It’s hard to make it in this world as an artist, but with the internet, it’s a little bit easier. You can reach people all around the world, inspire them with your art, and even sell them pieces. With luck, patience, persistence, and an understanding of how to promote yourself online, you can even make a name for yourself in the art world.
First, you need to create a strategy for marketing yourself online. Then you need to sign up for the right social media accounts, and use them methodically, scheduling posts ahead of time and even paying for ad campaigns. Work with other artists to promote one another’s work. You can even encourage your followers to help you promote your art content, too!
Create an Online Marketing Strategy
Before you can start successfully marketing your art online, you need a strategy. Many artists work with SEO services in Phoenix or wherever they live to put together a social media marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. At the very least, you should sit down and make some concrete, actionable goals for your social media marketing. Nail down the audience you want to target, the platforms you’re going to use to do it, and what you want to get out of your marketing efforts. If you have lofty goals, do more research to figure out what specific social media strategies will help you get there.
Use Business Social Media Accounts
If a social media platform offers the option to use a business page instead of a personal page, you should choose the business page. This will usually get you access to analytics data that you don’t get if you run a personal page. This way, you’ll be able to see which pieces of content are getting the best responses, which times of day are best for post engagement and visibility, and so on. Business pages may also offer the option for users to leave reviews of your work or post their experiences publicly on your feed.
Schedule Posts
Scheduling posts and preparing content ahead of time takes some of the stress out of running professional social media channels. A content calendar can help you plan what content to post and when to post it. You can prepare content to promote upcoming events or holiday sales. You can even post seasonal content on your social media. A calendar can help you solidify your content goals and keep track of what has and hasn’t been posted, and how posts are doing.
Start an Ad Campaign
While you can get started using social media to promote your art for free, sooner or later, you’re going to have to start a paid ad campaign if you want maximum visibility for your art online. You don’t have to spend a ton of money to advertise your art online. You can begin buying advertisements online with as little as one dollar! Use a tool like Facebook Ads to test different formats and experiment with targeting different demographics.
Collaborate with Other Artists to Cross-Promote
You’re definitely not the only artist out there looking to promote his or her work online. Reach out to other artists you admire and suggest cross-promoting your work. You can promote your favorite artists on your social media platforms, and they can promote you on theirs. You’ll get in front of a new and different audience, and so will they. You can pick up new followers and perhaps make some sales. Of course, you might also make some friends.
Encourage Followers to Promote Your Art
Your social media followers can be powerful allies in your mission to promote your art online. When followers post about your artwork on their own feeds, their followers see it. Peer-to-peer sharing is one of the best ways to get the word out about your art online, especially if a post goes viral.
Encourage your followers to share their favorite of your pieces on their feeds or to discuss what they like best about your artwork. If you can afford it, you can host social media giveaways or promotional discounts for followers only. This will give following you on social media some cachet and help attract new followers, as well as possibly drumming up business and more peer-to-peer sharing.
Social media can be just what you need if you’re looking for an easy way to promote your art online. Many platforms lend themselves to showcasing visual arts, and you can engage with your followers using videos or music, too. As your following grows, so will your career as an artist.