Skilled Recommendation on Social Media and Web sites for Artists

Social media for artists is usually a drain on our sources, actually because we anticipate an excessive amount of from it. It may be useful to consider it as one useful gizmo reasonably than the entire field. This text is much less about how one can get a excessive follower rely and extra about figuring out the aim of your social media that will help you method it extra successfully. I may also share insights on the need of an internet site and advantages of newsletters.

Claudia

What’s the Objective of Your Social Media?

Determining the aim of your social media accounts is the important thing to their ‘success’. And the success could are available in many alternative types. Are you trying to join together with your group? Construct an viewers to your work? Use it as a promoting platform? I just like the phrase platform as a result of it suggests one thing to dive off and construct from. Whether or not that’s merely directing folks to your web site or initiating an in-person assembly with somebody at an occasion. It’s not the entire story, simply the opening chapter. So with that in thoughts, strive to not put an excessive amount of emphasis on its speedy return.

You could have all of those aims, however, to start with, it’s extra life like to give attention to one by one. We want group first, viewers second, after which the promoting technique can start. Tailor your content material and method to go well with the part you might be in.

Eleanor Johnson, First Prize Winner of Jackson’s Artwork Prize,
2025’s Instagram Account

Align your Strategy with Your Objective

Nearly all of artists I do know are utilizing social media as some extent of sale. Whether or not that’s instantly by the platform or to safe future exhibiting alternatives, the work they submit is available for purchase. But, on nearly all of artists’ accounts, it’s unclear as to what’s on the market or how one can purchase it.

In case you are wanting to make use of social media to promote your work, listed below are some questions you’ll be able to ask your self:

Readability:

Is that this piece of labor on the market? What are the paintings particulars? Is it obtainable by you or a consultant?

Consistency:

Are you presenting a cohesive observe? Does the work all make sense collectively?

Catalogue:

Does your feed look tidy like a listing or portfolio? Too many repeats of outdated exhibition posters can clog issues up.

Present:

Is that this work related to your present observe? Do that you must archive some posts which might be not aligned together with your providing?

Claudia Kennaugh, Artwork and Folks Instagram Account

ACTIVITY

Do one factor a day or week that helps your intentions:

Construct Neighborhood:

Touch upon an artist’s work you admire or discover out the place they’re subsequent exhibiting and present up.

Develop Your Viewers:

Share the invite to a gallery opening in your tales, buddy up with one other artist and go to.

Make Gross sales:

Submit a brand new piece of labor on the market or obtainable for fee. Should you’re on Instagram, ship it as a direct message to a gallery, inside designer, or artwork advisor and ask your pals to share it of their tales.

Do I Have to Hold Up with Traits?

Traits aren’t one thing I encourage folks to concentrate to, however you could possibly see them as a chance to experiment. When Instagram reels turned in style, everybody assumed that they wanted to spend hours composing them simply to be seen. Or that they wanted to place themselves in entrance of the digicam, even when it made them uncomfortable. A more moderen development on social media for artists is overlaying phrases on the display of your posts or reels. This may be useful for accessibility causes and getting your message throughout. So ask your self: “Why is that this development related to my observe?” Strive it out and solely proceed if it feels genuine, and isn’t too time consuming.

Be cautious of tendencies such because the work in progress and course of video. It might take away the magic for the viewer and, extra importantly, may have an effect on your perspective on the work at a susceptible stage. You may additionally be giving freely some helpful commerce secrets and techniques.

TIP: The one algorithm trick I comply with on Instagram is to submit a narrative concurrently a brand new submit. One thing associated to the subject however from a special perspective. This drives visitors to your new submit. The extra engagement your submit has within the first few hours, the extra favoured it’s by the algorithm.

Jackson’s Artwork Prize Instagram Account

Web sites for Artists

With the rise in social media for artists, folks typically ask me: “Do I nonetheless want an internet site?” The reply is YES. That is your probability to showcase the total breadth of observe: from the idea in your Artist Assertion to the context in your CV, present our bodies of labor, and just lately offered works. That being stated, your web site needs to be so simple as doable. This isn’t a dusty encyclopaedia of all the pieces you may have ever achieved however a clear ‘store window’ into your present observe.

Similar to your social media, web sites for artists must be clear, cohesive, and present. So ask your self the identical questions as you probably did within the part above: Align your Strategy with Your Objective. You need the whole lot of your on-line presence to all really feel like the identical panorama, in any other case folks get confused.

After I begin sourcing paintings for a mission, I’ll take a look at the artist’s Instagram web page and web site to see what work is available for purchase. If it’s unclear as to what the paintings particulars are, what is out there, or the navigation is difficult, this slows down the method. So make sure that it’s clear, easy and up to date.

Do I Have to Create A E-newsletter?

I obtain some beautiful newsletters from artists, that are very useful to my work as an artwork advisor. It’s way more nourishing for me to see what you might be engaged on this fashion than leaving it to an opportunity scroll. I’ve ‘opted in’ to your mailing listing, which suggests I’m , and you may share your information extra confidently.

Newsletters will also be a useful hook to drive visitors to your web site, which is very helpful if it has an e-commerce perform and is simple to purchase from. Hold the textual content quick, candy and attempt to maintain some consistency within the format. Concentrate on not more than three to 4 segments. Folks have quick consideration spans.

Have a go at reviewing your on-line presence to test in with whether or not it’s working for you, or if you happen to’re working too laborious for it. You wish to save that treasured vitality for making work.

Skilled Teaching Webinars With Claudia Kennaugh

Over the previous few months, we requested the Jackson’s group what they needed to know most about constructing a profession in artwork. Primarily based in your responses, we’ve created six webinars in collaboration with Claudia to discover these key matters. Every session is filled with helpful insights that will help you develop and succeed as an artist, plus a dwell Q&A the place you’ll be able to ask your individual questions.

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