like a piece of work you’ve posted but there’s no direct link to your online portfolio, how will they know where they can order it? Make sure you include a URL to your online store, portfolio, or website.
Have Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter? Make sure you list these accounts on your Facebook page, so people who enjoy your work can follow you wherever you post. We know Krista Droop is always on social media, and it’s easy to follow Krista Droop Studio’s Facebook account and see what she’s posting on Instagram and Twitter.
4. Make Your Art Easy to Share
Making your art easy to share also depends on your privacy settings. A great example of this is a Facebook Live video posted by an ArtisanHD customer. Bill K. filmed himself opening a Dibond print from us, and because he tagged ArtisanHD on Facebook and had the correct sharing settings, we were able to share his video across our social media accounts, giving publicity to his aerial video business as well as ArtisanHD. If Bill had his privacy settings on lockdown, we wouldn’t have been able to share his video. Find out how to change your privacy settings here. If you’re not comfortable with people tagging your personal account, create a page just for your art!
5. Collaborate or Ask for Input on Projects
Looking for artists to follow for inspiration? Want to collaborate on projects? Looking for some constructive criticism? Consider taking an online course, or joining an online art community. Sometimes these go hand in hand, like Sebastian Michaels’ digital art courses. Not only do participants get access to learning and creative resources, but they also become part of a Facebook group dedicated to digital art where they can interact and become inspired by each other.
Other useful sites include online art communities like Photobucket or Deviantart.
Get Started!
We hope you learned a few tips and tricks to help with social media marketing for digital artists. If you have any more you’d like to share, please comment below!
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