social media
Social media marketing is a strategy that is just that, social. It is usually done on an internet platform that engages audiences in your content via their computer, smartphone, or tablet. Social media allows your target consumers to interact with you and your brand. Some of the most common social media platforms used in marketing today are Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Managing your Social Media Marketing can be time consuming. Therefore, I recommend concentrating your time and content on a few sites. Here are some recommendations:
Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are visual platforms that will connect your art with customers. With Facebook you can create a business page, this is independent of your personal page. The business page will allow you to build a community of followers who will like, comment, and share your images and content. Instagram has the same basic framework as Facebook in that you can create multiple profiles and navigate between them within the app on your phone. This similarity is good if you have a personal and a business profile. Instagram is a social network that focuses on images that are perfect for visual artists. Again, you can create a community of followers. For Instagram, the use of the hashtag is vital to drive traffic to your profile, unlike Facebook, which relies more on sending requests and calling people to share your page.
YouTube allows the public to enter your studio to see you working on your most current pieces. It may seem that YouTube is not a form of social network, but in fact, by definition it is. Social media is any networking platform that allows users to communicate and connect in a social way. Due to the ability to like, share and comment on videos on YouTube, it is truly a social network. YouTube is actually a social media platform before it is a video marketing technique. In the next section, I’ll share a bit of information on how you can turn this social media platform into a video marketing tool.
video marketing
Video marketing is meant to call your consumer or viewer to action. For a video to be considered video marketing, it needs to generate interest in your website or something they’ll have to pay for to get additional access. Videos are a great way to share your talent with the public and generate interest in your art. Videos also let your followers and subscribers get to know you. Viewers enjoy the feeling of developing a relationship with you. When you can create a sense of loyalty, your viewers can become some of your best marketing partners because they can share your videos with their friends.
Since YouTube is free, this is a great way to share videos that focus on your artistic technique or provide short free tutorials for a specific artistic medium. Don’t forget that for it to be a marketing technique, it needs to generate something that the viewer needs to act on or buy. By running a link at the end of your video to send it to your website or offering more detailed how-to videos for a price at the end, you’ll qualify as a video marketing tool. With YouTube, you can create a channel that focuses on the techniques of your particular art style, or you can post how-to videos with step-by-step information on completing a unique piece of art. Free and low-cost video editing software, such as Apple’s iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, is available to allow you to truly personalize your videos before uploading them to YouTube.
Let’s use a watercolor artist who focuses on floral still life, as an example. The artist posts a 5-minute painting tutorial on the theme of roses on YouTube. The video was created using the iMovie software that comes standard on most Apple computers today. At the end of the free 5-minute video, the artist announces a 30-minute paid video from his website that will walk the viewer through his painting of a floral still life with roses from start to finish. The webcam and software come standard with Apple products. The cost of creating this video marketing example was free.
Social media and video marketing are virtual ways to reach your target audience. A type of low-cost marketing that is more tactile and leaves a lasting impression on your audience is through guerrilla marketing.
Guerrilla marketing
Guerrilla marketing is a low-cost, fun, and direct grassroots marketing strategy. Guerrilla marketing often takes the form of visual art, such as spray paint labels or unique posters and stickers, making it seem like a natural fit for visual artists. This marketing strategy is meant to create interest and make the viewer curious to investigate the ad. It takes more imagination and creativity than money to make guerrilla marketing work for you.
Implementing guerrilla marketing can be fun and exciting. Some ideas for guerrilla marketing can be using vinyl stickers or paper banners; this is called a wild post. Walking billboards or pop-up galleries of work in public places are another hot approach. It should also be noted that legal issues may arise regarding how or where wild posts and pop-up galleries appear. Posting stickers or banners can cause problems, especially if they are placed in paid advertising or on local, state, or federal fixtures. In most municipalities, there are permits that are required to set up in public places. Don’t let the risk of legal infringement deter you from using this strategy. With the right research and planning, guerrilla marketing can be a quick and fun way to build buzz around your art.
Social media, video marketing, and guerrilla marketing are ways to increase awareness and build loyalty among artists in the near and far community. Successful marketing will help you increase brand awareness and loyalty among art consumers.