By Rodney Laws, Guest Blogger - Every industry was affected heavily by the outbreak of COVID-19, and art is certainly no exception. So much of the art world has typically revolved around in-person demonstrations and sales. Museums and galleries have always worked through bringing in foot traffic, with money made through selling entrance tickets, refreshments, and gift-shop items. Then there are street performers (caricaturists, for instance) who have always made money through tips.
At the moment, the continued need for social distancing (along with the lingering fears concerning travel) means that even those places that can afford to open are finding it hard to attract interest. The artists, though, do have options, and they have drawn upon them (no pun intended) to keep afloat during the past year. By operating online, they can still make money doing what they love.
Trying to succeed exclusively online as an artist presents a very different challenge, though. The tactics required for reaching the right people (and ultimately prospective clients) are largely distinct. In this post, we’re going to look at four solid strategies an artist can use to grow their brand and attract some interest online. Let’s get started.
Use a combination portfolio and store
Taking client work is often the typical way of making a living as an artist, since you have clear creative direction and set terms. It is simply a matter of receiving and fulfilling a brief: you don’t need to worry about the commercial viability of what you are producing. But that doesn’t mean that should be the only way in which you make money. The more routes you have to profit, the more stable your financial situation can become.
Due to this, it is a great idea to build an ecommerce store that’s also your portfolio. You don’t even need web-design skills to create such a store these days. If you already have an art blog in WordPress (the platform that dominates blogging), you can install a free plugin called WooCommerce (take a look at this WooCommerce review) and start selling products.
Whenever you make a sale, promote it through the blog side of the store: this will reinforce your value as an artist in the eyes of prospective clients. In addition, whenever you pick up a notable client, add their testimonial to your store homepage: this will reassure potential buyers that you’re truly as good as they think you are. It’s a win-win situation.
Get into the habit of asking for referrals
You can’t add testimonials to your store if you don’t have any testimonials, and they don’t tend to appear spontaneously. If you don’t ask for them, you won’t get them — so get into the habit of asking for them. Do this carefully, of course: don’t bug people, come across as desperate, or push them to shower you with more praise than they think you deserve. Just ask politely.
It is a good idea to fold the feedback-collection process into your general client-handling sequence. When you’re wrapping up a project and ensuring that all the details have been handled, you can have an automated email go out to provide a survey (HubSpot has some good tips on this process). You can even throw in some kind of basic incentive to prompt a reply: 10% off their next commission and/or purchase, for instance.
Share your process on social media
People who don’t understand what goes into art can easily end up undervaluing it. You are likely familiar with the common effort to “pay” artists in “exposure”. It is commonplace to joke about at times, but it is a sad indication of how little people understand the difficulty of producing high-quality art. They assume (for some reason) that most artists live frivolous lives of luxury — and those who don’t, well, they should just be grateful to get some attention, right?
To help people accept the complexities of what you do, and show just how good you are, you should combine your blogging efforts with social media comments concerning your process. You don’t need to engage with social media in general, just offer some commentary on how long certain pieces of art take you, sharing progress on art you are currently working on, the decisions you need to make along the way, the obstacles you need to overcome, etc.
In addition, when you have a piece you are particularly proud of, you should enter it into some online competitions, both through social media and other sites. It won’t cost much, and the risk is minimal: if you don’t win, it won’t matter, but it will give you something you can talk about it through social media and get even more attention.
Join a forum of like-minded artists
The best artists tend to support one another because they know that great art should be appreciated and supported and the internet is full of fantastic communities that can help you promote your services. This is something that can go unnoticed due to the assumption that artists will all be hyper-competitive, eager to undermine one another. Not so.
In truth, there is plenty of demand for art, and those who produce it often end up spending some of their money on commissioning it as well. Artists can collaborate on pieces through which they can all profit, and expand their audiences through building professional associations. You also need to remember that great artists never stop learning. However much you’ll learn from your new community, the existing members will learn just as much from you.
And when someone out there expresses interest for art in the exact style that you’ve mastered, you’ll find that other artists will often point them in the right direction, knowing that you’ll do the same for them in return. Put your trust in community spirit. You won’t regret it.
Rodney Laws is an ecommerce expert with over a decade of experience in building online businesses. Check out his reviews on EcommercePlatforms.io and you’ll find practical tips that you can use to build the best online store for your business. Connect with him on Twitter @EcomPlatformsio.
by Frank Hamilton, Guest Blogger - Over the years, the popularity of social media has skyrocketed, and the influence it has on shaping perceptions and habits can no longer be denied.
Social media marketing for artists has become an essential aspect of their online marketing strategy, which they use to reach a wider audience and generate more sales.
In this article, we will be showing you how to write social media posts that will help sell your art.
1. Use The 3 W’s In Drafting Your Post
You have probably heard that content is king, but content without a substantial purpose is just a waste of time. To create excellent content, you must first ask the following questions:
These questions are called the three W’s. Your social posts should have a clear objective, and that objective should be clearly stated. This is because when your intended audience sees the content, it has to be something they will find beneficial.
2. Apply the KISS Principle
Another tip on how to use social media to sell art is to use the KISS principle. KISS stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. Keeping it simple is not all about the post being short. While you may hear people say that the shorter the content, the better, a recent BBC Study debunked this claim as a myth. Instead, we advise that you keep your social post simple to understand.
3. Tell A Story With Your Post
Storytelling is a very effective social media marketing tool for promoting artists and their work. Creating social posts that tell stories is a fun and engaging way to sell artwork. Studies show that storytelling as a marketing tool can boost your post-conversion rate.
Here are some tips in using storytelling in social media marketing for artists:
4. Use Words that Evoke Emotions in Your Potential Buyers
The best salesmen know that making sales is not only about selling a product; it is about selling a feeling/emotion. This knowledge is even more critical in sales of art. Therefore, when creating social posts to sell your art, infuse strong emotional words in your copy that will resonate with your target buyer.
5. Understand The Difference Between "Active" and "Passive" Voice
In thinking of how to use social media to sell art, you need to think of engagement and nothing is more engaging than using active voice in your social posts. For example, use “Tom painted the entire portrait …” as opposed to “The entire portrait was painted by Tom”.
There are several advantages of using an active voice over a passive voice, and they include:
6. Always Use CTA
If you are new to social media marketing, CTA, which stands for Call To Action is an action trigger that you infuse into your post, which will ask, tell, and remind your readers to take a specific action. For example, for a post with the main focus of selling one of your artworks, your CTA could be “click the link in our bio to purchase this piece.’
7. Make Use Of Hashtags
Using hashtags ensures that your post gets a broader reach. This is vital because when you spend a lot of time creating a post, you want to ensure it reaches a broader audience. Therefore, using hashtags will help give you this result. Think of hashtags as keywords for social media. They help people searching for what you are offering to find you easily.
A few tips on using hashtags:
Conclusion
Implementing these few tips in your next social post should give you your desired result of reach, engagement, and sales conversion on your artwork. However, if you need assistance there are several websites such as Online Writers Rating, which provide custom writing services. These types of sites are perfect for finding professionals who have experience in writing social media posts that sell.
Frank Hamilton is a blogger and translator from Manchester. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German and English.
The Coronavirus pandemic is affecting all of us. For artists, like everyone, it has led to the loss of income and cancellation of events and opportunities. No one’s lives have gone untouched by this pandemic but there are many things that we, as artists, can do while we are self-isolating. Below are 10 things artists can do to remain creative, positive and inspired during this time:
1. Continue Creating Art
This is the most important thing an artist can do. Although being stuck at home can be challenging, all that extra time can be an opportunity. Use it to jump-start your creativity. Start a new piece of art or try to finish one that has been giving you trouble. Just continue to create!
2. Evaluate and Update Your Website
At the beginning of every year, we always recommend that artists evaluate and update their websites. For those that have not had the time to do so, this is the perfect opportunity. Keeping your website current, with your current work highlighted, is essential for artists, now more than ever as people will have more time on their hands to surf the internet looking for positive things to view.
3. Evaluate and Update Your Portfolio
Similarly, like evaluating and updating your website, we also recommend artists evaluate and update their portfolios.
4. Review and Update Your Biography & Artist Statements
Life is ever changing and it is important for artists to keep their biographies and artist statements up to date. Also, update your CV by adding any exhibitions, new publications or other pertinent information that has taken place since the last time they were updated.
5. Maintain and/or Grow Your Social Media Presence
Just because you are confined to the house doesn’t mean you can’t show your art to others. Keeping active on social media is a good way to connect with other artists as well as collectors. Keep your art in the forefront of their minds so that when this is over, or even before, you might be able to generate some sales.
6. Take a Virtual Museum Tour
It is important to remain inspired and active during this time of self-imposed (and for some forced) isolation. Museums from around the world are now offering online virtual tours. Visit these museums and be inspired to create more art.
7. Reach out to Friends and Family for Support & Ideas
Physical isolation does not need to also be social isolation. Keeping in touch with others is what is going to get us through this. We need to stay positive and we need the support of friends and family to do so. Reach out and run idea for a new painting by a friend or family member. Get feedback on a piece you’re currently working on and share it once it is completed. This will not only keep you inspired to keep working but will give your family and friends something to look forward to.
8. Take an Online Art Class
Many universities, art teachers and websites are offering free online art classes right now. From Art History to painting, drawing and photography classes, there is something for everyone to get inspired, continue creating and maybe even learn something new.
9. Reach out to Your Collectors
If for no other reason, just to touch base and wish them well. Perhaps send an email and invite them to see your new work on your newly updated website (see point #2 above). They are already fans of your work and perhaps it might inspire them to purchase a new piece, particularly if you decide to offer a discount or limited-time sale.
10. Research & Apply for Art’s Grants & Small Business Relief Programs
Many organizations are now offering grants for artists and small business relief programs. There are many that are geared specifically for artists and the arts community. Apply for any and all that you think you might qualify for. The worst that can happen is they can say no.
We at the Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery are also affected by this pandemic. Like so many others, our lives and livelihoods are being drastically affected by this global crisis. Our income is dependent on entry fees and during a time of financial crisis, disposable income is reduced. Thus, the gallery’s income is exponentially reduced. Nevertheless, we are committed to continuing our work of helping artists to continue to market their art to a worldwide audience.
How are we doing this? We are continuing to host our online art competitions and exhibitions. We are continuing our marketing and promotion efforts for artists. We are continuing to support and encourage our artists to keep positive and keep creating. And we will continue to be here for all of you as an outlet to share your talent with each other and the world because we must all stick together and support each other in this time of crisis.
In that spirit, although LST was scheduled to increase entry fees by $1 starting with the 10th Annual “Landscapes” Art Competition (opening for entries on April 10th), due to the Coronavirus pandemic - we have postponed the increase in entry fees until June 2020.
While LST continues to have one of the lowest entry fees around, we still recognize that artists have a choice of art competitions and exhibitions to enter and that money is tight for all of us right now. We value and are humbled by the loyalty of our artists and we are committed to maintaining our loyalty and support of them.
Thank you again to all of our artists for being such an important part of our gallery! Stay safe and healthy!
At the beginning of every New Year, we post an article with ideas and suggestions for how artists can to kick start the new year. Now that the year 2020 has begun, it is time to review the past 12 months and make plans for how best to tackle your art career goals in 2020.
Have you set up your art marketing goals for the New Year? If not, the following are 5 things you can do to kick start 2020 and improve your chances of success.
Many of these ideas are elementary, but consistently implementing them is not. They are critical for artists if they are to market themselves and their art successfully.
1. Evaluate & Update Your Website
In today’s art world, in order to be taken seriously, it is essential for artists to have a modern, professional, up-to-date website to display their art. The annual cost of a domain is typically less than $20. The cost of basic website hosting can be as low as $3 per month. A website is an investment artists should make a priority in order to be taken seriously.
For those of you who already have websites, when was the last time that you went page by page and link by link through it? If you are like most people it has probably been a very long time! I think that if you were to do this with your website you would find broken links, pages that do not load quickly, graphics, images and other items that have moved, along with pages with misspelled words and similar issues.
Is this how you want your website visitors to see your art? Take some time to make these corrections. Also, if you have pages that do not load quickly due to large image files or due to flash and music features, these items should be corrected or removed as people do not have the time to wait on your pages to load. Otherwise, if not corrected you will be losing these valuable visitors to your site.
Make sure all of the images on your website are sized properly and have a low resolution (a resolution of 72 helps your site load more quickly and protects your art from being copied by unscrupulous people). The images should also be color corrected. (There are many free programs on the internet for this.)
Do you have better images or graphics to replace what now exists on your website? Do you have new artwork that you just have not had time to photograph and add to your website? Do it.
Also, while checking your images, make sure that they are labeled and tagged properly with good image descriptions. Search engines will only index your images if they have descriptions. By doing this, your images will show up in the image search results. When the images are viewed, viewers will be directed to your art website.
2. Rewrite/ Update your Artists Bio and Statement
Review and update your Artist Statement and Artist Biography. An artist does not have to be an accomplished writer to create a well-written Biography and Artist’s Statement, but it is essential for an artist to have at least one. It is important to know the difference between a biography and artist statement. Please read our article “Comparing an Artist’s Biography to an Artist’s Statement” for clarification.
Also, update your CV by adding any exhibitions, new publications or other pertinent information that has taken place since the last time they were updated.
3. Use Social Media
Social media is the perfect platform for artists to employ in order to help market themselves and their art. Why is this? In our opinion, it is easy to identify and connect with the art community when using social media.
We also think it is an effective medium because it is a visual and simple way in which to present your art. Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin, Instagram and even Twitter provide an artist with opportunities (if targeted properly) to reach viewers who were previously unreachable.
Read our article “Top 10 Reasons Why Artists Fail with Social Media” along with various other social media articles on the LST website.
4. Press Release Marketing
Press release marketing is a low-cost way artists can market their artwork to a wide range of potential viewers. There are many “Free” press release websites, which take, publish and market an artist’s press release copy. One such site is PRLog.org. PRLog’s free press release submission includes a PDF version to send to your mailing list, a search engine optimized page, hyperlinks in the content, and the option to select location/industry and tag listings. In addition, companies like Star One Public Relations offers press release distribution services for as low as $10.00 for distribution to 70+ press outlets. Read our article “Successful Press Release Marketing for Artists” and 6 Benefits for Press Releases for Artists to help guide you in these efforts.
5. Have Your Art Portfolio Reviewed Professionally
A professional Portfolio Review provides an artist with an evaluation of their art and a critique of how the art is being presented to others. Usually, during a portfolio review, the reviewers provide artists with additional ideas on how they can effectively market their art.
Much like art competitions, a Portfolio Review is an additional way in which artists can have their artwork evaluated and measured against other artists.
6. Start a Blog
Artists should consider starting an art blog as a way to attract and direct additional interested viewers to their art websites. An art blog is a great way to expand an artist’s target audience. It is also an effective platform to help artists market their art.
Read our articles “Top 3 Reasons Why You Should Have an Art Blog” and “How Artists Can Attract Readers to an Art Blog” in order to fully understand the power of a well-executed art blog.
In 2020 we hope you will make these suggestions part of your art marketing efforts. By implementing these recommendations, we believe artists will increase traffic to their websites, find more people interested in their art and ultimately, sell more of their work.
However, as with any marketing program, it is important to focus your efforts and they need to be well executed and performed consistently in order to be successful.
Good luck and have a creative and successful 2020!
by Frank Hamilton, Guest Blogger - As an artist, you want to be able to promote your art with all the tools available at your disposal. The smartest and most cost-effective method is through the use of social media.
Pinterest is a visual social media network that allows users to discover, engage, and share new interests. It is one of the best social media platforms for artists because of its visual nature.
Below are six (6) tips for promoting your work on Pinterest.
1. Make your Pinterest account a Business page
Creating a business account on Pinterest is one of the first ways to promote your art on the platform. This gives you access to indispensable features that the regular account does not have, such as the option to advertise, and analytics.
Being able to advertise your artwork enables your art to reach a broad audience. Analytics is vital because it helps you get proper feedback and gauge what art lovers or Pinterest users find interesting. With this feature, you can view your daily & monthly viewers, daily impressions, and monthly engaged followers.
To create your business account on Pinterest, go to your account where you will see the option to convert your account to a business account if however, you do not have a Pinterest account go to “business.pinterest.com.”
2. Pin your Artwork
Your pins are an essential part of your Pinterest account. You must utilize all the functionalities available to you, which includes a proper title and description.
Getting a lot of views, re-pins, and comments are vital if you intend to reach a broad audience. Reaching a wide audience is paramount to getting more traffic on your website.
A helpful tip when pinning your artwork is your Pin should be tall, not wide, this enables your art to be fully visible at a glance. The recommended ratio for the art you pin should be 2:3.
3. Use Appropriate keywords in your title or description
Pay attention to the keywords you use in the title and description of your Pin. This goes a long way to make sure your work is displayed when Pinterest users are searching for your kind of content. It is important to note that when you use keywords, make sure you do not use spammy keywords.
Before you use any keyword, do your research. It is crucial to decide on the appropriate keyword(s) before you create any content.
An excellent way to decide on the best keyword is to type "art" or other relative words in the Pinterest search bar. Pinterest will bring up a lot of alternative keyword suggestions that are commonly used when people type the word art. This way, you will know the best keywords to use.
4. Add a Call to Action on your Pin
This is a direction/instruction you give to Pinterest users to help decide the next step or action. It is essential to include a call to action when creating your Pin. You can add a call to action either on the image or on the description.
Depending on your goal, your call to action should be structured in a way that users can easily understand and follow. For example, if you want users to get redirected to your website to view your art, you need to add a call to action button that redirects users to your website.
5. Engage with your community and other Pinterest users
Building and engaging with a community on Pinterest is one of the best ways for users to view your art. To build a community, you need to follow other users and lovers of art; this will encourage other users to follow you back. Also, comment and engage with users that re-pinned your art, ask for customers' thoughts, suggestions, and feedback on your art.
6. Pin consistently and at peak times
Consistency is critical if you want to promote your art on Pinterest. Pinning your art or repining other users' images daily drives views to your page. This also helps your board rank high in your desired category on Pinterest.
Pin also at peak times, which for U.S based pinners is in the evening and weekends. You can also pin in different languages by making use of tools such as The Word Point or Google translate. This makes sure your art reaches a broader audience.
Conclusion
Pinterest is a smart way for anyone serious about promoting their art to utilize. It is a very visual social media platform and provides a lot of functionality, which helps with promoting your art.
Frank Hamilton is a blogger and translator from Manchester. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German and English.
This article is the first of several “Guides to Promoting” on social media platforms the we will be posting. In the coming weeks, look for additional articles for promoting your art on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Join our mailing list to be informed of new helpful art marketing articles and our online art competitions.
By YoungMi, Guest Blogger - Last year it was said that evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 pm was the best time for artists to post on Instagram.
In 2018, it seems that lunchtime from 12:00-1:45 pm is their best time to post on Instagram, followed by evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.
But theories do not mean those are the best times to post for YOU!
Because every Instagram account has a unique audience, in different time zones, so it is important to determine what your individual best time to post on Instagram is.
When is the Best Time for Artists to Post on Instagram?
If you want to beat the Instagram algorithm in 2018, scheduling Instagram posts for when the majority of your followers are online is super important.
Not only does the algorithm care about how much engagement your Instagram post gets, it also cares about how quickly you get that engagement.
If you post at a time when most of your followers are online, you give yourself a better chance of being shown to your audience - quickly!
If your post gets a lot of likes and comments shortly after it's posted, this signals to Instagram that your Instagram post is quality content, and the algorithm will then show your post to even more of your followers!
By finding out your personalized best time to post on Instagram, you can hack the algorithm to increase your reach and get more likes and followers.
So how do you find out what is your own best time to post on Instagram in 2018?
Here are some general rules to follow about the best time to post on Instagram:
Instead of posting when you think, plan your Instagram posts
Save the important posts for weekdays: The differences are slight, but average Instagram engagement does shift depending on the day. According to my own research, Tuesdays and Thursdays tend to drive the most engagement, while Sundays drive the least.
Other Ways to Calculate Your Best Time to Post on Instagram
If you don't want to pay for a software or app to find out your best times to post on Instagram, you can also calculate them yourself manually.
Experiment with Posting Times and Measure your Progress
If you'd rather crunch the numbers yourself, you can create a spreadsheet to track how much engagement you receive when you post at different times on different days.
Start by picking five different times throughout the week.
For example, if you notice that your followers are most active between 5:00 and 9:00 pm, schedule your posts to appear at 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, and 9:00 pm.
In your spreadsheet, track how many likes and comments each post receives, along with the date and time that you posted them.
The following week, switch the timing of your posts for each day. For example, if you posted at 5:00 pm on Monday in week 1, post at 6:00 pm during week 2.
It might take a few weeks, but you can use this information to help you choose the best days to share to specific networks based on your own audience, along with the times that work best for getting traffic on those specific days.
How to Schedule for Your Best Time to Post to Instagram?
Now that you know when your Instagram audience is most active, and how to drive the most engagement based on your audience's activity, the last step is to schedule your Instagram posts for your own best times to post on Instagram.
Regularity
By preparing your planning, you will be able to consistently have content going out at your best times to post on Instagram. Therefore, you will optimize your profile and attract new followers and engage with your current ones.
To be noted that some social media software can now auto-publish on Instagram. And they can even post at the best optimal time on your behalf.
You just have to select your posting times once, and then when you queue up your Instagram posts they will automatically be scheduled for your best times to post on Instagram.
And of course, if you use already a few automated publishing software, there is an app to help you more like "WhentoPost" or "Later", Hootsuite, Tailwind, and so forth. The costs of these platforms are between £3.99 and £ 39.
About the Author: YoungMi is the owner of The House of The Artists and since 2015, YoungMi has helped hundreds of artists, galleries, and art fairs to reach their digital marketing objectives.
Adding to her MA Marketing degree, she also studied Art Business & Management at Birkbeck University in London and at the Sotheby's Institute of Arts in New York.
YoungMi is based in London, and she speaks both English and French. – Her website is www.thehouseoftheartists.com/. This article post was originally published on The House of The Artists website: www.thehouseoftheartists.com/l/when-is-the-best-time-to-post-on-instagram
Reprinted by Permission by Elizabeth Harmon and the Social Media Explorer - 2018 is already rolling and if you haven’t done so already, now’s the ideal time to finally implement that social media strategy for your business. I know it can be daunting, but you really will benefit from having one in the long-term.
Of course, there will be things that crop up or change during the space of the year that will mean your strategy needs to adapt slightly. Social media itself is unlikely to remain the same for the next 12 months either. However, having a clear strategy for your social media now can really help you to know what you want to achieve moving forward and decide how you’re going to achieve it.
To help you get started with your social media strategy, here are 4 key questions people often ask, along with some answers:
1. What Is a Social Media Strategy?
In short, a social media strategy is like a business plan, but for your social media activities. When you first get started, it’s unlikely that you will have much of a plan and you will probably just post whatever comes to your mind that day. You may schedule a few posts about your products and include a few links back to your website. You may also spend endless hours just scrolling away, giving the occasional “like” here and there.
Being active on social media is great, but we all know that social media can be a massive drain on your time. Creating a social media strategy can help, though. Instead of aimlessly posting, liking and retweeting, all your activities are planned out and drive towards achieving your main objectives.
2. How do I Write a Social Media Strategy?
A social media strategy can be as detailed or as brief as you like. However, the more time you invest in your strategy, the more you will get out of it in the long-term. There’s no right or wrong way of writing a social media strategy, so do whatever you feel is the most beneficial for you and your business. I’d personally recommend starting by writing your strategy in a simple word document, or a PowerPoint presentation if you’re planning to present it to others later.
3. What Does a Social Media Strategy Include?
Objectives: The first thing you need to do is decide on your goals and objectives. These should usually fit with your overall marketing strategy so that your efforts on social media help to achieve your broader marketing goals.
Social media audit: Next, review your existing social media presence. Consider questions such as “How many followers do we have?”, “What content do we currently share?” and “How often do we post?”. It can also be valuable to look at three or four of your key competitors and ask yourself the same questions. This is a good way to see what your competitors are doing well at on social media (which can provide you with some inspiration) and discover areas where they are not performing as well (which can highlight possible pitfalls for you to avoid).
Social platform research: Look back at your business accounts again and think about which social media platforms you need to focus on. Before you decide, it’s important you’re clear on who your target audience is and the key demographics of various social media platforms.
You can also look back at your social media audit to see which channels your competitors are active on (and performing well on). Don’t forget that it’s important to focus on quality, not quantity. While there are so many channels to choose from, you may not be able to give all of them the attention required, so it may be better for you to prioritize a couple. That being said, you may want to set up an account on each platform, so your name is reserved if you decide to focus on that platform further down the line. By doing this now, you increase your chances of being able to secure the name you want, so your username is consistent across all your channels.
Posting details: Consider how often you will post on each platform and what that content should be. Your strategy should also include details of any hashtags you want to use, which accounts you want to align yourself with (by liking, commenting on and sharing their content) and which accounts you want to avoid aligning with (for example, those who promote a different message or don’t fit with what your brand is all about).
Evaluation: An important thing to consider is how you will measure your success. If you’re just starting out, you might want to use your Klout score to judge how your efforts are progressing. However, it’s important not to get too caught up in metrics and follower numbers. Although you do need to gain followers in order to have a voice, it’s more important that your social media efforts actually help to improve brand awareness and ultimately your sales.
4. When Should I Start Planning My Social Media Strategy?
There’s no time like the present to begin planning your social media strategy. It can be good to start the year with a fresh start and a clear plan of action. Have you been putting off creating a social media strategy for your business? It really doesn’t have to be daunting and can help you give more direction and focus towards your future social media activities.
About the Author - Elizabeth Harmon
Elizabeth Harmon is a writer for Open Colleges, one of Australia’s leading online education providers. She is a Social Media Consultant with a number of years’ experience in the field. She has worked with a growing list of clients around the world, helping to build successful social media strategies, create effective content and much more. You can also follow her on Twitter @Liz_Harmon.
"This article originally appeared on Social Media Explorer. Republished with permission." - original article on SME
Instagram has become a very popular social networking site. Today, they have more than 700+ million active monthly users. Think of Instagram as Facebook for pictures. www.instagram.com
With its emphasis on visual communications, Instagram is the perfect medium for artists and art related professionals to market and brand their art. Instagram is an easy platform for an artist to learn and to use to market their art or art-related service.
Posting is done through a mobile device (though you can access your account through a desktop computer).
Here are some helpful tips and hacks to enhance the power of Instagram:
Download the app and choose an account name that gets you close to your art website name or art website URL. Have separate Instagram accounts for personal posting and business posting (much like you would for Facebook personal pages and business pages).
Make sure that you fill out the Bio section completely. You only have 150 characters in which to do this. Also, you are allowed to have an active link back to your art website. Make sure that your art website is included.
Try to post on a daily basis, or at least every other day. Ideas to post would include:
Interact with your growing base of followers and future followers by commenting on and liking their art and posts. You can also direct message people who you want to follow or with whom you want to make contact.
Make sure that you set-up your posts on your Instagram account to automatically post to your Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter accounts.
Instagram allows users to immediately get going and connecting with people by making is easy to have all of your Facebook friends and Facebook followers to become followers on Instagram.
You are allowed to use #hashtags (Keywords) with any of your posts. By using art-related #hashtags, you are helping others to find you and your art more quickly.
You are allowed to use up to 30 #hashtags per post. It is much more effective to use 5 to 10 thoughtful #hashtags related to your post than an overload of tags. (LST will soon have a follow-up article post on the most popular art #hashtags for Instagram).
There are many other beneficial features on Instagram that you will discover over time. The easiest way to get familiar with Instagram is to go to their Help Section https://help.instagram.com where the platform’s features and the working of their dashboard are explained. Also, please read our article post “#Art Hashtags for Artists to Use on Instagram” as a guide for artists who may happen to be new to Instagram.
Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/LightSpaceTime.Art.
Instagram is an accepted and effective way for artists to brand, market and sell their artworks. The main goals for artists when marketing through social media is to increase their reach, create more traffic to their art website and display their art to new and targeted audiences.
By employing art-related hashtags on Instagram, an artist increases their power to reach interested people. Through the Instagram search feature, hashtags are very useful in helping to achieve branding, marketing, and sales goals.
Just what is a #hashtag and how can it help my art marketing? Think of a hashtag as a way to categorize and collect posts about a particular subject. A # hashtag is the symbol # plus a subject matter word related to your post. For example, #Art is a well-used hashtag in social media for art-related subjects.
If you were to create and post a message about a new art competition or art show, you should include the hashtag #Art and automatically this post will be shown with all of the other posts that have used the #Art hashtag.
By using a hashtag, you reach your regular followers with your message, and, in addition, you now will reach the group of people who follow the hashtag #Art. This hashtag is followed by a very large group of people who are interested in or associated with the art industry.
We found this website that can help artists to organize their Instagram art #hashtags. The website is TagBlender and they offer a way of promoting Instagram accounts and contest by using organize subject #hashtags.
TagBlender offers the best way of promoting your Instagram account by using tags. TagBlender describes their website as the following; “We have developed a unique method for getting the most relevant tags for your Instagram images. We called it: +10 - this means you can actually tag your images with up to three different categories in order for the tags to fit your image perfectly! Their website is http://www.tagblender.net
The following are their suggestion for the following art subjects;
Art #Hashtags
#art #artist #artistic #artists #arte #dibujo #myart #artwork #illustration #graphicdesign #graphic #color #colour #colorful #lightspacetime #painting #drawing #drawings #markers #paintings #watercolor #watercolour #ink #creative #sketch #sketchaday #pencil #cs6 #photoshop #beautiful
Black & White #Hashtags
#blancinegre #monochrome #bw_lover #byn #blancoynegro #irox_bw #art #bw_society #nero #blackandwhite #ic_bw_bw #bwstyles_gf #bandw #beautiful #perfect #nb #noir #bw #lightspacetime #good #mono #bnw #monoart #black #igersbnw #bwoftheday #noiretblanc #noirlovers #bwbeauty #white
Design #Hashtags
#design #designer #designed #designs #fashiondesign #interiordesign #architecture #architect #artist #classical #clean #beautiful #perfect #shiny #amazing #best #hairdesign #craft #antique #vintage #retro #lightspacetime #line #linedesign #homestyling #styling #style #stylist #good #artwork
Graphic Design #Hashtags
#graphicdesign #lightspacetime #design #designer #designed #designs #graphic #graphics #adobe #illustrator #photoshop #cs6 #vector #professional #printers #webdesign #site #website #artist #classical #clean #beautiful #perfect #shiny #amazing #best #artistic #artists #arte #colorful
Photography #Hashtags
#photography #photo #photos #pic #pics #art #lightspacetime #artist #artistic #artists #arte #dibujo #myart #artwork #color #all shots #exposure #composition #focus #capture #classical #clean #beautiful #perfect #shiny #amazing #best #colorful #illustration
For your Instagram accounts begin to include the appropriate # hashtags with your art posts. You will not only increase your reach but you should also gain more followers with your social media art marketing and art promotion.
Also, please read our article post “How to Use Instagram for Successful Artists" as a guide for artists who may happen to be new to Instagram. Also, please follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/LightSpaceTime.Art.
The following are some thoughts on what an artist can do to improve their chances of success in the coming New Year. Contained in these ideas are links to additional articles and posts which will explain and detail these concepts more fully for the reader;
1. Check all of the pages of your website to see if they working properly and loading quickly. If you can speed up the loading of your Home Page, this should be done. Besides being annoying to some viewers, slow loading speeds can negatively impact whether your website gets a higher page rank or not. Also, make sure that your website links (internal and external links) are working and that the format of each page is the way in which it was intended to be viewed (for whatever reason, things move, stop working, disappear, images and graphics can suddenly not be viewed).
2. Make sure that all of the images on your website are sized properly, with a low resolution (A Resolution of 72 will help your site to loader more quickly too) and the images should be color corrected as well.
Are there better images or graphics that can be substituted for what now exists on the website? . This should be done in order to get the search engines to index your images (Without image descriptions the images will not be indexed). By doing this, they will ultimately get your images to show up in the search results and when the images are viewed, they will also direct the viewer to your art website as well.
3. Review all written text and images within your art portfolio. Whatever parts of the portfolio can be improved upon should also be done. Are there any new images that you can display? Are there better images that can replace present ones in your portfolio? Try to upgrade and update wherever possible within your art portfolio. Make sure all have titles, sizes and pricing information.
4. Review and rewrite your Artist Statement and Biography. Update your CV adding any exhibitions, new publications and any other pertinent information that has taken place since the last time that it was posted on your website or printed in your portfolio.
5. Review any of your social media accounts, update or complete your profiles. If any of your social media profile images can be improved or upgraded, then they should be done and also add any other new information to those social media profiles as well. Just make sure that whatever is written or is shown on the profiles is spelled correctly and with proper sentence structure.
Remember, a social media profile is almost like having an online resume’ for the whole world to see. The idea of a Social Media Profile is to get people to want more information about you by going to your art website. This is accomplished with a completed, well written and attractive Social Media Profile.
Here are a few other ideas for an artist to try and to follow in the New Year; In order to drive more traffic to your website, an artist should consider starting an Art Blog for the New Year. An art blog helps to brand you as an expert, expands your target audience and ultimately will provide more visitors to your website.
Also, an artist should try to join and set up with as many Artist Registries and Directory Websites as possible in order to also create and direct additional traffic back to their art website.
There are many free Art Portfolio Websites where an artist can join and also expose their art to many more viewers. Whether it is an Artistry Registry, Directory or an Art Portfolio website, any of these platforms will help to direct traffic back to the artist’s website and should be freely employed by the artist.
An artist should start an ongoing online public relations campaign for all important art-related occasions, events, and functions that they are involved in throughout the year. Here is an article that we posted with some ideas to follow; Top 10 Events for Artists to Send Out Press Releases.
If the artist is totally happy with their marketing efforts and with the volume of sales of their art, then all of the suggestions above are totally unnecessary. However, if the artist is disappointed with their results, then we believe that some of these ideas may help the artist to be more successful in 2014.
Happy New Year to all art professionals from the Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery
Every day I hear from artists who have an art website, are entering and placing in art competitions and are active in several social media networks, Despite this, these artists are not making sales and they are now discouraged at the dismal marketing results.
At this point-in-time some artists begin to feel overwhelmed, are unsure what to do next and some artists even begin thinking of stopping what they doing altogether! Without feeling totally discouraged and paralyzed, here are some things that artists can do to get back on track and going again.
Do not feel like you have to do everything on this list. Just attempt the easy ones first until you achieve some successes and then only tackle some of the more difficult or time-consuming tasks. In this manner, you will not begin to feel overwhelmed and discouraged.
Here are some ideas for an artist to get unstuck;
1. Start or finish that important painting or artistic project.
2. Call an art gallery owner/director in order to discuss showing there.
3. Put together and send entry materials to enter an important art competition.
4. Update, print and publish your artist biography and art resume.
5. Add new artworks to your website and art portfolio.
6. Write and publish a press release on your latest art news.
7. Outline and write a new post for your art blog.
8. Upload any of your new art to your social media networks.
9. Post positive comments in any social network art groups.
10. Contact prominent art bloggers to see if you can guest post.
I think that all of us get overwhelmed with the large number of choices that we have to make each day in terms of marketing and promoting our art, to the point that we may begin to procrastinate and eventually become paralyzed in our efforts.
To get unstuck, tackle the easy chores first. Do not try to complete do all of the projects at once. Consistently try to complete at least one task each day. With each completed task and with each success you will begin to feel better about your art marketing efforts and you will soon become unstuck.
Please read a related article on this subject titled "5 Quick Ways That an Artist Can Kick Start 2014".
Today, it is essential for artists to expose their art to their target audience. At the least, artists need to be marketing their art on Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Other effective social media outlets for artists to use to market their art would also be YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.
For this article, I will focus on Facebook as I believe that it is the easiest platform to set up, the easiest to maintain and to promote art from.
We will assume that you are already a regular Facebook user and that you have an active Facebook Personal Profile page. From your Personal Profile page to create a Business page, follow these directions;
At the bottom of your Personal Profile page, in the right-hand sidebar, click the More tab and then click the Create a Page and from there;
• You will be prompted to choose a Page Category.
• You will then be prompted to choose a Subcategory and enter the required information.
• Finally, you will then be prompted to agree to Facebook Pages Terms and then click Get Started.
The Business page that you are creating will be representing you and your art, (Your Brand) therefore, complete the Profile page thoroughly, by providing all of the information that this section asks for. There is also room for information on your art, media, exhibitions, news and more. Make sure that you have spelled everything correctly. Have a friend or family member check your Business page for you, for accuracy, completeness, and spelling.
Here are some ideas and thoughts on how to have and maintain an effective Facebook Business page;
1. The Name of this Page is Important in Order to be Found in Searches.
You are able to name this page to whatever you want as long as you use alphanumeric characters and that the name is at least 5 characters long. Make sure that the page name contains your name and some keywords related to your art such as;
“YourNameArtGallery” or “YourNamePhotography” or “YourNamePastelArtist” etc. When you do this, people will be able to find you with the Facebook search function, as well as by your art specialty.
2. Your Cover Photo and Profile Image Are Extremely Important.
Your cover photo is one of the most important elements on your Business page (it is the most dominant visual feature on the page) and this image should be related to your art in some manner. The size that you are allowed to work with is 851 x 315 pixels and should be resized and planned prior to uploading and displaying.
The page’s Profile image will block a certain area and the overall size of the Cover photo is an odd size. There are several free image editing programs that you can use to resize and crop your images (1) http://www.sumopaint.com/ (2) http://www.gimp.org/ (3) Microsoft’s Paint – This is the program that comes with Windows and can be found in the Accessories tab, under Programs.
Some ideas for the Cover photo would be some of your best art, any new art, information about a new exhibition, photos from an opening etc. Be creative and change the images as much as possible to dovetail and highlight your current art or art experience.
3. Create Albums to Show Your Portfolio on Facebook.
Prepare your images (crop and color correct) before you upload to Facebook from your computer. Through the Facebook upload function create your Albums by subject matter or by media or by years. If you do not have a large portfolio it would be okay for the time being to keep all of your images together in one Album.
After the images are uploaded, make sure that they all have individual titles, descriptions, and prices. If you have a website, put a link back to your website in your description as well. This should also be done and can be part of your Profile too.
4. Create External Links Back to the Facebook Business Page.
Any emails, newsletters, blogs, and websites that you maintain should have links inviting people to view and “Like” your Facebook Business page. You are trying to build as many followers and fans as possible to see your art. Let everyone know about this Business page.
Here is a link to the Facebook Help page that will answer most of your questions and concerns about the Business Page setup and its functions, https://www.facebook.com/help. If you have a question that cannot be answered with their help, try a Google search and the answer should come up by someone else, who is outside of Facebook.
Remember that you are building and maintaining a “Brand”. It will take a while to achieve this, but it will be well worth it if you consistently stay with it. You are building relationships, therefore contribute and post related articles to your art, about the art world or about the creative process. Always acknowledge people when they comment or post. Also, be active and comment constructively and positively on other posts that are related to your art too.
If you have a limited amount of time to devote to this effort, try at least once a day to post and maintain your Facebook Business page. By consistently maintaining and updating this page your marketing goals will ultimately be successful.
In future articles, we will detail and write about other important features for a Facebook Business page for artists.
As an Artist are you unhappy with the results of your social media efforts? There could be a simple answer to this issue in that you may be posting your messages at the wrong time of day!
Over the past several years there have been several studies which have measured and quantified some of the best times and days to post social media messages in order to maximize the reach and effectiveness of a social media campaign. The following will outline some of these ideas and how you can increase your chances of being read and shared by more of your followers;
Facebook – The best time of day to post on Facebook is in the afternoon from 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM. Also, according to several studies they believed that a Wednesday is the best day of the week to post, as this day generates the maximum amount of traffic and your chances of being read by a greater amount of people increases on this day.
Twitter – On Twitter, the best time to post is also in the afternoon from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM on weekdays, rather than on weekend days.
Linkedin – Due to the nature of this social media platform, that being for working professionals, it indicates that from 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM (before work) and late in the day 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM will be the best periods of the day to post your messages. People have the time to get caught up on their networks at these times.
Google Plus – Anytime from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM is the greatest time to post on Google Plus in order to reach the maximum audience for your message.
Pinterest - There are some studies that will show that the afternoon is a good time to post on Pinterest, but the absolute best time of the day is to post between 7:00 PM to 12:00 Midnight. Also, weekends are the best days to post, as viewers have more time to devote to this platform then.
Remember: Pinterest users view this site in terms of a hobby and that is why nights and weekends create the maximum reach for any marketer.
As an aside, weekends are the best time to have your message shared by followers within your networks. The explanation for this is that people are more relaxed, they have the time to read your posts and the time along with the inclination to share that information with others who they feel would also be interested in that information.
In any social media strategy, stay on message with related content in your posts that your target audience will find interesting and helpful. Post messages and content on these days and times with your various networks and your social media promotions will become immediately more effective and successful. Good luck!
What is a Twitter hashtag and how can an artist use this to their advantage when using Twitter as a means to market and promote their art? Try to think of a Twitter hashtag as a way to categorize and collect Tweets about a particular subject. A Twitter hashtag is the symbol # plus the subject, for example; #Art is a well-used hashtag on Twitter. If you were to create and Tweet a message about a new art show or a new blog article about art, at the end of the Twitter message include the hashtag #Art and automatically this Tweet will be listed with all of the other Tweets that have used this hashtag (and there are quite a few in this category) as well.
By using this hashtag and reaching your regular Twitter followers with your message, you have now included and reached another group of people who follow the hashtag #Art. The hashtag #Art is followed by a very large group of people who are also interested in or who are associated with the art industry.
Popular art related hashtags are #artgallery, #artnews, #artinfo, #painting, #photo, #photography, #abstract, #acrylic, #watercolor, etc. Try making up your own hashtags in order to research that hashtag with the Twitter search function and see what you come up with in this category or in this subject. You will find leads, new prospects, other interested people, art galleries and art related people who are following this hashtag as well. I think that you will find that the most effective and popular hashtags are with the shortest and most concise names.
If you are involved with or you are having an art event, create a hashtag for this event ie: #billsartevent and include and promote this hashtag with all of the Tweets, posts, and ads about this event. In addition, encourage all of your followers and everyone associated with this event to also use this hashtag. By doing this, it will then create a stream of information, comments, and conversations specifically about your art event. The same would hold true if you were creating a discussion with your followers about an art subject as well. Using a hashtag is a great way to separate your topic away from the clutter and to focus on that category or subject in a Twitter stream.
I want to provide a word of caution about using hashtags in any of your Tweets. When using a hashtag name or hashtag subject, it is also included in your 140 character message limit, thus requiring more difficulty in formulating and in writing your Tweet. If you want to include several hashtag categories, but you do not have the character space, send out the same message, 2 or 3 times, with your different hashtags.
By using a hashtag with your Twitter messages an artist is also exposing their message and themselves to a new group of Twitter users who have the potential to not only read their message but also to become new followers and readers of future Tweets. If you are unfamiliar with or are uncomfortable using Twitter hashtags, look for other users who are using hashtags, click on that particular hashtag (it is a link to that subject or category) and follow where the hashtag takes you. I think that you will be surprised at what you find and also you will be happy that you are now following and using hashtags with your Twitter messages.
Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery is very proud to announce that it is now featuring their past, present and future online art gallery exhibitions on YouTube. The art gallery has converted all of their past art exhibitions to their own YouTube Channel.
The gallery has reproduced and enhanced all of their online art exhibition posts and converted them into moving slide shows with animations, transitions, fades, all set to music that is in keeping and appropriate with that art show’s theme. Most of the movie art shows run from 5 to 15 minutes in length and provide an alternative for the visitor to viewing the standard online version of the art exhibition.
In addition, it is also hoped that the YouTube shows will provide another outlet for the gallery to promote its art exhibitions, along with the participating gallery artists. The Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery invites all artists and interested people to view and experience these exciting new art exhibition presentations.
Each month Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery conducts themed online art competitions for new and emerging 2D and 3D artists (including photographers & digital artists) on a worldwide basis. All participating winners of each competition have their artwork exposed and promoted online through the gallery to thousands of guest visitors each month.
Note: As of July 2018 the LST YouTube videos have had 120,000+ views.
Recently I had two very discouraged and unhappy artists ask me for advice on their art marketing efforts, as both artists had not sold much of their art, as they had hoped or expected they would. Both individuals were very talented and their goal was to eventually become full-time artists, create more interest in their artwork and of course, sell more of their art.
In this article, I will try to summarize what I learned when I tried to help them with their art marketing issues and you can draw your own conclusions as to why they were unhappy with their sales and marketing of their art.
The first artist was just beginning to establish himself and he had entered and placed in three of our art competitions and also placed in several other gallery competitions too. He complained that despite his competition success that his art sales were poor. I went to his website and found that his art was not prominently featured on the home page, categories were poorly labeled and the site navigation was difficult to follow. There was minimal information on him as an artist as there was no artist statement, no CV or biography of his experience. There were no prices for his artwork and there was only an email address for the contact information. This artist’s website did not have any social media links, an art blog, any press releases or a newsletter feature. Finally, there was no information or promotion about this artist’s achievement of winning any awards from the art competitions that he had entered and his involvement in any art exhibitions!
I googled his name and found that he did not have a Twitter account, no Facebook page, no Linkedin presence and no Google+ page. It is evident to me that no one would know about this artist based on the lack of press releases, social media networking, and any ongoing promotions. In addition, his website did not contain any associated article content that would also help draw anyone to his website, consequently his website traffic was poor and he was frustrated.
This artist further complained to me that there were established artists who seemed to be entering into our competitions on a regular basis and placing high each time. His point was that these artists appeared to be already successful and that they were taking away from his success! I explained to him that all successful artists, just like all successful businesses continue to promote and market themselves no matter what they had achieved in the past. I explained to him that he needed to “work” at marketing his art and that just because he won or placed in an art competition, that by itself would not bring him any sales. Winning or placing in an art competition is just an opportunity for an artist to promote and market their art. I have not heard from that artist again and for this article, I went to his website and it is unchanged since our last discussion.
The second artist is a woman who has sold some of her art through word of mouth and referrals. The sales that this artist made were to very high-end customers, who were also important "influencers" within a major city. When I visited her website there was no mention of any of her previous sales. There were no testimonials or endorsements from her buyers! If they were willing, the buyers’ of her art, who liked and purchased her art, is something that should be promoted. This artist has a great chance to capitalize on the influence of these important people in order to receive more referrals, but she had not done so.
The other issue that I found was that her website was poorly conceived and needed to be redesigned to better fit the high-end art market. Besides the poor design of the website, difficult graphics, her art was not being shown well, as she had small images and they were of poor quality. As a visitor to the website, the images that were being used would discourage anyone from further investigation as the entire presentation did not look worthy of a major purchase of art! Because this artist had sold her art through personal presentations her website was not the source of capturing these prospects nor was the website a part of the sales process. To me, her website was actually a deterrent to any future sales and this would have to be drastically redesigned to fit her target audience, in order to expand her marketplace in the future.
It remains to be seen if this artist follows my suggestion of a website redesign. After the redesign is accomplished, I suggested that she proceed with a promotional and marketing campaign which would be directed at her target audience. If I was this artist, I would want to show prospects my art within the confines and setting of my past art buyers’ homes or offices. What better way there to show someone how the art will fit but within a high-end interior space? Any images used for the website or collateral materials would have to be taken by a professional photographer in order to maximize this presentation. This marketing campaign should be executed locally in order to establish a following and then in the future, she should branch out from there to the same target audiences in other locations and in other cities.
Both artists, based on their lack of marketing and promotion will continue to have a difficult time selling their art unless they make a commitment to marketing. Though a website will “not make sales” a poorly designed website can ruin the entire sales process and these artists both need to have their websites redesigned. In addition, both artists need to realize that they will “not get discovered” by prospects who buy art and they will not become successful waiting for buyers to find them. Each artist should realize that it is the artist who needs to define their target market and that they are the ones who will need to “discover and locate their buyers” through marketing, promotion and social media in order to become successful artists that they had hoped to be.
One more point to consider, successful marketing is a continuous and cumulative process. Many artists will embark on a marketing campaign, not see any results quickly and then give up their efforts. It is the artist who markets their art on a continuous and consistent basis who achieves successful results. Hopefully, these two artists will reassess their art marketing and promotion and get on the right track in order to have successful art careers.
